S02.E01: I’m Coming Out: First Time in Drag

[peachmangosteen]

Airs August 12th.

[sugarbaker design]

Wow, this was really bad.  They're copying The Masked Singer here, not revealing the queen's identity until they are eliminated.  Loretta Devine looked and sounded exactly like Loretta Devine.  The rest of the Z-list celebrities I couldn't figure out.  I won't be watching.  Awful format, awfully executed.

Edited August 13, 2022 by sugarbaker design

[howiveaddict]

I must be losing it because the queen who won, I thought would be in the bottom.  

[Stardancer Supreme]

Sigh.  The audio is really bad in this show and they aren't doing a great job of keeping the celebrity "secret" if we wanted to do a little digging.  Plus, the makeup on some of the queens looked horrible on my HD screen.  What, they couldn't afford Raven or Laila McQueen to work on the celebrities?  Maybe only Ru and Michelle get the best makeup, because they looked beautiful.

In terms of performance, I figured it would be Poppy Love or Chik-La-Fay winning the week.  Those were the only two performances I enjoyed.

Wow, Loretta Devine just rolled out of bed for this appearance. I thought that the "before Fabulosity" photo was shade, but that's what she looked like coming into the Werkroom!  I might fast forward this season...

[funnygirl]

I prefer the previous method of Celebrity Drag Race when they took a few and put them through the DR process and challenges for a day, crowning a winner at the end of each ep.

[peachmangosteen]

I enjoyed the hell out of it personally.

The only ones I feel certain of are the one who won, who is AJ from Backstreet Boys, the one in the bottom, who is Tom from the original Queer Eye, and the one who had the stripper pole, who is Justin from Ugly Betty. The others I can’t figure out.

[Ananayel]

Well, that happened. At first I thought it would be three people, and they played with the timeline by showing us the end product, with the rest of the show telling about their journey. But then they kept coming! And if I don't know who they are, and I don't see or hear anything that will help me relate to them, how am I supposed to care? I so much preferred the previous season's format. We got challenges, conversations, seeing the process, and the desire to root for someone. This format is a huge mistake. HUGE.

[MsNewsradio]

1 hour ago, peachmangosteen said:

I enjoyed the hell out of it personally.

The only ones I feel certain of are the one who won, who is AJ from Backstreet Boys, the one in the bottom, who is Tom from the original Queer Eye, and the one who had the stripper pole, who is Justin from Ugly Betty. The others I can’t figure out.

I agree with you on those. Chakra 7 is almost certainly Tatiana Ali, and Chic-Li-Fay is DEFINITELY Kevin McHale from Glee. Pretty sure that Donna Bellissima is Damien from Mean Girls, and Milli Von Sunshine I think may be Jenna Ushkowitz, but the makeup made it very hard to tell on that one, so I'm less sure there. The only one I'm flummoxed on is Electra Owl. 

I enjoyed it, but I also think the format needs tweaking. Masked Singer there's no way to know who someone is until they reveal themselves, but even in full drag some folks are distinguishable. Loretta Devine still looked like herself, but even without that, the SECOND she opened her mouth to speak you knew who she was. I'm not sure why they aren't taking pains to disguise their voices, etc. as well. 

[SemiCharmedLife]

Wow!  Lots of spoilers on here.  There is a spoiler cover if you all want to use it, just in case people want to be surprised.  But, then, there may not be much to talk about if we are not guessing identities.  

The production value is really high- new set and fancy dance numbers, but I agree that it is missing the element of getting to know the contestants and seeing their transformations.  I'll keep watching, but not sure it is meeting my expectations.

[peachmangosteen]

2 hours ago, MsNewsradio said:

I agree with you on those. Chakra 7 is almost certainly Tatiana Ali, and Chic-Li-Fay is DEFINITELY Kevin McHale from Glee. Pretty sure that Donna Bellissima is Damien from Mean Girls, and Milli Von Sunshine I think may be Jenna Ushkowitz, but the makeup made it very hard to tell on that one, so I'm less sure there. The only one I'm flummoxed on is Electra Owl. 

I thought Kevin McHale for Chic-Li-Fay (GREAT name lol) too but then he seemed too young to me to be him plus I didn't think the voice was a total match. He could be slightly disguising it though. I also thought Damien from Mean Girls for Milli Von Sunshine at first but again he just didn't seem to completely match that for me.

[Taeolas]

Watching it now. I don't think the "hidden celebrity" aspect is meant to be taken as seriously as Masked Singer takes it; it's just a side game for viewers to play while the celebrities have their fun on Drag Race, but if people guess/identify everyone before the end, it's no big deal. It's a couple degrees more serious than the hidden celebrity relations on "Claim to Fame", but it's barely in the same ballpark as Masked Singer.  

