S10.E06: Death's Doorstep

[ElectricBoogaloo]

The artists create whimsical ghost characters based on unique obituaries.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

What are the odds that the contestants will ignore the "whimsical" part of the challenge and make creepy ghosts?

 

Clip:

Edited February 11, 2016 by ElectricBoogaloo

[Canada]

Oh god, whimsical.  So, we're in for another bunch of monsters then.

[Rhetorica]

I don't think all of the contestants know the difference between funny and whimsical. Whimsy is, to me, funny but playfull and fanciful too. I liked Rob's but don't agree with the judges that it was too subtle or that it should have been a mass of gore at the opening. I thought it was well done. Yvonne's looks simple but it was also well done. Her face sculpture was spot on. As for the bottom three, Mel at least tried to do something, Caleb was way off as far as whimsy and Johnny just seemed to give up. And, he didn't get the "we know you'll be a success" speech from the judges.

[Monty9]

Rob! Kicking ass and taking names. He has been super impressive. I do like that they had two whimsical in the same season even if it was another Tim Burton

 

I definitely noticed this scene:

Yvonne: Hiiiiii! (big squeal and hug for her model, my boo Matt)

Matt : hugs back but gives a full-bodied meh in response.

My bad Yvonne. It had been our date night the night before. I kept him up late.

 

*whispered aside*

But seriously, don't make me go full 'Murican on you Canadian Bacon. Have you SEEN our Republican presidential candidates? Clearly we are a full on craaaaazzaaay people.

 

Johnny: "But application is my strength"

Me: ...........I can't seem to remember that but ok. Tell yourself whatever.

[Frozendiva]

Lucky Rubber Duckie Robert escaped elimination this week. All three bottom looks were misses.

Thought the top two were the best.

Mel spent waaaaaay too much time on the massive mold that she probably could have improvised some body stuffing. I was also tiring of her being "doomed" this week. Yep, own your bad idea and go on and on about it. It will be your turn to go home soon.

For Johnny, I don't know if you commonly find porcupines whilst on safari. Maybe if the woman had a porcupine type purse. It seemed like nonsense.

Edited February 18, 2016 by Frozendiva

[Ruprecht]

I think the results this week were actually pretty good. In fact, although I agreed the winning look did the best job of meeting the challenge requirements, I thought Rob's character was more memorable to me. I loved that black-and-white makeup and his work disguising the model's thick eyebrows was excellent. Overall, I thought this challenge was great and I loved the results. 

[Quilt Fairy]

Once again, whimsy does in the contestants on this show. I thought the top 2 were OK (notice we didn't even get a top 3), but all of the others were meh to godawful. There is a serious lack of talent this season. And Robert's schtick is wearing pretty thin.

[Maelstrom]

First episode in weeks that I actually paid full attention to instead of reading or surfing and half-listening to the suckage. I liked both top looks this week and am glad Power Drill got a win (I still haven't learned the contestants' names yet). I liked Magician's Assistant but wished he would've given her legs a pass with some grey airbrush paint before she put the tights on - I found them really distracting against the otherwise beautiful grey-toned paint job. And the brow piece turned out really well, too.

I actually liked the Fish Hat, though I get the judges' issues with it. Robert spending the bulk of his time making a rubber ducky (why not just have the show shopper buy one?!) reminded me of Beki in season two spending two and a half days making a giant prop cupcake. And the less said about Front Butt, the better.

I also liked the Sewing Lady, and thought it should've been a top look. I at least wish that we had been shown the judges' comments about it during close up looks.

Mackenzie's dress on day one was eye-bleedingly red.

[Ketzel]

I really like the challenges this season!

I really dislike the quality of the contestants this season!

[GaT]

The fact that I don't remember seeing Johnny before pretty much says it was his time to go IMO.

[PepperMonkey]

I accidentally missed this, but after reading your insights, I'm not sure I care enough to go back and see it at all.

 

Robert - my early fave - continues to disappoint; I'm bummed he's not better than he is.

 

Johnny was on the bottom just about every time, no? I seem to remember him being on the bottom a lot.

 

Mel was on the bottom? Wow.

