Holiday Wars - General Discussion

[Dr. Acula]

Urban Shinmin...  so cringeworthy.  She described something on one of the displays as "dope".  

[trudysmom]

3 hours ago, Spunkygal said:

I don’t remember which team he is on this year, but the one sugar artist who did the palm tree leaves that were less impressive

Yeah, he was good and did some great stuff for right now all I can recall is he did a chocolate fire hydrant, for some reason!  I agree about Jonathan.  He's goofy and over the top at times but with all the angst of the decorators at times, they need a little levity.  This season is a huge disappointment, fits right into 2020.

[mojoween]

This show is a chore to get through.  Everyone seems like they hate each other except for the perky blond on Blizzardly Bakers, who seems nice enough but also like a lot.

And for a show about holidays, which for all intents and purposes for this means Christmas, we get Firefighter Santas and aliens and Garbage-Picking Santas and just give me Ho Ho Ho, dammit.

[Pepper the Cat]

Not a fan of Rayven’s shouting.

I thought that the team that sat out this week was much nicer than last weeks team. They put a more positive spin on things,

Did the team that won thus week also win last week.?
I am having a hard time keeping the teams straight for some reason.

[mojoween]

I think the team that won last week has the girl on it with the blue hair who fell while holding isomalt.

[Grizzly]

Yes. Week 1 winner was all women team and this week's winner had a guy on it.

[heart2hearttime]

I love Holiday Baking shows. This is the first one I am deleting from my DVR. The judges do not gel. The benches they sit on make it look like they are just observers in a park. Raven is not a good fit. But all that is insignificant compared to the quality of the bakers. Their skills belong more in a kitchen at home than on a televised competition. How Shinmin can go from being so critical with the elite cake decorators and sugar experts from Halloween Wars into this amateur group and pretend their creations are worthwhile is mind boggling. 

[Katherine Kegel]

On 11/8/2020 at 7:25 PM, Grizzly said:

I was wondering why the judges didn't talk about how small the characters were on the fireman piece? Their Santa dwarfed everything else. Instead they were sniping about the palm trees and the small animals. That gingerbread man had to be the smallest thing among all the displays.

I can give that a pass, because gingerbread cookies and houses are small in real life.  If it’s supposed to really be a gingerbread cookie it’s not going to be knee high, it’s a few bites.  Maybe it wasn’t the best choice (could have gone with something larger instead) but it did make sense to me.  

[ShelleySue]

On 11/10/2020 at 11:18 PM, heart2hearttime said:

I love Holiday Baking shows. This is the first one I am deleting from my DVR. 

I admit it.  I don't like changes. So when I had a tough time with this season I initially assumed it was just the way I typically respond to things when they are different than the way than I am used to them being.  I decided to just watch a few episodes and see if that was the case.  I pretended that this was a new show and not a modification of something that I had enjoyed in the past.  But you know what?  If this was something totally new I wouldn't have made it past the first episode.  The only reason I've made it this far is because of my love for it in the past.

I STILL don't understand how the winner will be determined in the end since they have never described the scoring system.

I miss fruit/vegetable carving.  As a matter of a fact, I have no idea what the individual expertise is of the participants.  There is a sugar artist in each team but is everyone else a cake artist?  Speaking of sugar artists . . . I am underwhelmed.

I don't get the whole buddy buddy thing of everyone sitting around talking all of the time, especially the eliminated team.  It just makes the whole thing seem mean spirited and high schoolish.

I'm sad to say goodbye to this show, but it's not worth my time.  If they do this to Halloween Wars I will not forgive them.

[Rammchick]

1 hour ago, ShelleySue said:

I miss fruit/vegetable carving.  As a matter of a fact, I have no idea what the individual expertise is of the participants.  There is a sugar artist in each team but is everyone else a cake artist?  Speaking of sugar artists . . . I am underwhelmed.

ShellySue, that's a good point.  I think something was even said to that one guy with the beard -- I should know his name, he's been on FN before (and their website only gave pictures of each time, not their names -- that's pretty lame).  It was pretty clear that sugar isn't his strong suit.  

[LindaT]

Hate the new format!  I have nothing against Raven but she is a terrible fit for this show.  Where is Jonathan?   This was published in October saying that Jonathan was going to host https://www.thethings.com/food-network-holiday-wars-2020/. I don't like the show starting as if it has already been on for 5 minutes.  We were never introduced to the contestants/teams.  The set is too busy.  I am a cake decorator and I love these shows because I learn new things.  For the first time watching a show like this I could totally be competitive!   Please bring back Jonathan!

