S09.E10: Makeovers: Crew Better Work

[hatchetgirl]

Poor Nina.  I feel for her.  I'm hyper sensitive, get inside my head, batting depression, etc. It's strange though because i will support and fight for people i care about, build them up during hard times, congratulate their wins  help them through loses, but really struggle to do that for myself.  Nina is a young queen and definitely needs to grow and continue, but she really blew the whole thing tonight.  She didn't paint her sister as well as herself, the costumes were lackluster and repetitive, but u think she just couldn't do it anymore.  I understand and how she can get help for herself outside of the show because she is definitely something special in drag. 

[annewithaneee]

On 5/28/2017 at 2:33 PM, RMH1 said:

Farrah Moan said on Untucked when she was leaving to take a sewing class before you audition, because you won't have time once you know you're going to be on the show. I'm not sure if she meant you will be too busy, you have to be on the show too soon, or if she was just complaining. 

I just watched on YouTube some viewing party hosted by Bob, Willam, and Kim Chi. Apparently Bob and Kim Chi both had two weeks' warning that they had been cast for Season 8, and Willam had about a month for Season 4. If I remember right for AS2 the warning period varied (per Katya), in that she got a couple weeks' notice too, and Alaska and some others got a month or more.

If this is true, that the queens are getting as little as 10 business days to prepare, Farrah's advice makes much more sense to me (I too was confused about that when I watched that Untucked). It would take impeccable time management and a lot of hustling to get tons of looks together (enough for all the challenges and runways that they give the clients warning for, as well as several other extra dummy looks that production gives them as a curveball -- according to some past queens anyway), and get all of life's little stuff squared away like getting all your prescriptions filled, rent paid, dogsitters lined up, and a fresh haircut and shit. And what if you had a day job, like a lot of queens have had, on top of that? I could see it being pretty impossible to get into a beginners' sewing class in that timeframe, with everything else going on -- especially since there has been significantly less emphasis on design challenges as the seasons have worn on. However, if I were cast I'm pretty sure I would immediately send out a massive group text begging for anyone who has an auntie who is an expert home seamstress to call me, and you could probably pretty easily drop in on an improv class or two too so long as it wasn't, like, UCB or something else with a major rep and waitlist. But yeah, in two weeks with as much wardrobe as they have to get together, time and money would be at a premium. In that case, it would make much more sense to get at least a few auntie lessons in (especially if they're free) if you decide to send a tape in to audition, just to be prepared.

Also, the more I learn about the scheduling and production of this show, the crankier I get with it. Maybe being beholden to VH1 will make WoW a little bit less of a shitshow? 

[WhineandCheez]

I think I have figured out what's wrong with this Season (isn't that a grandiose statement?) The stars of this season are a much dimmer version of a previous stand-out Queen.  It's like they are a 65% less version:

Trinity is a 65% less version of Shanell or Chad Michaels

Shea is a 65% less version of Bob the Drag Queen

Peppermint is 65% less version of  Latrice Royale or Coco Montrese

Sasha is a 65% less version of Jinx or Pandora Boxx or Acid Betty

[Watermelon]

2 hours ago, WhineandCheez said:

I think I have figured out what's wrong with this Season (isn't that a grandiose statement?) The stars of this season are a much dimmer version of a previous stand-out Queen.  It's like they are a 65% less version:

Trinity is a 65% less version of Shanell or Chad Michaels

Shea is a 65% less version of Bob the Drag Queen

Peppermint is 65% less version of  Latrice Royale or Coco Montrese

Sasha is a 65% less version of Jinx or Pandora Boxx or Acid Betty

That's interesting.  I don't consider Shea and Bob having very much in common at all, except being dark-skinned black men.

Peppermint also gives me nothing of Latrice(except in talking heads) and none of Coco the Dorito at all.

I'll give you trinity, though I don't know that I'd consider her "less" than Shanell or Chad.

Sasha to me, is a mix of Jinxx and Betty, but again, I wouldn't say less.  

[Tara Ariano]

In case you missed it, here's the Previously.TV post on the episode!

 

For A RuPaul's Drag Race Makeover Challenge, The Backstage Crew Gets Runway Ready

Even out of drag, these guys seem pretty awesome. And in drag? FABULOUS.

[Halo]

1 hour ago, Watermelon said:

That's interesting.  I don't consider Shea and Bob having very much in common at all, except being dark-skinned black men.

Peppermint also gives me nothing of Latrice(except in talking heads) and none of Coco the Dorito at all.

