Season 7: Positive Vibes

[Dirtybubble]

 

I know there has been a lot of talk here about what we don't like about S7.  And good Lord there is a lot not to like but is there anything that we did like?  Is there anything you would like to see return for S8?

 

I actually liked the new and interesting runway themes and some of the challenges this season.  How would your drag character die?  Ugliest Dress.  Conjoined Twins.  All of those are GREAT ideas that a few queens really excelled at (Katya, Violet) and I would like to see more of those type of runway themes.  I'm sorry but dress like you're going to the opera from last season was just another reason to wear a pretty dress.

 

I also liked the new judges, especially Ross Matthews.  He is an upbeat kinda guy and had a lot of good comments.  Carson Kressely...enh I could take him or leave him.

 

And IMHO the best thing about S7:  John Friggin' Waters!!!  Can we bring him back every season?  He was my favorite guest judge!

Edited May 22, 2015 by Dirtybubble

[April Bloodgate]

I liked the John Waters challenge, I liked the half boy-half girl drag, and I liked the conjoined twins challenge. And I do like Ross Matthews and, to a certain extent, Carson Kressely better than Santino as judges.

[blaase]

I liked the different runway themes, fashion week runway challenge, conjoined queens challenge (with bringing all the eliminated queens back), the new ginger pit crew guy, John waters, Merle back for one episode ( she should be a permanent judge along side Michelle and Ru)  The Glamozonian airways challenge,  and I liked the prancing with the stars challenge although I hated the half boy half girl drag, I wish the queens just had male professional ballroom partners instead.

Edited May 23, 2015 by blaase

[kieyra]

I love Ross (I know this is divisive but I fell in love with his crew and their podcast), and the man thinks VERY fast on his feet, so I'm sorry I didn't get to see him pull off more little bon mots.

I liked most of what Katya did.

(I'm struggling here, I want to respect the thread topic.)

I guess the conjoined queens challenge was cute. The Shakespeare one could have been fun in the hands of the S6 queens. Violet actually slayed me with a few looks.

I tried!

Edited May 23, 2015 by kieyra

[micat]

I thought the conjoined queens challenge was great. Even if they don't reuse it, I think they should definitely reuse the concept of having the eliminated queens come back for the makeover episode. Makeover episodes in past seasons have often been pretty bad (not always) and have tended to pull the focus off the queens onto a group of people we aren't necessarily invested in. This year, it allowed us some more time with eliminated queens, which was great!

 

Ross Matthews should be a permanent new judge, as in, every week there he is with Michelle and Ru. I thought his perspective was refreshing and even when I didn't agree with him I thought he came across as rational, funny, and compassionate. A good counterpoint to Michelle in other words.

 

I know this may not garner a lot of agreement, but I really really enjoyed the new Untucked format. A lot less staged emotional breakdowns, and more realness. It's weird though, without the videos from home (which I've never really liked because they felt so emotionally manipulative) we know less about the queens themselves (which I miss). So I guess this season made me realize there was an upside I was sort of taking for granted.

 

Thanks, @Dirtybubble for starting this thread!

[Corgi-ears]

I though the Glamazonian Airways number was the best thing the show has ever done -- hella entertaining, and it gave us a chance to see some lip synching (albeit spoken word) early in the season, and divorced from the bottom two elimination component. 

[SteveAC10]

 

I though the Glamazonian Airways number was the best thing the show has ever done -- hella entertaining, and it gave us a chance to see some lip synching (albeit spoken word) early in the season, and divorced from the bottom two elimination component.

I agree totally. It worked as entertainment, but it also gave the queens a chance fight for the best parts in the skit and take the spotlight (I still think Kasha was robbed in that challenge).  Plus it was a rare chance to test their lip synching skills without putting them in the bottom two. It was also a tribute to mash-ups which are an old school drag tradition, so I'm somewhat disappointed Ru didn't mention the queen of that art - Lypsinka.

