Halloween Wars - General Discussion

[Grizzly]

7 hours ago, mlp said:

I was disappointed because I wanted the Crave Diggers to win but I really can't argue much with the decision.  The Crave Diggers had several execution errors and their scary monster didn't work properly.  Mummies Rejects had a good monster and Steve's usual outstanding sugar work but I didn't care for the overall look of the piece.  It was dark and murky and didn't look unified to me.  I'm glad I didn't have to make the decision.

Horrific creature. I didn't understand the Mummies' scare within their piece. Was the kid walking in supposed to be it? I liked Crave Diggers idea better, no explanation needed. But crickets in my dessert is a no go! And Jeff made it sound like their creature wouldn't move at all without falling over. Close competition.

[CrystalBlue]

3 hours ago, Grizzly said:

Horrific creature. I didn't understand the Mummies' scare within their piece. Was the kid walking in supposed to be it? I liked Crave Diggers idea better, no explanation needed. But crickets in my dessert is a no go! And Jeff made it sound like their creature wouldn't move at all without falling over. Close competition.

Just hearing Shinmin describe the crunchiness and taste of the grasshoppers eeked me out.

Just now, CrystalBlue said:

Just hearing Shinmin describe the crunchiness and taste of the grasshoppers eeked me out.

In the end I agree with the judges' decision, if only for the fact that the monster clown theme was scary and the selfie theme was more cartoonish or campy as they called it.  To me Halloween has to be spooky and scary.

[mojoween]

I was waiting for Todd to mention that the colors were too close together.  Why on earth did they paint the bear white?  If they wanted an evil bear, red would have been so much better.

I was rooting for Crave Diggers the whole time until the fireman said they deserved it.  The winner deserves it, sir.

I’m not mad at it though.  Mummy’s Rejects was a cool team from the jump too.

[CrystalBlue]

On 10/14/2020 at 3:34 PM, mojoween said:

I was waiting for Todd to mention that the colors were too close together.  Why on earth did they paint the bear white?  If they wanted an evil bear, red would have been so much better.

I was rooting for Crave Diggers the whole time until the fireman said they deserved it.  The winner deserves it, sir.

I’m not mad at it though.  Mummy’s Rejects was a cool team from the jump too.

Yes, red would have been good and scary, a blood red Dracula teddy bear complete with fangs.  Far enough away from the orange pumpkins.  Or maybe even purple, just not white!  Aren't teddy bears originally brown?  Where did they come up with white.

Good observation about Fireman.  Don't be arrogant.

[Rammchick]

26 minutes ago, CrystalBlue said:

Good observation about Fireman.  Don't be arrogant.

Fireman?

Just now, Rammchick said:

Fireman?

Nevermind, I figured out what you meant 😉

 

 

[CrystalBlue]

36 minutes ago, Rammchick said:

Fireman?

Nevermind, I figured out what you meant 😉

 

 

Firefighter turned cake artist.  He and his wife were on Cake Wars together a couple years ago.  https://www.oxfordeagle.com/2017/01/31/sweet-ts-captures-cake-wars-win/

[mlp]

6 hours ago, CrystalBlue said:

7 hours ago, Rammchick said:

 

 

Firefighter turned cake artist.  He and his wife were on Cake Wars together a couple years ago.  https://www.oxfordeagle.com/2017/01/31/sweet-ts-captures-cake-wars-win/

Thank you!  I've been thinking he looked familiar since the first show but I couldn't think of any reason why I'd recognize a fireman from a small southern town.  That link explains all.  I even remember the Cake Wars episode now.  

[Rammchick]

On 10/16/2020 at 3:11 PM, CrystalBlue said:

Firefighter turned cake artist.  He and his wife were on Cake Wars together a couple years ago.  https://www.oxfordeagle.com/2017/01/31/sweet-ts-captures-cake-wars-win/

Thank you!

[Gothish520]

On 10/12/2020 at 2:02 PM, mlp said:

I was disappointed because I wanted the Crave Diggers to win but I really can't argue much with the decision.  The Crave Diggers had several execution errors and their scary monster didn't work properly.  Mummies Rejects had a good monster and Steve's usual outstanding sugar work but I didn't care for the overall look of the piece.  It was dark and murky and didn't look unified to me.  I'm glad I didn't have to make the decision.

