S01.E01: Secret Celebrity Edition #101

[OnceSane]

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In the premiere of this four part star-studded event, three actors compete for the title of “America’s Next Celebrity Drag Race Superstar” and $30,000 for the charity of their choice. Bob the Drag Queen, Trixie Mattel and Monet X Change guest star.

Airs April 24, 2020.

[853fisher]

I'm really not into this.  Far too much Drag Race for one night.  The format is sort of like a less compelling Drag U, because there's not the suggestion of life transformation.

 

And the casting just does not work for me.  My tastes are a bit out of the mainstream, but I've genuinely never heard of Jermaine (or "Superior Donuts," which he seems best known for) or Jordan (although I have heard of "Riverdale," although I had to go to his IMDB for that since he doesn't even have a Wikipedia page).  I had head of Nico, and remembered their name because it reminds me of a friend's, when they came out, but that's it.  On the other hand, I virtually always know, and am often excited about, guest judges on the main show.  So I'm not a hermit.

 

I'm not delusional either.  I wasn't expecting Obama, Helen Mirren, and Beyonce.  And I don't mind folks from the C or D list on many of these shows.  Their media training allows them to be interesting, whoever they are, while they learn a skill.  But here, so much of the skill is a function of their partner that there's not much to that journey.  And I just honestly don't care about the sort of personal insights that were offered into these folks who I still don't know from Adam.

 

Sorry to be a downer.  Just, as the queen herself has said, meh.  I think they missed the mark.

[2727]

I was most looking forward to seeing Bob, Trixie and Monet but ended up being thoroughly entertained. The celebs, whoever they were, ended up being adorable. I love the "put regular people in drag" challenges anyway so this was made for me.

Insights, tears, oats-feeling!

[Stardancer Supreme]

I dug it! Honestly, all they had to say was Bob and Monet, and I was going to watch it!

I have no idea who these men are. 

I cackled during the quick drag and obstacle course. 

Nico just thought they was hot shit and going to win it all.  And had the audacity to tell Monet that they wasn't tucking... They should have, though.

Jordan is cute. He has the face that was will be easy to beat. 

Jermaine seemed to be the oddest duck in this bunch. Will he do well in drag?

Snatch Game:  This was the best Snatch Game in recent seasons by far.  Jermaine was able to take Ru's suggestion AND be successful with it! Brava. He won the Snatch Game.

Mama Ru looked stunning at the end of the show. She just has to stop making people cry. I wasn't in the mood to sympathy cry tonight! 

Lipsync: Nico was so gorgeous, yet so aggro. They should have kept their skirt on; I guess they were serious about not tucking. Eww.   Jermaine might have had a chance to win if only he knew the words.  Jordan knew the words and was real cute with the lipsync while Jermaine just fluttered about not singing and Nico was slamming their body to the ground and swiffering the stage with their balls.  Jordan rightfully won the lipsync.

I'll stick with this as long as Bob and Monet are the drag mentors... 

 

[Ananayel]

Well, I don't know who any of those people were, but it was adorable. They all did good jobs, and had fun, and charities got money. What's not to love?

[bobbyjoe]

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Snatch Game:  This was the best Snatch Game in recent seasons by far.  Jermaine was able to take Ru's suggestion AND be successful with it! Brava. He won the Snatch Game.

At first I thought “wow, Snatch Game’s a lot to throw at people who are doing their first show,” but, wow, all three of them rose to the occasion.  Much better than many of the full-time queens’ Snatch Game on recent seasons, and queens on the regular show should have to sit down and watch what these three did here before they try Snatch Game.  All three had a very specific “take” on their character and had clearly thought through what they were doing in advance (something that always bugs me on the regular show’s Snatch Game where many queens seem ill-prepared even though we know they’ve known way in advance from the time they’re told they’re on the show that they’ll be doing Snatch Game and need a character).

All three contestants were cute, and oddly enough even though they’re not the best known “celebrities,” as a fan of Younger, Riverdale, and Superior Donuts I actually knew who all three were.  Nico is the one who’s most unlike their tv character, but I was happy to see them this way as I’d read about their real life off the show and it was fun to see them going all out.  Any of the three could have won and I’d have been happy.

 

Edited April 25, 2020 by bobbyjoe

[sugarbaker design]

I thought it was smart not to reveal the 'celebrity ' contestants. Had I heard who they were I most likely would not have tuned in.  I'm so glad they didn't reveal.

Bob, Monet and Trixie are faves, but Trixie's "Enter workroom, shift weight, catchphrase, pose." grabbed me from the start.

