RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under: G'Day, Mate!

[davidcalgary29]

3 hours ago, Mahfouz said:

Another Drag Race from a satellite campus and another finale of mediocre queens. Who's it going to be this season?

Queen Kong.. really fucking boring.

or

Tom Sizemore, errrr, I mean Spankie Jackson. The queen with the worst makeup skills this side of Jada Shada Hudson.

or

Hannah Conda, the queen with the sinister anti-woke past? And the voice and laugh of Wallace Shawn. 

Yes, sort of, and yes. Really, you can tell that Spankie's makeup is the least thing wrong about her drag. 

This isn't a problem with the queens as much as storytelling: it sucked on both Canada and DU. Canada decided to copy UKS2's narrative arc and give Gisele the win even though Fierce was much better in the second half: voila, an unsatisfying conclusion, sort of. And the storylines on Down Under have flatlined this season: Kween is fine, but boring. Spankie is fun, and a total trainwreck on the runway. Hannah may be many things, and I really don't care about any of them. 

But most of the eliminated queens were just fine, and both seasons could have gone in different directions, most of which would have been better, if different choices had been made. And the non English-speaking franchises have been just fine, so you can't really say that this is a global problem.

Edited September 12, 2022 by davidcalgary29

[Mahfouz]

18 minutes ago, davidcalgary29 said:

 And the non English-speaking franchises have been just fine, so you can't really say that this is a global problem.

Good point. 

It was my mistake by not clarifying. I have not watched non-English seasons and I should have made that more clear while painting the whole of Drag with such a brush. 

[TVbitch]

Ahhhh!!! Spoiler alert for other drag races, please! I hadn't seen Canada finale yet. Dang it.  

Anyway, I just have to say that I am not drinking the shows Kool Aid about Kween. Totally boring! 

[violet and green]

Fuck, yeah!

[davidcalgary29]

I still think that they should alternate this every year with Canada. 

[Ms.Lulu]

Happy with this outcome.  It seemed pretty clear. Hannah has been sketchy in a Scarlet Adams sort of way. Kong was uneven and boring eye candy. Spankie has the it factor. Added bonus, another kiwi queen.

I wonder it there will be a season 3.

[Wonderlad71]

Quite a lacklustre finale with no returning queens etc but kudos to Spankie - what a bundle of fun she is. A great Top 3 nevertheless. I agree with davidcalgary29  - I don't think most of these franchises can sustain a quality annual season. It's so factory formulaic now.

Anyway bring on UK S04 (I'm still getting into Philippines)

[davidcalgary29]

A lacklustre challenge and underbaked lipsynch make for a boring episode despite a cast of interesting queens. I know that we can't expect the first episode of every season to bring "I'm that Bitch", but this felt particularly disappointing. 

I didn't get a grasp of any of the cast members after that episode beyond Ivanna Bump, Gabriella, and Hollywould Star. I'm guessing that there's no way in hell that they'd give the win to another Kiwi queen, or else I'd think that Flor had a shot at this, too.

[violet and green]

Plenty of underdogs to root for! The lighting is so bad, it's hard to get past it, but I am finding the bulk of them engaging personalities.

I really felt for Ashley Madison with her entry pants malfunction and then nipplegate, and also Ivory Glaze's confidence crisis.

Hollywould and Flor are following the grand tradition of establishing themselves as the season's snarky bitches, which is a choice. Hollywould Star sure can walk. And Flor is self-assured. It will be interesting to see if the attitude can hold out through various challenges - sewing, snatch game, improv, comedy.

3 hours ago, davidcalgary29 said:

A lacklustre challenge and underbaked lipsynch make for a boring episode despite a cast of interesting queens.

That stage is so tiny, and they were really disadvantaged by having to do their own choreo for that first number. It can only go up from here!

[dolphincorn]

I really enjoyed this premiere. Villains, underdogs, delusional queens — what more could you ask for?

Ivory Glaze's transformation is one for the ages.

[Rai]

There seemed to be something pretty retrograde about everyone slamming Ashley Madison for her chest baring. So many queens on RPDR Original Recipe seem to proudly bare a flat chest these days. Maybe because it was a wardrobe malfunction and not a deliberate genderfuck look? But how could they tell...? I dunno, it just seems like a criticism that wouldn't air nowadays.