 

Rob is so young; I wish he had more experience, BUT it seems like he may have some innate skills.

 

Since I didn't miss watching the show, I'm wondering if I need to watch next week? I don't really care about any of these contestants now that Robert has been found to be sorely lacking. Maybe I'll take a little break and come back next cycle, which I'm sure will be this summer.

[Mindymoo]

I just want Robert to stick around for the commentary and entertainment factor. I'm not attached to any of these contestants on an artistic level at all, but Robert amuses me. He looks and sounds like he just stepped off the set of a Wolfgang Petersen movie. But yeah, when the only contestant you like is one you like because he tickles you, there's not much compelling you to stick around. I'll probably drop it when he's eliminated in the next couple weeks.

[Ketzel]

I accidentally missed this, but after reading your insights, I'm not sure I care enough to go back and see it at all.

 

Robert - my early fave - continues to disappoint; I'm bummed he's not better than he is.

 

Johnny was on the bottom just about every time, no? I seem to remember him being on the bottom a lot.

 

Mel was on the bottom? Wow.

 

Rob is so young; I wish he had more experience, BUT it seems like he may have some innate skills.

 

Since I didn't miss watching the show, I'm wondering if I need to watch next week? I don't really care about any of these contestants now that Robert has been found to be sorely lacking. Maybe I'll take a little break and come back next cycle, which I'm sure will be this summer.

You could, of course, but unless they go to an all-star season and bring back all the past winners, I can't see another season of newbies being any better than what they have right now. When they started putting barely-out-of-their teens and fresh-out-of-special-effects-training-programs contestants on the show, I think they were already scraping the bottom of the barrel.

I'm worrying about the same thing happening to Forged In Fire, (it already happened to Project Runway a long time ago) and it's only their second season! There's just a limited number of genuine experts doing things like bladesmithing, high fashion design and special effects make-up.

[carrps]

And, he didn't get the "we know you'll be a success" speech from the judges.

I noticed that right away. On this show that's as bad as a serious tongue-lashing. Buh-bye, Johnny.

 

I agree Rob should have swiped a little grey on his model's legs. The pinkness showed too much through the tights and was overly distracting. And I think he should have made the gap a teensy bit larger -- I disagree with Glen that he should have shown more "gore and guts." But the overall look was very well done -- he actually did a "beauty" makeup that didn't make his model ugly.

 

Good for Yvonne. My only quibble is that she had too much of the model's natural skin tone showing around his eyes. But the twisted face looked great. I think Mr. Westmore gave her excellent advice during his walkthrough. She might have destroyed her whimsy otherwise.

[seacliffsal]

Carrps,I agree about the natural skin tone around the eyes-it constantly took me out of the look. I preferred Rob's look as it just seemed so classic. Maybe if he had the saw sticking out of the torso the judges would have liked it better.

Would there be any way they could have a Masters season in which experts in the field would be brought in (sort of like Top Chef Masters)? Maybe they could have all 1 day challenges as the Masters have other employment. I'm just ready to see amazing work by more than one or two people a week.

[Lugal]

I liked the challenge, but wish the results had been more up to par.  I liked Yvonne's power drill and Rob's magician's assistant.  I don't think Rob needed more gore and guts like Glen said, but Nigel had a point about the two halves being more offset.

 

I also liked Fish Hat, but I think it could have been better.  He should have covered the top of the model's head and let the model look out through the fish's eyes, then he could have avoided the weird lower jaw thing in the back that made the fish look like a hat.

 

The sewing lady looked good enough but the others just did not live up, or take it far enough.  Like the the one whose pasta exploded or something they could have done much more, like use the pasta sauce as a substitute for blood and have noodles all over her.  The Front Butt could have been done with a belly piece like Rob and then some clever stuffing.  There was so much that could have been done with the Safari piece it looked like Johnny wasn't even trying (which may be why he didn't get the we'll see great things from you speech at the end).

[Primetimer]

When the designers try to combine childlike joy with death, they just end up with dead joy.

Read the story

[StatMom]

The sewing one could have had big sewing shears, with one blade through the eye or something. And thread going around the neck, etc. So many visuals could have been used on this one.

