S07.E06: Wizard Of Wonderland

[Tara Ariano]

The artists work in teams when they take characters from "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" and reimagine them as though they have fallen down the rabbit hole into "Alice's Wonderland."

[Bella]

"No monsters!" Bella says again optimistically.

 

Seriously, this could be great or awful. Fingers crossed!

[Monty]

If there's one thing I'm more sick of than "reimagined Oz characters," it's "reimagined Wonderland characters." But I haven't seen both at once, so I'm kind of curious how this goes.

[Bella]

At least they're not reimagining them as zombies.

[frenchtoast]

Yet. We haven't seen the episode.

[GaT]

If there's one thing I'm more sick of than "reimagined Oz characters," it's "reimagined Wonderland characters." But I haven't seen both at once, so I'm kind of curious how this goes.

Any time I see the word "reimagined" I know there is going to be at least one monster. Why do they have to reimagine everything? Why can't they show us what they can do with a character everybody knows? Hollywood remakes everything, they should be able to create something that is already known.

[leighdear]

I liked most of them, except the ones that sucked.  The ladies really triumphed.  The winged monkey did have a little bit of a Grinch look to her, but I agree that she was mesmerizing.  Plus, she had some of Rachel's purple hair!

 

The woodsman was really nice.  I run a metal shop, so I'm really critical when the artists use paint to create the look of metal, but they really pulled it off nicely.

 

Sasha needs to grow a pair if she wants any success in the biz.  If the overall concept is not yours, but you go along with it anyway, you're equally responsible.  Like driving the getaway car in a bank robbery. 

 

George was hilarious "test driving" the broom for the witch.  He seems to always have such a good time in the work room.  It's nice to see positivity and enthusiasm alongside the usual moaning about stress. 

 

Next week is going to be frightening: Glen in a tank top!

[Ripley68]

Thought everyone except lion people did a pretty good job.  Loved the monkey and tinman, totally agree with judges this time.  So glad they are not doing horror after horror makeup, hate that.  So glad to see whimsy, fun and COLOR!

[GinevradiBenci]

The flying monkey was great and I get why that makeup won, but I really fell in love with the Tin Woodsman. He was swoonworthy and I want a movie starring him right now. I think part of it is that along with the gorgeous makeup, they managed to get him a good costume - it's always better when you can pull together something that looks so good from head to toe.

[kitticup]

Sasha makes me mad. She should be kicked off the show.  She is not trying at all and blaming her partner.  She has ideas but is not sharing them.  She's passive aggressive.  She wants to throw everyone under the bus and not take control.

 

All the others work together and switch the sculpting of the face if it is not working.  She needs to take responsibility and saying I don't like any confrontation to excuse any participation is beyond ridiculous.

[snakenax]

I'm shocked, I really liked all of them except for the cowardly lion and even that only hit average for the show(given the last Wonderland mash up challenge ended up with everything looking awful with a much more talented set of artists my expectations were very low).

[Sharpie66]

As soon as I saw Cowardly Lion as the choice, I immediately went for a mash-up with the Cheshire Cat. If they went with a grin on the Lion's face, and then maybe put some reflective material on the tail to have it begin to disappear, they might have gotten through. Jason was just too desperate to get his monster in there, so he deserved to go.

[GaT]

I agree with the judges this week (nice to see Ve again), but this season is just not catching my interest that much. I didn't even realize they were merging Oz & Wonderland together until the judging because I wasn't paying that much attention. I don't know why, but this is turning out to be more background noise than must see TV for me.

[Iguana]

Okay great. Another non-monster challenge, unless of course you're Jason and insist on it, even though the challenge specifies whimsy color and fantasy. You didn't listen to Mr. West Moore, and for that alone you deserve to go home. As for Sasha, you definitely have two strikes against you. That's twice now you've let a bad concept go through and not challenged your partner, and twice now you've been on the bottom because of it. Well your partners may have deserved to go home for insisting on their bad ideas, but you have to accept responsibility for the work you did and didn't do. You can't win a contest like this being second-worst, and you have to be able to work as an equal partner, not an assistant.

I would've loved to of seen the Cowardly Lion morphing into the Cheshire Cat, or a guest at the mad tea party, or someone invited to play croquet with the red queen. The beaten cowardly lion was boring and unimaginative and even if it had been executed perfectly would still deserve to be the worst make up.

I quite liked the other four make ups this ep. Even though the wicked witch was much more Oz then Wonderland, the face and costumes were quite well done. And despite all of the patches covering up the face sculpt, The scarecrow still looked pretty good and had a very smart concept behind it. And I was very impressed with the tin woodsman and flying monkey. The concepts face Sculps costumes etc. were imaginative and incredibly well executed. Well I would have chosen the woodsman largely because it was just less creepy than the flying monkey I can't deny the monkey was a legitimate winner.