[Darian]

I always enjoy seeing Shinmin, find Raven-Symone adorable, and Erin is a sourpuss, but I agree with a lot of what she says and she knows her stuff. I think in a pandemic, I am an easier audience. The format isn't great, and I miss Jonathan, but it's entertaining enough for right now.   

[Grizzly]

Shinmin was showing a lot of leg tonight when sitting on the bench. I loved Erin's hair, wish mine looked like that. But that's the only thing I like about her. It's too bad teams don't get eliminated since the annoying people stay. The final displays were pretty good. The president's office and the turkey under the table were the best ideas.

[ShelleySue]

On 11/13/2020 at 6:40 PM, LindaT said:

 Where is Jonathan?   

One of the many Hallmark Holiday movies is Christmas House.  Jonathan is in it.  I wonder if there was a scheduling conflict since COVID compacted all of the filming schedules.

https://www.hallmarkchannel.com/the-christmas-house/videos

[Rammchick]

And what is the story with this guy who keeps breaking down all the time?  Sad to say, I think he needs some professional help with his insecurities.

Looking at what these teams are producing, it seems hard to believe that they're professionals.  It's almost reading like a cake decoration version of Worst Bakers/Cooks in America.  Now that could be a good competition show -- take teams of amateurs, give them lessons and see how well they improve week after week.  I'd watch that.

[Madding crowd]

I don't think the bakers are not professionals, I think it is difficult to create large scale pieces out of cake and sugar in a certain time period. To compare this to the other shows, in Halloween Wars they use huge pumpkins for big pieces, in Gingerbread Wars they make mostly house type structures with specially made gingerbread. There are also a number of cake decorating shows but they are cakes which are decorated differently but still cakes. Here they are making all manners of things including figurers, backgrounds, furniture etc and it is just difficult to make that out of cake and rice cereal treats. I thought this was a fun episode but I hate the new judge. She sucks the joy out of the show and finds a problem with everything. I couldn't believe she said something was wrong with the drag queen display even though she couldn't identify what it was! I predict she won't be back. For me, the backdrops on this are kind of distracting because they are mostly snowy (this episode was different). I agree the scenes and the show structure are just not as entertaining as some of the other shows. 

[Omeletsmom]

I don't mind Raven, but I'm three episodes in and I STILL have no idea who is on which team and how each team has placed.  Really not liking this new format.

[Rammchick]

50 minutes ago, Madding crowd said:

I don't think the bakers are not professionals, I think it is difficult to create large scale pieces out of cake and sugar in a certain time period. 

I didn't say the bakers weren't professionals, I said it was hard to believe they were.  I know it's difficult, otherwise there wouldn't be much of a show, right? 😉  But the calibre of these bakers is very different than what we're used to seeing on these types of competitions.

[Grizzly]

Had they done a Thanksgiving themed challenge before on Holiday Wars? I was happy to have a break from Santa.

[mojoween]

Watching the lady from Blizzardly Bakers (and good gravy I HATE these team names) tell the story of the pissed off turkey had me rolling.  Her enthusiasm was infectious.  And I just loved that turkey’s face.

[CharlizeCat]

This show is terrible! I can't stand the host or that new judge, Erin. Wasn't anybody else available?  I know people don't care for Jason Smith (I happen to think he's OK) but I would happily take him over Erin or Raven. What about Charles Phoenix or Waylon or Sherry Yard? I guess Candace is tired up with Sugar Wars on Netflix. I sorely miss Jonathan but I am happy he is starring in what would be a ground-breaking movie for the Hallmark Channel! 

I wish there was a weekly elimination. I would have sent that team in the Buffalo plaid shirts packing the first week. The team with that whiny hipster. I think his name also is Jonathan. Also, I don't know which team it is, but the surly guy who snarls "noted," every time the judges criticize his work needs to go next along with the other sullen hipster sugar artist in the other team clad in red plaid. 

However, I will continue on as I am jonesing for any type of holiday programming to take my mind off the news!

[mlp]

1 hour ago, CharlizeCat said:

This show is terrible! I can't stand the host or that new judge, Erin. Wasn't anybody else available?  I know people don't care for Jason Smith (I happen to think he's OK) but I would happily take him over Erin or Raven. What about Charles Phoenix or Waylon or Sherry Yard?

