Halloween Wars - General Discussion

[FlyingEgret]

On 10/2/2017 at 1:20 PM, mlp said:

Totally agree.  I kept waiting for a judge to point out the spelling error and was surprised no one said anything.  I thought Tator was a bit strange when I watched the intro show but now I think he's a lot strange and not very likable.

I like the guy who cut himself but the women on his team are awful.  They were both very self-centered and acted like he'd hurt himself on purpose plus the one who did all the THs looks and sounds like she's bored to death.

I felt sad while watching the shots of old shows and seeing Vinny Garcia knowing that he died not too long after his team won Halloween Wars.  I always liked him.

Or stoned.  Pot brownie anyone?

[Madding crowd]

I think it was odd they named this the same thing as the ongoing show. I've been on haunted hayrides and these scares were really minor compared to what I have seen. I actually liked the losing team better because I thought they had a scarier scarecrow. I guess the gushing blood feature won!

[grisgris]

On 10/1/2017 at 10:16 PM, LexieLily said:

Bria, is it? The sugar artist on the team that was in the bottom two already has three strikes against her in my book. And baseball says three strikes and you're out.

Strike One: Yes, they've had contestants from previous years come back but I don't know that it's entirely fair that she is allowed to come back with a different team when she won the show and the money with her last team.

Strike Two: Some consideration and empathy for her teammate that cut himself and had to get stitches would be nice instead of bitching about how screwed they were now, considering the judges singled out his pumpkin motorcycle as the best part of the piece and reason they were staying.

Strike Three: I'm going to need her to be eliminated sooner rather than later if she keeps talking to the judges in limericks.

Here. I'll add strike #4. The awful vocal fry. Between her and the other TH women from the group that almost went home, I found myself stabbing at the mute button.

I'm happy for the winning team. I am rooting for them to go all the way because the cake artist is from my home city.

[penbrat]

I don't like Tatersnot but I thought their mermaid was the best.  Am glad that the team that got voted off went - I like them okay but that girl's voice was like nails on a chalkboard.

[Passing Strange]

Is it me or are the judges not that concerned about whether the teams meet the brief for the challenges? In the main heat, only two teams showed the creature's "mask." Everyone else had full on creature, no indication that it had ever hidden its form from the human.

The Small Scare was even more blatant. The winning team completely ignored the challenge, a mummy's day off, by saying the mummy was like them and didn't get a day off. That gave them the freedom to do anything they wanted. I thought their mummy was exceptional, but I don't think they should have been allowed to ignore the challenge.

[Spunkygal]

1 hour ago, Passing Strange said:

Is it me or are the judges not that concerned about whether the teams meet the brief for the challenges? In the main heat, only two teams showed the creature's "mask." Everyone else had full on creature, no indication that it had ever hidden its form from the human.

The Small Scare was even more blatant. The winning team completely ignored the challenge, a mummy's day off, by saying the mummy was like them and didn't get a day off. That gave them the freedom to do anything they wanted. I thought their mummy was exceptional, but I don't think they should have been allowed to ignore the challenge.

I so agree. On the whole, the presentations were better than last week's, but several teams ignored the mask storyline. There was some really good work but I thought Tater's team's mermaid was the best and met the challenge. The winning team's was great but there was no mask element. I knew the losing team would be saying bye. Although I think their small scare was good, better than the winner's mummy as tech support (which didn't make sense), but that final presentation was lame. And without explanation, I would have never guessed that she shed her skin.

I laugh like a hyena at the fake drama when sugar work is accidentally broken. That chick clearly saw Christoff's sugar work on the cart and aimed her tray right at it. Then there's the fake expressions of horror when it happens. I thought Heidi Klum would win a Razzie for her fake puzzlement during last week's Project Runway but these guys could give her a run for the award! 

[Crucial]

That's what I thought too.  Mummy's day off wasn't a mummy working.  Should have been talked about or noticed somehow.  Same with the main heat too.  I thought it was me just being picky.  That said I feel bad for the pumpkin carver on the team with annoying winner of a previous season.  I hope she is gone soon but feel bad he will have to go but she she's awful.  Same with Tator.  I don't like him at all.  And I think his team has saved him so far.  His carvings have not been good and it's been the background, glass work, and cake decorations that have saved them.  If only I cold switch Tator with the previous winner glass pro with who is on their team.  Perfect@

[Passing Strange]

2 hours ago, Crucial said:

That's what I thought too.  Mummy's day off wasn't a mummy working.  Should have been talked about or noticed somehow.  Same with the main heat too.  I thought it was me just being picky.  That said I feel bad for the pumpkin carver on the team with annoying winner of a previous season.  I hope she is gone soon but feel bad he will have to go but she she's awful.  Same with Tator.  I don't like him at all.  And I think his team has saved him so far.  His carvings have not been good and it's been the background, glass work, and cake decorations that have saved them.  If only I cold switch Tator with the previous winner glass pro with who is on their team.  Perfect@

I very much want the annoying former contestant and Tater to go, too. I feel bad about rooting against the nice people on their teams, but those two are annoying AF.