[Frozendiva]

Sewing could have incorporated bobbins, zippers, pin cushions, safety pins, Raggedy Anne hair using thread, etc.

[sourpickles]

Well, there's another hour of my life I'll never get back. That was just plain awful. What was this, the second individual challenge where it came down to the best of the worst? Rob should have won though, he was the only one who did something a little bit different with the paint job. I agree with the skin tone around the eyes of Yvonne's model. I noticed that right away, and I have no idea why she won. Frankly, she bothers me a little bit, though I don't know why. And I hated the challenge idea. It was SO cheesy and easy in terms of how everyone interpreted the obits right on the nose. They read like children's jokes or something. I don't know what is going on, but those makeup jobs were horrid. While I do like this season much better than the last one I've got to agree that this show might be running out of steam. It was funny though, when the show started they showed Johnny and I thought "oh yeah, I'd forgotten about him". And off he went, so he faded out quick. Ick, on to next week.

[Kaoteek]

Meh, not a fan of the winning look, very derivative, and just too... broad. Wand girl should have been the top look, if just for the grey-scale concept which set it apart.

I also agree that most of those concepts were incredibly on the nose... so much so that it really was best of the worst, once again.

[Merneith]

Dear Show - it's ok to only do one cycle a year. I'll miss you, but it will be ok! It's good to have some space where we don't feel like we have to always perform. If you can only find enough talented people for one show a year - that's perfectly ok! Have another special with the Judges if you want. Get Lois Burwell back in the mix. She's always a hoot. And then, we you get enough talented cast members line up, we can get back together and do a normal show. It will be great! And I'm sure that time off will just make our one cycle a year seem more special.

But, you know, Show, this just grabbing any twelve "artists" and shoving them out there, regardless of their skills or experience? That's not special. It's not great. It's really kind of bumming me out. You've always been Best Show - and you could totally be Best Show, again! - but these bargain-basement twerps are bringing you down. You're better than this, Show. You are. I believe in you. I believe in us. You deserve better, Show. And if it takes more time for you to pull yourself together - I will fully support you in that.

You take all the time you need, Show. You get away from these turkeys and you find that spark that made you the Best. I'll be waiting for you and rooting for you. I know you can do it.

[LittleIggy]

First episode in weeks that I actually paid full attention to instead of reading or surfing and half-listening to the suckage. I liked both top looks this week and am glad Power Drill got a win (I still haven't learned the contestants' names yet). I liked Magician's Assistant but wished he would've given her legs a pass with some grey airbrush paint before she put the tights on - I found them really distracting against the otherwise beautiful grey-toned paint job..

The tights really distracted me, too. If not painting her legs, then he at least should have gotten opaque grey tights. I'm surprised the judges didn't mention that.

Did some of the clown's teeth really fall out?

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I like that the show is making an effort not to have monsters/aliens/horror every single week, but unfortunately this batch of contestants doesn't seem up to the challenge. I usually love the whimsical episodes because it gives the contestants the opportunity to show their sense of humor but most of this week's designs were so literal and without any sort of a wink.

 

While part of me likes that Mel decided to take a big risk with her sculpt, she just wasn't thinking about the best way to use her time. She did all that work and you could barely see the effect. The two best things about her creation were getting to hear several of the contestants say "front butt" and seeing two of them help her get her mold open (I know it happens often enough not to remark upon it, but I love seeing them help each other with stuff like that).

 

I liked Rob's concept but I agreed that the gash in the middle of his magician's assistant was a little bit too subtle. I don't necessarily think she needed to have guts exploding from her, but even if he had just made the gap a little wider so there was more black visible in that space it would have been more effective.

 

Melissa's sewing lady had pretty makeup but the actual concept was just a few giant pins in her face.

 

I am not saying that every makeup has to be totally in your face, but one of the ways I judge the end product is asking myself: if I hadn't heard McKenzie describe the challenge, would I know what this is supposed to be? You don't need to be over the top with your makeup to achieve that, but you need to have your concept clearly present in what you create. It's kind of like when you see people on Halloween. If I have to ask what you are, you probably didn't do a very good job putting together your costume.