[green]

Judges got it right.  Loved Tinman the best myself but Monkey had the extra pop and good story line so I think it deserved the win contest-wise.

 

I like Sasha and feel sorry she can't say no to the aggressive types she ends up with.  The stubborn dude with her this time just wasn't going to listen even to an alpha male which is probably the only type he will listen to in real life so I don't blame her being unable to stop his insanity.

 

Stubborn dude probably has never worked a day in his life or he would know that if the boss says "we want A" and you ignore them and give them "B" instead you are not gonna get pats on the back.  Just kicks on the backside out the door.  Way not to showcase his talents on this show.  Cause this type of profession is servant to the needs and visions of directors, writers and producers and not the other way around.  You have to work as creatively as you can within their parameters or just go home and play alone with your personal little "hobby" which is all it will be with that attitude.

Edited August 27, 2014 by green

[SirCrimsonFox]

I am so thankful for the judges of this show. One of the worst things I've found about competition shows is the group challenges because there is always an immovable wall with bad ideas that either is the center of drama or everyone just goes with NOT to cause drama. This show, these judges rightly kick that garbage and that attitude off the show. Actually I totally liked Jason in previous weeks and this week I've truly realized the type of contestant that I cannot stand to watch on the show, not for their personality or anything, but for their tunnelvision and closedmindedness. I speak of course of those that can only see makeup through horror films. SUre it's a given that a LOT of people in special effects were entraced by it and came in through a fascination with horror films and effects. However if they cannot veer from this view of makeup then they will be left behind in the 80s with the slasher and demon films. Thus goes Jason, someone so dim and transfixed in his trite desire to make nothing but grotesque that he cannot see that he's not following the challenge correctly even when three people point blank tell it to his face. It was agonizing watching Sasha and I feel for her having to deal with it. I just wish she would have just said "No, this is wrong " and just started going. She could have made a huge glorious mane and actually changed the color pallette... actually here is what I loved and hated about each...

 

 

Cowardly Lion - nothing salvagable when Jason steamrollered the design off a cliff. I've heard of the Lion and Cat mashups...Great. That IS a great pairing. TO accomplish that, then they should have taken the ordinary features of the cheshire cat and turned that grin upside down. The Lion is always frowning and worrying so apply the huge grin inverted to make BIG frown. Then make a lion mane and form but color the whole fur blue and orange. The face of course would definitely need to blend the frown into the model's own mouth. I mean really even with Jason's "let's just make a lion" concept he completely covered the mouth and made it immobile. Big teeth look ridiculous and are very hard. Anyway needed big mouth and big eye effects. Totally enlarged worried brow. Drooping fur.

 

Tin Woodman - Glorious! I agree with the comments about costume. The cape and suit REALLY sold him into wonderland. In fact that was definitely the most wonderland thing about him. I've often wondered who handles the clothes. I imagine a room full of designers working round the clock with the models during the 3 days the makeup is being made. I just had a thought about how the Tinman MAKEUP itself could have been more wonderlandy. Why not turn him into a chess piece. Chess did play a big part in things. COuld have made him the rook on top.

 

 

Flying Monkey - When Flying MOnkey was drawn I thought they were screwed. They got the only character that wasn't even a character. Why didn't they get Glinda? (I shouted). But man they turned in a wonderful concept and design. Very striking and probably the best one of the show so far. The only character I might have crossed the monkey with was the White Rabbit. Having a white monkey flying around with a watch ...now THERE"s a rabbit who won't be late. :) 

 

Scarecrow - I like the patchwork idea but they seemed to lose track of what actual PATCHWORK is. it has to be symmetrical and appealing to the eye to come off instead of just random patches. The face ugh...they even said they were worried about facial features and didn't change anything to save it. They should have made the face one color so that it stood out. Or if the face was patchwork then the suit was not. That kind of distinction. They seemed to marry the mad hatter concept into their deisgn. THey should have gone more with that and incorporated teabags and teacups into the design perhaps. 

 

The Witch - HOW is this witch any different from any other witch we might see in any wizard of oz movie or play? Answer: It wasn't really. Their tornado hair concept was a great one but they really needed to follow through with that. Totally agree on the color choice. The obvious marriage of characters here was Wicked Which to QUeen of Hearts. Give her a red face or Red and WHite face or white with Red and make the dress in the pattern of the witch with the color scheme and playing card style of the queen of hearts. WIth a big heart shaped broom. DOing the torando hair of fiery red. THAT would have been killer. Their work was solid and professional looking. Both are totally skilled. But they really missed out on wonderland. 