Spunkygal, lol re: Heidi Klum. Yes, Heidi, we believe that you, an executive producer, have no idea what's going on.

[suebee12]

On 10/5/2017 at 2:13 PM, Madding crowd said:

I think it was odd they named this the same thing as the ongoing show.

It is so confusing! Two shows, one name...how strange. It took me a while to figure this out. I really don't like this particular show. Having the same two teams over and over is not all that exciting. I remember when Halloween Wars was really fun to watch. I can't remember her name but the one contestant who had a streak through her hair was amazing. Her team won time and time again and each and every episode was a joy to watch(if you can say that about Halloween!) I think they have thinned out the good artists with too many shows of the same ilk.

[Maverick]

Tater must think he's auditioning for a job at Mickey's Very Scary Halloween Party.  I can think of no other reason for why he's acting as if he's give a dramatic reading of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow in a dark forest in Tarrytown NY on Halloween night during his talking heads.  Between him and Team Dr. Snooze I feel like I'm getting the Kidz Bop version of the show.

 I didn't have a problem with the tech support mummy.  Some people never get a day off, even on their day off.

[Josette]

5 hours ago, suebee12 said:

I can't remember her name but the one contestant who had a streak through her hair was amazing. Her team won time and time again and each and every episode was a joy to watch

Karen Portaleo

Her work is amazing.

[mojoween]

23 hours ago, Passing Strange said:

Is it me or are the judges not that concerned about whether the teams meet the brief for the challenges? In the main heat, only two teams showed the creature's "mask." Everyone else had full on creature, no indication that it had ever hidden its form from the human.

The Small Scare was even more blatant. The winning team completely ignored the challenge, a mummy's day off, by saying the mummy was like them and didn't get a day off. That gave them the freedom to do anything they wanted. I thought their mummy was exceptional, but I don't think they should have been allowed to ignore the challenge.

Yes!  I was so annoyed that BOTH times the theme wasn’t even mentioned.

I thought the mermaid was first and then the fly.

And Shinmin didn’t even LIKE that stupid green cake pop!  I would take the cheesecake spider or the pumpkin pie cream puff or the cake with apple pie.

Robert Patrick was a big get for this show. He’s so damn charming.

[CherZ]

Add me to the list of people who can't stand Tator Tot and past contestant sugar chick. Tator's annoying and he brags about his work when there's nothing really behind it. His team members are awesome though and they save his ass every week. Sugar girl is just cranky and her vocal fry drives me crazy.

[raven]

13 hours ago, Josette said:

Karen Portaleo

Her work is amazing.

That is seriously beautiful work.  Love the octopus cake.

It is confusing that both shows are named the same thing but it means by DVR picked this up, I would have missed it otherwise.  I...kind of like it?  I like the hayride idea and big set pieces but there's a sense of urgency or something missing.  Maybe because no one is eliminated.

I liked Deadly Intentions better; I didn't like all the flashing lights on the other one.  On the losing one, the placement of the pumpkin carving into the farmer's stomach was unfortunate.  Maybe it was the camera angle, but it looked like something else was portrayed as going on.

[Spunkygal]

16 minutes ago, raven said:

That is seriously beautiful work.  Love the octopus cake.

It is confusing that both shows are named the same thing but it means by DVR picked this up, I would have missed it otherwise.  I...kind of like it?  I like the hayride idea and big set pieces but there's a sense of urgency or something missing.  Maybe because no one is eliminated.

I liked Deadly Intentions better; I didn't like all the flashing lights on the other one.  On the losing one, the placement of the pumpkin carving into the farmer's stomach was unfortunate.  Maybe it was the camera angle, but it looked like something else was portrayed as going on.

Yeah, the kids didn't need an X rated hayride!

[rlc]

Tator needs to be off my tv forever. I blame Guy Fieri for making people think that they need to be 'personalities' on food shoes.

