Halloween Wars - General Discussion

[BurntWaffle]

Someone mentioned on facebook that they should have some type of voting system for the public to choose the winners. That would be pretty awesome! However, you would get votes from people crushin' on certain contestants (Shelby! Shelby! Shelby!) too, I'm sure.  : P

Seriously though, I thought both final pieces were kinda neck-and-neck. Zesty Zombies had a piece that was loaded with activity, probably too much activity, but their creature was, to me, almost lost in all the colors.

Candied Cadavers' piece felt kinda empty in the background, but their creature was pretty awesome. If I had to choose, I probably would have given the slight nod to Candied Cadavers.

I do agree that some of the pieces seemed a little lackluster compared to previous campaigns. Some years are better than others, some worse.

I wonder if they could tweak some of the format. Maybe offer bigger prizes, MULTIPLE prizes? $50,000.00 after taxes is roughly 35 grand, then split three ways. Ehhhhh...

They should have a random selection option at times, where teams can create whatever they want, in secret. That would be pretty cool!

Edited October 29, 2018 by BurntWaffle

[CrazyDog]

What an underwhelming finale. I didn't object to any of the remaining bakers, but all the pieces in this episode were just meh. Zesty Zombies was kind of a mess, but Candied Cadavers seemed too plain.

I'm sure this show doesn't bring in the millions, but I agree a bigger prize would be better. I might be a party of one, but I have never heard of the finale guest judge either.

I had to laugh at Orly still "yelling" at everyone though, lol.

Please NO public voting! :) That never ends well on any show that I watch, ha.

Onto the Holiday show, I guess!

[BurntWaffle]

5 minutes ago, CrazyDog said:

I'm sure this show doesn't bring in the millions, but I agree a bigger prize would be better. I might be a party of one, but I have never heard of the finale guest judge either.

 

I don't think anyone had ever heard of her. They were all going through the motions like she was Elvira or something. *L*

[Spunkygal]

4 hours ago, BurntWaffle said:

Someone mentioned on facebook that they should have some type of voting system for the public to choose the winners. That would be pretty awesome! However, you would get votes from people crushin' on certain contestants (Shelby! Shelby! Shelby!) too, I'm sure.  : P

Seriously though, I thought both final pieces were kinda neck-and-neck. Zesty Zombies had a piece that was loaded with activity, probably too much activity, but their creature was, to me, almost lost in all the colors.

Candied Cadavers' piece felt kinda empty in the background, but their creature was pretty awesome. If I had to choose, I probably would have given the slight nod to Candied Cadavers.

I do agree that some of the pieces seemed a little lackluster compared to previous campaigns. Some years are better than others, some worse.

I wonder if they could tweak some of the format. Maybe offer bigger prizes, MULTIPLE prizes? $50,000.00 after taxes is roughly 35 grand, then split three ways. Ehhhhh...

They should have a random selection option at times, where teams can create whatever they want, in secret. That would be pretty cool!

I love the idea that the finale allows the finalists the freedom to tell whatever story they want with whatever characters they want. Screw the small scare totally in the finale. Just give them extra time to create their own scenario.

[seacliffsal]

I was underwhelmed with many of the "creations" this season.  However, I felt that the theme for the final challenge really wasn't representative of Halloween.  Yes, since The Walking Dead debuted, I get tons of trick-or-treaters who are dressed as some sort of zombie.  But, a zombie outbreak doesn't really coincide with Halloween in my opinion.  I would have preferred a more "traditional" Halloween theme.  I guess that does make me a traditionalist.  Who knew?

[mojoween]

I was rooting for the team with the bi-colored hair lady to lose solely for her incessant “Orly (? I’m still not sure if that is his name) has laryngitis” commentary.

I actually hated both their final concepts because they were rather uninspired and they could have been so much more creative with an outbreak concept.  And I agree with all of you...TF does that have to do with Halloween?

Todd seems like a bit of a wet blanket sometimes so it was cute to see him playing along with Jonathan’s nonsense.