That is the problem I had with their pieces throughout the competition - just too dark and murky-looking, and over- airbrushed. I wanted Crave Diggers to win. Their final piece was scary but fun. 

@Spunkygal, this is my first time watching Halloween Wars but I noticed immediately that the broken balloon animal looked totally staged! From your comment I see that this is a common occurrence on the show, lol.

Edited October 25, 2020 by Gothish520

[Spunkygal]

3 minutes ago, Gothish520 said:

That is the problem I had with their pieces throughout the competition - just too dark and murky-looking, and over- airbrushed. I wanted Crave Diggers to win. Their final piece was scary but fun. 

@Spunkygal, this is my first time watching Halloween Wars but I noticed immediately that the broken balloon animal looked totally staged! From your comment I see that this is a common occurrence on the show, lol.

Ha, yes! If you want to see staged sugar breakage, join me in watching Holiday Wars next week. The artists’ fake acting when the sugar piece falls is hilarious. 

[CrystalBlue]

At least they didn't have any tizzy fits or meltdowns that I saw.  Unfortunately, I missed a couple episodes before the finale because Hulu doesn't show the current season anymore, and I don't get Food Network with anything I already pay for.  YouTube started out good but then went bad.  Same for Halloween Baking Championship for me.

 

[RealityCheck]

From this article, the new season of HALLOWEEN WARS premieres Sunday September 19 at 9PM with judges Shinmin Li, Aarti Sequeira and Eddie Jackson.

Quote

Paranormal investigator Zak Bagans takes inspiration from his collection of dangerous and mysterious artifacts from his Haunted Museum in Las Vegas to challenge teams to create frighteningly intricate cakes that are as spooky as they are tasty.

 

[CrystalBlue]

This year I now have discovery+ so I hope to keep up with all Halloween baking shows!

[Grizzly]

On 9/2/2021 at 6:58 PM, RealityCheck said:

From this article, the new season of HALLOWEEN WARS premieres Sunday September 19 at 9PM with judges Shinmin Li, Aarti Sequeira and Eddie Jackson.

 

Love Eddie but will miss Todd. However, I'm very happy to not be seeing Jonathon. His overacting was horrible.

[Maverick]

 I am going to miss Todd too.  It was nice to have a non-chef judge who isn't some rando celebrity.  I'll also miss Jonathan.  Yes, he could be over the top, but his schtick had become part of these shows.  And I'll take him over whoever this Zak guy is.  I'm assuming he's from one of those ghost hunter shows from some other tacky Discovery channel.   Please stop mixing in the TLC crap with Food Network.

[Me Too]

Huh.  The article only lists cake and sugar artists.  I want the carvers!!!

It won't be Halloween Wars without the giant pumpkins.

Edited September 6, 2021 by Me Too

[Maverick]

 The Hell?   The pumpkin carving is what differentiated this from the other Halloween baking shows.   Dumbasses.  

[Darian]

If there are no carvers, I don't think I can watch Bagans as host. I've only seen bits and pieces of him here and there, but he seems to have one setting: maximum jackass. I adore Eddie Jackson,  though, and like Aarti (she kept me watching that stupid Candy Land show) and Shinmin a lot. I may give it one shot, bit I hope they didn't ruin this as much as it sounds like they did. 

I also feel bad for the carvers. I mean, it's got to be a good gig for such a niche. Plus, how they work and what they can achieve fascinates me.  

[Spunkygal]

The FN description for several upcoming episodes mentions pumpkin carvers, so I bet you $1 trillion that the carvers are back!

[Guest]

If there are no carvers on Halloween Wars this time, there's always the Outrageous Pumpkins show, which I enjoyed last year and is coming back. A lot friendlier and less frenetic than Halloween Wars (even though it involved several of the same carvers, surprise surprise), and some really cool work being done. Plus, Alyson Hannigan!

Edited September 14, 2021 by tracyscott76

[SilverLake0315]

Zak Bagans? Seriously? Ugh.

[mojoween]

The preview they played during the Halloween Baking Championship scared me. I really really hope they don’t fuck this up like the Christmas show.

