S12.E07: Feral Fungi

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Quote

The six remaining artists create victims of a fungal virus that turns people into zombies.

Sneak peek:

[frenchtoast]

I swear I read this as Feral Ferengi. 

But now reading the description--fungus virus zombies. I have a bad feeling about this.

[akr]

 No viruses, just parasitic fungi - which are really creepy!  I think this one could be fun, especially since at least one contestant already knows about them and is psyched.  (Mackenzie explains it just fine - it's whoever wrote the summary for Syfy that screwed it up.)  

(edited to add:  actual fungal viruses are viruses that attack fungi.)

Edited July 28, 2017 by akr
what actual fungal viruses are

[ElectricBoogaloo]

14 hours ago, frenchtoast said:

I swear I read this as Feral Ferengi. 

But now reading the description--fungus virus zombies. I have a bad feeling about this.

I thought this was a Ferengi challenge too and then I had the same reaction you did when I realized it was a challenge about fungal viruses and zombies. Blech!

[sourpickles]

Wow.  It's bad when even the show wants it to be over.  Sorry, SEMI finals are now five people, all revealed at once on the same stage, while everyone is standing there?  Oy.

[mjc570]

So glad they've discarded the shop concept - time to let the individual contestants show what they can do.  He seems like a truly nice guy, but Phil deserved to be sent home for his repeated use of the word "gnarly," never mind his make-up. I thought Kiersten was lucky - her "minimal" looks (which I didn't like this week  anywhere near as much as the judges did) make me wonder if she really wants to be a makeup artist at all. 

The starfish thing just didn't read for me as fungi.   Was there some reason why each shop didn't show the same basic person with the disease progressing, rather than 3 obviously different people? 

[sourpickles]

13 minutes ago, mjc570 said:

Was there some reason why each shop didn't show the same basic person with the disease progressing, rather than 3 obviously different people? 

This has been done before with some sort of disease progression a few seasons ago, I just can't remember which/what.  I do recall there were hospital gowns and those IV stands then, too.  But, they have to have three people as opposed to the same person three times over and timing it out, so everyone can be onstage.  I don't mind that.  Though it does make it glaringly obvious who fell down on the job.  Starfish, really? 

[Maelstrom]

I hate zombies and I have a bad cold and a storm knocked out part of the signal, so there wasn't much to hold my interest tonight. Blergh. And I must've been looking at different makeups than the judges, I guess, I didn't get half of their critiques. Whatever, hopefully next week will be better all around.

[HunterHunted]

Phil should have been gone some time ago.

[sourpickles]

20 minutes ago, Maelstrom said:

I hate zombies and I have a bad cold and a storm knocked out part of the signal,

Shitake mushrooms, I'm glad to see someone else had my last couple of weeks ;).  Feel better soon!  I think you got to see all the high points, so yay there.  I actually thought Phil was going to go to the semis and Nelson go home.  In all honesty, this is the first week I've known everyone's name.  That is so awful. 

[staphdude]

Producer: So here's the thing. We created this narrow and inflexible concept and it's led to Faina having to go home. Phil was supposed to go so we're changing the rules once again and he won't be moving forward. Oh and the fact that we didn't give you a heads up- too f'in bad.

 

The drop in quality and integrity of this show is stunning. At this point if Andrew doesn't win it will show an even greater contempt for the audience.

[enoughcats]

Tonight, I concentrated on the introduction and the a bit somewhere in the middle....the pictures of great designs to inspire the audience.

In previous seasons, I think we've seen a mix of work from previous seasons as well as great work from that season. (There might have been some seasons when there were only views from the 'current' season.)

 

Tonight I don't think I saw a single piece of work from this crop of designers and I think I recognized a lot, if not all, of them.  (Many were Laura's). 

I didn't see any thing tonight to join the good ones.

[sourpickles]

4 minutes ago, enoughcats said:

Tonight I don't think I saw a single piece of work from this crop of designers and I think I recognized a lot, if not all, of them.  (Many were Laura's). 

Yes thank you, I had this vague flitting thing in the corner of my mind, but that would do it.  What is it they say, everything old is new again?

[Frozendiva]

I didn't concentrate too much on the show (doing laundry and stuff as I have to pack tomorrow for a trip). I also kinda read the title as Feral Ferengi and wondered what wondrous things could happen to the Lobes!