 

Judges totally got it right. Still kinda disappointed with this season. People are not blowing us away with style and grace as much as they should. I really blame the timelimits for some of it. It's ridiculous how much they have to do and when one thing goes wrong it sets them back in every other thing. Granted that time management and troubleshooting are also skills that are judged here obviously. But I want to be wowed more like I was with the flying monkey. We need more flying monkeys :)

[Linderhill]

I'm getting more tired of Sasha and her whining and passive aggressive crap.  I don't like confrontation either but when Westmore told them that it was all wrong, that was her chance to push her concept, not whine because this was her dream challenge, etc.  I think I preferred the two times we were subjected to Alana and her regular panic attacks more than this whining.

[frenchtoast]

I got more irked at Jason because if you don't like whimsy let the person that does have the concept. Don't be an entitled baby about it, be thankful that you have a teammate that is thrilled to be working. (And strategy wise, if it goes badly, it's their fault and you've skated through a challenge.) But given how the message women receive is don't be bossy or demanding or you're a bitch, I can see why Sasha didn't push it. I hope she learns from Ve and Lois that it's not being bitchy being right and you can balance team work and leadership. But, if this is Sasha's way of eliminating competition, she's brighter than I giver her credit for.

 

I loved the Tin Woodsman. That was awesome but if the witch had the criticism of not having Wonderland, the Tin Woodsman didn't have anything other than costume. I don't know how you'd change the look of the Tin Man without losing the essence of Tin Man. It would have been interesting, maybe, to have him change to more human? Regardless, it was an excellent job. Most of them did a great job, even if they didn't mash up all that much.

[Primetimer]

Oz and Wonderland are both weird places. What if they both happened at the same time? Something weird, probably.

Read the story

[Gentian root]

An easy save for the lion would be to do something with the mane, ala the permanent he gets in Emerald City.

[morakot]

If we're going from the books, I think merging the witch with the mock turtle would be great. She could even stay green-ish, just add floppy cow ears and a shell. Or, if you had to do the queen, you could give her a pig baby to hold.

[LoneHaranguer]

 

I like Sasha and feel sorry she can't say no to the aggressive types she ends up with.

The judges called it last week when they said Sasha needs to be more confident. She's always in the top when she works by herself, but is afraid to stand up to a partner. I don't think she wants to be to blame for a bottom look that could get her partner sent home. Teaming up with better partners would help, but she doesn't have the confidence to even do that.

[marieYOTZ]

She did well partnered with Stella for the twisted tree challenge, i think they were probably pretty like-minded on their direction on that one. It seems to be when she has partners who think too differently from her, she just lets herself get washed away.

Man though, when she was having her "it's not pretty" whine fest, and the guy was like "you want to do something pretty?" and she was like "No. It's creepy" - i was like "now you're just being a petulant brat!" God that was annoying

[bookworm]

My word, I'm watching this ep VOD and I just heard one of the scarecrow guys saying: well, we decided to have a mask, so we're just going to have to make it work!  For a moment I had a vision of a mash-up, trainwreck crossover show with makeup and costumes.  Can you imagine Glenn and Michael Kors on the same show?  Or Glenn and Nina?  I could totally see Zac and Lois Burwell, they are both so calmly straightforward and blunt it would be a joy to watch.  The Face Off judges are so much nicer and truly constructive and helpful to their contestants; the Project Runway people would be flabbergasted to receive actual concrit and not "I hate it.  It sucks." with no elaboration.  

 

I think this show is great because they specifically asked for whimsical and not zombie/monster characters.  I love it when they push the contestants to not get stuck in horror mode.  Remember the chest of drawers and the cello-person from the Tim Burton challenge?  I love it when they stretch.  On the note of whimsy, Sasha deserves a special mention.  I like her but I'm sorry, this is twice that you know for a fact that your partner isn't following the challenge at all and you just roll along while only grousing in your TH segments.  If you can't stand up for yourself, how can you function in a competitive industry?  The judges are right to toss the steamrollers, especially since this is essentially a several week job interview, but if you can't bring your talent to the table and participate in planning how can a SFX department use you?

 

ETA: This special "Judges Face Off" sounds wonderful and the bookworm family will be front and center to watch.  I also can't wait to see some of the old faves like Roy and Laura.  Wish Tate would be there, though, he just exudes joy that he gets to create toys to play with.