I didn’t see Shinmin in the snippet but I trust you all who mentioned that she is returning.  I will also miss Jonathan, even if I like Eddie too.

[Guest]

Shinmin has outlasted all other judges and hosts several times over. No matter what changes occur in personnel or format (or quality), having her there is comforting, in a way. If she ever leaves, they will have to rename the show, because it wouldn't be Halloween Wars anymore.

Edited September 16, 2021 by tracyscott76

[Rammchick]

13 hours ago, mojoween said:

The preview they played during the Halloween Baking Championship scared me. I really really hope they don’t fuck this up like the Christmas show.

I didn’t see Shinmin in the snippet but I trust you all who mentioned that she is returning.  I will also miss Jonathan, even if I like Eddie too.

Shinmin was in one of the trailers I saw.

[Maverick]

My cable guide says there are four teams of cake artists.  That would only get them through three weeks, which can't be right.   On one of the holiday shows last year the did something weird were you lost there times and you were out or something like that.  I don't really remember because the contestants were turning out crap work and the judges were awful.  Apparently they're going that route here.   More evidence they have royally effed up this show. 

[Scarlett45]

21 minutes ago, Maverick said:

My cable guide says there are four teams of cake artists.  That would only get them through three weeks, which can't be right.   On one of the holiday shows last year the did something weird were you lost there times and you were out or something like that.  I don't really remember because the contestants were turning out crap work and the judges were awful.  Apparently they're going that route here.   More evidence they have royally effed up this show. 

There are 8 teams but episode 1 just has four of those 8. 

[ElleryAnne]

I need pumpkins.  It's not the same without pumpkins.

[Scarlett45]

58 minutes ago, ElleryAnne said:

I need pumpkins.  It's not the same without pumpkins.

You’re right it’s not!

I didn’t watch this last year, but I have enjoyed it for many years. 
 

The doll cake was creepy, it deserved to win, but I would’ve kept the team with the toy box and gotten rid of the “block”(aka Lego) monster. 

[ElleryAnne]

11 minutes ago, Scarlett45 said:

The doll cake was creepy, it deserved to win, but I would’ve kept the team with the toy box and gotten rid of the “block”(aka Lego) monster. 

Agreed.  The Lego cake was messy and unappealing. Though I admit I might have also been put off by hearing Legos constantly referred to as blocks.  I realize they have to be careful not to say brand names (i.e. the Snickers cake and the Fisher Price record player weren't called by those names, either), but hearing Legos called blocks for an hour had my teeth on edge.

And I miss Jon Bennett.  Almost as much as I miss the pumpkins. Also miss the small scare.  And separate taste treats.  Watching them cut into cakes isn't the same thing.

I'd just about decided that I wouldn't watch the rest of this season, until they mentioned next week's theme.  But now I want to see what they do with The Addams Family.

Edited September 20, 2021 by ElleryAnne

[LexieLily]

4 minutes ago, ElleryAnne said:

And I miss Jon Bennett.  Almost as much as I miss the pumpkins. Also miss the small scare.  And separate taste treats.  Watching them cut into cakes isn't the same thing.

I missed the initial airing and have it reminded to watch the rerun. So they aren't doing the small scare/first round either? (Well, I guess if there's no pumpkin carvers you don't need to because the prize for winning the small scare was usually first choice of pumpkin in the pumpkin patch :/)

[ElleryAnne]

7 minutes ago, LexieLily said:

I missed the initial airing and have it reminded to watch the rerun. So they aren't doing the small scare/first round either? (Well, I guess if there's no pumpkin carvers you don't need to because the prize for winning the small scare was usually first choice of pumpkin in the pumpkin patch :/)

There was only one round this week.  This one and next week's are both qualifying rounds (4 teams each).  And you're right - there seems to be basically no reason for the small scare now.  No pumpkins, and no extra helpers given to teams.  But I enjoyed the work in previous seasons in those first rounds.  

[Maverick]

 This has basically been turned into Cake Wars: Halloween.   Losing the pumpkins was a horrible move and took away what made this show unique.  These are the multi-medium display pieces anymore.   They're just cakes. 

 I also miss Jonathan, the small scare, the tasting treat, the horror movie judge and the rotating judge.   And why the hell is Aarti educating Shin Min on candies?  She knows her stuff and has been doing this a long time.  Absent a host, she should be taking the lead here.  