Also, that was a snoozer of a lip sync to a song that's fairly upbeat (although this was a weird version). Step it up, queens. Unfortunately, I kept paying attention to the game I was playing on my phone, so I missed some key introductions. Hopefully I'll learn more names next episode. Hollywood is a standout so far. Flor has great attitude and needs a little more polish on her makeup. Ivory needs to take a few minutes and breathe.

[hatchetgirl]

Boy this cast is a bunch of stinkers! Wow. Disappointing and boring. My husband rewound the choreo section for me because I went to go make myself a cup of tea. That is howcboring it was, I made myself a cup of tea in the middle of the episode. It was almost offensive how bad it was. When asked if anyone knew choreo and they all stood around like deers in headlights. Wow wow wow, so bad. Now, drag race France has great queens but are saddled with terrible lip sync songs, this one had an ok lip sync songs and terrible queens. All 3 should have done the lip sync and those 2 should have gone home!!! Could they be less engaged? It was truly terrible. Ru!!!! Did you not watch the casting videos and instead just picked random names out of the hat? Shame!

[davidcalgary29]

6 hours ago, Rai said:

There seemed to be something pretty retrograde about everyone slamming Ashley Madison for her chest baring. So many queens on RPDR Original Recipe seem to proudly bare a flat chest these days. Maybe because it was a wardrobe malfunction and not a deliberate genderfuck look? But how could they tell...? I dunno, it just seems like a criticism that wouldn't air nowadays.

 

I'm guessing either that Standards and Practices have different Red Zones in Aulstralia, or perhaps RuPaul wanted to ride the retro chic nostalgia of NippleGate. Probably both. The fact that the garments were not fitted properly was a much bigger problem than those nip slips.

[TallulahBelle]

9 hours ago, davidcalgary29 said:

I'm guessing either that Standards and Practices have different Red Zones in Aulstralia, or perhaps RuPaul wanted to ride the retro chic nostalgia of NippleGate. Probably both. The fact that the garments were not fitted properly was a much bigger problem than those nip slips.

Oh no, we don't have problems with nipples or swearing, we're waaaaay less touchy about that stuff down here.  Ru needed to talk more about it being ill fitting and less about the nipples, I think.

Also, not exactly refuting those green screen rumours, yiiiiikers. 

[Mahfouz]

How in the world could Ru keep both queens after that BORING lip sync? 

Also, can't believe we had to watch that WHOLE song being butchered by boring interpretation without any footage of the queens actually recording their tracks. 

May have missed it being talked about but is that an American accent on HollyWould Star? Did she give any background on how she came to Australia?

[davidcalgary29]

12 hours ago, Mahfouz said:

How in the world could Ru keep both queens after that BORING lip sync? 

Also, can't believe we had to watch that WHOLE song being butchered by boring interpretation without any footage of the queens actually recording their tracks. 

May have missed it being talked about but is that an American accent on HollyWould Star? Did she give any background on how she came to Australia?

According to this interview, Hollywould "visited Australia" nine years ago (from NYC) and then decided to relocate.

[davidcalgary29]

Well, that was boring. Couldn't we just have had a double episode of France this week instead?

I know that it's incredibly hard to make a garment in a day, and really wanted to love everyone's work, but the runway was filled both things that were both ugly and tacky. I should probably spout off about how Ivanna's dress belonged nowhere near the bottom -- especially since Michelle seemed to think it good enough that she must be a sewer -- but can't seem to muster the energy, so whatever.

PLUS: I know that Ru just enjoyed Jimbo's boobapalooza, but I'm not understanding the sudden fascination with All Things Breast this season. Ivory's look was fine.

Edited August 5, 2023 by davidcalgary29

[violet and green]

I wouldn't say Ivory's look was fine - she did have one boob massively lower than the other, and the fit of the waistline and the padding used to create the shape of the skirt made her look lumpy - but she didn't deserve to be in the bottom with the amount of truly fugly looks to choose from on that runway. And Ivanna should not have been bottom three.

I was a bit stunned when Flor was safe and Hollywould was in the top, but I guess they want to keep the personalities.

They are an endearing bunch, in general, and so eager to please Ru, I find it really sweet.

[davidcalgary29]

I should have qualified my comment by adding "...in comparison with everything else on the runway!"

I thought Flor's outfit was hideous, even though she accessorized it well.

Someone also needs to sit down and have The Talk with both her and Bumpa, though -- what is GOING ON with their makeup? It's Spankie Jackzon bad! I didn't think that Shrunken Head Chic was in for 2023, but clearly I'm out of the loop. Michelle is doing them no favours by continually passing over these issues.