Edited August 27, 2014 by bookworm

[sandwoman]

To answer why they set up the challenge at Sony Studios, the current Sony lot is the old MGM lot, and where they shot the Wizard of Oz. Around Culver City (where Sony is) there's a lot of Wizard of Oz related stuff. So ... I assume that was the concept but probably they couldn't mention it on-air because of some legal issues that came up.

[snakenax]

 

She did well partnered with Stella for the twisted tree challenge, i think they were probably pretty like-minded on their direction on that one. It seems to be when she has partners who think too differently from her, she just lets herself get washed away.

I wouldn't be surprised if it also simple came down to the other two were guys and Stella is a woman. At least IME, a lot of women who have issues talking to/with guys don't with women, which is compounded by that women often need to put out extra effort just to be heard with a guy.

[Sharpie66]

The one thing I am really enjoying this time around is the fact that the women are, on the whole, really kicking ass! Even Sasha does well when she isn't being steamrollered. I wouldn't be surprised if more men left in the next few rounds.

[Merneith]

Jason needed to go. He walked out the door still not understanding what he did wrong. But I would have been happier if they'd sent Sasha home, too. What a useless woman. Thank goodness the rest of the ladies are making some proper noise. I like George a lot, too, "Making Witches".

[Darian]

I wanted the teacups from the opening! Then I hoped they got to keep theirs, but since they were in teams, that wouldn't work (I saw them in the workroom so who knows). But what a fun way to reveal their character.  

George was hilarious "test driving" the broom for the witch.  He seems to always have such a good time in the work room.  It's nice to see positivity and enthusiasm alongside the usual moaning about stress. 

So much fun! And I get the feeling he would act exactly the same if there were no cameras around. I get that feeling from most of the competitors, actually. Besides how positive they all are, and how they help each other, there is precious little (if any) playing to to the cameras. It's refreshing.  

Edited August 27, 2014 by Darian

[drmka9]

The woodsman and the monkey were both really good. The woodsman was absolutely gorgeous, while the monkey is probably the best example of whimsical-creepy you could come up with. I liked the idea behind the scarecrow - especially the neon 'hay' they stuffed him with - they just went way too far with it. The shoulder thing they built for the costume didn't read at all, either. 

 

Sasha and Jason were just painful together. I don't think a more forceful partner would have changed Jason's mind at all, but I'm also finding Sasha's passive-aggressive 'whine about things I won't try to change' schtick pretty old. She can do great work, though, so I think the right person ultimately went home.

[Kaoteek]

Finally a week that was both enjoyable & convincing. How refreshing. Loved both the monkey & the tinman, didn't particularly enjoy the witch (nicey done, but generic) or the overly busy Scarecrw, and sighed at Sasha, Jason, and their weak creation.

 

I'm quite intrigued for next week's "Vee vs Glenn vs Neville w/ added veterans in a fight to the death !" show.

Edited August 27, 2014 by Kaoteek

[needschocolate]

I wouldn't be surprised if it also simple came down to the other two were guys and Stella is a woman. At least IME, a lot of women who have issues talking to/with guys don't with women, which is compounded by that women often need to put out extra effort just to be heard with a guy.

 

I think it was that Men from Mars, Women from Venus book that pointed out that women look for suggestions and men look for answers.  So when I woman asks which shoes to wear with her dress, another woman would debate the pros and cons of the strappy blue sandals vs the peep toe ivory pumps, but a man would say "wear the blue ones."  Conversely, when a man asks where to hang the towel bar, a woman may point out that near the door is good for waching your hands, but another wall would be better if you have taken a shower.  The man asking just wants to be told where it goes and if he knew where to put it, he would have just put it there and wouldn't have asked. 

 

If this theory is correct,  when Sasha and Stella were discussing their character, they each gave suggestions and tried to merge their favorite ideas.  And when Sasha discussed the character with male partners, she gave suggestions "maybe we should..." and "what do you think about ..." meanwhile the guys were thinking "You don't have an answer so we will go with my idea." Unfortunately, both of her male partners had crappy ideas. 

 

Assuming the theory is correct and applies here, the men should learn to have a little more give and take, and the women need to learn to be more adamant or forceful about what they think is best.  Most women can do this, but Sashi is not one of those women.  She doesn't like confrontation and she defines confrontation as saying anything other than agreeing with the other person, no matter how small their differences are. 

