S02.E09: Disco Balls and Clue Walls / S02.E10: Needle in a Haystack

[peachmangosteen]

Airs August 28th. Season finale.

[Gemma Violet]

I had sadly resigned myself to Chris not winning, but at least he came close.  Glad Monay didn't win, though.  She was too smug the entire show.  I guess having a relative who's not a big household name lulled her into a false sense of security, although she referred to him as "legend."  Uh, not quite, Monay.

[Thalia]

If they hadn't identified him as the "Caesar's Palace guy" I'd still have no idea.  Compared to some of the other relatives (a President, a multi-Oscar winner, DOLLY) it isn't all that surprising that Monay made it so far.   I was shocked it took them so long to figure out Chris's connection.  But then again, I was part of the target audience for "Puppy Love" back in the day.  

[Gemma Violet]

1 minute ago, Thalia said:

I was part of the target audience for "Puppy Love" back in the day.  

Me, too.  Even if Chris wouldn't be a twin of Donny, the "puppy love '70s teen idol" clue was more than enough for most people.  Well, most people not on the show, lol.

[Guest]

I find interesting that these three were the final three. I was only vaguely aware of Donny Osmond, Nick Cannon and JB Smoove until season 1 of the Masked Singer. I hadn’t paid much attention to any of them until that point. So Gabe, Monay and Chris being the final three is bizarre to me since they all tie to a single episode of Masked Singer. It also meant they all could have recognized each others celebrity if they were paying attention. 

I was happy with the final two because they played the best game. They didn’t give away too much information. Chris was a good player for the most part but he didn’t know enough about pop culture to have a shot. I thought it was interesting he immediately went to the guy from Masked Singer who beat his dad but not the host of the show. 

[Gemma Violet]

Donny posted this on his Instagram:
 

Quote

For those of you who've been watching the ABC reality show, Claim to Fame, I thought my son, Chris, did an amazing job! He made that show so interesting because no one could guess which celebrity he was related to.

I'm proud of my son.
Signed,
Nicholas Cage.
I mean, Elvis Presley.
I mean, Jim Carrey.
I mean, John Mayer
I mean, Elton John.
I mean, Billy Idol.
I mean, Little Richard.
I mean, Ozzy Osbourne.
I mean, Paul McCartney.
I mean, John Travolta.
I mean, Sting .
I mean, Garth Brooks.
I mean, Donny Osmond. 

Chris, you're a star!

PS. I don't like that lunchbox anymore! 

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cwg51wxsAdR/

[Guest]

I wish the final episodes of this show didn't feel like such a foregone conclusion. There's been a clear hero of the season each time (Gabe and LC), and once they win the final challenge with all its power, it makes the rest of the episode kind of a slog to get through because you can see what's coming a mile away. I guess they tried to maintain some suspense with whether or not Gabe actually knew who Monay's relative was, but with all of her super-confident queen talk and so on, it seemed really clear that she (like Chris before her) was being set up as the loser.

It does seem like they all really like each other, and drop their game faces as soon as it's over.

[Shelbie]

I enjoyed both seasons and would watch another one.

[tinkerbell]

Something bothered me. When they brought back all the past contestants for the haystack challenge,  had they gone back home? What would have stopped them from going online and figuring out all the connections, and telling whichever player they wanted to win? Or did this all take place at an accelerated timeline, and they were sequestered somewhere?

[peachmangosteen]

3 minutes ago, tinkerbell said:

Something bothered me. When they brought back all the past contestants for the haystack challenge,  had they gone back home? What would have stopped them from going online and figuring out all the connections, and telling whichever player they wanted to win? Or did this all take place at an accelerated timeline, and they were sequestered somewhere?

Kevin/Franklin said they had been sequestered.