I like Jason Smith.  Otherwise, I totally agree.  This show seems to have been filmed before the pandemic so I wouldn't think limited availability would have driven the selection.  

Between her hairdos and her wardrobe,  Raven seems to be going out of her way to look as awful as possible.  I try not to watch her.  Erin may be very good at what she does but she's obnoxious.  Those two plus all the changes and poorly explained rules are just ruining one of my favorite shows.

[crazycatlady58]

Is something wrong with Raven? I do not understand why she looks dressed for deep winter when the two judges look like they are going to a summer picnic. Looking at Raven makes me want to turn on my A.C. She looks like she would be so uncomfortable. 

[RoxiP]

I agree with all the comments above.  This is not nearly as much fun to watch as earlier iterations of Holiday Wars (and Halloween Wars).  The format is confusing and the judges and host are not as fun...I expected more of Raven Simone.

[Spunkygal]

Please, FN, go back to the old format next year and bring back Jonathan as host. I’m so glad one team FINALLY went home. Let’s start getting rid of these horrible teams! Is Julian, the sugar artist, the only person on any team that knows what he’s doing? Shinmin had to actually tell that one guy how to save their display by slapping on modeling chocolate for the Christmas tree. Good grief! This season is giving me the “bah humbug” feeling about the holidays, not the “ho, ho, ho” spirit that I’ve gotten from past years. I’d rather that FN lets this show die if they want to keep using this format and if they can’t find better artisans. I don’t watch Candy Land because of Kristin Chenowith (yuck) but I see several familiar faces on the commercials for that show, so I propose that we kidnap them and bring them over to HW and boot HW’s folks (except Julian) over to Candy Land...especially boot insecure, whiny, drama-filled Jonny. 

[mlp]

1 hour ago, Spunkygal said:

This season is giving me the “bah humbug” feeling about the holidays, not the “ho, ho, ho” spirit that I’ve gotten from past years.

Bah to the tenth power.  I am so mad at FN for ruining one of the shows I look forward to every year.  This is what?  The 3rd or 4th episode? and they still haven't really explained the rules.  Raven might not be so bad if she didn't look so awful.  Erin is just too impressed with herself and nasty and she has no sense of whimsy.  I question their judging too.  The female "nutcracker" the team of women made looked nothing like a nutcracker.  The judges criticized the mouth on the woodsman because it didn't have the characteristic teeth (because the team didn't get done on time) and the female one just had lipstick that didn't remotely look like nutcracker teeth but they said nothing about it.  Most of the bakers are just a step or two above amateurs.  Worst of all, there is no fun.  All the grumbling and tears and fighting do not make for a jolly holiday feeling.  Poor Shin Min.  I wonder if she hated it too.  

Bring back Jonathan and all his goofiness and get Charles Phoenix or Jason Smith or.............. I don't know - someone pleasant and cheerful.  CandyLand is a much better show.

[CrazyDog]

I don't mind Raven, and I think her hair is fine. I'm not getting the criticisms there. She brings some niceness and cheer which is sorely lacking this season. I do miss the cheesiness of Jonathan, but if we're critiquing wardrobes, I'm not sure Jason Smith as host would be any better, lol.

Really, really not liking the new judge, at all. And are they choosing to show more of the bitching and whining of the contestants or is it just more noticeable this year, because 2020? 

I'm so glad that team, whatever their name was, went home. They seemed like a big part of the negative vibe...at least until the other team decided to pick up the slack later in the ep. Yikes.

"I'm a strong leader!" *cries*

Shinmin needs to be freed from this season. 

[trudysmom]

7 hours ago, CrazyDog said:

Shinmin needs to be freed from this season. 

Amen!  I'm embarassed for her to be on this season, such a waste.  While I applaud Food Network for trying to shake things up a bit and try something new, the format of these holiday shows is terrible.  This one in particular is a mess.  And these 'artists'?  Come on.  If I wanted to watch someone be really bad at sculpting cake I'm sure there are Youtube videos.  I watch these shows to see people more talented than I do lovely amazing things with cake and sugar, not amazingly bad amatuerish things.  To the re-runs of better seasons!