 

That said, Jason wanted to make a monster and I think the only way his character wasn't going to be a monster is if his partner did the sculpt and the make up 

 

Edited to clarify - I don't mean to imply that men can't help being pushy and demanding or that women can't help being walked over (one of the worst steamrolling we have seen on this show was with Autumn, a female, steamrolling Eric).  I was more speculating that perhaps Sasha made more suggestions than we heard, and perhaps Jason, in his great desire to make a monster, interpreted her suggestions as "she doesn't know what to do, so I will decide."  And that perhaps, Stella would have taken Sasha's suggestions as true suggestions.  However, given what we have seen from Sasha, it is also likely that her suggestions, if there were more of them, were very timidly made - instead of "they told us to be whimsical and I don't see the whimsy in your design" she might have said "maybe it should be more whimsical. No? Okay." 

Edited August 28, 2014 by needschocolate

[Bella]

Jason was in the wrong season in his mind, I think. He was used to watching them make monsters, and he wanted to make monsters, too.

 

He was an idiot for not realizing that Mr. Westmore has great advice 95% of the time. Mr. W is better than Tim Gunn in that respect.

 

But he wanted to make a monster, while blending the Cowardly Lion and the Cheshire Cat would have been so easy! Sasha needs to grow a spine and learn how to communicate with men (see post above), but Jason really didn't get it in the first place. He was cannon fodder, and it was time for him to go.

[seacliffsal]

Overall I really enjoyed this episode.  As always, Mr. Westmore gives really good advice.  As for Jason and Sasha?  I wish Sasha had gone home.  She said that she told Jason her idea of pretty and whimsical.  Umm, that's not a concrete idea and if she couldn't give him anything more specific, of course he's going to push through his idea.  She seems very passive-aggressive.  Her criticisms were in her THs and not directly to Jason.  Really, either of them leaving is fine, but she isn't the victim she portrays herself as either.

[CherZ]

Really, either of them leaving is fine, but she isn't the victim she portrays herself as either.

Jason needed to go home. It was his concept and it sucked.

 

However, I totally agree with you that Sasha isn't a victim here. She doesn't even speak up about anything. You can blame the so-called "alpha males" all you want but she doesn't have the conviction to even suggest anything. So she says "okay' and that's it. The whiny passive-aggressive thing was annoying too.

 

I don't like Sasha's little girl schtick but I do think she has a great eye for design. She needs a backbone, especially in a business where they are going to ask for certain things, and you have to work with a team to create them.

[hincandenza]

This was a week of 2 really good costumes, 2 decent but conceptually flawed costumes, and 1 train wreck (well, it looked like a perfectly sellable Hallowe'en costume, but that's not a success on this show).  No surprises this week, and I like when a contestant is so bad that it gives everyone else an effective week off. :)  I refuse to believe that during last looks, all the contestants including Sasha and Jason didn't already suspect who would be in the bottom.

Drew and George, Witch: George continues to delight, and their “Making Witches” song (I think Monty was dead on that it was a “Nightmare before Christmas” homage) was another comic moment.  This is, again, what I love about this show: people are good at what they do, they mostly have a positive and professional, helpful attitude, and that's just damned FUN in a sea of so much angry-making reality TV.  That said, it wasn’t bad, but some of the ideas didn’t really come through and it lacked the “Wonderland” flourish.  That actually makes sense; both George and Drew, when I look at their history on this show, are always in the “safe” group: not terrible, but not excellent, basically every week.  So naturally, they turned out a safe, competent, and wholly unremarkable piece.

 

 

Cig and Damien, Scarecrow: This costume exemplified the idea that everyone needs an editor.  Their skills are not in doubt, but way too many ideas, all crammed together, into a chaotic mess.  The costume part was reasonably well done, but as we here and the judges hammered on repeatedly, the face was completely lost.  Even the close-up on the SyFy gallery, it’s hard to even see the face.  I’m also kind of surprised they didn’t look towards “The Wiz” for a little inspiration on a jazzed up cowardly lion; they should have had a cleaner scarecrow face to “pop” the features, and then the technicolor clothing would have worked much better.  I also don't think they had a backstory like the two top looks, the Flying Monkey and the Tin Woodsman, which likely impacted the clarity of their vision.

 

Dina and Stella, Flying Monkey: LOVED the winged monkey, yet during fabrication I thought I’d hate it.  It had BEAUTIFUL concepts all executed cleanly.  The vivid green eyes, the playing card wings, the brilliant idea to have the head transformed into a Jester’s hat, and a truly creepy expression.  Which is perfect: the flying monkeys were evil little beasties, and working for the Red Queen isn’t going to make them all sunshine and rainbows.  A stellar design this week, and I can’t really pick on any thing as falling short.  Well… okay, I didn't love the nose, and the lack of surrounding fur to create that classic "monkey" face silhouette along with that silly putty flesh tone made the head a little too “Ferengi from Star Trek” for my liking.