The shop challenge could work once or twice in the show - but as the Facetestants are eliminated, one shop will always get to a lower player level. And the talent isn't on the level of Laura, Anthony, or Dina. Don't see much of any artistic POV from the 'artists' and most of the work is just average to mediocre - they may get jobs, but few will be at the level of Glenn or Ve.

I thought the challenge would be one person in three different stages. The starfish folk didn't really speak to me and it was kinda dumb. Think the finale will be a match between KC and Andrew (?).

[sourpickles]

15 minutes ago, Frozendiva said:

Think the finale will be a match between KC and Andrew (?).

It's so sad we're still like WHO??  this far in but, whatever.  I know this season has been on for a bit but we're wrapping up and onto.......uh, we'll see.  Enjoy your trip (or happy tripping ;) ).  I just got back from the third, and I was strong armed into a few so........glad I got back before Tuesday! 

[Frozendiva]

2 minutes ago, sourpickles said:

It's so sad we're still like WHO??  this far in but, whatever.  I know this season has been on for a bit but we're wrapping up and onto.......uh, we'll see.  Enjoy your trip (or happy tripping ;) ).  I just got back from the third, and I was strong armed into a few so........glad I got back before Tuesday! 

The 'shops' don't make me really get to know the contestants. I usually don't really care til the show is down to the last 6 or so.

Off to the Osheaga music festival in Montreal. Back by Tuesday!

[Quilt Fairy]

1 hour ago, sourpickles said:

This has been done before with some sort of disease progression a few seasons ago, I just can't remember which/what.  I do recall there were hospital gowns and those IV stands then, too.  But, they have to have three people as opposed to the same person three times over and timing it out, so everyone can be onstage.  I don't mind that.  Though it does make it glaringly obvious who fell down on the job.  Starfish, really? 

IIRC, in the first or second season they actually brought in sets of identical triplets and the challenge was to show them at 40, 60, and 80.

I have no interest in this season whatsoever.  Right now I DVR Forged in Fire, and then in real time I switch between FO and Rachel Maddow. 

Edited August 2, 2017 by Quilt Fairy

[enoughcats]

Faenia, however her name is spelled, seems to get the majority of the talking heads.  Maybe she's the only one who doesn't come across wooden on interviews, but I think we know her name from all the interviews and the others...we recognize but .....I still would be hard pressed to say who did what if I were judging the creations blind as to their creators.

[Richness]

Can they just name Andrew the winner already and put us out of our misery? The only good thing to come out of this episode is the abolishing of the shops, but we knew that was gonna have to happen eventually. At least everyone got to do their own make-up again even if they were straight-jacketed by the shop format.

 

While it was time for Phil to go home, I really liked his minimal look better than Kiersten's, which I though was too far advanced for one day. Speaking of which, she's got balls to do another minimal look again. This was an unexpected fumble from Faina, though I think that was brought on by trying to unify her teams looks. The less said about the rest of the starfish make-ups, the better. The final three better be Andrew, Faina, and KC. The other two are just average.

 

And why the hell was Glenn going on so much about the various make-ups fitting into a video game? As far as we were told, there was NO mention of video games in the challenge description. Sure, the guest judge makes video games, but I don't recall McKenzie mentioning games once. Stop trying to make the make-ups fit into a mold you didn't brief them on.

[GaT]

Glad the whole shop thing is done.

[mlp]

I was pretty sure the losing team was going down the wrong path as soon as I saw the initial drawings before they even started to work.  The skin eruptions were in different places on each victim.  So much for cohesion.  Then the starfish.......gah.

Andrew for the win.

[maya1959]

On 28/07/2017 at 2:44 AM, frenchtoast said:

I swear I read this as Feral Ferengi. 

But now reading the description--fungus virus zombies. I have a bad feeling about this.

I so read it as Feral Ferengi too!

[qtpye]

The show has not been holding my interest.  The best make up was from the Vivaldi challenge and the rest have been forgetable.  I still remember some of Laura's awesome creations from seasons past.

[enoughcats]

 I like the idea of Ferengi gone feral.  

[sourpickles]

1 hour ago, enoughcats said:

 I like the idea of Ferengi gone feral.  

With Fungus.  Hell, we could do this all day and STILL not be able to say it five times fast!  Seriously though, I was watching the beginning of this episode and was thinking "WTF is this Divide and Conquer stuff? Are we going to get to it or what?  Anyone remember the alleged Life or/and Death season?" and McKenzie busts out with.........no more shops.  And I'm still undecided whether that is good or bad.  I think perhaps there should have been more people to start with, because this seems awful late down the line.  JMO.

