Halloween Wars - General Discussion

[Angeleyes]

The judges do not choose their own clothes for the show. They had a stylist named Sara Borgese who dressed them. Aarti said a lot of the clothes were outside of her comfort zone, but the stylist encouraged her to try something new. 

[Spunkygal]

1 hour ago, Angeleyes said:

The judges do not choose their own clothes for the show. They had a stylist named Sara Borgese who dressed them. Aarti said a lot of the clothes were outside of her comfort zone, but the stylist encouraged her to try something new. 

Note to self: don’t ever use Sara Borgese as my stylist! 

[crazycatlady58]

4 hours ago, Spunkygal said:

Note to self: don’t ever use Sara Borgese as my stylist! 

Yea, I wonder what Aarti did yo make Sara mad.

[seacliffsal]

I wonder if Eddie and Aarti are there because of the type of contract they have with FN, like maybe they are paid an annual salary and have to be on whatever shows they are told to be on versus someone who is hired specifically for a specific show (i.e. Jonathan).  It seems like FN is doing a lot of cost cutting, including ending their association with Bobby Flay who, IMO, really represents FN and has real credentials as a chef versus just being a personality who I think many FN judges are (especially as we never see them cook [outside of their appearances on Food Network Star]).

[Rammchick]

17 hours ago, seacliffsal said:

I wonder if Eddie and Aarti are there because of the type of contract they have with FN, like maybe they are paid an annual salary and have to be on whatever shows they are told to be on versus someone who is hired specifically for a specific show (i.e. Jonathan).  It seems like FN is doing a lot of cost cutting, including ending their association with Bobby Flay who, IMO, really represents FN and has real credentials as a chef versus just being a personality who I think many FN judges are (especially as we never see them cook [outside of their appearances on Food Network Star]).

Bobby Flay's contract demands gave them no choice.  After giving Guy Fieri 80M for 3 years, Bobby wanted 100M for one year.  I don't think that would have been sustainable for them, and although I don't have anything to back it up (I don't like either of them, so I can't say anything personally), my guess is that Guy is a bigger draw than Bobby is.

  

[Grizzly]

Just realized I miss the big, painted backdrops. This week I prefer the 2 furnace pieces over the 2 ghosts. Black and white palettes weren't doing it for me. Not sure what they were going for with the sugar stand. It's a cool technique but didn't go with the rest of the character.

[Madding crowd]

I miss the backdrops too-they created a whole scene. Also not liking the insistence of adding savory elements to every cake ( although they don’t seem to care if it isn’t added). I like Eddie on other shows but he seems too picky here, he always finds something wrong.

[Rammchick]

For all his appearances, let's just put Eddie in clothes 1 size too small!  Sheesh, any tighter and you would've been able to tell his religion 😉  

[mlp]

Once again the right team went home.  I didn't understand what the glass base on the one display was supposed to be but, overall, the workmanship was better than the losing team's.  I especially liked the furnace with legs sticking out.

Aarti looked nice I thought.  I liked her dress and her hairdo.

One small thing that bugs me on all these baking shows......................... We see a team member cut a big wedge of cake from their display.  Then we see that all the judges have rectangular slices a half inch high.  Huh?

 

[mojoween]

Bad judges!  You judge, you do not course correct for the contestants.

Dammitall.  I loved Corderrius.  I hope they find a way to bring him back for something else that I watch.

[Spunkygal]

Aarti’s dress was beautiful on her(and Shinmin’s was, too.) And I 100% agree that Shinmin should not have told that team to use wire for their rice cereal treat structure! Butt out! And then she got all weepy when they went home. WTH? I’ve never seen her get weepy and I’ve watched every episode she’s been on since the beginning of time. Judges should stay at the judging table or in the green room drinking whiskey. I really, really hope that we get the REAL Halloween Wars next year. Carvers, backdrops, Jonathan, more sugar work, Todd Tucker as judge alongside Shinmin, fake sugar breakage drama and especially…….the evil Jack o Lantern’s ominous ha, ha, ha introduction! 🎃 hey, FN, it wasn’t broke, so don’t try to fix it! 

[Spunkygal]

4 hours ago, Rammchick said:

For all his appearances, let's just put Eddie in clothes 1 size too small!  Sheesh, any tighter and you would've been able to tell his religion 😉  

Whatever his religion is, I’m joining his church! 

[mlp]

Amen to every bit of that, Spunkygal.  

I didn't understand why Shin Min got all choked up either.  I wondered if she had a special interest in that team or someone on it for some reason.  It was especially peculiar because she isn't usually very emotional.

[Spunkygal]

I remember that Holiday Wars sucked last year so prepare yourselves for more disappointment this year. They won’t change anything.