[Quilt Fairy]

Fish guy could have gone a whole different  way. His obit said his death was fishy, which could be interpreted as he was murdered and therefore "sleeps with the fishes". I could see a guy in a regular suit (pajamas might work even better) that's all wet with a couple of cement blocks shackled to his legs and fish popping out of his pockets or sleeves or his mouth.

 

As for the magician's assistant, there actually is someone like that in the waiting room in Beetlejuice, and she's sitting next to herself because she's in 2 pieces. The only way you can make that work with SFX (as opposed to CGI) is to have her sitting on a couch.

[carrps]

Did some of the clown's teeth really fall out?

Yeah, they did. And they didn't show the judges' walkthrough with the clown either.

[petalfrog]

 

Did some of the clown's teeth really fall out?

I thought he blacked out some of the teeth on purpose to given the illusion some were knocked out by the swords?

 

Agree the knitting lady could have been explored in a much more interesting way and I thought that the pasta lady for sure was going to be covered in pasta and sauce! What a lost opportunity.

[needschocolate]

For the past few seasons, people have commented on the artists being less and less talented every season.  I didn't completely agree - I felt like there wasn't anyone really amazing, but I didn't think the artists as a whole were that much worse - until now.  These people need a lot more practice before they would meet the average level talent of past seasons. I am now wishing they would just have them do monsters every week, because the non-monster stuff is not being done well and perhaps monsters would be more successful.  

 

Thought Rob (?) did a great job with the grayscale, escept the legs, of course.  

 

Thought the winner did a great job with her make-up, but I thought it would have been better if she would have had the hole saw turn the other direction - or, more accurately, put it on the other side of the face - so that the skin would have been turned upward, instead of downward.  Turning upward would have created a "smile" - adding to the whimsy.

[Mabinogia]

I liked the winning look but I didn't understand the whole making him yellow to add whimsy. It just made him look jaundiced. It was weird. But the swirl was great. Loved the black and white one too. Any of the others could have gone and I wouldn't have argued it. These people are clearly very amateur and only interested in making gore.

 

I personally did like the fish hat. But the judges suggestion of the little dangly thing in front of the models face would have just taken it to that next level it needed. That would have brought the whimsy if the model did chomp at it as it dangled around.

 

So many missed opportunities.

[Ketzel]

I wonder why the judges didn't comment that the pin-faced lady didn't meet the challenge? People don't die from getting pins stuck in their face. She could have been having acupuncture, for all the lethal effect the make-up implied!

OK, she was blue. But for no particular reason. Why wasn't she strangled by a spool of thread? Or maybe she accidentally cut a significant artery while trying to make a pattern?

Edited February 19, 2016 by Ketzel

[hincandenza]

This show has an inverse correlation between the quality of the challenge ideas/format and the quality of the contestants.  It seems some of the best contestants occurred in seasons where we fans lamented the "yet another monster challenge!" repetitiveness.  The last couple of seasons we've been getting some really cool twists, new wrinkles in the format, some interesting non-monster challenges... and quite a bit of really dreadful work.

 

The thing that really blows me away is not the skill level (or lack thereof) but the sheer lack of imagination.  As sourpickles said above, these people are coming up with such on-the-nose literal ideas, there's no real creativity or inspired elements.  It says a lot that Rob got the "eh, you really needed to push the envelope more" and was still in the top 2; I think he could easily have won but for the three-in-a-row thing, because I thought Yvonne's was kind of creepy and silly putty looking IMO.  Right now, he and Melissa seem like the only people who can reliably put together a decent concept and makeup execution.  

 

Robert has been a huge disappointment; I thought as the designated "wacky character" he might be Cig 2.0, but he's really not very good at all with ideas, nor has he shown much skill, nor is he a particularly good teammate.  Last week he should have gone home just for the "What did I work on?  Eh... this worm, which somehow took three whole days", and this week he's basically safe because of a cute rubber ducky.