Edited August 6, 2023 by davidcalgary29

[GingerPudding]

Wow two episodes and no comments. This series is really forgettable. 
 

About Snatch Game - I thought Ashley’s Jesus was really funny but not offensive which is a hard line to find. Isis was good but the rest really sucked.
Bumpa was in the top (?!?) but we hardly saw any of her performance. It felt like we didn’t see much of they other performances which means they were probably awful. 

[davidcalgary29]

3 hours ago, GingerPudding said:

Wow two episodes and no comments. This series is really forgettable. 
 

A depressingly accurate review of the season. I even forgot that this season was airing until a notification popped up the other day!

This Snatch Game was barely mediocre. I found it, like the rest of the season so far, something of a chore to get through. Ru looks bored; the cast looks bored; the constant references to Spankie just underline the fact that DU3 is failing to reach even the low bar set by last season. I will say it again: they really need to alternate this franchise with Canada on a year-to-year basis. 

[violet and green]

I think they just desperately need to move production to Australia, where the production values are stronger, and where surely they can fish more accurately for a good cast.

As I really like Ashley Madison, I enjoyed that episode.

[davidcalgary29]

Well, they certainly need to do something. None of the cast members are really popping for me at the moment; the challenges are tired retreads of everything that we've already seen on multiple franchises, and there is just a distinct lack of energy and excitement in every aspect of this season. Compare and contrast with Drag Race France, which is consistently delightful and has managed to inject fresh ideas into every episode. 

[Wonderlad71]

It was an ok Snatch Game with Isis and Ashley as a clear top 2 and everyone else forgettable. 

And with all the potential Kylie looks it was a really dull runway and duplicates ala Madonna- Kimonogate (RPDR S08).  I kinda wish Ivory Glaze was still here for the runways.

And of all Kylie songs ... Secrets ??? ! I had to wrack my brain which album that was from.

 

 

[davidcalgary29]

The only amusement I'm getting from this series is watching Ru's increasingly grim expression as she contemplates this season in much the same way as one would do, for instance, in planning an arduous trans-Pacific flight back to your fracking paradise in Wyoming.

An okay maxi-challenge (but boringly, yet again, another branding challenge) bookended by an atrocious reading challenge and another Walksynch. Even Ashley barely managed to muster any energy to stumble off of the show. 

I did like Gabriella's verse. Too bad that was only one minute of the show.

[violet and green]

I don't care who wins now.

[davidcalgary29]

I agree, so I guess Hollywould Star will win by default, as she's the only one who seems to be awake at this point. And if she does, this will make the third time that a non-Australian has won Down Under. I didn't know RuPaul hated Australia that much!

[TVbitch]

I'm watching, but oof. None of these queens are remotely funny, which is making it particularly painful. God help us during some kind of roast. I did laugh when the pit crew guy WON the reading challenge.  I was bummed Ashley went. 

Some of the fashion has been okay, like Isis' last look. 

[Wonderlad71]

yes the only saving graces this episode was the runway being relatively good; Gabriella having a cold and the Pit crew winning the mini challenge.

[Mahfouz]

I never thought Rupaul could outdo herself in finding a less charismatic contestant than Qween Kong.

But Rita Menu and Bumpa are just BORING. SO BORING. 

This season is pretty bad. 

[hatchetgirl]

On 8/28/2023 at 6:56 AM, TVbitch said:

I did laugh when the pit crew guy WON the reading challenge. 

That was freaking brilliant and I hope that Ru just stops the shenanigans now.  Just put this season out to pasture...

[violet and green]

Woah! I did not expect that. I wish every episode could have dogs in sparkly capes.

[Ms.Lulu]

I have to say, when they asked Hollywood her age in the confessional and she said, "How old do I look?" I responded 42. 

Since the season started I thought she looked bad for 28.

[TVbitch]

Did they maybe get rid of Hollywood for lying about her age on the application or something? It seemed she was kind of a favorite, tied for the most wins, and then poof she was gone rather unceremoniously. We all know Ru could have saved anyone she wanted (or both) after the lip sync. 

[Mahfouz]

1 hour ago, TVbitch said:

Did they maybe get rid of Hollywood for lying about her age on the application or something? It seemed she was kind of a favorite, tied for the most wins, and then poof she was gone rather unceremoniously. We all know Ru could have saved anyone she wanted (or both) after the lip sync. 

Seems like they brought that whole thing up to have a likely reason for giving her the boot. 

I was wondering if they didn't want an American winning the Down Under title?