 

As an aside; I’m always baffled when people fabricate things like... oh, say, a deck of playing cards, or metal typewriter pieces, etc.  Maybe they're just bad at getting the right things, but why not have props just buy an oversized deck of actual cards, and save yourself time?  It didn't affect the outcome this week, but you’d think these people would be looking for every possible angle to save precious minutes.  One hopes that on night one back at the house, everyone is planning out their next two days in minute detail. Reflect on and refine your design especially with Westmore's feedback and the challenge parameters, and recognize what you can still alter for the better.  Write on sticky notes each component in your creation, the techniques involved, the estimated work time, and the risks (and ask around if you're fairly new to a technique and wouldn't even know about, say, the risks of "delaminating" with a certain molding compound), then put them in chronological order to see how your day should go, and then follow that schedule during the day so you don't rathole on a needlessly detailed minor piece, or start on a mold too late to get it cast before time is called.  If you're really thorough, you'd also budget your time with ranking of the components, so you know what unimportant detail can be discarded, along with a backup plan if any one component fails to work out.  I mean, I'm sure they do this to some extent, but you'd think there'd be less surprises than we see, or less of people like Gwen a few weeks ago spending an inordinate amount of time on an unimportant detail.

 

Oh, and it was also odd that Dina said it felt “great to finally win”, since she won the very first challenge.  Granted, I guess by the show’s criteria, that wasn’t an actual “Face Off” challenge but the final audition, yet still… she’s the only person to win twice, and she's been safe every other week except one bottom look, so not sure why she’d say that, like she's been on the cusp of elimination this whole time.

 

 

Keaghlan and Rachael, Tin Woodsman: Libido first, Rachael’s still smoking hot, and still competent enough that she should be around for a while, so I can selfishly have my eye candy.  :)  I think I said a couple of weeks ago or so that she, George, and Cig are my early-ish picks for going far in the competition, and this week all three showed why: there’s no drama or panic with them, not with Rachael, or Keaghlan for that matter.  And looking at the results on Wiki, Keaghlan also has not seemed noteworthy, yet been quietly putting together a great season as well: three top looks including one win, and only one bottom look appearance.  I thought their makeup was solid, although I can see why it didn’t win: I didn’t see any real breakthrough elements, just a clean, competent “Bicentennial (Woods)Man” makeup. 

 

Jason and Sasha, Cowardly Lion: Wow, I got a lot to say about this, so sorry for the verbal spew.  Let me start with Jason.  Bottom looks in that first Sudden Death show.  Bottom looks in week 2, safe in week 3, a win and top look with Doc in week 4… yet the next week Doc would go home, and this week Jason goes home. So he had one good week, but otherwise nothing but mediocrity or outright failures; he was all in all, an unremarkable and inexperienced contestant, way too focused on the horror movie mask style and unable to adapt.  Absolutely the right boot this week, since his departure has been coming for some time now.

 

Sasha, now… she’s arguably had just as good a run as any contestant this year: she's been in top looks every single week but two, and both of those times with partners that went home.  She whines an AWFUL lot, so you’d never guess she’s been consistently well reviewed by the judges, and almost always safe.  We've seen that behavior with other contestants in past seasons; it’s not a gender thing, but a professional thing.  The arts is not known for being a tame place; fellow artists and arts employers are fickle and temperamental and demanding, so she better develop confidence, a thick skin, and an ability to develop and then push for her ideas, or she won’t last in this business outside of the show.

 

I see some people implying that Jason was being too “dominant”, or that Sasha can’t be blamed for not pushing past a MAN (gasp!), but I’m not buying that on this show.  This isn't "Survivor"; the men on this show are not this season nor in other seasons “steamrolling” any female contestants, or vice versa, nor would this show encourage or support that in any way.  What many of us seem to love about this show is that we see a group of capable, skilled professionals who respect each other and freely offer vital assistance to their competitors in the heat of "battle"- regardless of gender, age, race, current standing, or experience.

 

However, we do occasionally see one person in a team be far more vocal and pushy on what is a lame design, and their partner yield to that too easily, resulting in failure.  But that’s been seen between two male contestants, two female contestants, and with mixed pairs.  It’s not some “alpha male” worship by people like Jason (if that was the case, both Jason, and Barry before him, would have listened to clear alpha male Michael Westmore’s blunt “Yeah, no, this is a disaster” advice), but rather contestants choosing to be too passive, likely as a way to deflect blame when they realize they don’t actually have a great concept either.