[Grammy6]

I think the lesson learned this year is don't listen to someone like Jane.  She exuded confidence, and because she was older,  and seemed knowledgable, the young folks trusted her.   She pushed wrong information before being wrong about Chris, and then, again, on her return.  Gabriel out and out lied throughout the show, but Jane just didn't know what she was talking about when she pushed her theories as facts.  Moral of the story, never listen to Jane. 

 

[Guest]

13 minutes ago, Grammy6 said:

I think the lesson learned this year is don't listen to someone like Jane.  She exuded confidence, and because she was older,  and seemed knowledgable, the young folks trusted her.   She pushed wrong information before being wrong about Chris, and then, again, on her return.  Gabriel out and out lied throughout the show, but Jane just didn't know what she was talking about when she pushed her theories as facts.  Moral of the story, never listen to Jane. 

 

Jane was right about J. B. Smoove for Monay, though. It was Carly who steered Chris away from that with Jay Pharaoh. And she did have the grace to admit she was way off about Gabe in the end and apologize to Chris (pretty sure she said "sorry"). So I'll give her credit for that.

I did notice, however, when Chris was in conference with Karsyn and Carly, Jane came in all "I was wondering why you weren't talking to me, so I was listening in." She was loving being the authority that everyone wanted/needed to consult and couldn't wait to share her wisdom.

[tinkerbell]

1 hour ago, peachmangosteen said:

Kevin/Franklin said they had been sequestered.

Thanks, I missed that.  They had no access to internet?  I'd love some behind-the-scenes info on how this show works. Like, what the time frame from start to finish is, how do they recruit people, etc.

I am also interested,  did Monay know Gabriel's relative was nick cannon? Or was she still convinced it was Terry crews?

I'm laughing over, "don't trust Jane". She always seemed so confident of her guesses. Like she was 100% sure Chris was related to Elvis.

 

[seacliffsal]

I thought the lunchbox for Donny Osmond was way more of a clue than a turban for Gabe and glasses for Monea.  Of course, I've been aware of Donny since the 60s and not so much for the other two.  I liked Gabe and am happy for his win, but I don't like bringing all of the others back as they will try to help their favorites/friends and redirect the others.  Bring them in for the final guess-off, but I felt they had too much influence in both seasons.  Still very interesting that Carly did not get a video from her relative (and in my mind it's understandable why Hugo didn't as President Carter is in failing health).

Some very famous relatives this season.  And a couple not so famous.

I like it better when both Jonas brothers are there and not just Franklin on his own.

Overall?  I enjoy this show and hope that there's another season next summer.

[ItsHelloPattiagain]

I so thoroughly enjoyed this season. I think if they hadn't seen the Donny and Marie lunchboxes, Monay wouldn't have known Chris' identity (and going back to the 70s, at least at my school, there was a huge rivalry between the people who liked the Osmonds and the ones who liked the Jackson 5 - so for Monay and Gabriel to be guessing Donny Osmond was weird to me). And put me in the boat of those happy with a Gabriel win. 

[Guest]

16 minutes ago, tinkerbell said:

Thanks, I missed that.  They had no access to internet?  I'd love some behind-the-scenes info on how this show works. Like, what the time frame from start to finish is, how do they recruit people, etc.

I am also interested,  did Monay know Gabriel's relative was nick cannon? Or was she still convinced it was Terry crews?

 

Since every vote and guess seems to be happening at night and all there is in between is one challenge, my guess is each episode takes a day of real time. So a little over a week for the whole season. For recruiting, they aired an ad during this episode soliciting applicants, but I'm sure that's not the only method they use.

I think Gabe's relative was the only one whose name was never actually uttered  out loud until the final reveal after he won. So we don't know for 100% sure if Monay really knew it was Nick Cannon, but I believe that she did. It was Chris who seemed to be leaning toward Terry Crews.

[Guest]

8 minutes ago, tracyscott76 said:

I think Gabe's relative was the only one whose name was never actually uttered  out loud until the final reveal after he won. So we don't know for 100% sure if Monay really knew it was Nick Cannon, but I believe that she did. It was Chris who seemed to be leaning toward Terry Crews.