 

[LexieLily]

Last year we blamed Covid for all the structure changes to Halloween Wars - and the other shows, too. Can we still blame Covid for this year?

15 minutes ago, Maverick said:

This has basically been turned into Cake Wars: Halloween.   Losing the pumpkins was a horrible move and took away what made this show unique.  These are the multi-medium display pieces anymore.   They're just cakes. 

Yes! Part of the fun of this show was having to blend together cake and pumpkin into one piece and have it look seamless. It's wayy easier to do that with cake and sugar art.

[threebluestars]

I gave up watching part way. They ruined Halloween Wars. Why??

[Maverick]

2 hours ago, LexieLily said:

Last year we blamed Covid for all the structure changes to Halloween Wars - and the other shows, too. Can we still blame Covid for this year?

 Last year's Halloween Wars wasn't impacted by Covid.   They They film it very early in the year (or maybe even at the end of the prior year) so it was filmed before everything shut down.  Maybe Covid had something to do with eliminating the rotating judge, but I don't see how it forced the other changes.  Ditching Jonathan in favor of the ghost guy wearing the doucebag hat and LOOK AT ME glasses was clearly Discovery forcing a cross-pollination of their TLC crap into former Scripps shows.   

[Spunkygal]

What in the world was the purpose of having the ghost guy, who I’ve never heard of, participate via a monitor. Oh woooo! Isn’t he spooky! NOT! How much did he get paid for that lame role he played? Shinmin is one of the best judges on any of these competition shows. Glad she continues to show up every year. 

As some of you have said, leave it to FN to ruin this show. Yes, it is now Cake Wars:Halloween. I want pumpkins! I want Jonathan! I want small scares! I want extra assistants! I want big sugar pieces with fake breaking drama! The only thing I liked was the new set. There were a few familiar participant faces but none of my favs were there. All this said, I’ll keep watching because——-Halloween! (and Eddie). 

I shudder to think how they’re going to ruin Holiday Wars, too. 

[Taeolas]

There are so many Halloween shows I lost track of which was which. I thought this one felt off and the pumpkin carving aspect is probably what I was missing. 

I fully suspect/expect that this is due to COVID. October/November 2020 would have been around one of the main peaks for COVID restrictions, and that's when the gourds would have been in season. If they had to delay filming until Spring 2021 or something, then the pumpkins may not have been available for the carvers to use.

Things seem more in control now (despite Delta and Mu and the 4th or 5th wave), so hopefully next year's Halloween Wars will have the carvers back. 

[Spunkygal]

I guess we’ll have to get our pumpkin carving fix on Outrageous Pumpkins. That’s usually pretty good,

[CrystalBlue]

I was not impressed with the new host, Zak Bagans, who is only there to shamelessly plug his TV show AND Museum.  I don't like this cross-over crap because it's nothing to do with cake baking, sugar artistry or pumpkin carving*.  And Small Scares*!  *Two of which were missing on HW.  He's just another phony baloney ghost hunter on the paranormal bandwagon.

I agreed with the spooky, scary, creepy doll winning, and I thought the piggy bank came in second if there was a second place.  Either of the remaining two teams could have gone home.  I'm glad the team with Brooke Taylor made it because we exchanged pleasantries on reddit when she posted there that she was going to be on Halloween Wars.

Why is the new guy Eddie appearing to be the "lead" judge?  Shimlin Li should be the leader because she's been there the longest!

[Guest]

2 hours ago, CrystalBlue said:

Why is the new guy Eddie appearing to be the "lead" judge?  Shimlin Li should be the leader because she's been there the longest!

I didn't get the impression that Eddie is the lead judge, just that he's taking on hosting duties (which he has experience with, and Shinmin doesn't). It seemed to me like Shinmin was still giving her critiques first during the actual judging.

[mlp]

I preferred the original version of this show with Jonathan's goofiness and PUMPKINS.  However, what they did to HW last year was so bad that this version was sort of a relief.  I'd never heard of Zac Bagans.  His part was OK but pretty much unnecessary.  I agree that his being there (but not really) is probably a Discovery cross-over.