[Spunkygal]

A big thanks to @RealityCheck for posting the upcoming Halloween show scheduling on the FN thread. Click on the link:

https://corporate.discovery.com/discovery-newsroom/its-a-halloween-extravaganza-as-food-network-and-cooking-channel-celebrate-things-that-go-bump-in-the-night-with-new-halloween-series-specials-and-returning-fan-favorites/

[mojoween]

My DVR is showing a recording set for 11 tonight of “The Road to Halloween Wars” for anyone who is interested.  

I can’t believe it’s already time for this season, and I am also super excited for it, heh.

[mojoween]

I don’t think they were wearing the same color apron but it would have been nice for Tator and Beth to be on the same team so I would only have to start disliking one team.

I already liked Jarid and then he threw shade at Tator which just cemented it.

[ShelleySue]

18 hours ago, mojoween said:

I don’t think they were wearing the same color apron but it would have been nice for Tator and Beth to be on the same team so I would only have to start disliking one team.

I already liked Jarid and then he threw shade at Tator which just cemented it.

I already know who I'm rooting will be the first team eliminated.  I cannot stand Tator, but the Food Network people must think that he's a fan favorite and/or makes good tv.  I just think he's an obnoxious, immature man whom I don't enjoy watching.

[Omeletsmom]

Oh dear GOD; can Tator's team PLEASE be eliminated first?? He's not even that talented. Why does the Food Network keep picking him?

[BusyOctober]

On 9/24/2019 at 5:04 PM, Omeletsmom said:

Oh dear GOD; can Tator's team PLEASE be eliminated first?? He's not even that talented. Why does the Food Network keep picking him?

Ditto times 1000.  Cannot stand Tater. I called him Tater-Not, and he was the reason I stopped watching this show. Aside from his leprechaun schtick, his commentary drove me nuts.   He isn’t nearly as witty or talented as he thinks he is.  I can’t even give him credit for being a creative hipster type.  He is just flat out annoying AF. I just hope the rest of his team is less talented than the other cake and sugar artists are, so Team Tater-Not gets booted early.

[Spunkygal]

There are familiar faces on every team. I am fine with either Tator’s or Reva’s teams going first.

Ah, yes. The fake drama is as irritating as ever.

Edited September 30, 2019 by Spunkygal

[Spunkygal]

S9, E1: Trapped in a Nightmare

It wasn’t too bad for a first episode. Tator is still annoying and his pumpkin carved limbs still lack definition. Hope he is gone soon. I can’t remember who is on whose team but every season someone gets ill and has a miraculous recovery the next episode. I was surprised that Beth and Froggy aren’t on the same team as they have been in the past. And I would love to see Santosh (sp?) return but I bet his business is booming. But there were some good ideas and pretty good execution of presentations. Nothing can top the first few seasons of HW. I love the judges and Jonathan. Happy that this show is back. 

[mlp]

Add me to the group hoping Tator makes an early exit.  I watched the Road to............ show and was very impressed with the sugar artist/instructor from Toronto.  I can't recall his name but he was of Asian descent and seemed good-humored.  He didn't make the cut and I can't imagine why they chose Tator before a professional with obvious talent.  I was sort of sorry to see the 18 y/o go because some of his creations shown on Road to.......... were terrific and I was hoping to see what he could do but his character on this episode wasn't good at all.

[Popples]

1 hour ago, mlp said:

Add me to the group hoping Tator makes an early exit.  I watched the Road to............ show and was very impressed with the sugar artist/instructor from Toronto.  I can't recall his name but he was of Asian descent and seemed good-humored.  He didn't make the cut and I can't imagine why they chose Tator before a professional with obvious talent.  I was sort of sorry to see the 18 y/o go because some of his creations shown on Road to.......... were terrific and I was hoping to see what he could do but his character on this episode wasn't good at all.

Kenneth Ku, I googled him as soon as his name came up to see more of his work and damn is he talented. I was stunned when he didn't make the cut.

I only watched this to see Elvira and even out of make up Cassandra Peterson looks amazing at 68.

[mojoween]

The lady in Burned at the Cake is devastatingly pretty but for their display, if mom was the demon, why was there also a demon under the bed?