[JessDVD]

I was about to commit a capital act against my TV over vocal fry girl. Thank goodness she's gone.

I thought all five of the main event were actually decent work this week, which is always nice. I liked the concept of the mermaid but I didn't like how her bottom half was Jabba the Hutt-esque. 

As far as the theme for the main event, they clearly are trying to be extremely creative and not reuse previous themes, but the result is that the themes are so convoluted that I can't follow (I said to Mr DVD that it's like the let's make a date game on Whose Line where the thing to act like first would be things like "Jean Claude Van Damme" and later on became things like "an extra in a horror film who suddenly realizes he's actually on a set for the revival of Baywatch but the set is underwater in the Arctic"). Like they were going for masks, but all that about revealing the true self made people go that route.

The one with the first date, did they keep referring to the guy as reptilian? Because I was seeing insect.

Morbid Masterminds continue to be the clear champion as far as execution goes, design issues notwithstanding. I thought their small scare was beautiful work and I can see the argument to it following the theme but still think it was a bit of a stretch.

[ShelleySue]

Can someone please explain the logistics of the show to me?  The clock starts running and then they race to their kitchen areas to brainstorm and sketch what they are going to do. Is that what really happens or is that just how it's edited?  I'm asking because it seems like they already know what they are going to do before they get back to their kitchen.  I've also seen sugar artists already have molds (not the type that they make on the fly).  In addition to that, the drawings have to be more detailed than the ones we see them doing for the camera because they almost always get he scale correct.  So the pumpkin head is the right size for the cake body, etc. They also always have the right ingredients for the taste challenge.

14 hours ago, rlc said:

Tator needs to be off my tv forever. I blame Guy Fieri for making people think that they need to be 'personalities' on food shoes.

Yes, exactly!  He's still around, but at least Vivian with the voice of a 7 year old is gone.

[JessDVD]

I don't know if it's ever been confirmed (that I've seen, anyway), but assume anything on this show is in the ballpark of 75% fiction and 25% actual events. No way do they not know the theme in advance and just HAPPEN to have the correct molds in the back. The sketches are surely just for the camera and I wouldn't be in the least bit surprised if those bits are done without the clock running. Any time there's a Big Catastrophe, 99% chance it's re-enacted or downright faked.

I still like these shows but I still miss the old Food Network Challenges, with no contrived drama, no completely faked moments, just people (usually) making amazing cake creations. (They did have some mystery challenges on there, where they would interview a "client" and then design around it, and I believed those were actually designs created on the spot)

[Christina]

On 10/4/2017 at 0:36 AM, Christina said:

I didn't even realize they were different people, that's how little these people mean to me. I should have realized that the extremely annoying, "He decided to cut himself" woman wasn't there, but I didn't. Once I saw that there was an episode of Hayride to Hell on this series, so I thought it was that show and they broke these teams into two groups for that display.

Replying to myself for a moment because I figured out what happened and why I didn't realize they were different people. This weekend, there were a bunch of shows from previous seasons, and I recognized a few of them from the Hayride of Horror show. Before this season aired, I streamed several past episodes, had them playing in the background not paying a lot of attention, and when some of the episodes were played this weekend, I remembered watching the older episodes. The earlier seasons had much better work than this season, and less annoying people. Those people are on the Monday night show this year.

[Spunkygal]

Yes, such great teams in the past! Bling Bats, Morbid Mayhem, Dead Men Walking to name a few. I watched the HW recap from past seasons and there really was some amazing, truly impressive work. 

[LexieLily]

Bria's got her whole team talking to the judges in limericks. Great.

[mlp]

Those rhymed descriptions are so awkward they're embarrassing.

I was relieved to see Tator and his delusions depart.  I lost count of the number of times he claimed his team was better than everyone else - which it clearly wasn't.  Even I know you can't put fondant directly on something wet like pumpkin.  Don't these people watch this show?  I think that team's small scare was the worst one any team has ever made.

Maybe I misunderstood but I thought the tasting element was supposed to be a drink.  Two of them were definitely not liquid and the judges didn't say anything so maybe not.

[cdp73]

Tator's gone.   YAY!!!  Overgrown leprechaun thinking he's all that as a carver.  The other carvers are much better.  Now, to get rid of the limerick queen.

[JessDVD]

I find myself torn on limerick queen, because I do think that presenting their creation with a little rhyme is kind of a cute idea, something fun and different... but the rhymes so far have been terrible and annoying SO I'd be fine if she gets eliminated in the next round.