Monay brought him up as a possibility in the last episode but whoever she was talking to (JR, I think) immediately shot it down. I agree she knew once Masked Singer was confirmed to be a Gabe clue. 

[peachmangosteen]

23 minutes ago, tracyscott76 said:

It was Chris who seemed to be leaning toward Terry Crews.

This reminded me of him saying, ‘yea we knew,’ when Franklin/Kevin asked if anyone knew after the Nick Cannon reveal, continuing his tendency to yell out ‘I knew it,’ when he actually didn’t lol.

The finale was anti-climatic, as was the the first season’s finale, but I’m glad the F2 was Monday/Gabriel and that Gabriel won.

[Grammy6]

I never understood the obsession with reality competition shows, and never watched any of them until Claim to Fame.  I became obsessed with this show from the beginning in season one, and think it is so much fun to watch.  I was not at all surprised at the final three.  They all had strategies that worked for them as they played the game.  I was glad that the winner was not Monay.  I was also glad, Carly, with her Gabriel's not so smart remark, as she threw a tantrum in episode one, had to watch in person as Gabriel won. 

[Guest]

1 hour ago, tinkerbell said:

Thanks, I missed that.  They had no access to internet?

Yep. They said no internet, no phones, no outside world. 

[LakeGal]

Chris said when he saw the turban that Gabe's relative was the host of The Masked Singer.  But he couldn't remember Nick Cannon's name.  

[Catgyrl68]

1 hour ago, LakeGal said:

Chris said when he saw the turban that Gabe's relative was the host of The Masked Singer.  But he couldn't remember Nick Cannon's name.  

Wow - he really DOESN'T know much pop culture, does he? He didn't get it from all the dang babies in the clue, but he gets the turban?

[GeorgiaRai]

4 hours ago, seacliffsal said:

... I don't like bringing all of the others back as they will try to help their favorites/friends and redirect the others.  Bring them in for the final guess-off, but I felt they had too much influence in both seasons. 

I agree! 

If there are future seasons, I hope the show finds a better way to handle the finales.  Letting everyone talk to each other defeats the purpose of the winner figuring out clues!  I didn't mind the "helpers" in the haystack challenge because that at least was strategic (i.e. pick who you think will help you find the clues, maybe share info, and hopefully not sabatoge you!) but the naming of names by ousted players takes away the fun for me. 

And yes to everyone about Chris's lack of pop culture knowledge!  I loved him but that (frequent) blank stare cracked me up.

[tinkerbell]

2 hours ago, Catgyrl68 said:

Wow - he really DOESN'T know much pop culture, does he? He didn't get it from all the dang babies in the clue, but he gets the turban?

I thought it was funny when Monay was trying to think of a TV show where someone played a dad of 10 kids.   Like,  that was more likely than some actually having 10 kids.

And, how long ago was this filmed? Because cannon now has 12 kids.

[Catgyrl68]

6 minutes ago, tinkerbell said:

And, how long ago was this filmed? Because cannon now has 12 kids.

The clue read "more than" 10 kids, with the ">" symbol. Maybe they didn't have enough room on the clue sheet for 2 more babies. LOL

[Whimsy]

4 hours ago, peachmangosteen said:

This reminded me of him saying, ‘yea we knew,’ when Franklin/Kevin asked if anyone knew after the Nick Cannon reveal, continuing his tendency to yell out ‘I knew it,’ when he actually didn’t lol.

The finale was anti-climatic, as was the the first season’s finale, but I’m glad the F2 was Monday/Gabriel and that Gabriel won.

Monay said “we knew it” and then the camera went to Chris, but they never showed him saying anything about Nick Cannon being Gabriel’s relative. 
 

I think Chris has shown that those with no pop culture knowledge shouldn’t go on this show. He was smart, but didn’t know how to put the clues together. 