Tator is annoying, but that spider was magnificent.  I would also cuddle with spiders, Elvira!

I did like Jarid but I'm not mad at the result.  The little girl was creepy, but not in the way they intended.

Shinmin saying camo-mile every time, instead of camo-meal, was driving me bonkers.

[mlp]

1 hour ago, Popples said:

Kenneth Ku, I googled him as soon as his name came up to see more of his work and damn is he talented.

Thanks for this link!  I can't imagine why he wasn't selected.  I especially like his fish.

[Spunkygal]

3 hours ago, Popples said:

Kenneth Ku, I googled him as soon as his name came up to see more of his work and damn is he talented. I was stunned when he didn't make the cut.

I only watched this to see Elvira and even out of make up Cassandra Peterson looks amazing at 68.

Elvira looks freaking awesome! I wish she were a judge every episode. She IS Halloween!

[Dirtybubble]

21 hours ago, mojoween said:

Tator is annoying

WORD to this!  Gah he is annoying A.F. and I hate that they brought him back.

The host Jonathon...enh still kinda goofy and silly but not really funny.  I can deal with him in small doses.  Love all the judges and like all the contestants as well.  Kinda bummed the young kid got sent home but it was obvs. he was in over his head with this competition.

[Rescue Mama]

This is my first time watching this show and I have a question, is the host always so ridiculously annoying?   My opinion is that the show would be much better with a different host.  

[Dirtybubble]

1 hour ago, Rescue Mama said:

This is my first time watching this show and I have a question, is the host always so ridiculously annoying?   My opinion is that the show would be much better with a different host.  

Short answer:  YES

He's been the host for as long as I've watched the show and I usually FF thru his parts.  I can deal with him as he is hosting the judging portion of the show but those STUPID skits or whatever it is he's doing while the contestants are trying to work are just dumb.  I don't know if the writers/producers making him do that or is he just that annoying.

[Spunkygal]

2 hours ago, Dirtybubble said:

Short answer:  YES

He's been the host for as long as I've watched the show and I usually FF thru his parts.  I can deal with him as he is hosting the judging portion of the show but those STUPID skits or whatever it is he's doing while the contestants are trying to work are just dumb.  I don't know if the writers/producers making him do that or is he just that annoying.

I believe Justin Willman was the original host and he also hosted Cupcake Wars. He was great! It took me a while to warm up to Jonathan but I don’t mind him so much now.

[ruffy666]

On 10/1/2019 at 11:34 AM, Rescue Mama said:

This is my first time watching this show and I have a question, is the host always so ridiculously annoying?   My opinion is that the show would be much better with a different host.  

I've grown to tolerate him but there is definitely someone on the Food Network payroll who is coaching their hosts to SHOUT EVERYTHING SO THAT IT SOUNDS ALMOST LIKE ENTHUSIASM BUT IN REALITY IS JUST MONOTONOUS AND ANNOYING.  Other hosts do it, too, it's not just Jonathan.

[Eliza422]

On ‎10‎/‎1‎/‎2019 at 5:19 PM, Spunkygal said:

I believe Justin Willman was the original host and he also hosted Cupcake Wars. He was great! It took me a while to warm up to Jonathan but I don’t mind him so much now.

Justin was definitely a lot better - but then he didn't shout as much so he had to go (I'm joking, I don't know why he left FN).

[Ilovepie]

On 10/1/2019 at 11:34 AM, Rescue Mama said:

This is my first time watching this show and I have a question, is the host always so ridiculously annoying? 

What! How can you not love Aaron Samuels?????

It is a halloween tradition for my 10 yo son and I to watch Halloween Wars. We've been doing it since he was about 5. He looooves Tator, so I guess now we know who he is cast for. I did think theirs was executed well with a good concept. Shinmin really seemed to dislike their tasting element though.

I thought the 18 yo was impressive for his age, but not ready for this competition. I hope he continues his craft and comes back. Overall, I thought the small scares were all terrible compared to past years.

On 9/30/2019 at 2:14 PM, mojoween said:

The lady in Burned at the Cake is devastatingly pretty but for their display, if mom was the demon, why was there also a demon under the bed?