I'm just going add real quick that I'm probably the only person who read Feral Fungi and literally thought that there would be out of this world mushrooms on stage.  I'm like "I LOVE mushrooms!".  Lord have mercy, bless my heart, and here's my sign.

[enoughcats]

59 minutes ago, sourpickles said:

I'm like "I LOVE mushrooms!".

But do you have a friend who worked on aquatic hypomycetes?  

 

Yes, the fungal potential got directed to old, tired, zombies.  Saith this Grinch.

[sourpickles]

7 minutes ago, enoughcats said:

But do you have a friend who worked on aquatic hypomycetes?  

 

Sadly, no I do not.  However, it is nice to know what some things would (possibly) look like in a pinch.  And I think we're all feeling a bit Grinchy this season.

[KCMUSSMAN]

Hi guys... KC from S12 here

This Challenge was everything I love about my job, it combined Concept- Story - character development and make-up effects.
I love designing make-up with strong story driven elements and this was definetly the challenge to do so.
Elena Popzlateva was an amazing Model and I adore her for going through this makeup with grace and awesome acting skills!
...
As a huge Last Of Us (zombie freak) fan and gamer I also got to fan girl all over the zombie concept and almost hit the floor when  I saw Neil Druckman!!!
My friend Ivan Van Norman and I have been wanting to do a clicker make-up forever and we are also gearing up for an awesome tabletop RPG Zombie game experience (Stay tuned)
Another great moment was to see Glenn Hetrick so excited about these characters and receiving some very humbling feedback from him and the other judges.
...
I was also very thankful to Andrew  and Phil for all the fun and support.
I sustained a neck injury on the show and I had the hardest time powering through all the physical labor but Andrew and Phil had my back and where there to encourage and support with fun and positive energy.
One of my favorite moments was creating a gnarly mouthwash with Phil which we tested on ourselves and booked it to the sink to  wash it out for a good chunk of time while the camera men where laughing at us.
When the job gets hard- smile and carry on ~_~

Cheers
Last of the twisted 6

[sourpickles]

Holy Hannah.  I'm going to assume that it's really KC and fangirl out for a minute here.  Pardon.  (AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!)  Better now.  First famous person I've ever seen post/met/ etc.  EVAH.  So, thanks for the input KC, so glad to see the show is a good time had by all.  N good luck upcoming episodes!

God, I'm such a dork.  Pretty sure I just violated like 18 internet manners things.  Ah well, tomorrow is another day.

[Kaoteek]

TBH, I fast-forwarded through a good half of that one. I'm just tired of zombies, be they fungal, viral, undead or cursed, and those make-ups were just not interesting enough, this week, for me to really pay attention all the way through their creation.

Next week's Amusing Aliens, I'm hoping for some whimsical make-ups...

[sourpickles]

38 minutes ago, Kaoteek said:

I'm just tired of zombies, be they fungal, viral, undead or cursed,

That's it?  I'm pretty sure there could be more issues, so hold on for the next season....................frankly, I'm looking forward to mutant hybrids ;).

[Kathira]

3 hours ago, KCMUSSMAN said:

I was also very thankful to Andrew  and Phil for all the fun and support.
I sustained a neck injury on the show and I had the hardest time powering through all the physical labor but Andrew and Phil had my back and where there to encourage and support with fun and positive energy.
One of my favorite moments was creating a gnarly mouthwash with Phil which we tested on ourselves and booked it to the sink to  wash it out for a good chunk of time while the camera men where laughing at us.

Wow, KC, thanks for stopping in! Feel free to share any other backstage deets you can. We all love this show here, even if we bitch about it. I'm sure you know that's part of fandom.

[sourpickles]

15 minutes ago, Kathira said:

We all love this show here, even if we bitch about it. I'm sure you know that's part of fandom.

Ain't that the truth.  Well said. 

[Lugal]

4 hours ago, KCMUSSMAN said:

This Challenge was everything I love about my job, it combined Concept- Story - character development and make-up effects.
I love designing make-up with strong story driven elements and this was definetly the challenge to do so.
Elena Popzlateva was an amazing Model and I adore her for going through this makeup with grace and awesome acting skills!

Very cool and congrats on the win!