Overall I did enjoy the first episode. But I do hope they can mix things up in future eps. Snatch Game, the Roast, and the Rusical are classic Drag Race challenges that I would be disappointed if they didn't do.  (And I suspect these Z-listers would be a bit disappointed if they didn't get a chance to do them too) 

At times it does seem they hired the AGT camera people to film this, with all the cuts to Ru and the judges instead of letting us see the choreography of the dance act.  They know how to do inserts, if they want to show the Ruactions, then do it with an insert. There's lots of empty space on the stage to put it in. 

I wonder how obvious the predetermination of the eliminations will be. Last season of Masked Singer it was very obvious that who left each week was decided long before anyone was masked. These guys might be Z-lister enough to be willing to go the distance and let eliminations be more natural. 

It was nice to have a live audience back too.  I've really missed it in the past few Drag Race shows (including Canada and Aussie). 

Oh and it was nice that Brook decided to dry her wigs for tonight. As I mentioned over on CDR thread, she seems to have a bad habit of picking the "unbrushed fresh from the showered" wig hair style that doesn't work for her (or most anyone). 

[Vermicious Knid]

See, I had no idea who Loretta Devine was even after the reveal. Had to look her up and I never watched any of the shows she was on. I enjoyed this and don't expect it to be like the regular seasons. Electra Owl's voice sounds very familiar but I can't quite place it.

My big takeaway from this is that I can't believe someone hadn't used Thirsty Von Trapp as a drag name before.

[zenithwit]

I had no idea that this was getting another season.  So that's cool.  Not sure I'm crazy about format but whatever, I can roll with it for now. 

When they started talking about all 9 celebrity queens performing, I thought we were almost going to get a regular season of Drag Race with workroom scenes, mini and maxi challenges and runway categories.  But instead we got this weird Masked Singer rip off.  Oh well...

I thought Fabulosity/Loretta Devine did a better job embodying her character than some of the other queens.  But maybe she was eliminated first due to the choreography limitations?  (Plus it looks like next week is a dance focused challenge).  

11 hours ago, MsNewsradio said:

The only one I'm flummoxed on is Electra Owl.

I got strong Real Housewives vibes from her.  I don't really watch those shows so I'm not sure which one but only a housewife would be willing to shade Ru that hard on her own show (which was hilarious btw).

Edited August 14, 2022 by zenithwit

[peachmangosteen]

6 hours ago, zenithwit said:

I got strong Real Housewives vibes from [Electra Owl].

Same.

[theatremouse]

Guessing the celebrities based on what you saw in the episode is fine, and not a spoiler. If you know who they are from access to future episodes or reading spoiler sites, those are spoilers and should be behind spoiler tags.

[Sile]

On 8/13/2022 at 12:56 PM, MsNewsradio said:

 The only one I'm flummoxed on is Electra Owl. 

This was the only that I was certain about, except now that nobody else seems to have the same idea I'm second guessing myself.

It's got to be Kelly Ripa.  Doesn't it?  She's tiny, likes to be a smart ass (shading Ru about make up and hair) and from the side I didn't think the makeup covered up her facial features at all.  Straight on, those black whatever they were feather things were kind of distracting, but the side view was quite clear.

[zenithwit]

22 hours ago, Sile said:

This was the only that I was certain about, except now that nobody else seems to have the same idea I'm second guessing myself.

It's got to be Kelly Ripa.  Doesn't it?  She's tiny, likes to be a smart ass (shading Ru about make up and hair) and from the side I didn't think the makeup covered up her facial features at all.  Straight on, those black whatever they were feather things were kind of distracting, but the side view was quite clear.

I could see Electra Owl being Kelly Ripa from a physique point of view.  But I thought Kelly Ripa would be a bit nicer?  I don't know.  Also, Electra Owl was kinda stiff onstage and only had like 2 dance moves.  Kelly is a seasoned performer so I would think she would be a bit more smooth onstage.

Isn't Bethenny Frankel also super petite?  Honestly, she was the first person I thought of when I saw Electra Owl but I wasn't sure if the face matched.  But Bethenny would totallllllly be that shady to the judges.

[theatremouse]

I think Electra Owl is at least 10 years older than Kelly Ripa.

[SHD]

There's no way that Carson doesn't recognize Tom from the original Queer Eye. They've done programs together since then and seem to be real life friends. (I have no definite confirmation that it's Tom, but I'm almost 99.9% certain. I would be shocked if it's anyone else.)

[MsJamieDornan]

Well, I'm going to throw out some guesses.  AJ McLean, Taylor Dane Loretta Divine, those voices were obvious. Also, Melissa Rivers.

Sorry I'm late, just watched the episode and cant remember the names yet.. Another guess that came out of nowhere is Elijah Wood???  The makeup was horrible on almost all of them.

[peachmangosteen]

10 hours ago, MsJamieDornan said:

Another guess that came out of nowhere is Elijah Wood??? 

For who?

[MsJamieDornan]

On 8/13/2022 at 4:27 PM, peachmangosteen said:

thought Kevin McHale for Chic-Li-Fay

Yes, that is a better guess than Elijah Wood. But they have the same eyes.