I thought the same thing. I thought that was the best concept, but it was confusing having the extra demon.

[Rescue Mama]

21 hours ago, Ilovepie said:

What! How can you not love Aaron Samuels?????

It is a halloween tradition for my 10 yo son and I to watch Halloween Wars. We've been doing it since he was about 5. He looooves Tator, so I guess now we know who he is cast for. I did think theirs was executed well with a good concept. Shinmin really seemed to dislike their tasting element though.

I thought the 18 yo was impressive for his age, but not ready for this competition. I hope he continues his craft and comes back. Overall, I thought the small scares were all terrible compared to past years.

I thought the same thing. I thought that was the best concept, but it was confusing having the extra demon.

I have no clue who Aaron Samuels is.  I thought the host's name was Jonathan something.  

[Ilovepie]

1 hour ago, Rescue Mama said:

I have no clue who Aaron Samuels is.  I thought the host's name was Jonathan something.  

I was joking - Aaron Samuels was the name of his character in Mean Girls. He was the dreamy popular guy that Lindsey Lohan was in love with. Kind of funny since he's such a doofus on this show. 😛

[Rescue Mama]

2 hours ago, Ilovepie said:

I was joking - Aaron Samuels was the name of his character in Mean Girls. He was the dreamy popular guy that Lindsey Lohan was in love with. Kind of funny since he's such a doofus on this show. 😛

Sorry.  I only saw it once when it first came out and I took my daughter and a bunch of her friends.  I should start looking up these references before asking.  

[LexieLily]

Is there a reason Halloween Wars is scheduled for two hours tonight, according to my guide? 

[Spunkygal]

1 hour ago, LexieLily said:

Is there a reason Halloween Wars is scheduled for two hours tonight, according to my guide? 

I believe the first hour is a rerun of the previous episode.

[Spunkygal]

S9, E2: Zombie Dating Show

Darn it! So close to saying ta-ta to Tator! In the small scare, there were some really good pieces, in particular, the T-Rex (so excellent), the alien astronaut helmet and the take of the “Scream” painting. Froggy really is a good contestant and I wish he weren’t on Tator’s Team. His glass work and tasting elements are always so impressive.

I liked the dating game zombies that were hanging by hooks but I thought the foreground looked bare with those carved pumpkin heads just sitting around. The heads were well done, but there should have been something more like a painted floor. They did deserve the win, though. Are zombies usually bright green? Both dating game entries had bright green zombies.

[Popples]

IMDb was no help, but was the Reva on the team that did the Mummy T-Rex the same one that used to be on Amazing Wedding Cakes?

[Josette]

On 10/7/2019 at 7:43 AM, Popples said:

IMDb was no help, but was the Reva on the team that did the Mummy T-Rex the same one that used to be on Amazing Wedding Cakes?

 Yes.  First she worked for Christopher Garren and then she had her own cake business.  Now she keeps showing up on Food Network competitions.

On 10/6/2019 at 4:12 PM, LexieLily said:

Is there a reason Halloween Wars is scheduled for two hours tonight, according to my guide? 

 It turned out to be an early showing of Haunted Gingerbread's first episode.  It airs in its regular timeslot tonight.

edit:  Actually, Haunted Gingerbread will air its new episodes after Halloween Wars.  Monday will be a repeat of the previous episode.

Edited October 8, 2019 by Josette
correction

[mlp]

I thought the t-rex skeleton was one of the best, if not THE best, small scares ever.  So often the lack of sufficient time causes those to be amateurish but that one was terrific.

I was happy to see Rebecca Milliken join the team that I hope wins.  She's been in quite a few competition shows over the years and I don't think she's ever won.  She tends to get flustered under pressure but I've always liked her.   I like the big guy whose name I still don't know.  He's seriously talented and he's pleasant.

I agree with Spunkygal about Froggy.  He's very good and I like him but I can't stand Tator so I can't hope his team wins.  

[Kerri Okie]

On 10/3/2019 at 2:09 PM, Ilovepie said:

What! How can you not love Aaron Samuels?????