 

Rob is beginning to look like the clear favorite, but it's like watching the 12th man on a Div III college basketball team dominate against high schoolers.  It's hard to believe only a calendar year ago we had Darla, Emily, and Logan as our final three putting out makeups that would have embarrassed the current cast- and even they seemed like a bit of a step down (well, maybe not Emily, whom I simply adored unabashedly) from the likes of Anthony, Laura, Dina, Roy and others.  I don't think it's a lack of talent out there, I think either the applications are dwindling or the casting isn't selective enough.  When the woman who went home last week (I think) said something like "This is only the second cowl I've done!", that's a sign you need to let the newbies get a little more seasoning and practical experience before they are put on teevee.

[Quilt Fairy]

The thing that really blows me away is not the skill level (or lack thereof) but the sheer lack of imagination.  As sourpickles said above, these people are coming up with such on-the-nose literal ideas, there's no real creativity or inspired elements.

When it comes to whimsy challenges in particular, I'm wondering if they shouldn't be given some concept drawings as well, and see how well they can implement them, not unlike last season's final challenge. With just those obituaries as inspiration, they weren't given anything visual they could riff off of.

[Merneith]

I personally did like the fish hat.

 

You know, I was ok with the fish hat until he went and stuck a feather up its ass. I get that he wanted movement. I don't get how he thought an ostrich feather was the solution.

[Canada]

We finally get an individual challenge and it confirms the crappiness of this season's contestants.  The only look I liked was Rob's.  For a young make-up artist, he really is quite talented.  The rest of them?  Total crap!  I thought Yvonne would be in the bottom with that look.  I feel like they need to give some wins to other people just to make it appear that Rob isn't the only contestant with any talent.

[starri]

Can Robert just leave, already?

 

I'm sorry, there's nothing redemptive about his schtick.

[Frozendiva]

Robert is still staying afloat - insert rubber duckie joke here.

 

The schtick is tiring. It is a bit 'cute' in small doses (an eccentric, creative 'personality') but as a budding professional and not one at the top of his game (someone like the judges), it brings a bit of childishness, and not in a good way. I expect that he will be gone in the next couple of episodes.

[starri]

Robert is still staying afloat - insert rubber duckie joke here.

 

The schtick is tiring. It is a bit 'cute' in small doses (an eccentric, creative 'personality') but as a budding professional and not one at the top of his game (someone like the judges), it brings a bit of childishness, and not in a good way. I expect that he will be gone in the next couple of episodes.

I will only say that the other contestants are much more patient than I am.  I just don't think I could hide my annoyance around him if I was there in the fishbowl/pressure cooker of a reality show.

[sourpickles]

@whimsey98 I, as well, am watching PRAS, and I second that comment. I have nothing against most of these FO contestants, except mild annoyance in some cases. Some of those yahoos on PRAS make me want to set the TV on permanent mute. I think on here it is as has been said many a time....just not enough experience/imagination for the more advanced challenges. Nothing personal Face Off!

[Frozendiva]

I will only say that the other contestants are much more patient than I am.  I just don't think I could hide my annoyance around him if I was there in the fishbowl/pressure cooker of a reality show.

I wonder what it is like living with 12 or so strangers in a shared house. It is probably like an office where you have to tolerate your coworkers, but magnified. 24 hours a day. Age difference, lifestyle differences. More stress. I hope that there is some sort of private space in the house where contestants can unwind and have some quiet time.

[sourpickles]

I was thinking after I last posted and I hope I can explain this ok, but I wonder if one of the major issues with the show right now is the challenges themselves. I feel as though maybe what needs to be done is to tailor the challenges some to meet the level of the contestants. I'm not saying dumb it down, and I know they have to be in place well before filming. What I'm saying is, unless everyone involved in the show is totally out of touch, they have to have realized by now that the talent pool is shrinking and they are pulling in people with less and less experience. If they could, before the next season films, manufacture challenges that reflect that, it might help. That way, if the challenge is more suited to the level of experience, there might be more praise and less dings. Might help keep the show on the air, too, if the level of frustration I see on this board alone is any indication of how long time fans are feeling. Just make things less intricate maybe, play it down a bit. And for God's sake, drop the multiple "whimsy" challenges. Does this make sense? I'm not really good at organizing when I am typing.

[John.G]

Not to take anything from the win, but the twist in hole-saw ghost's face was going the wrong way. The teeth on the drill were correct, but that twist would be caused by turning the bit turning counterclockwise, not clockwise.