Not having to see Tater's aghast face unable to understand why their crap work continues to get bad marks anymore is a high point. That small scare, what the what?! I was glad the judges said they didn't have any idea what it was supposed to be because I sure didn't either.

Morbid Masterminds are still my favorite to win it all but I'd be fine with the winners from last night as their work is excellent as well.

[Spunkygal]

I agree with JessDVD, Morbid Masterminds and Ghouled are my favs. They are reminiscent of the artistry from seasons past. Ghouled's creation last night was awesome and kudos to the lady who sculpts the figures and gets the anatomy so right.  No one on Tater's team knew what they were doing. From carving to painting to design, they shouldn't have been chosen for this competition. I want to try Christoff's severed tongue tasting element. 

[Simon47]

When Tator gets eliminated: ????! No more "unneeded story time"! I like the other teams except the Scare Snactics. The girl Bria is so arrogant.

[ruffy666]

I was waiting for Jonathan to say something like "sorry tator, but you've been mashed.  You're done in this Halloween War."  

You have to assume so much of the banter is strongly encouraged by the production staff because the contestants say the dumbest stuff:  "YOU HAVE TO HURRY!"  "MAKE IT LOOK GOOD!"  "DON'T DROP THAT!"  well gee that's helpful advice, thank you!

[Spunkygal]

Well, this brief three episode series was a good time killer. The outdoor hayride scenario wasn't my favorite idea, but I love any Halloween competition involving carving and eating and it was good escape-watching. I did enjoy seeing the familiar faces among the competitors. I liked elements of last night's show. The snake carving was superb but for me the farmer got a little lost. The mutant zoo was good especially that cow and sheep. I see that now this is over, another show titled Freaky Sweets will be on at the same time slot on Monday after Halloween Baking Championship. I don't know how many episodes it is, but I'll watch!

[CherZ]

Okay, Tator's gone (he should never have been there in the first place) and so Halloween Wars you've redeemed yourself a bit from the Underbaker fiasco last year BUT we need more teams like the two good teams this week. Less drama, more talent.

If you ever pull the "but drama" thing again, we're through. No kidding. I won't even go to prom with you.

[raven]

On 10/15/2017 at 10:10 PM, LexieLily said:

Bria's got her whole team talking to the judges in limericks. Great.

Ughhh now that Tator Tot is gone, I hope she goes next because the limericks are so annoying.  Though Tator's team was the worst, the limerick's team creation wasn't as good as the other two, I thought.  The facial carvings on the werewolves were not in the same class at all as Morbid Masterminds or Ghouled.   I thought Ghouled had the best carved werewolf face but yeah, it was too pumpkin round but I can't fault their win.  I thought MM was the best overall presentation and the werewolf was really good but either winning would have made sense.

Both teams remind me of the zombie weddings from a few seasons ago, that's the one I always remember, they were gorgeous.

I always want to try the treats.

[mlp]

I thought both teams did well and I wouldn't have been unhappy if Adam's team had prevailed but I don't much care for him and I do like Froggy and friends so I was glad they won.  The animals in the petting zoo were very well done though.  I think the kids voting must have thought the farm with snakes was a lot scarier.

[JessDVD]

I also want(ed) Scare Snactics and Spooky Boos to lose simply on principle of their terrible, terrible names.

I re-watched the end of the last one, and limerick queen's rhymes were atrocious. They better be eliminated next week.

Some of the things the contestants say seem to be organic and likely to have actually happened, but I agree that some of them seem like they must be producer-driven. Pretty sure your assistants know to hurry, to make things look good, and to not drop that. When they're asking each other how things look, or reacting to the time calls, I tend to think that seems more likely to have happened.

[raven]

Well my DVR screwed up so I got to see part of the petting zoo, which looked good, and none of the snakes.  Figures. 

I thought the episodes were fun.  The process always seems to have fake drama (on both shows) but I like seeing the end products.

Stupid DVR.

[eurekagirl mOo]

OHHHHHHH....There are 2 shows!!!! Well Thank You all! I thought I was losing my mind (DVR picked up several seasons of both to make it even more confusing)  and the hayride was another challenge???? Geeze people. It's the same network. Can't you get 2 different names? 

I DO prefer the Hayride because I flove the full size pumpkin carvings. Such talent!

And may I say I also flove the lack of snark and nasty Talking Heads on these shows. Such a pleasure to watch! 