I do! I do!

I was flipping through channels a couple of years ago, saw him on HW, and stuck around to watch.  Yeah, he's very "hosty," and you can bet it's 99% scripted, but he's not any worse than most other competition show hosts.  He bothers me less than, say, Jeff Probst or Nigel Lythgoe, for example.

[mojoween]

When they showed the drawing of the entomology small scare with the spiders it was so obvious 45 minutes was not enough time for that.  That team had terrible time management and it’s not surprising they are gone.

I love that the t-Rex won the small scare because Tator was INCREDULOUS that the judges did not fawn all over him.

I am beyond over zombies as a Halloween theme.  Zombies are not Halloween.

Edited October 8, 2019 by mojoween

[Dirtybubble]

On 10/8/2019 at 2:41 PM, mojoween said:

I am beyond over zombies as a Halloween theme.  Zombies are not Halloween.

They're part of the Horror genre so they are Halloween by that account. 

On 10/7/2019 at 2:38 PM, mlp said:

 I like the big guy whose name I still don't know.  He's seriously talented and he's pleasant.

Matt the pumpkin carver from team Buttercream Beasts!  Yeah I like him too.  I liked his audition video they aired on the Road To... episode so he is an early favorite. 

On 10/8/2019 at 2:41 PM, mojoween said:

When they showed the drawing of the entomology small scare with the spiders it was so obvious 45 minutes was not enough time for that.  That team had terrible time management and it’s not surprising they are gone.

I think they were the only all girl team in the competition but when they tanked on the small scare AND the main challenge I knew it was all over for them.  Usually when a team screws up on both challenges they are gone no matter how badly the other teams perform.

[Spunkygal]

S9, E4: The Swarm

i thought this was a pretty good episode. Although I agreed with the comments regarding the mosquito scenario, all of the presentations were well done. The rabbit one did deserve the win and the bee one was also particularly impressive. Yeah, it had lots of yellow, but those wings were awesome and wasn’t it the one that had faces carved in the pumpkins as if they had been absorbed into the honeycombs? Even Tator’s team that did the crows was good. The face on the guy was so expressive and Froggy’s crows were great. I hope the teams can keep the quality up.  Am I the only one thinking that the teams get a little heads up before taping on what the theme is going to be? 

[mlp]

1 hour ago, Spunkygal said:

Am I the only one thinking that the teams get a little heads up before taping on what the theme is going to be? 

I'm reasonably sure they do.  I don't think there's any way that the teams, on all the shows that require large pieces, can whip out a pad and come up with an elaborate plan that everyone agrees on while we watch.  Also, as we saw tonight, the sugar artists already have molds for exactly the pieces and parts they need.

I was sure I knew which team would lose at the end but I wasn't sure whether the giant rabbit or the one with the fountain would win.  I was happy with the judges' decision partly because I wanted that team to win and partly because Tator is so obnoxious.  He does have talent but he's not the world's greatest as he seems to think.

[Rickster]

I’m sure they get some info in advance too, but it seems not far enough that they can practice the pieces. Maybe a couple of hours or the night before? Not sure though how they have the right molds, unless they figure way in advance they will fit certain elements into whatever challenge they’re given.

[Eliza422]

I felt the loser was pretty clear cut. That whole mosquito display was terrible. I do think the bee one had way too much yellow as well, I agree with the team member where she says they don't have contrast down.

I loved the fountain one with the crows - it wasn't full of a lot of nonsense and just had a simple, powerful look. It was the giant bunny that clinched the win for the other team.

I finally paid attention to find out who "tator" was. You guys have been talking about it but I didn't watch the pre-season show so I didn't know anything about the contestants. Oy, he's obnoxious. 

Edited October 14, 2019 by Eliza422

[Dirtybubble]

18 hours ago, Spunkygal said:

S9, E4: The Swarm

i thought this was a pretty good episode. Although I agreed with the comments regarding the mosquito scenario, all of the presentations were well done. The rabbit one did deserve the win and the bee one was also particularly impressive. Yeah, it had lots of yellow, but those wings were awesome and wasn’t it the one that had faces carved in the pumpkins as if they had been absorbed into the honeycombs? Even Tator’s team that did the crows was good. The face on the guy was so expressive and Froggy’s crows were great. I hope the teams can keep the quality up.  Am I the only one thinking that the teams get a little heads up before taping on what the theme is going to be? 