I'll give you trinity, though I don't know that I'd consider her "less" than Shanell or Chad.

Sasha to me, is a mix of Jinxx and Betty, but again, I wouldn't say less.  

I agree with you almost 100%. Shea isn't similar to Bob and Peppermint isn't similar to Latrice or Coco to me. At all. I don't really see much of a similarity between Sasha and any other queen from previous seasons, which is something I really like about her. It's not that I think that any of the S9 queens are individually less than others, just that the combination of them isn't as compelling as we've had in previous years and there isn't a standout fave for me--Sasha and Shea are tied in my eyes. It really has been mostly RuPaul's Best Friend Race, which is kinda boring. 

Give me "I'm not joking, bitch! At all." any day of the week. 

Edited May 31, 2017 by Halo

[hatchetgirl]

I saw Nina on hey qween and she said that she uses playdoh for her prosthetics because she can't afford proper ones.  Dane with her using paper so originally.  I think she will make it as she grows. 

[HunterHunted]

1 hour ago, hatchetgirl said:

I saw Nina on hey qween and she said that she uses playdoh for her prosthetics because she can't afford proper ones.  Dane with her using paper so originally.  I think she will make it as she grows. 

I don't know what Nina does for a living. Pinewood Studios in Atlanta is where they are filming the bulk of the Marvel films. The next 4 or 5 films have an estimated budget of $1 billion. Maybe Nina could go through makeup artist school and work on a Marvel production. I wonder if Nina had a makeup artist job like Raja where she could be professionally and creatively fulfilled, that she might be less of an Eeyore.

[Rizzo]

My criteria for the makeover episodes is to look at the hair, makeup, and wardrobe because that's the responsibility of the RPDR contestant. Anything else like the way the makeover recipient walks, dances, or otherwise performs is just luck of the draw so I don't think that the competing queen should get credit for that. Based on that, I thought that Sasha did the best job at making her crew member look like her sister, which I thought was even more impressive because she didn't give them totally identical looks. Using the dress on her and the coat on the crew member gave them a cohesive look without being too matchy matchy.

I loved all the crew members who got makeovers. They were so laidback yet enthusiastic without being stressed out, which was a great combination. And I loved the shot of all the other crew members wearing wigs and heels while they shot the runway show! This episode warmed my cold black heart.

It was also nice to see Kesha laughing and having such a good time. Knowing the shit she has been through makes me glad that she got to enjoy herself and forget about all that other stuff for a few hours.

Zaldy was a great guest judge. He had thoughtful and specific critiques, which I always appreciate.

I couldn't believe that Nina, who can't sew, decided that this was a good time to try to sew not one but TWO outfits. Girl, no. I'm all for being ambitious, but you need to be realistic too. I did love her chalk outline approach to creating a pattern for her crew member though.

I can't argue with Nina and Shea being in the bottom this week because their looks were lackluster. Between the two of them, Shea was clearly fighting to stay in the LSFYL and Nina...was not. Although she did do more than stand and point, she barely did more. She had already given up so she deserved to be eliminated for her lackluster performance. I am glad that her makeover partner Aaron told her what everyone else has been saying - that she is her own worst enemy. I hope that because it came from someone else (as opposed to the other queens who have been telling her this for weeks), that she takes it to heart and eases up on the negativity. As Peppermint said, I'm supposed to cheer you up for doing well?

Thank you for the support! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egce1qUcgXU&feature=youtu.be

[ElectricBoogaloo]

8 minutes ago, Rizzo said:

Thank you for the support! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egce1qUcgXU&feature=youtu.be

Usually the forum automatically formats youtube videos but for some reason, it didn't in your post so here you go! Thanks for coming here and sharing your experience as Glittafa Dayze - you were awesome!

[RMH1]

Poor Nina.  I feel for her.  I'm hyper sensitive, get inside my head, batting depression, etc. It's strange though because i will support and fight for people i care about, build them up during hard times, congratulate their wins  help them through loses, but really struggle to do that for myself.  Nina is a young queen and definitely needs to grow and continue, but she really blew the whole thing tonight.  She didn't paint her sister as well as herself, the costumes were lackluster and repetitive, but u think she just couldn't do it anymore.  I understand and how she can get help for herself outside of the show because she is definitely something special in drag. 

I have sympathy for her too, I struggle through the same things and do do that (haha I said do do) for other people, but struggle with it myself. Nina is very special.