 

The John Waters episode was also a great idea, although I think they could have found a better moment than Divine eating shit for inspiration (although I'm sure Ginger and Katya would have had the balls to really pull that one off in a way the glamour triplets just were not capable of doing). It's too bad they can really only go there once, although a Hairspray challenge could be entertaining.

 

The Despys were good in concept - and fun, but we lost a chance to see the queens hold the stage on their own that the more traditional comedy challenges have.

 

To my mind the one key challenge that went missing was the more traditional marketing/hosting challenges that tested the queens ingenuity and mental reflexes. The group videos that obviously replaced it were along with ShakesQueer, the lowlight of the season.

Edited May 23, 2015 by SteveAC10

[Dirtybubble]

I love Ross (I know this is divisive but I fell in love with his crew and their podcast), and the man thinks VERY fast on his feet, so I'm sorry I didn't get to see him pull off more little bon mots.

I liked most of what Katya did.

(I'm struggling here, I want to respect the thread topic.)

I guess the conjoined queens challenge was cute. The Shakespeare one could have been fun in the hands of the S6 queens. Violet actually slayed me with a few looks.

I tried!

lol! I know how tough that was for you Kiera, thanks for trying. Yes Katya was one of the best things about this season. I hope she's in all stars 2. And Max loved Max, I think it's unfair that one bad decision during snatch game got her eliminated

Thanks micat! I've come to accept the new untucked but I'm still not in love with it.

Edited May 24, 2015 by Dirtybubble

[bunnywithanaxe]

The John Waters episode was also a great idea, although I think they could have found a better moment than Divine eating shit for inspiration...

They should have gone with the singing asshole.

[kieyra]

I am admittedly not quite hip enough (and seemingly will never be) to understand the appeal of the grosser John Waters stuff, so that was uncomfortable to watch, and ergo most of an episode was lost on me. I suppose "uncomfortable" is the whole point, but ... whatever, call me squeamish, I guess. Or what was Pearl's quote? Call me young, call me illiterate.

 

On topic: The dance numbers were good and I actually liked the combo outfits. I absolutely loved Katya and Violet's dance and runway.

Edited May 24, 2015 by kieyra

[Dirtybubble]

I am admittedly not quite hip enough (and seemingly will never be) to understand the appeal of the grosser John Waters stuff, so that was uncomfortable to watch, and ergo most of an episode was lost on me. I suppose "uncomfortable" is the whole point, but ... whatever, call me squeamish, I guess. Or what was Pearl's quote? Call me young, call me illiterate.

I never saw Femmel Fatal so I didn't get Katya and Kennedy skit either but JW was such a joy to see I loved him as a guest judge.

Check YouTube for some of his interviews he is always very pleasant

[bunnywithanaxe]

I never saw Femmel Fatal so I didn't get Katya and Kennedy skit either but JW was such a joy to see I loved him as a guest judge.

Check YouTube for some of his interviews he is always very pleasant

"Female Trouble" was the Christmas tree sketch source. The poo eating thing came from "Pink Flamingos", and this was my IMDB review of that-- "The great thing about seeing 'Pink Flamingos' is you can tell everyone you have seen it AND THEN YOU NEVER HAVE TO SEE IT AGAIN."

So yeah, his early work is kind of a cinematic trial by ordeal, but John Waters himself? He seems to just bubble over with delight at the human race, warts and all. It was a joy to see his twinkly eyed warmth commanding the panel this season.

(Also, regarding the poo-eating thing: they could have at least faked it with a tootsie roll or something..)

Edited May 24, 2015 by bunnywithanaxe

[bunnywithanaxe]

Sorry-- positive. I really liked the half -and-half runway, and hope they bring it back. The fugly dress challenge rocked. The mini musicals rocked-- in themselves, but also because the whole episode gave love to a groundbreaking drag superstar, and ( like with genderfucking and "Paris is Burning," I like the idea of using the show as a platform for honoring drag history.

[AKA...CJ86]

Frequent lurker, rare poster, this is my first season:

 

Kennedy Davenport's Phaedra Parks realness...