[Gemma Violet]

I remember Marie Osmond saying in an interview once that she is leaving her fortune entirely to charity, with her kids getting nothing so that they will make it on their own.  I know that the Osmonds (and maybe Mormons in general) are very big on self-reliance to make it through life.  I wonder if Donny has the same plan, and maybe that's why Chris was so eager to win that $100,000.  He's married and just had his second child, and is trying to get a recording career going.  And maybe, additionally, his goal was to also increase his social media presence.  He certainly was the favorite on the Claim to Fame Facebook page (which I guess is populated with a lot of fans of his dad.)  I felt bad for him in the end when he talked about living in the shadow of his dad.

Edited August 29, 2023 by Gemma Violet

[LakeGal]

I think to win this game it helps if you have an obscure famous relative.  But you also have to be really good at pop culture and know who the others are.  

[QQQQ]

Are there any "rules" or understandings about how the player is related to the famous person? So often they say how the player looks like so-and-so, but if the connection can be through marriage i.e. not genetic, that could also be an advantage.

[Cosmocrush]

2 hours ago, Gemma Violet said:

I felt bad for him in the end when he talked about living in the shadow of his dad.

Yeah, but I kind of felt bad for his Dad, Donny.  NO ONE knew who Donny Osmond was enough to get the clues until the lunchbox.  And NO ONE must even know what Donny Osmond looked/looks like because that's how I guessed Chris.  

That's the main reason Chris survived so long, unlike Gabriel who had everyone going down the sports star lane for a very long time.  And same with Monay- no one really knew J.B. Smoove's name even though she looks exactly like him.  

The person who played the game the best won, in my opinion. 

 

 

[Guest]

4 minutes ago, Cosmocrush said:

Yeah, but I kind of felt bad for his Dad, Donny.  NO ONE knew who Donny Osmond was enough to get the clues until the lunchbox.  And NO ONE must even know what Donny Osmond looked/looks like because that's how I guessed Chris. 

I think Donny Osmond is at the point in his life/career to not really be bothered at all that a bunch of 20-30-somethings don't know who he is.

And if any of the celebrities do feel bad that the contestants didn't know them, they always have Kevin and Frankie's seemingly-genuine fanboy reactions to assuage the pain.

[sara416]

Can anyone source Jane/Jada's black and cherry dress from the finale? I'm sure it's something I can't afford and I know I have nowhere to wear it, but it was super cute.

[tinkerbell]

3 hours ago, QQQQ said:

Are there any "rules" or understandings about how the player is related to the famous person? So often they say how the player looks like so-and-so, but if the connection can be through marriage i.e. not genetic, that could also be an advantage.

Yes, the first one eliminated (not sure of the name, carly?) was not really related to Tom Hanks, but to his wife, Rita Wilson. I wonder if she tried to get on the show with Rita Wilson as her celebrity relative, but she wasn't well known enough.

[alexa]

As others have said the lunchbox was way more of a clue than anyone else’s.  I wish they had done something more subtle.  

[QQQQ]

42 minutes ago, tinkerbell said:

Yes, the first one eliminated (not sure of the name, carly?) was not really related to Tom Hanks, but to his wife, Rita Wilson. I wonder if she tried to get on the show with Rita Wilson as her celebrity relative, but she wasn't well known enough.

I was thinking more along the lines of what if the contestant is white and the relative through marriage is black (or vice versa, etc.). 

[silversage]

I didn’t recall anyone else have an item like Chris with the lunchbox showing an actual picture. It felt rigged to me.

[labresq]

I'm curious about the Lucille Ball clue for Chris.  How are they connected?

[Guest]

19 minutes ago, labresq said:

I'm curious about the Lucille Ball clue for Chris.  How are they connected?

According to his IMDb, his first acting credit (other than The Osmond Brothers appearing on a Bob Hope special) was on Here’s Lucy. 

