S13.E09: Corona Can't Keep A Good Queen Down

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Quote

In the face of a global pandemic that shutdown film and TV production around the world, the resilience of the season 13 queens made herstory as this Emmy-Award winning series was one of the very first productions to be shot in the age of COVID-19.

Original air date: 2/26/21

[ClareWalks]

I understand they have extra episodes to fill due to Celeb Drag Race being nixed but JESUS this season is being dragged out (pun intended).

[violet and green]

That was really good to watch. At first I was glum; what, no episode! But that background put the whole season, and 2020-21, into sharper perspective. I loved getting all the details of how it was done.

It is clear Ru still loves that ho Kandy, though... Lovely to see more of Kahmora Hall, and Tamisha Iman. Also, Rosé. I enjoyed their interviews.

[slaterain]

I put this on in the background and found it semi-interesting but not too distracting while I got other stuff done. This could have been an interesting way to introduce the queens but the episode seems oddly placed here in the middle of the competition - let us get to the snatch game!!!

a couple parts stood out - hearing about the death of Mona Foot (sp?) and the impact it had on the NY drag community early on in the pandemic. makes me want to know more about her.

the part that hit hard was seeing the picture of Kimora on the plane heading to drag race with a mask that had "I am not a virus" on it. 

Edited February 27, 2021 by slaterain

[Supagirl]

Here’s a bit of background on Mona Foote:  https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/24/style/nashom-wooden-mona-foot-death-coronavirus.html

I enjoyed this episode. It will stand as a marker for this period looking back, but it does seem unnecessary to mansplain to all of us watching and going through it what the pandemic was like. I didn’t know that so many queens had covid19... how fortunate they came through it, especially Tamisha. 

[MsJamieDornan]

5 hours ago, violet and green said:

Lovely to see more of Kahmora Hall, and Tamisha Iman. Also, Rosé. I enjoyed their interviews.

I really enjoyed seeing them, but there was way tooooo much Kandy.

[Marisagf]

Does anyone know the couple in episode dedication was?  I looked them up and they died one month apart.  Are they parents of one of the queens?  

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Although I was prepared to dismiss this episode as the filler that it is, I ended up liking it because it was basically an hour of the queens talking which I enjoyed. I agree there was WAY too much Kandy but I loved hearing from Tamisha, Kahmora, Symone, and Rosé. The interviews felt surprisingly light on Utica. Joey Jay had some good moments too.

I do appreciate hearing and seeing all the precautions they took to film this, especially after the absolute FARCE of "COVID protocols" used on Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team (which was basically the girls being told that they had to wear masks while on camera while the director and choreographer were completely inconsistent in wearing masks/face shields around the girls, and then finding out from some of the girls afterward that they were told to remove their masks whenever the cameras weren't filming).

But because I'm a nosy bitch who wants to know exactly how safe this bubble was, I want to know about Ru, the judges, and the crew's safety precautions. Were they all quarantined at the hotel for the duration of filming as well? Because they really should have been. To date, the most cautious/responsible tv filming bubble I'm aware of was the Great British Bake Off because EVERYONE including the judges, hosts, and crew were quarantined at a hotel with the contestants for the duration of filming. I don't think you can really say it's a safe bubble if you only quarantine the contestants but let the hosts, judges, and crew go home and interact with other people. The whole point of the bubble is that you're in an actual bubble!

My favorite part was getting to hear the crew applauding the queens as they walked from the main stage back to the workroom. That was a sweet gesture that I'm sure must have been appreciated by the queens. It was also nice to hear some of the queens speak so highly of the crew and all that they did to get this season made.

One thing I hadn't even thought about until it was mentioned during this episode was what it must have been like to be quarantined for weeks while filming and then to go back to being out in public in the middle of a pandemic. That must have been a harsh step back into reality.

I liked that they kept giving us specific dates for the timeline. Knowing that they started filming in July, SEVEN LONG MONTHS AGO, and none of them can talk about who won yet - that must be torture!

 

[Penman61]

Don't know how I didn't already know this, but are the contestants 100% without smartphones/computers for the duration? Like 2-3 months?!? I thought they had a social media/communication blackout (hard enough), but not even passive surfing?

LOL ain't NO crown worth that to me. 

Edited February 27, 2021 by Penman61

[Koalagirl]

Kandy Muse looked much more polished in her footage prior to appearing on Drag Race which makes me wonder if she had someone help style her but on the show she couldn’t manage on her own.

I couldn’t help wonder why the queens were all wearing that same odd color orange lipstick during their talking heads.  
 