[Rammchick]

On 10/18/2021 at 5:38 PM, mlp said:

Amen to every bit of that, Spunkygal.  

I didn't understand why Shin Min got all choked up either.  I wondered if she had a special interest in that team or someone on it for some reason.  It was especially peculiar because she isn't usually very emotional.

I was wondering that too, but I don't think she ever announced who was going home before.  Voting someone off the island, so to speak, and actually being the one who delivers the verdict, could be very different, emotionally, I'm guessing.

Edited October 20, 2021 by Rammchick

[Eliza422]

On 10/7/2021 at 11:09 AM, trudysmom said:

One final thought, I am so tired of every cake having to have a filling, texture, contrast, 'interesting' flavors.  Dammit cake can be delicious all on it's own, or with a good frosting.  Rant over.

 

I don't think in real life anyone is concerned that there are multiple textures in cake - I've not thought "Gee, if only there was something crunchy in here!" The cake normal people eat is soft and that's it. It might be a bit denser like pound cake (which is OK!) or drier (which is OK! not every cake has to be gloopy).

[Rammchick]

5 hours ago, Eliza422 said:

I don't think in real life anyone is concerned that there are multiple textures in cake - I've not thought "Gee, if only there was something crunchy in here!" The cake normal people eat is soft and that's it. It might be a bit denser like pound cake (which is OK!) or drier (which is OK! not every cake has to be gloopy).

Agreed.  I don't think I've ever had cake that had all that stuff in it.

[Grizzly]

As soon as the teams described their pieces, I knew goat yoga vampire was winning. I loved it. And Aarti was so cute at how happy she was pulling off her beet pun. Hate that Travis and his team went home over Lillian. But there was no hobby, and nowhere to incorporate his sugar work. The ladies had nice dresses tonight and I wish my hair was curly like Aarti's.

[Guest]

I appreciated Eddie's blunt honesty after sending the team home, basically telling the other two teams "they were straight up better than you all, but they had a bad day so they're gone."

I liked the overall vibes of all three of these teams, so would have been bummed to lose any of them. Probably the right choice, though.

[Spunkygal]

So were the 3 vampires playing poker to win kitties? I never quite got the storyline on that one. Can’t wait to never see Zack Bagans again. 

[40Love]

58 minutes ago, Grizzly said:

As soon as the teams described their pieces, I knew goat yoga vampire was winning. I loved it. 

Yep! Me too. I knew as soon as the other team decided to make the vampire's hobby "dating" on a couch that they had lost the plot and would be going home. Man, they really dropped the ball on that challenge.. so many hobbies to from: knitting, checkers, bingo etc. Sorry to see them go. Not a fan of the lady who's always crying. Gotta watch her cry another week. Ugh! 

[mlp]

When the team with three women said they were going to make a display with three vampires, I was sure they wouldn't finish and would lose.  Instead their characters and kittens turned out really cute although I didn't quite get the story.  The woman on the couch looked bad as did the giant couch.  It was obvious that team would be going home.

I guess goat yoga is an actual thing.  Who knew?  I didn't understand what the big red sugar piece was supposed to be.

[Taeolas]

I think the big red circular thing was meant to be a specialized shelving unit or something like that; think of the wonky designs from the 60's and 70's and such. 

And yeah, Goat Yoga is a thing and that vampire was great. 

 

Poker for kittens was good; and all the characters (including the kittens) were quite solid. I think the layout of their display made the story more difficult to see (having all 3 vamps on the same side of the table basically); but the idea of the story is something I've heard a lot before. Not quite a trope but still a common thing (the idea of monsters playing poker with something 'cute' as the prize has been done a lot of times before)

 

And yeah the dating vampire was a huge fail. There was only the one obvious character and it wasn't doing anything. And it could have been saved so easily by ditching the 'dating' story and adding more accessories. (Have her be knitting, or doing a puzzle book, or just doing ANYTHING and it might have saved that project.)

[mojoween]

If fainting couch had stayed because of dry Chardonnay cake it would have been immensely stupid.  Thankfully their sculpture work saved them.

I was just thinking how much I miss sugar bowls that shatter on the floor and windshields that don’t quite fit right so it was nice to get some sugar, even if it was a weird circle.

[Taeolas]

The way the judges gushed over the tasting element, I suspect the choice of the eliminated team was basically a coin flip. So if the "Fainting Couch" had literally had anything else to go with it, they would probably have stuck around. 

 

Another idea for what they could've done. Made a sugar sculpture easel, and have the vampire be a model for her relaxation hobby. It would fit in with the vanity that vampires sometimes have associated with them, and it would match her pose on the couch as well. 