[labresq]

Wow that is obscure.  But thanks!

[Guest]

7 hours ago, silversage said:

I didn’t recall anyone else have an item like Chris with the lunchbox showing an actual picture. It felt rigged to me.

Last season they had a scavenger hunt where they filled the house with a bunch of objects, some of which were clues. There was a magazine cover that essentially had a picture of Cindy Crawford (Lark's aunt) with her face removed except for her beauty mark. It had her hair and everything. Very similar to the image of Donny and Marie that was basically them with no eyes.

So it has been done before, but it was too much then and it was too much now.

[peachmangosteen]

16 hours ago, tinkerbell said:

I thought it was funny when Monay was trying to think of a TV show where someone played a dad of 10 kids.   Like,  that was more likely than some actually having 10 kids.

And, how long ago was this filmed? Because cannon now has 12 kids.

They did have the clue "'Dad' to 11 kids" in this episode so it was filmed before his latest one. I loved the quotation marks around dad in that clue. It felt like shade lol. I also think that might have been why Monay was thinking it was a dad from a TV show rather than the actual man being a dad.

15 hours ago, Gemma Violet said:

I felt bad for him in the end when he talked about living in the shadow of his dad.

I normally don't feel too bad for nepobabies but he did get me there. I would be interested in maybe checking out some of his music, depending on what genre it is.

[kassandra8286]

10 hours ago, QQQQ said:

I was thinking more along the lines of what if the contestant is white and the relative through marriage is black (or vice versa, etc.). 

 

14 hours ago, QQQQ said:

Are there any "rules" or understandings about how the player is related to the famous person? So often they say how the player looks like so-and-so, but if the connection can be through marriage i.e. not genetic, that could also be an advantage.

This article someone else linked here previously explains that the contestants must be "directly" related to their celebrity relatives. It implies they made an exception for Carly. They probably couldn't resist the Tom Hanks connection, to the point where they basically sabotaged her with the obvious clues, lol.

https://people.com/claim-to-fame-rules-contestants-have-to-follow-7642217

 

[ItsHelloPattiagain]

16 hours ago, Cosmocrush said:

Yeah, but I kind of felt bad for his Dad, Donny.  NO ONE knew who Donny Osmond was enough to get the clues until the lunchbox.  And NO ONE must even know what Donny Osmond looked/looks like because that's how I guessed Chris.  

That's the main reason Chris survived so long, unlike Gabriel who had everyone going down the sports star lane for a very long time.  And same with Monay- no one really knew J.B. Smoove's name even though she looks exactly like him.  

In his defense, Chris looked like teenage Donny.  Donny's in his 60s now and he's obviously not looking like his teenage age, whether by age or cosmetic surgery.  Gabriel SOUNDED just like Nick Cannon at certain times, which drove me crazy because I was trying to figure out who that voice belonged to. And the red herring for most of the Chris guesses was the dream coat.  They were interpreting it as a fashion choice rather than a role Donny played.  Nick Cannon wears a turban (i'm guessing because of his lupus) but not because he plays a genie on America's Got Talent. 

[QQQQ]

14 hours ago, tinkerbell said:

Yes, the first one eliminated (not sure of the name, carly?) was not really related to Tom Hanks, but to his wife, Rita Wilson. I wonder if she tried to get on the show with Rita Wilson as her celebrity relative

Poor Rita Wilson - she's been a respected actress for decades, but JB Smoove is considered better known?!

[Teriacky]

I have never heard of J B Smoove in my life!

[Gemma Violet]

1 hour ago, Teriacky said:

I have never heard of J B Smoove in my life!

Almost the same story here.  I only heard of him for the first time about three years ago when he was on Seth Meyers and I took note of his unusual stage name.  At the time, although I knew Larry David was the star of Curb Your Enthusiasm, I hadn't yet seen any episodes, so I wasn't familiar with the co-stars.  