[Rammchick]

I've said this before, and I know these people are professionals but they neither act like it nor produce work like it.  I get it, time constraints, not to mention the stress of being on a TV show with strange teammates.  But by this point in the proceedings, they should have gotten all that out of their systems and started to rev.  Instead, it looks like their output is actually getting worse instead of better.  I feel like I'm hate watching this now, instead of enjoying it the way I normally do.

[Madding crowd]

This show is awful. The nutcrackers all looked bad and it is clear these people do not know how to do large scale pieces. I also hate the new judge. She is the opposite of a cheerful holiday judge. They should either have the teams make smaller displays or find people who are familiar with large scale cake art. And I’ve never said this before but I think I could make a less messy nutcracker. 

[mojoween]

I am OFFENDED at how much I hated that horrible lady nutcracker.  They should have had to sit out the after the first round, and then they made the figure WORSE, and then WON?  What am I missing here.

If Jonathan is speaking, I am Team Jodi.  There is a time and a place for whining and that wasn’t it.

I can’t even enjoy this awful show because I am terrified FN is going to think it’s going well and they are going to positively ruin Halloween Wars.

Every one of those tasting elements sounded terrible.

[Spunkygal]

29 minutes ago, mojoween said:

I am OFFENDED at how much I hated that horrible lady nutcracker.  They should have had to sit out the after the first round, and then they made the figure WORSE, and then WON?  What am I missing here.

If Jonathan is speaking, I am Team Jodi.  There is a time and a place for whining and that wasn’t it.

I can’t even enjoy this awful show because I am terrified FN is going to think it’s going well and they are going to positively ruin Halloween Wars.

Every one of those tasting elements sounded terrible.

Yes, OFFENDED is the perfect description! But not just by the ridiculous lady nutcracker team, but the entire season. I just hope another team goes home on the next episode. Think of the adorable first round small entries of past seasons...Grinch taking over a kid’s wish list, dog with a present, Mrs Santa’s glittery boots. And that was before the round two big display. Remember the long ago episode when Charles Schultz’s granddaughter was a guest judge for a Charlie Brown Christmas episode? ❤️ Now we get crappy nutcrackers that look like I did them while wearing a blindfold. Can no one smooth fondant or create a decent looking hand and not a blob? There have been weak teams on Holiday Wars in past seasons but nothing remotely as atrocious as all of these teams are. I have to again agree with someone upthread—-bring back the fruit carvers! Yes, I am royally miffed and I hope the old seasons get re-aired in December. 

And since I’m on a roll, I feel like the winner each episode isn’t who’s the best, but who sucks the least.
 

Edited November 24, 2020 by Spunkygal

[Lukeysboat]

Erin Acevedo has *major* RBF. She is so unpleasant. This season is really a bummer. 

[CrazyDog]

4 hours ago, Spunkygal said:

And since I’m on a roll, I feel like the winner each episode isn’t who’s the best, but who sucks the least.
 

Yes, this nails it. This season just seems...sloppy? Chaotic? It's so off. 

[mlp]

2 hours ago, Lukeysboat said:

Erin Acevedo has *major* RBF. She is so unpleasant.

She has a BF even when she's not resting.  Even when she's smiling, the look in her eyes is pure scorn - not that the teams don't deserve derision but she's a judge and she should at least attempt to appear neutral.

[mojoween]

I’m still a little taken aback that Shinmin TOLD another team how to fix their problem.  This show is so off.

[Spunkygal]

Last night’s creations were better than in previous episodes. Still surprised that at different times, both Erin and Shinmin gave constructive advice to a couple of teams during the creation process. Julian’s team should just make his sugar creations the focal point of all of their pieces. And his small bites always look scrummy, as Mary Berry would say.

For the bee hive piece , how was that structurally sound and how did she get that to stay together? Was there some structural shenanigans going on? She started by carving up slabs of cake but, admittedly, I wasn’t watching that closely to see how she fortified it. Overall, the boy’s stuffed animal scene was the closest to reflecting holidays. To paraphrase the great Charles Phoenix, “I want more holiday! And where’s the bling?” I am done with the fact that they have to incorporate their small piece into the big piece. That’s just kind of “eh” for me. 

Edited November 30, 2020 by Spunkygal

[Rammchick]

Where were these people hiding this whole competition?!  Last night, it was like there were three altogether new teams who actually produced well-made and good looking displays.  It's a shame it took them this long to get it together.  Also annoyed at the level of coaching both Shinmin and Erin gave the teams -- how is that allowed?