I liked the rabbit display as well and glad they won even though the pumpkin carver had to start completely over with his pumpkin head.  Oh BTW did anyone notice that the victim in the killer bunnies displayed looked like Donald Trump.  Haha that blonde, wispy hair was totally hair!  =D

5 hours ago, Eliza422 said:

I finally paid attention to find out who "tator" was. You guys have been talking about it but I didn't watch the pre-season show so I didn't know anything about the contestants. Oy, he's obnoxious. 

Totally however I do like how he and the other contestants are supportive of their team.  Everyone seems encouraging and supportive of each other's creativity.  I watch way too much reality tv and I HATE it when contestants are bad mouthing each other right within the team! 

[Spunkygal]

9 minutes ago, Dirtybubble said:

I liked the rabbit display as well and glad they won even though the pumpkin carver had to start completely over with his pumpkin head.  Oh BTW did anyone notice that the victim in the killer bunnies displayed looked like Donald Trump.  Haha that blonde, wispy hair was totally hair!  =D

Totally however I do like how he and the other contestants are supportive of their team.  Everyone seems encouraging and supportive of each other's creativity.  I watch way too much reality tv and I HATE it when contestants are bad mouthing each other right within the team! 

OMG, yes! I forgot that the victim looked like Trump! That was pretty funny. I, too, hate it when contestants bad mouth each other. This show had a woman like that a couple of years ago and, boy, was she a piece of work. In fact, if you read back in this thread, her pumpkin carver came here and posted a little bit about his experience after it was over. I felt so sorry for him during his season. I saw that very season recently when FN reran past shows before this season aired and felt myself cringing. She even removed part of a roof he was working on because she said they didn’t have time. The judges were very unimpressed with her behavior.

[suebee12]

1 hour ago, Dirtybubble said:

Totally however I do like how he and the other contestants are supportive of their team.  Everyone seems encouraging and supportive of each other's creativity.  I watch way too much reality tv and I HATE it when contestants are bad mouthing each other right within the team! 

I agree. One has to give it to Tater that he helped the sugar guy! Didn't complain, just started helping!

[ShelleySue]

I hope it's ok if I say something about Haunted Gingerbread Showdown since it doesn't have it's own forum.  They make it seem like the tasting elements are a complete and total surprise. So I guess that Donna just happened to bring pickled beets with her in case she needed it for her pumpkin/squash town.

[suebee12]

13 minutes ago, ShelleySue said:

I hope it's ok if I say something about Haunted Gingerbread Showdown since it doesn't have it's own forum.  They make it seem like the tasting elements are a complete and total surprise. So I guess that Donna just happened to bring pickled beets with her in case she needed it for her pumpkin/squash town.

There is a Haunted Gingerbread Showdown that continued from last year's season. Check out

[ShelleySue]

13 minutes ago, suebee12 said:

There is a Haunted Gingerbread Showdown that continued from last year's season. Check out

Thank you. I searched for "haunted gingerbread."  I should just have used "gingerbread."

[Spunkygal]

3 hours ago, suebee12 said:

There is a Haunted Gingerbread Showdown that continued from last year's season. Check out

Thank you...I forgot about that forum, too!

[Carolina Girl]

On 9/24/2019 at 9:58 AM, ShelleySue said:

I already know who I'm rooting will be the first team eliminated.  I cannot stand Tator, but the Food Network people must think that he's a fan favorite and/or makes good tv.  I just think he's an obnoxious, immature man whom I don't enjoy watching.

Oh good - it ISN'T just me.  I thought "maybe I'm missing something fabulous from Tator's personality" other than a sense of entitlement and obvious conceit.  I do love it every time he states "it's in the bag!" or "no way we can lose" and is denied each time.   He's a long way from Russell Hantz, but frankly Food Network, stop bringing him back.