[caci]

Love Ghouled works so far but have been oddly blah with Morbid Masterminds.  I am just not as impressed as I am supposed to be.  Still, I know they are better than the limericks team.  Too bad for the pumpkin carver on the rhyming team.  He deserves better.

[Simon47]

I was so happy that Tator's gone! Now, if Briea were just to be eliminated and sent to a temple full of trash, I'd be even happier.

[lh25]

No Tator, you don't get points for taking risks if you can't execute them.  I knew that putting fondant on the pumpkin might not have been a good idea, and in this case it highlighted the gaps in the torso of the wolf.   And you weren't the only one to do large characters.

On 10/15/2017 at 8:31 PM, mlp said:

Maybe I misunderstood but I thought the tasting element was supposed to be a drink.  Two of them were definitely not liquid and the judges didn't say anything so maybe not.

I thought they said they had to be inspired by a drink?

[mlp]

Quote

I thought they said they had to be inspired by a drink?

You're right.  I half watched the rerun and that's exactly what they said.  

[cdp73]

No more limericks,

No more rhymes,

Scare Snactics is gone,

on to good times!

[Spunkygal]

Hee, hee, hee

so long, Brea

don't let the door hit thee!

Edited....oops! I think this should have gone under the next episode (episode 4)!!!!

Edited October 24, 2017 by Spunkygal

[mlp]

I liked the guy on the losing team and I felt sort of sorry for him having to work with those two women.  Their zombie scene wasn't bad at all but the other two were just better so the right team went home.

The team that made the Tator zombie were saying aloud that it was a tribute but I'll bet they really didn't like him any better than we did and it was really a giant joke.  They did a good job with it.  

I think both teams in the final two deserve to be there and I'll be happy with either one winning.

Edited October 24, 2017 by mlp
Wrong episode. Copying to correct one.

[caci]

Definitely the best two teams have moved on.  I still am rooting for Team Gould whose work I prefer.  Those heads were great!

[mlp]

I liked the guy on the losing team and I felt sort of sorry for him having to work with those two women.  Their zombie scene wasn't bad at all but the other two were just better so the right team went home.

The team that made the Tator zombie were saying aloud that it was a tribute but I'll bet they really didn't like him any better than we did and it was really a giant joke.  They did a good job with it.  

I think both teams in the final two deserve to be there and I'll be happy with either one winning.

[Spunkygal]

Hee, hee, hee

so long, Brea

don't let the door hit thee!

(moving this little ditty from the wrong episode thread in which I originally posted it)

[BusyOctober]

I have only been half watching this season, so I never learned who is on each team.  Did the team with the dark haired woman with the egregious stoner vocal fry get bounced? Were they also the team with the weak rhymes to describe their creations?  If so, then YAY!!! My mute button was getting worn out.

Its really too bad on these shows they only give the contestants such short turnaround times.  I know the show is only an hour long, and they couldn’t hold the average viewer’s attention for a 2 hour show.  But I would love to see what these talented artists could do if given a full day vs. 4 hours.  I feel the same about Project Runway.  The challenge time allotments are too short on these competitions.  

[raven]

Loved the sugar eyeballs.

The losing team's carvings were just not on the same level as Morbid Mastermind or Ghouled.  Now I don't have to hear any more goofy limericks, yay.

I thought Bryan Fuller was a decent guest judge, his critiques were more than the usual "wow I was scared".

Either MM or Ghouled would be a deserving winner, glad there are two really good teams for the finale.

[JessDVD]

My eyes could not have rolled harder at all the "Awww, it's Tater". Guy's team is eliminated and he's STILL showing up on my TV, thanks so much Food Network.

Farewell, horrible rhymes. Those were simply awful.

I think the producers or editors or judges or someone really wants Ghouled to win; while they are absolutely qualified, I felt like the judges' criticism of MM's small scare not being sufficiently devil-ish, could have been applied to Ghouled's as well.

Guest judge was great. I wish FN would pay more attention to who they get for guest judges and what sort of judging they actually bring to the table, because some are real misses and some are really quite good and I'm pretty sure it's not all just my subjective opinion. :)

[eurekagirl mOo]

Well guess I'm the cheese standing alone but I really liked the rhymes. They were very Dr. Seuss and made me giggle. But I'm easily amused.

MORE TIME!!!! For Gods sake please. Do just ONE challenge or do like the British baking show and do it over 2 days so they can rest from the challenges!!

[RIGHTDAMNIT]

I laughed at the tech mummy. I've worked with a few people that fit their theme.