For those of you who watch Kid's Baking Championship, the face of the boy in the stuffed animals display (I still can't remember the teams' names) looked just like Brady, who was on a couple of seasons back.

[mlp]

This was easily the best episode of the season so far.  The worst thing on it was the short dress Erin was wearing.  Not flattering.  All the teams finally stopped fighting and crying and looked like they knew what they were doing.  I loved the bees but the display itself didn't look great.  The other team's stuffed animals were very cute and well done.  I didn't understand why Shinmin thought they should have a sense of movement.  Stuffed animals just sit there.  The glass blowers are impressive.  That snake was really good.

I hope they go back to the usual cast and format next season.  

[Grizzly]

I thought the judges were too harsh on the junk drawer tree. Sure it was the least impressive of the 4 pieces but the concept made sense. And tape is never symmetrical so Erin can just stfu.

What did the female sugar artist do for 5 hours besides the tasting element?

Couldn't believe the stuffed animals won. Yes, it was visually stunning but the judges kept harping on the static figures. The beehive was more technically difficult. I liked the bees better.

[Spunkygal]

1 hour ago, Grizzly said:

I thought the judges were too harsh on the junk drawer tree. Sure it was the least impressive of the 4 pieces but the concept made sense. And tape is never symmetrical so Erin can just stfu.

What did the female sugar artist do for 5 hours besides the tasting element?

Couldn't believe the stuffed animals won. Yes, it was visually stunning but the judges kept harping on the static figures. The beehive was more technically difficult. I liked the bees better.

Oh I forgot about that sugar artist who was supposed to do the puffer fish entirely in sugar. It turned out cute but could have been amazing. 

And if stuffed animals were coming to life, which I thought was the scenario, they should have had their arms doing things or kicking up their heels, singing or something! I would preferred for the stuffed animals to be coming to life in Santa’s workshop, not a boy’s bedroom. Maybe have an elf peeking around the corner.

Again, I want elves, reindeer, Jack Frost, Santa, North Pole! How many more weeks is this show going to be on? Somebody better go home next week.  Erin’s dress was certainly too short for her! But she was more pleasant and smiled more this episode. Maybe she got ahold of the egg nog. 

[emmawoodhouse]

I'm pretty sure they said next week is the season finale.

[Spunkygal]

10 minutes ago, emmawoodhouse said:

I'm pretty sure they said next week is the season finale.

And sadly, that is fine with me. 

[mojoween]

The girl who was supposed to make the puffer fish is always whining that she doesn’t have time to do something and I am surprised they put up with her.

I know I already complained about this but if Shinmin and Todd wander around the Halloween Wars set next year and give tips to the teams, I am going to, well I am going to bitch and moan about it on the internet, is what I’ll do.  But seriously. Stop this madness!

[BusyOctober]

The guy who keeps whining and whimpering and weeping about his feelings and his self doubt...STFU FFS!  He’s a 30-something year old (guessing) baby-man.  His teary TH’s about how he is smart, and special and deserves to be heard/listened to/ to be the leader. Good grief!  I don’t know his name, but by his attitude, I’d guess it’s Stuart Smalley.

[emmawoodhouse]

Last night's episode was the first one that was watchable. The whining was kept to a minimum, and the displays were all pretty nice. A step up from previous weeks' efforts.

[40Love]

On 11/30/2020 at 3:19 PM, mlp said:

The worst thing on it was the short dress Erin was wearing.  Not flattering. 

I think she's trying to compete with the Shinmin, who often wears short, cute and flattering dresses/skirts. Didn't work. That's not Erin's style.

Edited December 1, 2020 by 40Love

[mojoween]

Erin’s hair in the ponytail with the tendrils looked really cute though.

[Kaoteek]

Just starting/catching up with the season, and to noone's surprise, the new format just doesn't work for me or my significant other. It's messy, the editing and overall flow are all over the place, it's change for change's sake... not sure we'll finish the season, tbh.

[Rammchick]

Finally over.  No more snarky judges, no more emotional breakdowns and no more horrible presentations.  And predictably, the team who did the worst all season managed to eke out the win for no apparent reason.  I have to say, I've enjoyed this group more than this awful show.  Happy Holidays to all my fellow forum members, and Food Network, if you happen to peek in here, please put this abomination out of its misery.