 

I think ultimately they were sent home for all the potential they missed and biting off a lot more than they could handle for the challenge.  

[Guest]

41 minutes ago, mojoween said:

I was just thinking how much I miss sugar bowls that shatter on the floor and windshields that don’t quite fit right so it was nice to get some sugar, even if it was a weird circle.

Didn't the one member of the poker team make a bottle of sangria out of sugar? I think I remember her adding first clear sugar to a mold to make the bottle and then red sugar to make the sangria, constantly turning it to coat the mold evenly and adding layers to "fill" the bottle.

Then when she popped this perfect looking bottle out of the mold she said something like "it looks pretty good" and I'm thinking it looked a lot more than pretty good!

[Josette]

The team that went home (Pumpkin to Talk About, which seems inapt this season) should have had their vampire lady collect hearts as her hobby.  That would have gone with their idea and been a bit gruesome.

I hate when the judges go around and have teams explain what they're planning, and then complain if the team didn't accomplish everything they hoped to do. 

[Grizzly]

2 hours ago, Josette said:

I hate when the judges go around and have teams explain what they're planning, and then complain if the team didn't accomplish everything they hoped to do. 

And if the judge makes a suggestion, you darn well better follow it.

[Rammchick]

The obvious thing would've been vampires baking.  Seems like a missed opportunity.  I can just imagine the cute bat cookies!

[Mrs. Landingham]

Well, that was…interesting? 

I miss the pumpkin carvers but don’t miss the super awkward bickering. Everyone here seemed likeable. I don’t mind Aarti but Zack can go away. 

I remember when Amy was on Halloween Wars and had to quit because she wasn’t feeling well (pregnant). Then she came back on Spring Baking Championship the following year I think? And then another show. 

Overall, kind of a mixed bag with this new format. 

[Biosynth]

On 10/18/2021 at 7:49 PM, Spunkygal said:

 and especially…….the evil Jack o Lantern’s ominous ha, ha, ha introduction! 🎃 hey, FN, it wasn’t broke, so don’t try to fix it! 

I'm glad I'm not the only one who misses the Evil Jack O Lantern.  I look forward to that every year!

[mlp]

Well, hurray!  The right team won.  The only negative thing about the winning display IMO was the bird's beak as one of the judges pointed out.  The heads on the other team's characters were very good but the cat's body had no movement and the wolf dog's proportions were all wrong.  I liked everybody in the finale so I was sorry one team had to lose but I think the judges made the right decision.

I hope FN never uses Zak Bagans again.  A host should be physically present plus his part was just a weekly promotion of his Las Vegas attraction.  He annoyed me almost as much as he did the contestants.

Edited November 1, 2021 by mlp
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[Grizzly]

The final pieces were not that impressive. And didn't have much to do with Halloween. A Wild West theme would not be my pick. At least the winning team had creatures from the west. The werecat was good but the front end of the hound did not look right at all. I was so worried when the judges were scarfing down the cake that they'd pick that team. But I've been fans of Ed, Thierry, and the woman who's name I'm ashamed I'm not sure of, from the beginning. They were fans of each other from the get go. And there was no drama, just camaraderie. So glad they won.

[BookWitch]

I liked the cake  that was made from the losing team, it sounded delicious. I've never cooked with whiskey or bourbon so I don't know how that would taste. I didn't really care for the way they made either of them, both seemed to difficult and a waste of good cake. 

[Rammchick]

12 hours ago, mlp said:

I hope FN never uses Zak Bagans again.  A host should be physically present plus his part was just a weekly promotion of his Las Vegas attraction.  He annoyed me almost as much as he did the contestants.

Sadly, I think we're going to see even more crossovers like that now that all their shows are being pimped to encourage subscribing to Discovery+.

As for the winning piece, that color scheme was so drab, I wasn't sure where one creature ended and the other began.  Maybe that was the point, but on TV, it read muddy and uninspiring.  And those little chocolate tumbleweeds were so out of scale as to be laughable.  Ah well.  Another year of Halloween Wars over.  See you all at Holiday Wars!

Edited November 1, 2021 by Rammchick

[Madding crowd]

I didn’t think this had much to do with Halloween and I really missed the big scary scenes. Also didn’t understand why they chose the Wild West theme unless it was to tie in with Zach’s museum. On to holiday wars!

[HyeChaps]

Really missed the pumpkin carving this year

[cuppasun]

On 10/24/2021 at 8:19 PM, Spunkygal said:

So were the 3 vampires playing poker to win kitties? I never quite got the storyline on that one. Can’t wait to never see Zack Bagans again. 