 

This is not unique to Face Off; this behavior is seen all the time on other shows and in real life- for example like “Survivor”, where’s there’s always that 5th place player who has convinced themselves that simply not doing anything is somehow not making just as active a decision as explicitly politicking and trying to swing votes… and then is surprised to find themselves booted because they didn’t risk making some kind of move.  I think the only time I’ve seen someone on Face Off passively surrender control and have that be the absolute right choice for them was Season 4, when quiet Eric Z. pretty much rolled over rather than try to do the impossible and tame Hurricane Autumn, the week she went home.

 

Sasha appears to lack confidence- against reason or recent experience- and thus probably sees her fate as controlled more by external forces than her own talent and drive.  While her sculpting and painting is actually quite good, that’s nothing if they aren’t in service to a cohesive vision, and this habit of slipping into passive talking head confessionals while she avoids actively attempting to improve or change a design when there’s still time is going to be her downfall.  She's mostly run out of weak, talentless partners to shield her.  If her next partnership is with someone like Cig, or George, or Keaghlan or Rachael, and she plays this game… she may be shocked to find herself ousted.

 

One last note on scheduling: we’re now down to 9 contestants (with a judge's save technically still in play) and Wikipedia and SyFy both seem to confirm only 11 episodes (possibly 12), ending in “Teacher’s Pets” on September 30th.  With next week being a “bye” week with the Judge Match, that means unless we start losing multiple people a week, we’ll have 6 or maybe 5 people in the finale.  I’m curious how this will go down, since shows tend to do the multiple cuts early on, when you have more disposable mediocre contestants, and not late in the game where I can see maybe a surprise double eliminations, but not two or three.

[mlp]

 

Sasha appears to lack confidence- against reason or recent experience- and thus probably sees her fate as controlled more by external forces than her own talent and drive.

 

I think that's a fair assessment.  Even so, she's annoying and I was hoping both she and Jason would be sent home.  She needs some maturity before she'll succeed in that business.

 

Speaking of which..................... Every time I see on the screen that Rachael is 24 y/o, I think that must be a typo.  She looks like she's at least 40 to me and I can't see a woman that young in her no matter how hard I stare at her. 

 

To my surprise, I've grown to like Cig despite his goofy facial hair and hats.  He, George and Damien seem talented as do Stella and Dina whom I've liked from the start.

Edited August 28, 2014 by mlp

[needschocolate]

I loved the way the flying monkey was able to display such a wide range of emotion - angry face, surprised face, etc.  I don't recall any character in other seasons able to make so many faces with so much foam on their faces. 

[Minerette]

Sony Studios is part of the old MGM backlot in Culver City where The Wizard of Oz was filmed, so it makes sense to have it celebrated there. Most of the rest of the old backlot is now condominiums.

[Biosynth]

I got so angry when Jason announced that they were going to do something emaciated and horrific.  Ug!  And then get bewildered that he was cut?  Dude, here's a clue, when you go to work with a supervisor and they tell you they want something fluffy and pretty, you give them fluffy and pretty, not horror because that is your true passion.

 

The parameters of the challenge was whimsical.  Not horror.  Sheesh, get a clue!

 

Having said that, I too thought the Tinman was swoonworthy.  Wow, beautiful makeup and the model really got characteristic Tinman moves down!  Just like Jack Haley's mannerisms from the movie!

[Aethera]

"Making witches! Making witches!" was completely awesome.  And yes, definitely Nightmare Before Christmas.

 

George is still my favorite.  Riding the broom too!  I'm sorry their design didn't turn out better.  The judges were right, it didn't reflect the Wonderland part.  I'm glad there were worse designs this week.

 

Sasha, please to shut up. I mean, I thought Jason was way off, but the ultra-whiny way she wanted to tell him about it absurd. Once Michael Westmore said what she was thinking, that was when she needed to step up, not just be all teary about it. Instead she's sulking visibly and forcing him to ask why, which is one of my pet peeves. "I like pretty things, ours isn't pretty."  Really?

 

But yes, Jason's idea was terrible. It looked the worst up there. Not anything like what the challenge wanted. The attempt to bring the Cheshire Cat in with the stripes came out of nowhere, and was the best idea I heard, though obviously it didn't work. If that guy had been purple and pink, it would have worked. Jason doesn't even get it when the judges are talking to him about it.

 

Stella and Dina's was awesome.  The Tin Man, I feel like it wasn't Wonderland enough, but it was a great looking makeup and definitely second place out of the looks. The Scarecrow was way too busy, but I did like the concept at least.  The judges were spot on with most comments.