[KerleyQ]

On 8/29/2023 at 3:50 PM, Catgyrl68 said:

The clue read "more than" 10 kids, with the ">" symbol. Maybe they didn't have enough room on the clue sheet for 2 more babies. LOL

Maybe, at the rate he's going, they wanted to leave it open ended so it would still be accurate when it aired. 

I was happy to see Gabe won, especially when it got down to him and Monay. If Chris got super cocky after the Billy Idol guess, then Monay got ultra cocky before the final guess off. I wonder how long Gabe was onto her. He made it sound like he'd known for a while. If so, kudos to him for playing things so close to the vest. I also kind of wondered if he figured out Donny Osmond before everyone else, too, and just finally brought it up to Monay near the end there. If I recall correctly, he was the one who mentioned Joseph in reference to the colorful coat when that clue first came up. 

Monay's face when he said J.B. Smoove was really enjoyable. She truly believed nobody had a clue. 

I wonder if Carly had some regrets about her exit. She seemed like she was genuinely trying to be nicer to everyone. And I, too, enjoyed that, after her parting comment about Gabe being dumb, she got a ringside seat to see him winning the whole thing. 

[Guest]

I didn’t think the lunch box was anymore obvious than the other two clues. Their faces were scratched out. The only person figuring it out from that is someone who already suspected. All three clues were only obvious to someone who knows of the celebrity. Just like how Jane took one look at Monay’s clue and immediately figured it out. And Chris immediately knowing thinking of the Masked Singer host but not knowing his name. All three ended the challenge with all the information necessary to win. 

Which is my complaint about the show. They seem to go into the final episode determined to confirm every celebrity relative. I wish they would go with a completely different format for the final episode. Make it a quiz like on The Mole where the person with the most correct answers wins. 

[JH Lipton]

It's OK for Gabe to be cocky throughout the game, but the one who figured out the last 2 by herself got dogpiled by the formers who jumped at the chance to out her.  Can't let the confident Black woman win.  That's against the rules. (See also Stars on Mars).

On 8/29/2023 at 6:13 AM, tracyscott76 said:

[W]ith all of her super-confident queen talk and so on, it seemed really clear that she (like Chris before her) was being set up as the loser.

The only "queens" allowed to win are the drag kind.  She was no more cocky than Gabe was before his football charade fell through.

 

On 8/29/2023 at 8:03 AM, tinkerbell said:

I am also interested,  did Monay know Gabriel's relative was nick cannon? Or was she still convinced it was Terry crews?

She got it as soon as Karsyn showed her his clue.  I loved her subtly pushing T-Pain until one of them (Chris?) realized T wasn't an actor.

On 8/29/2023 at 12:53 PM, GeorgiaRai said:

[T]he naming of names by ousted players takes away the fun for me. 

Especially since all of them made a bee-line to Gabe to out Monay.  How DARE she be smart and strategic!!! 

6 hours ago, KerleyQ said:

Monay got ultra cocky before the final guess off. I wonder how long Gabe was onto her.

He had no clue -- I think he was still on the Terry Crews path -- until the formers told him.

I wouldn't have minded if he won on his own merit but the dogpilke stunk of misogynoir.

Edited August 31, 2023 by JH Lipton

[Guest]

5 hours ago, JH Lipton said:

On 8/29/2023 at 9:13 AM, tracyscott76 said:

[W]ith all of her super-confident queen talk and so on, it seemed really clear that she (like Chris before her) was being set up as the loser.

The only "queens" allowed to win are the drag kind.  She was no more cocky than Gabe was before his football charade fell through.

There's nothing wrong with being confident, and Monay had every right to be. If she had won, it would have been well-deserved. My point was that the show was presenting Monay and Chris as too confident, which made it clear to me that Gabe was going to win - and that made the finale boring to me. Gabe showed confidence in his game, too, but I disagree that he was presented as just as cocky as Monay (or Chris, I think it bears repeating).