Even though they were complete unknowns I grew to appreciate the contestants for different reasons:  darling Jordan, hilarious Jermaine and the thoroughly obnoxious Nico.  I was never more happy to see someone lose.

I enjoyed it, but future episodes will heavily rely on the chemistry of the drag mommas.  Bob, Monet and Trixie were a winning combo, I hope we'll be as lucky with episodes 2 thru 4.

Edited April 25, 2020 by sugarbaker design

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I almost didn't watch this episode because I'm familiar with Nico so I knew to expect extra on top of extra, and the first few segments did not dissuade me from that opinion.

My favorite part of the episode was when each of the three contestants saw themselves in drag makeup for the first time. All three of them were gorgeous! Their reactions were so great to see. Jermaine tearing up about how much he looked like his mom was very sweet.

I LOVED that all three contestants came prepared with two characters for Snatch Game. The queens who apply for RPDR should take note. And surprisingly, all three of them did well! Again, RPDR queens, pay attention to this amount of preparation.

Poor Jermaine quit lip synching about halfway through the song. His Kevina Hart turned out so much better than I thought it would. I loved that his drag name Mimi Teapot was his mom's nickname and his daughter's nickname (his girlfriend's reaction to this was precious). So sweet! And I liked that he talked about not staying in the boxes that people want to put you in.

Nico really committed to Lucille Ball during Snatch Game. For all Nico's talk about how the other two didn't know how to walk in heels, Nico's runway wasn't vastly superior. The little walk off they had in the work room was mostly Nico posing which hid an average walk but it was apparent during the final runway that all three of them were pretty even in their walks. Nico's lip sync was way too try hard and it was apparent that they thought they were going to win. I wondered why Nico's wife wasn't there.

I wasn't sure how funny Jordan would be as Chrissy Teigen but he got in some funny moments which is more than some queens on RPDR (some of whom applied to be on the show multiple times and therefore should have been REALLLY prepared) can say about their Snatch Game appearances. I loved that his drag name was made up of his fiancée's childhood pets. Babykins Le Roux is a fabulous drag name! He looked so beautiful on the runway and he really slayed that LSFYL. He definitely deserved to win. I loved how empowered he said he felt.

[screengem]

Loved the show.   All the guys were dedicated to making their drag transformations believable and all embraced their "makeovers"

I just thought that Nico's Lucy had traces of Eve Arden in the makeup.

It definitely was a very watchable Snatch Game as well

Hoping that the next installments are equally as satisfying to watch

Edited April 26, 2020 by screengem

[theatremouse]

Nico was unbearably pretentious, but the other two were enjoyable. This wasn't anywhere near as fun as the normal show, but for me, this was SIGNIFICANTLY more pleasant to watch than the usual "put someone in drag who has never done it before" episodes with regular contestants on the regular show. This was a much more enjoyable version of that.

[charliesan]

Not gonna lie, I did cry several times throughout the episode, didn't know what to expect so I was surprised at the emotional aspect of the show. 

I only knew of Nico, but at the end of the day it didn't matter since their stories were great. 

Jermaine was the clear winner of Snatch Game, he definetely had an advantage being a trained comedian but I didn't mind it since he proved to be really funny; thought Nico was going to do better since he was more familiar with Drag Gace but his Lucille Ball showed he has chops; Jordan's sheer enthusiasm and commitment is what made him win. 

My only nitpick is that I think she prize should've been higher, at least $50,000 since I think that, while these aren't huge celebrities, I believe they can afford to make that donation themselves, I know it's charity but, still. 

[zenithwit]

I really enjoyed this first episode!  I was previously familiar with Nico and Jordan.  Although to be fair, I wasn't familiar with Jordan by name, only by face (from his Riverdale character).  My only fear going forward is that Nico might be the most well-known celebrity they were able to cast for this show.  And that's why this episode was aired first (so the number of recognizable celebrities may drop off from here).

It was not surprising to me that this was a better than average Snatch Game.  All three contestants are entertainers and have acquired basic acting skills.  Jermaine may have had a slight advantage because he clearly incorporates celebrity impersonations into his stand up but Nico & Jordan also have experience in character development and performance (which should come in handy).  As the regular seasons continue to cast more and more "look queens" that are focused on social media, I think we'll see more regular Drag Race contestants struggle with the Snatch Game.