 

Mackensie's dress...yeesh. Her dad totally designed that in 1987, didn't he.  That was straight off the Fashion It So tumblr.

 

ETA: "Nobody gets Dorothy because she is boring." - So true, Monty.

Edited August 28, 2014 by aethera

[Nutjob]

I could see nothing in that "Cowardly Lion" but "werewolf." When Ve compared it to Teen Wolf I felt totally vindicated. Heh.

 

Also, I love George. He seems like he'd be a hoot to work around, and has such a great attitude.

Edited August 28, 2014 by Nutjob

[ratgirlagogo]

 

As an aside; I’m always baffled when people fabricate things like... oh, say, a deck of playing cards, or metal typewriter pieces, etc.  Maybe they're just bad at getting the right things, but why not have props just buy an oversized deck of actual cards, and save yourself time?

Yes, this is just what I was thinking too,  and to not just save time, but the weight?  I instantly loved the playing cards as wings idea, but as she was making the cards I started to get afraid they would end up being too heavy and unwieldy to function on the wings - kind of the way that the weeping willow model on the tree challenge ended up being unable to balance the branches when walking.  Maybe it's better to fabricate as many parts of your makeup as possible in terms of the judging?

 

ETA: "Nobody gets Dorothy because she is boring." - So true, Monty.

Yay, Monty! and just what Mr Rat and I said.    Although I would have liked to see a mashup of Toto and Alice's kitten Snowdrop.

Edited August 28, 2014 by ratgirlagogo

[April Bloodgate]

Yes, this is just what I was thinking too,  and to not just save time, but the weight?  I instantly loved the playing cards as wings idea, but as she was making the cards I started to get afraid they would end up being too heavy and unwieldy to function on the wings - kind of the way that the weeping willow model on the tree challenge ended up being unable to balance the branches when walking.  Maybe it's better to fabricate as many parts of your makeup as possible in terms of the judging?

I just assumed that they weren't allowed to use anything prefabricated except for raw materials (fabric, foam, etc.). But I've only watched this season, so I don't really know all the rules.

[Monty]

I just assumed that they weren't allowed to use anything prefabricated except for raw materials (fabric, foam, etc.). But I've only watched this season, so I don't really know all the rules.

That's what I thought at first, but the Scarecrow had premade playing cards in his hat (here). So either there were a limited number of cards or they just really wanted foam rather than cardstock.

[Nutjob]

They might just be relegated to what the show has on hand (I'm assuming they have some sort of storehouse of props and costumes) or whatever they can get quickly. If they can't get it, then the contestants have to make it.

[minirth]

I really think they started with 4 too many contestants. We're finally getting down to a good group, and I enjoy episodes with fewer contestants because we get more time with each. I don't miss anyone who has been eliminated -- they need to tighten things up next season.

I'm enjoying the positive, fun atmosphere in the shop this season and the minimum of drama.

[bilgistic]

Was there some kind of copyright issue barring them from saying "woodSman"? It was "woodman" the entire episode, like someone's last name. "This is Tim Woodman. He works in HR."

[Bella]

From an aesthetic standpoint, my favorite was the tin woodsman. They really needed that particular model to pull it off, imo, because he's got such a large jaw and an overall angular look. However, I didn't think it was all that Wonderland-y. So I agree with the judges in picking that awesome flying monkey/jester. 

 

Jason annoyed me, so I'm glad he's gone. And as many others have said, Sasha needs to learn to speak up for herself. The whining was annoying, especially after Mr. W's critique gave her the perfect opening to step in and take over.

[Portia]

Finally got to see it last night, and it was my favorite episode of the season thus far. There was some good, creative thinking going on, even when the execution wasn't perfect. LOVE all the intelligent discussion on this thread.

 

I'm soooo glad Jason is gone. Is shallow for me to say that I'm glad i don't have to look at his homely mug any more? Dude, you work in a field where it's not unusual for guys to wear makeup. Go for it. 

 

I'm beyond sick of Sasha's childish passive aggression. And if I were a potential employer, I would totally pass her over to hire someone with a bit less talent but a less poisonous personality. Am I imagining things, or is her voice getting worse? I wish I could meet her in person only so I could apply the technique I used when my little kids were whining:  "Use a normal voice. My ears can't hear you when you talk that way." 

 

I was tickled pink to see Drew and George on a team together. They're my two favorite contestants, and in both looks and personality they make me think of my two sons-in-law to an eerie degree. Couple-a cuties, they are. 

 

I squealed with glee at the announcement of the judge competition next week. And now I'm imagining what kind of work clothes I'd like to see that hottie Neville sporting. 

Edited August 29, 2014 by Portia