[RMH1]

I think I have figured out what's wrong with this Season (isn't that a grandiose statement?) The stars of this season are a much dimmer version of a previous stand-out Queen.  It's like they are a 65% less version:

Trinity is a 65% less version of Shanell or Chad Michaels

Shea is a 65% less version of Bob the Drag Queen

Peppermint is 65% less version of  Latrice Royale or Coco Montrese

Sasha is a 65% less version of Jinx or Pandora Boxx or Acid Betty

While I overall agree that something is lacking with this season (and love an all-encompassing theory), I don't agree with your assessment of the queens.

The Trinity comparison may be most apt, but while Chad is one of my favorite queens ever, she was constantly poised and great, while the excitement of Trinity is seeing a pageant queen excel at performance challenges (which she has).

I don't see Shea as being much like Bob at all. Bob was great at challenges, while often ranging from ok to not great/not really on theme on the runway - her runway look for the neon challenge still stands out as being not on theme, there was no neon there other than her makeup.

Peppermint is maybe somewhat like Latrice in being a queen that wins us over in talking heads, but I don't see her like Latrice otherwise - and Coco was not a great queen overall. Coco's two defining moments for me were 1. her (admittedly amazing) lip-sync to Paula Abdul where she pointed at her lips to emphasize every word, and 2) her totally showing her ass on Snatch Game by saying "What's a Little Edie?" to Ru after Ru was really enjoying Jinkx's portrayal (and after Coco said in the workroom that she didn't know who Little Edie was and therefore Jinkx was doing poorly. Gurl learn your queer history!)

Sasha, to me, is one of the most original queens to ever be in the competition, because while we've had smart, clever queens, we've never had one whose whole persona is so cerebral. It's often taken me a few minutes to realize how great something she did is.

I think what's lacking is really THE DRAMA.

In previous seasons, we had obvious villains like Phi Phi or Roxxxy - none of them are here. While Alexis Michelle's tired victim routine in Untucked make her into a sort-of villain, she is not actively undermining, preying on people, or getting into confrontations with anyone.

We also previously had rivalries; while Coco/Alyssa was something I despised as a plot device from the beginning, consider that they were both in it until the top 6, whereas Eureka was eliminated in the episode with 11 queens.

There also aren't - I think - anymore types of queens fighting for legitimacy, as previous winners of this show have given legitimacy to spooky/subversive queens and comedy queens. But I think overall this show maybe has slowed (not willing to say run out, as I still like it) on introducing us to new facets of drag.

[film noire]

4 hours ago, RMH1 said:

Sasha, to me, is one of the most original queens to ever be in the competition, because while we've had smart, clever queens, we've never had one whose whole persona is so cerebral. It's often taken me a few minutes to realize how great something she did is.
 

Sasha's amazing (in both the competition and her talking heads). There's a rare depth to her, and her drag.

And this performance alone puts her in the pantheon of queens for me; it's smart and bizarre and drop dead gorgeous. (Starts with Bassey and ends with Golem singing Kate Bush -- how can that not be one of the best things ever?)

[Oholibamah]

I don't think the show has objectively lessened in quality: I think it has (thankfully) just lasted long enough that it isn't fresh anymore. There's only so many types of challenges and runway assignments they can come up with, and it's bound to become formulaic. 

I wouldn't mind some small tweaks to existing traditions (maybe Hollywood Squares instead of Match Game, or an Idol-esque hometown visit to the queens' regular clubs for the final 3), but shows tend to start sucking when they mess with the formula too much. ANTM took a huge nosedive after Allstars, and never recovered despite experimenting with format changes.

I am fine with RPDR continuing to find 14 new queens and putting them through the same challenges, and experimenting with format for Allstars. It is better than a jump-the-shark alternative!

[hatchetgirl]

Quote

Starts with Bassey and ends with Golem singing Kate Bush -- how can that not be one of the best things ever?)

Sasha now has given me life! Queen, if you can mix Bassey with Lord Of the Rings with KATE... WERK!

[Negritude]

On ‎5‎/‎26‎/‎2017 at 7:02 PM, themajormotoko said:

I agree about Nina on a lot of points.  I have been in that constant state of depression and anxiety.  It's a killer and it drives people away.  I hope Nina is able to find the kind of help she needs.  It will be a long road and not at all easy. She is a talent but needs to change the tape that keeps playing in her head.

Yeah, been there and done that so I'm a Nina apologist. It was actually uncomfortable to watch her because I could see myself and other people's reactions to me mirrored on the show. I'm low-key relieved she's gone but I hope she sees herself and makes some necessary adjustments.