Unpopular opinion: I wasn't crazy about Jordan's makeup and outfit on the runway.  Both Nico and Jermaine looked gorgeous whereas it felt like Jordan's face had too much highlight and his body wasn't shaped well-enough.  I feel like if a regular Drag Race contestant had a similar look, they would have faced a much harsher critique.  It would have been interesting to see how Bob or Monet would have managed Jordan's look (or even a more muscular queen like Kameron Michaels).  Regardless, Jordan clearly won based off of his enthusiasm and preparedness.

[Stardancer Supreme]

1 hour ago, zenithwit said:

Unpopular opinion: I wasn't crazy about Jordan's makeup and outfit on the runway.  Both Nico and Jermaine looked gorgeous whereas it felt like Jordan's face had too much highlight and his body wasn't shaped well-enough.  I feel like if a regular Drag Race contestant had a similar look, they would have faced a much harsher critique.  It would have been interesting to see how Bob or Monet would have managed Jordan's look (or even a more muscular queen like Kameron Michaels).  Regardless, Jordan clearly won based off of his enthusiasm and preparedness.

I was right there with you. Jordan's wig was right, but his face was almost ashy looking.  The dress would have looked better had he stood up straighter. I get the heels was a terror, but he tilted to the side as he walked in.

According to Twitter, Mayhem Miller did Jermaine's makeup.  

[djlynch]

6 hours ago, zenithwit said:

I feel like if a regular Drag Race contestant had a similar look, they would have faced a much harsher critique.

I think that they had a “no negative critiques” policy. If it had been a regular Snatch Game, Nico would have gotten some criticism for not having better improv skills. They nailed the physicality and the bits that seemed to have been prepared in advance, but everything else failed to land.

[Ananayel]

They must have had other queens for all the makeup. Shannel posted in Instagram that her appearance was cut, but I don't know which one she did.

[zenithwit]

1 hour ago, Ananayel said:

They must have had other queens for all the makeup. Shannel posted in Instagram that her appearance was cut, but I don't know which one she did.

Just saw Shannel's post and it looks like she did Nico's makeup (Nico was in the corresponding picture and a few other queens confirmed this in the comments).  So huge kudos to Shannel because Nico was drop dead gorgeous!

Not sure why they couldn't acknowledge her (and presumably the other makeup artists) for a little bit on the show.  Even if it was just a 10 second clip.

Link to Shannel's post (hope this works): https://www.instagram.com/p/B_a6P9TpuP6/?igshid=m45vdw0a7btu

[marinite]

Well this was very satisfying for me and it’s definitely the way to do a spin off properly  (stink eye to Making the Cut.  I know it’s not really a spin off of Project Runway but I think you get my meaning.)

I was bummed that they had a contestant with drag experience but oh well.

What amazingly generous prizes! And I thought it was wonderful that the bottom two’s charities also received a donation.

ETA. I hope we get at least a B list celebrities . That would be kind of fun. These fellas are totally on familiar to me.

 

 

Edited April 26, 2020 by marinite

[cpcathy]

Nico’s makeup was off the charts stunning, kudos to Shannel. I was surprised Jordan won, Snatch Game was meh and boring and his drag wasn’t as good as Nico’s.

[zenithwit]

Ok, checked on Twitter and to confirm: Shannel did Nico's makeup, Mayhem Miller did Jermaine's makeup and Laila McQueen did Jordan's makeup.  Shannel and Mayhem were mentioned upthread but I don't think Laila has been mentioned yet.

[Stardancer Supreme]

Nico might have won the lipsync if they didn't immediately break the illusion by stripping.

[ClareWalks]

I'm really annoyed that the only possible way to legally watch this is if you have VH1. My cable company doesn't offer VH1 even in the add-on channels. I couldn't purchase the episode anywhere that I looked, either. The only way to watch if you don't have VH1 is through a sketchy illegal stream. Not great, RuPaul.

[Gothish520]

Well I thought this was a delight from start to finish! 

The only one I was familiar with is Nico who is indeed extra, but I'm still a fan, lol. I think their message is sincere. I loved all the personal stories. And as someone who became a Drag Race fan relatively recently, I've seen Monet in action but had only heard of Bob the Drag Queen and Trixie Mattel - it was great to finally "meet" them in and out of drag, and I can see why they are fan favorites.

Loved it!

[2727]

On 4/27/2020 at 11:46 AM, ClareWalks said:

I'm really annoyed that the only possible way to legally watch this is if you have VH1.

Not free, but it's available to buy it on Amazon!

[ClareWalks]

1 hour ago, 2727 said:

Not free, but it's available to buy it on Amazon!

Thanks! I'm definitely willing to pay for it, they just didn't have it when I checked on Saturday! It is there now though 🙂

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Snatch Game