 

I liked the challenges, mini-challenges, runways, or at least for some or the ideas behind the challenges, minus the nude illusion... Glamazon Airways was my overall favorite, with the Hello, Kitty! challenge a close second...

 

Minus Jasmine, I loved all the queens in their own way, warts and all...

 

I usually find Ross Matthews annoying, but enjoyed him here...

[vrocotamy]

So...positives. Most of what I have to say has been said by someone else, so I'll go through it quickly:

 

1. Ross Matthews. I don't know him outside of his stint on RuPaul's Drag Race (and his judging of Snatch Game in S4 with Loretta Devine), but he provides a good counterweight to Michelle.

2. The challenges after Snatch Game were all original, complex, and produced engaging results. I enjoyed the concepts and outcomes of Conjoined Queens, Divine Inspiration, Prancing Queens, and Hello, Kitty Girls! I did think Divine Inspiration was very uneven - not only because of the uneven acting skills of the contestants, but because the sketch given to the glamour triplets (as steveac10 aptly titled them) diverged so much from the source material in Pink Flamingos. The scene where Divine eats dog shit in Pink Flamingos hardly even counts as a scene. It's basically a stunt tacked on to the end of the movie; there are no spoken lines, only a sound-track of "Who's That Doggy In the Window?" In any case, there's no indication of internal conflict (or great enthusiasm, either) on Divine's part over the shit-eating. I also know from Waters' DVD commentary that the crew followed the poodle in question around for three hours waiting for it to take a dump, so the scene given to the glamour triplets seemed even more asinine. But, keeping with the positive vibes of this thread...as bunnywithanaxe said, it's good that it paid homage to Divine and Waters, and to the illustrious herstory of drag. Glamazonian Airways was pretty nifty, too.

3. This is the season that introduced the world to the divine Katya Zamolodchikova, one of the most multi-talented, intelligent, and original queens to emerge from Drag Race and the queen that I've related to the most in the run of seven seasons, since she struggles as much as I do with self-doubt, anxiety, and low self-esteem (and her admissions to that effect always seemed genuine, rather than a cynical sympathy ploy.)

4. There were some hilarious mini-challenges (for example, the Real Housewives and Orange is the New Black take-offs).

5. Kennedy's Little Richard in Snatch Game. In a separate instance of drag manliness, I think the bearded runway may have been the best all season.

 

I feel like Season 7 was one giant experiment by the producers to shake things up, defy expectations, and agitate and excite viewers, in response to the criticisms from some viewers that Season 6 was predictable and staid. Maybe 50% of the experiment of Season 7 landed, and 50% of it really, really, didn't land. More than the challenges themselves, IMO, Season 7's shortcomings originated in mistakes with casting (and with dubious eliminations in order to keep queens like Miss Fame around past their expectation date), in editing that didn't leave us time to get to know the queens or make sense of judging decisions, and in production shoving conflicts between cast members down our throats that left us cold or scratching our heads.

Edited May 24, 2015 by vrocotamy

[CraftyHazel]

If we are being positive...

KATYA ZAMOLODCHIKOVA!!

Loved the half male/half female runway, which Violet and Katya both rocked.

Loved the Glamazonian Airways.

Loved the makeover challenge of Conjoined Twins...making over an eliminated queen is a much cooler idea than last year's Mother of the Bride makeover.

Max.

The growth storyline of Violet, who I detested at first but have grown to really like.

Stripped down "Untucked", although I wish the setting was more appealing.

And because it bears repeating...KATYA ZAMOLODCHIKOVA!!!

[SteveAC10]

 

And because it bears repeating...KATYA ZAMOLODCHIKOVA!!!

I think she's destined to be one of those non-winners like Alaska, Alyssa and Pandora who gets far more than her 15 minutes out of this experience - and more than most of the winners. She really is one of a kind, and much more memorable than any of the other queens this season.