14 hours ago, film noire said:

Sasha's amazing (in both the competition and her talking heads). There's a rare depth to her, and her drag.

And this performance alone puts her in the pantheon of queens for me; it's smart and bizarre and drop dead gorgeous. (Starts with Bassey and ends with Golem singing Kate Bush -- how can that not be one of the best things ever?)

 

 

1 hour ago, Oholibamah said:

I don't think the show has objectively lessened in quality: I think it has (thankfully) just lasted long enough that it isn't fresh anymore. There's only so many types of challenges and runway assignments they can come up with, and it's bound to become formulaic. 

I wouldn't mind some small tweaks to existing traditions (maybe Hollywood Squares instead of Match Game, or an Idol-esque hometown visit to the queens' regular clubs for the final 3), but shows tend to start sucking when they mess with the formula too much. ANTM took a huge nosedive after Allstars, and never recovered despite experimenting with format changes.

I am fine with RPDR continuing to find 14 new queens and putting them through the same challenges, and experimenting with format for Allstars. It is better than a jump-the-shark alternative!

Oooohhhh what if they did an All-Star seasons with all the similar style queens? Sasha, Katya, Pandora Boxx, Jinxx, Tammie Brown, etc all going head-to-head!

[HunterHunted]

1 hour ago, Oholibamah said:

I don't think the show has objectively lessened in quality: I think it has (thankfully) just lasted long enough that it isn't fresh anymore. There's only so many types of challenges and runway assignments they can come up with, and it's bound to become formulaic. 

I wouldn't mind some small tweaks to existing traditions (maybe Hollywood Squares instead of Match Game, or an Idol-esque hometown visit to the queens' regular clubs for the final 3), but shows tend to start sucking when they mess with the formula too much. ANTM took a huge nosedive after Allstars, and never recovered despite experimenting with format changes.

I am fine with RPDR continuing to find 14 new queens and putting them through the same challenges, and experimenting with format for Allstars. It is better than a jump-the-shark alternative!

That's probably true that it's not as fresh as it used to be, but that actually is an opportunity for the show. The good ones borrow, the great ones steal. This is an opportunity to look to other competitive reality shows and their challenges to see if any could be adapted to Drag Race.

• There is the Project Runway, which is a pale shadow of its former glory, unconventional materials challenge. We've had some challenges on Drag Race that included unconventional materials, but not exclusively.
• Top Chef's Last Chance Kitchen is a challenge that they've alluded to during All Stars 2 and on Season 7, but never explicitly built into a season of Drag Race. It's also been explicitly built into a couple of seasons of Top Model, which was interesting to see that in some cases eliminated contestants should have absolutely been in the real competition.
• I imagine that most of the flash challenges from Ink Master could be adapted into Drag Race challenges.
• Most of the themes from the Face Off challenges could be easily adapted into Drag Race themes. Additionally, Face Off is often careful to use things that are in the public domain meaning that they don't have to pay anyone for rights or clearances. So many of the queens are painfully undereducated and limited in their concept of drag or culture. This could be an opportunity to open queens and viewers to new things. My favorite has always been creating a character that represents a particular artistic style (impressionism, cubism, modern, pop art).
• A challenge about propaganda films like Reefer Madness, especially if they were given the task of upping the camp factor to make it a comedy.
• Conversely, taking a comedy and turning it into a drama.
• I liked the talk show challenge they did in season 7 where the queens had to come up with questions for Georgia Holt and Charlie Bono, but the show will probably never attempt that again because the queens revealed themselves to be so fucking ignorant and uncivilized. "Georgia Holt, how do you feel knowing you almost aborted Cher?" Yeeeeeech!
• Inspired by Bob and Katya, I might like to see the queens do a man on the street interview challenge.
• The other challenge I would love is an interview challenge where the queens are being interviewed, just because it's a thing will likely happen, they have limited time to get their point across and be memorable, and finally celebrity interviews often have out there questions that force the interviewee to be fast on their feet.

[RMH1]

On 6/2/2017 at 1:13 AM, film noire said:

Sasha's amazing (in both the competition and her talking heads). There's a rare depth to her, and her drag.

And this performance alone puts her in the pantheon of queens for me; it's smart and bizarre and drop dead gorgeous. (Starts with Bassey and ends with Golem singing Kate Bush -- how can that not be one of the best things ever?)

Sadly this video is no longer available. Too bad, what you described sounds a-mah-zing.

[film noire]

2 hours ago, RMH1 said:

Sadly this video is no longer available. Too bad, what you described sounds a-mah-zing.

Does this work?