 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Just now, Koalagirl said:

I couldn’t help wonder why the queens were all wearing that same odd color orange lipstick during their talking heads. 

First time seeing the orange lipstick: Eww, that is not a flattering lip color.

Second time seeing the orange lipstick: Wait, wasn't someone else wearing that exact same fugly orange? Am I mixing up these queens in my head?

Third time seeing the orange lipstick: No, it wasn't my imagination! More than one queen is wearing this unflattering orange lipstick! WHY? Did they not give them mirrors before they turned the cameras on?

Fourth time seeing the orange lipstick: Did they have just one lipstick that they passed around to everyone?

[ClareWalks]

3 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

Fourth time seeing the orange lipstick: Did they have just one lipstick that they passed around to everyone?

Now THAT is not very COVID-safe.

[Vermicious Knid]

Quote

To date, the most cautious/responsible tv filming bubble I'm aware of was the Great British Bake Off because EVERYONE including the judges, hosts, and crew were quarantined at a hotel with the contestants for the duration of filming.

Shark Tank managed it too. They filmed in Las Vegas.

Quote

In all, about one-third of the hotel's Palazzo tower was sealed off for production. To prevent cast and crew from coming into contact with anyone outside the bubble, the hotel had elevator banks dedicated to the show, and it even created a lengthy walkway — walled off from the rest of the hotel guests — that went to-and-from the actual "Shark Tank" filming location.

In order to make sure the bubble wasn't compromised, cast, crew and aspiring entrepreneurs were tested before traveling to Las Vegas and upon arrival in the city. Then, they were forced to quarantine until a negative COVID result came back.

...

At no point during the August-September shoot did the "Sharks" or anyone involved with the production cross paths with other hotels guests or anyone outside of the bubble.

"Everyone was isolated from each other at the hotel when not in production. On set, everyone wore PPE, except while on camera, and strict social distancing was maintained at all times," George said, noting the Sharks' boardroom chairs were spaced far apart. 

Lame guest judges are due to Covid protocols. Disappointing but not surprising.

[Dewey Decimate]

That orange lipstick was heinous. At first I thought something was wrong with my television, then noticed not all of them had it (just most).

Did my best to ignore Kandy (who had the first TH, really?), and instead concentrated on all the good. Like Tamisha's sweater - FABULOUS!

[ElectricBoogaloo]

6 hours ago, Vermicious Knid said:

Shark Tank managed it too. They filmed in Las Vegas.

Lame guest judges are due to Covid protocols. Disappointing but not surprising.

GBBO moved shooting to a hotel and basically took over the entire property. They were the only ones there (aside from 25 hotel staff members).

Quote

But by April, when he and C4 realised that many of the freelance crew they usually use would not be eligible for the government’s furloughing scheme, they were keen to make something work.

Smith’s colleague, Letty Kavanagh, suggested they house the entire production in one of the many UK hotels lying dormant because of Covid-19, although that was thrown into doubt when the government said hotels could re-open in July.

Down Hall, an Italianate hotel set in 110 acres of parkland, agreed Love could use it exclusively on a self-catering basis, retaining 25 staff to help run the place. “The next question was how do we move people? We have bakers who had children. There was the whole legal and compliance issue. The filming was sort of the easy part,” said Smith.

“The whole point of the bubble [was] being able to be close to each other or pat people on the back, or it wouldn’t be Bake Off.”

In May, the bakers were asked if they were able to relocate with partners (if they wanted), children (if they were sole carers), and even their dogs: chaperones were provided for children during filming and a dog pen built. Although flour was in short supply at the time, most ingredients for the show had been pre-ordered from wholesalers so, before they joined, bakers were sent “care packages” with which to practise at home.

Before moving into the bubble, everyone isolated for nine days and took three tests, said Smith.

The crew and cast had their own wing, garden, dining hall and bar separate from the contestants, so the latter did not feel constantly under pressure from the judges but were able to mix and “it wasn’t a case of us and them”.

Individual kitchens were created for the 12 bakers in a structure in the hotel car park so they could practise and a team of cleaners used disinfectant and UV light to clean everything that came on site.

For entertainment, football matches and cinema and bingo nights were held – one hosted by new presenter Matt Lucas.

Smith said: “He’d been shielding prior to coming in so for him it was quite liberating. It was a good atmosphere on set. People had been staying in their homes, the majority of them loved it… it was an opportunity to be normal. We had fun. It was a long time but it had a special atmosphere to it this year.

“We thought we were in the safest place in England by the time we were a week in and no-one was showing signs.”

So it was a shock when one of the hotel staff then showed symptoms and had to isolate. Filming was paused for a day until she was tested. Thankfully, it was negative and the show wrapped in August.