[editorgrrl]

I like the idea of using the show as a platform for honoring drag history.

That's my favorite thing about every season. Also: Mathu Andersen and the library.

Season 7 highlights:

• More camp, less serving fish
• Katya
• John Waters
• Ross Matthews
• Violet
• Max's transatlantic accent, granny hair, and esthetic
• Bringing back Alaska & Latrice Royale
• Logo's première commentary with Bianca Del Rio and Alaska
• Santino in small doses
• The bearded lady challenge
• Kennedy's Little Richard (Shut up! Whoo!)
• Flooding one's basement
• Flahzayda
• What's the Tee? podcast with RuPaul & Michelle Visage
• Edited to add the clip show. (The shade of it all!)

Edited May 26, 2015 by editorgrrl

[marsha]

Thank you so much Dirtybubble for starting this thread! Season 7 has been such a disappointment for me that it's been hard to get past that and focus on some of the good things! 

 

Good Things:

 

• Ru Paul's Drag Race: even when I'm disappointed or 'mad' at the show I still thank God for Ru Paul Charles and his wonderful, wonderful show!
• Katya!
• Max and, to quote editorgrrl, his "transatlantic accent, granny hair, and esthetic".
• Katya!
• Violet (and I would never have thought I'd be saying this early in the season) and her flawless painting, fashions and confidence.
• Katya!
• The John Waters Challenge. Even though I didn't think it really 'worked' I'm still glad they tried. Also: John Waters!!
• Katya!
• Ross Mathews. I thought he was a perfect fit and I still laugh when I 'hear' him do his Morgan Freeman impression! ("Hi Miss Daaaaaaiiiiiissssyyyy!!")
• Katya!
• Pearl, and I think I like as many things about Pearl as I dislike. The likes? "Flahzaydah!", The Pearl Smash, The Pill Popping Mother in the Ru Paul Video challenge (seriously, I fell off the couch laughing!), the clunky way she does 'air quote' during her talking heads and the fact that she's be drawing 'Pearl' since she was a child. I've drawn all my life and have only drawn girls/women from my imagination (long, long story but I think it may be partially similar to Pearls so that really touched me and made me relate to her like nothing else) and her FACE! in the 'Dreaming' LSFYL!
• Absolutely the 'What's the T?" Ru/Michelle podcast (especially the last one). Fab!
• Katya!

 

Just remembered that this is a positive thread so there's no need to list what I didn't like. I guess most of my other posts here on this forum for this season would list them anyway!

 

p.s. KATYA!

[dolphincorn]

I liked everything about the season except for that awful hat Kandy Ho wore down the runway for her spring look during the first challenge.

Edited May 25, 2015 by dolphincorn

[buttercupia]

I've really enjoyed this season. I loved the bonkers challenges, the conjoined queens, hello kitty, john waters, etc.  even the mini challenges were kind of bonkers, like the leaf blower with random moby appearance. The whole thing seems more raw than previous seasons and the changed untucked format matches that.  Love Ginger, Jaidynn, Max, Katya, and Kennedy.  Didn't really dislike anyone. Nobody stood out as a villain which was really enjoyable. Even obnoxious queens like Pearl and Fame were ultimately likeable. 

[TheLukeP]

I really adored the Bearded Beauties... the Glamazonian Airways... and the concept behind the conjoined twins/makeover challenge.

I'm really enjoying this version of untucked, it feels less 'extra part of the show' and more 'behind the scenes'

[JakeyJokes]

I thought the Hello Kitty episode was one of the most inventive ones they've had in a long time (despite the outcome).

 

Ariana Grande was a surprisingly GREAT guest judge. Her appearance fee was probably the whole season's budget.

[Dirtybubble]

 

Just thought of something....I really enjoyed the commentary done by past season queens on whichever episode had just aired.  It was only done twice I think but it was really enjoyable listening to past season sisters give their little tidbits on their episodes.  I hope they do this next season with each episode.  Just as long as it's charismatic/funny/entertaining queens talking!