[violet and green]

Ru never seemed to warm to Hollywould. Asked for vulnerability and didn't get it, although as a viewer I felt Holly did start to show that in the last couple of eps. Then I'm not sure Hollywould knew the lyrics, and her performance moves were repetitive, while Gabriella was punching out every word and emoting and every time the camera was on the judging panel members their eyes were drawn in a split second from Hollywould back to Gabriella, it was uncanny.

[TVbitch]

Isis was a good all rounder and consistent, and she looked great at the finale, so congrats to her. I like Gabriella, but she was getting a little "entitled to the crown" by the end and it was putting me off. No doubt Flor will be back for some kind of All Stars or AU Vs. the World. Probably Gabriella, too, if for no other reason than Ru and Michelle love saying her name. 

[davidcalgary29]

Just caught up with the last three episodes; boy, was this season boring. I mean, S2 of Down Under wasn't very good, but yikes.

WoW could give so much more to its viewers by giving them a lot less, by which I mean alternating all of these second-tier products on a biannual basis. I could probably do four DR shows per year; anything more is serious overkill, and especially when none of them are really bringing anything new to the table anymore.

[violet and green]

Michelle Visage will be hosting Drag Race Down Under, without Ru Paul. I think this will be an improvement, he never seemed to really get the cultural references, and having a rotating judging panel of local drag queens along with Rhys Nicholson will help.

https://tvtonight.com.au/2024/03/michelle-visage-to-host-drag-race-down-under.html

[violet and green]

Finally. Premieres November 1st.

Meet the cast

 

[Starchild]

I want to participate, but unfortunately Crave hasn't shown DRDU since the end of S2. :(

[TVbitch]

I dunno. For me, that was... a lot of Michelle.

I wonder why they didn't just get a charismatic Aussie queen to host like they do in other countries. 

[TVbitch]

Don't know if I can continue. As host, Michelle has the personality of Siri. She mostly recites Ru's lines verbatim, like an AI robot.  

Then, for Snatch Game, one queen wanted to be Werner Herzog and gave Michelle a sample of his spot-on, droll delivery: "And so, it was after many years of sending girls home that Michelle realized, she had never been home herself." First time I laughed all season. And then MIchelle talked him out it! 

[Ms.Lulu]

 

For me, the Aussie girls are always a bit too b!tc#y. From Scarlett Adams to Hannah Conda to Vybe they seem to pick a target and let them know they are a filler queen. This season it appears to be Nikita Iman.

I hope, like Elektra Shock, Nikita goes far.

Mandy and Nikita did great this week. And all of the queens did well.

So far, nobody has brought charisma. Freya was the closest, but the way she walked this week seemed to lack confidence.

The Netherlands, Sweden and Canada have all given us amazing drag seasons. Does anyone have any insights about Down Under? Is there minimal budget? 

Edited November 25 by Ms.Lulu

[davidcalgary29]

I'm stunned -- this is a great season! Okay, yes, there's Michelle. Too TOO much Michelle, but it's sort of nice not having Ru around.

The Balls are usually some of my favourite challenges, but this episode was probably the weakest of the episodes so far this season. And it wasn't terrible!  I thought that standing O was a bit over the top, though, as I really didn't like the winner's outfit.

Spoiler

It sucks that Lucina was eliminated, but her dress was pretty ugly. I will miss you, Lucina!

 

[MsJamieDornan]

8 hours ago, davidcalgary29 said:

Okay, yes, there's Michelle. Too TOO much Michelle,

Way too much.

[TVbitch]

The last episode, with the acting audition challenge, actually made me laugh. It gave Rhys a bigger role and he played well with the queens. The runway was still pretty sad. And I did NOT agree with the sashaying.  

[Ms.Lulu]

That was the right ending. I think this is the best season of DRDU yet. The talent was at higher level and Michelle was okay.

[TVbitch]

I agree the right queen took the crown. It was a pretty decent season overall. Michelle did loosen up toward the end, but she doesn't have a naturally interesting personality or a quick wit, so I think they could do a lot better if they are permanently replacing Ru.

[7-Zark-7]

I wasn't even going to watch this season (I had stopped after the second) until I found out that one of my favorite Australian queens would be on it. And thankfully, she won!!!  

Overall this season was the best Down Under one I've seen. And all the queens could handle a sewing challenge, which was shocking.

Now if only RuPaul could get over her tendency towards grievances and allow Courtney Act to host, that would be something.