 

[theatremouse]

While you are welcome to discuss the new episodes when they air regardless of where you are, unless it's through official channels, please do not mention how. We don't allow discussion of/instructions for watching shows through unofficial methods.

[30 Helens]

This episode was unnecessary, as expected, but surprisingly enjoyable. I daresay I liked it better than the “real” season episode last week.  I liked getting the queens’ perspective on the season, and it was good to see some of the eliminated queens again. I wish Joey Jay had stuck around a bit longer.

But for me, the biggest takeaway was it made me reevaluate the season as a whole. So many episodes, so many noneliminations have made it seem like there is an overabundance of filler. But two things that were said in interviews made me look at this a different way. First, Covid eliminated most work opportunities. The queens had no place to perform and express themselves, and worse, no source of income. Drag Race provided both for these queens. I assume the longer they stay on the show, the more they make. With the added bonus of getting to do what they love. 

Second, Drag Race provided a respite from the isolation that so many of them were experiencing.  And the longer they stayed, the longer they got to experience the togetherness.

I had assumed that Ru was just stretching out the season for personal economic reasons. But now, I’m thinking maybe Ru is just a big softie, and was trying to help the queens earn as much as they could, while experiencing as close to a normal life as possible, for as long as possible.

[kieyra]

My attention has drifted from RPDR, but I checked this out. I wouldn’t have noticed the lipstick if I hadn’t read this thread first, but now I can’t unsee it. I wonder if there’s some story there? I stopped listening to the RuPaul/Michelle podcast because of the relentless marketing and product promotion, so my first thought is that it’ll be revealed to be some new special edition lipstick color from (I don’t know what makeup brand is hot right now, when I stopped listening to the podcast it was all about Anastasia), with X % going to Ru. 

None of the queens are jumping out at me, but that’s been true for so long. Still, maybe I’ll check out some earlier S13 episodes.

[Blissfool]

The lipstick was yellow. 😉😂

[marinite]

On 2/27/2021 at 3:01 AM, MsJamieDornan said:

I really enjoyed seeing them, but there was way tooooo much Kandy.

No kidding. My thumb is sore by constantly hitting the mute button. I can’t stand her even more than Silky and The Vixen combined.

[RoxiP]

I think the kids baking championship and the other baking shows have all been filmed at a remote location and everybody appears to stay on-site.  I know Duff did a kind of "showing where we are staying" segment early on.

 

I will say that I found myself liking Tina Burner more than I have previously, plus her hair looked a lot better straightened.

 

 

[Lambie]

I was more interested in this episode than I thought I would be. Except Kandy. Never Kandy.

I live in CT so we were quick to mask because NYC was so hard hit in the beginning. Masks were impossible to get and fabric stores weren't open. We used an old pillow case and hair elastics to make our first masks. I felt for them when they talked about all the fabric stores being closed because we didn't *need* to go anywhere but they had to put together all their challenge outfits. I haven't been overwhelmed by the runway this season and now it makes sense. 

Too bad Ru didn't make fabric, embellishments, and sewing machines available to them. They were all locked up in their rooms for 2 weeks, they could have used that time to make the best runway looks they could. 

[TTLY6]

On 3/1/2021 at 11:10 AM, marinite said:

No kidding. My thumb is sore by constantly hitting the mute button. I can’t stand her even more than Silky and The Vixen combined.

idk, I just finished Vixen's show and she was freaking right about a lot of her fights. I remember not really enjoying it the first time around but after the re-watch....I yelled BITCH YOU ARE RIGHT! 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

On 3/2/2021 at 2:44 PM, Lambie said:

I live in CT so we were quick to mask because NYC was so hard hit in the beginning. Masks were impossible to get and fabric stores weren't open. We used an old pillow case and hair elastics to make our first masks. I felt for them when they talked about all the fabric stores being closed because we didn't *need* to go anywhere but they had to put together all their challenge outfits. I haven't been overwhelmed by the runway this season and now it makes sense. 

Too bad Ru didn't make fabric, embellishments, and sewing machines available to them. They were all locked up in their rooms for 2 weeks, they could have used that time to make the best runway looks they could. 

The same thing happened here in the Bay Area. The one fabric store that was open near me had a huge line to get in because everyone was buying any fugly ass fabric they could find to make masks. My mom made her masks out of old pillow cases. I tried to order fabric online but Spoonflower said orders would take 8 weeks to be sent because they were so backed up. I can't imagine trying to find specific fabric to make costumes in the midst of all that.

Giving them fabric and sewing machines in their hotel rooms while they were initially quarantined would have been a great idea!