A little late, but popping in to say I laughed out loud at that choice because I know its provenance, though it seems none of the judges (or anyone else there!) did: kitten poker is a direct reference to Buffy the Vampire Slayer (the 6th season), in which the vampire Spike takes Buffy to a backroom demon poker game, where the stakes are (you guessed it) kittens. It's campy and kitchy and the fandom tended to either love it or hate it (I thought it was pretty funny, personally, even if it was kind of dorky), and it gets called back a few times in the remainder of the show. The team member who suggested it was almost certainly a Buffy fan, lol.

And I can't endorse the fuck Zak Bagans more, he was so repulsive and stupid that I resorted to fast forwarding through any of his appearances in the last few eps. If he's not dumped after this season, it's likely to be my last of Halloween Wars because he ruins it that much for me. I sincerely hope the producers are paying attention to the fan complaints about him because I refuse to believe it's not most of the show following howling in indignation. The degree to which the hosts were forced to sing his praises was grotesque... and not in a fun Halloweeny way!

[mlp]

1 hour ago, cuppasun said:

kitten poker is a direct reference to Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Thank you for the explanation.  I had no clue what that was about.  I agree on Zak Bagans.  I can't imagine that anyone except him enjoyed his appearances.

[mojoween]

Two sculptures fighting.  Woopty fucking do.  That has fuckall to do with Halloween, exactly?

Zak sucks, this format sucks, no pumpkins sucks, this season sucks.  Seven hours for that sucks too.

What underwhelming final pieces to go with an underwhelming season.  The cakes sounded like they tasted good, though.

[Spunkygal]

26 minutes ago, mojoween said:

Two sculptures fighting.  Woopty fucking do.  That has fuckall to do with Halloween, exactly?

Zak sucks, this format sucks, no pumpkins sucks, this season sucks.  Seven hours for that sucks too.

What underwhelming final pieces to go with an underwhelming season.  The cakes sounded like they tasted good, though.

This season sucked donkey balls. Maybe THAT should have been one of the sculptures! 😈

[Texasmom1970]

The whole season was meh to me. I cannot wear orange, but Aarti looked beautiful!

[trudysmom]

On 11/1/2021 at 11:57 AM, Madding crowd said:

On to holiday wars

Only if they lose Raven Simone and the rest of the set up that made last year's such a waste.  I long for the good old days of REAL cake artists and the stunning displays they made. 

[Spunkygal]

On 11/5/2021 at 6:54 AM, trudysmom said:

Only if they lose Raven Simone and the rest of the set up that made last year's such a waste.  I long for the good old days of REAL cake artists and the stunning displays they made. 

I haven’t seen Raven on any of the promos but I try not to look too closely because they spoil the upcoming creations! 

[Kaoteek]

Late to the party, but I just watched fast-forwarded through the finale, and... meh. Just like the rest of the season. The new formula just doesn't do it for me, especially everything re: Zack Whatsisname, and i'm fearing the worst for Holiday Wars... again. Oh, well...

[Maverick]

 Ads airing for the new season.   The pumpkin carvers are back, but otherwise all the other changes are still around....including Zak.    I like Aarti and Eddie ok, but not here.  I don't like the new setup and I especially can't stand Zak.  They really need to get Jonathan back hosting these.  It's like FN is flipping the middle finger to fans of the show. 

[Spunkygal]

The only FN shows I watch these days are the various seasonal competitions, so I haven’t seen the commercials. Glad the carvers are back but the return of Zak sucks. I’ll watch the first episode and will evaluate from there. I’m just sick of FN’s crappy programming and how they ignore viewers’ comments. They took two charming shows, Halloween Wars and Holiday Wars, and destroyed them for no good reason! 

[CeeBeeGee]

22 hours ago, Maverick said:

 Ads airing for the new season.   The pumpkin carvers are back, but otherwise all the other changes are still around....including Zak.    I like Aarti and Eddie ok, but not here.  I don't like the new setup and I especially can't stand Zak.  They really need to get Jonathan back hosting these.  It's like FN is flipping the middle finger to fans of the show. 

Oh God, seriously? Not interested. Get rid of Porkpie Hat and bring back Jonathan. Don't fix what isn't broken.

[CrystalBlue]

Fortunately discovery+ only costs $4.99 a month, so I'll most likely fire up my membership again to see the Halloween stuff.

[Snarkastikate]

Looks like the old crew is back for Halloween Baking Championship, looking forward to that.  But unfortunately like like Doosh-Baggins is back on Halloween Wars, and those judges just don't fit the show.  I wish they'd go back to the pre-covid format of brightly lit kitchen sets & the goofy host.  It was so much more fun.  Hopefully they'll have actual pumpkins & talented artists this year.