I liked the pig best.  I recognized the woman on that team with long dark hair as someone I've seen on numerous baking shows but I can't remember her name.  I didn't recognize anyone else.  

I like Aarti but I don't think she's a good fit with this show.  I'd much prefer the regular guy we used to see (can't think of his name either) or Charles Phoenix.  I'm always happy to see Eddie.

 

[LindaT]

What the? I thought Zac Bagans was going to host.  He wasn't even there.  Who thought this was a good idea?  Halloween Wars is ruined and Holiday Wars was ruined last year.  If they can't get Jonathan back, is Jesse Palmer busy?  Somebody on the FN fix these shows please!  

Edited September 20, 2021 by LindaT
Capitalization is important.

[mojoween]

Yep.  They ruined it.  Stay behind your table, judges!  Judging is for finished products!

Wait, they are eating the displays?  What the hell?  And no pumpkins.  This is bullshit.

Also, it’s called “Halloween Wars”, not “Shit We Stuck in This ‘Ghost’ Museum”.  

Not loving Zak and his schtick.

So I guess it doesn’t matter that we pretended that Manuel’s husband was not also a contestant (who was bounced first) since he didn’t get picked, and I was sure he would have been.  Halloween birthdays unite!

I love Corterrius, he’s adorable.  But a piggy bank is not a toy nor is it a doll.

I just cannot get over having only one challenge and you have to eat it.  There are already a million Halloween baking shows, this one was fun for SCULPTURES.

[Guest]

As someone pointed out earlier, the need for pumpkins means the filming schedule for Halloween Wars is different from many of the other Halloween FN shows, so this show might still be feeling the effects of COVID more so than others. They might have been doing the best they could. If it's still like this next year, I'll chalk it up to producer incompentence.

Case in point, this time last year, the Halloween Baking Championship had many odd changes (e.g. one of the judges doubling as host), but this year it's back to "normal". So I'm taking a wait and see approach before I write Halloween Wars off entirely.

Edited September 20, 2021 by tracyscott76
For clarity

[SilverLake0315]

They ruined this show. I stopped watching about halfway through the episode. I’m out. 
 

(Jonathan recently posted about traveling and wanted people to guess where he was going. Someone said “To film Halloween Wars!” His reply was “I wish.” So, I’m thinking this wasn’t his choice 😕 I miss him. His over-the-top goofiness was perfect for this show, imo.)

[Spunkygal]

I just checked FN’s Facebook page and the overwhelming majority of comments are echoing us—-you ruined this show——we want pumpkin carvers———we want sugar artists———Zack Bagins was lame. Will FN listen? Too late for this year but maybe next year?? Feel free to go to their social media and share your thoughts! 🎃

[RoxiP]

How many times has Amy been on a Food Network show?  I count at least three.

[Schnickelfritz]

NOT only has this show become totally lame, it is also piss poorly edited. Anyone else notice that when the "block team" was describing their cake creation block monster for the first time, the PTB showed the wrong artwork?  They showed the rendering for the piggy bank. Then we promptly went to the piggy bank team and again saw their artwork. Why did no one notice that in production?

Goodbye old friend, I remember you  when....

[Spunkygal]

30 minutes ago, Schnickelfritz said:

NOT only has this show become totally lame, it is also piss poorly edited. Anyone else notice that when the "block team" was describing their cake creation block monster for the first time, the PTB showed the wrong artwork?  They showed the rendering for the piggy bank. Then we promptly went to the piggy bank team and again saw their artwork. Why did no one notice that in production?

Goodbye old friend, I remember you  when....

I did notice but had forgotten about that! Sheesh!  Just like how no one on HBC noticed that acute is misspelled as “accute.” Used to be such a charming show. Stupid network.

Edited September 21, 2021 by Spunkygal

[Rammchick]

8 hours ago, Schnickelfritz said:

NOT only has this show become totally lame, it is also piss poorly edited. Anyone else notice that when the "block team" was describing their cake creation block monster for the first time, the PTB showed the wrong artwork?  They showed the rendering for the piggy bank. Then we promptly went to the piggy bank team and again saw their artwork. Why did no one notice that in production?

Goodbye old friend, I remember you  when....

Thank you.  I thought two teams were making a pig, which was thoroughly confusing.