 

4 hours ago, KCMUSSMAN said:

One of my favorite moments was creating a gnarly mouthwash with Phil which we tested on ourselves and booked it to the sink to  wash it out for a good chunk of time while the camera men where laughing at us.

Awesome!  I love hearing about the cool stuff we never get to see.

Thanks for stopping by!

[mjc570]

I'm sorry, but is "gnarly" really in such widespread usage?  First Phil, now KC (thanks for the post! You're awesome) - I really wonder about myself, I guess I am an old fogy.  Ugh. 

[ratgirlagogo]

22 hours ago, sourpickles said:

In all honesty, this is the first week I've known everyone's name.  That is so awful. 

Yes.  Until Phil went home I couldn't have told you his name.

 

20 hours ago, Richness said:

And why the hell was Glenn going on so much about the various make-ups fitting into a video game? As far as we were told, there was NO mention of video games in the challenge description. Sure, the guest judge makes video games, but I don't recall McKenzie mentioning games once.

This threw me also and made me wonder if it were brought up to the contestants at some point that the show forgot to tell us.  Obviously Druckmann was the planned guest judge already so why not mention the video game aspect - especially since KC's win seemed so largely predicated on her makeup's  game suitability.  Congratulations on the win, of course, KC.

[sourpickles]

24 minutes ago, mjc570 said:

I'm sorry, but is "gnarly" really in such widespread usage? 

No.  We're old fogies who remember when the word WAS in widespread usage and rue those days.  Mostly cause we remember them. However, I'll give FO a pass, because gnarly can be a wicked cool descriptive ;).

[ratgirlagogo]

One of the things I love about this show is Ve's straightforward unashamed useage of "bitchen", "boss",  and other traditional Californian terminology (like "gnarly".)

[Frozendiva]

KC, thank you for stopping in and saying hello.  It's great to hear about the actual experience of someone on the show. All the judges seem awesome and real. Best wishes to you.

[sourpickles]

5 minutes ago, Frozendiva said:

KC, thank you for stopping in and saying hello.  It's great to hear about the actual experience of someone on the show. All the judges seem awesome and real. Best wishes to you.

Isn't that cool?  I'm so dorky, I'm loving it!  I'm trying, reluctantly to get into FB and see how things go there, but this is the first person who I've seen check out PTV.  And now, will never do again, with me geeking out!  BTW aren't you supposed to be at that music thing?  I looked it up.  I can name five bands.  If pressed.  Hope it's not raining!

[Frozendiva]

Just now, sourpickles said:

Isn't that cool?  I'm so dorky, I'm loving it!  I'm trying, reluctantly to get into FB and see how things go there, but this is the first person who I've seen check out PTV.  And now, will never do again, with me geeking out!  BTW aren't you supposed to be at that music thing?  I looked it up.  I can name five bands.  If pressed.  Hope it's not raining!

Nah, I fly out tomorrow around 11 am. Festival doesn't start til Friday.  Going only Saturday and Sunday. And hope my hotel isn't overbooked as I have paid in advance. I recognize probably most of the first two to three rows of artists on each date. I am taking 5 pairs of shoes! With the humidex being 38C I dunno what to wear that won't give me blisters!

[KCMUSSMAN]

haha Sour Pickles your the best.

Thanks for the kind words and welcome. Ive been reading here for several seasons now (im also a fan of the show )

And dont worry no judgments everyone is entitled to their own opinions so have at it.

Im not a delicate snowflake and I find a lit of humor in the back talks and forums. One of my favorite comments was that I wouldnt pass a turing test and that I need a captcha meme. Me and my husband thought that was hillarious with a hint of truth... The talking head section is not very flattering lol.

 

More than happy to answer any questions. 

[Mabinogia]

KCMUSSMAN thank you for hanging with us. I think it's always nice to see contestants on the boards. It reminds us you're real people. lol

I do have a question, if you would be so kind.

I'm really curious how someone who was in the team vs team environment felt about it. You can see how most of us felt. lol

I think because such a huge part of the love of this show stems from everyone helping everyone else and bouncing ideas off each other and for us, the viewers, it felt a bit like the teams kind of divided you all. Did it feel that way from the inside? Or did you feel like being part of a team made you stronger in the competition?

I'm just really curious if it felt as different from the inside as it felt to viewers looking in.

Personally it took a while to warm to this season and I still feel like I don't know much of what you all are capable of. I will say, and I'm not sucking up, you are one of my favorites this season. (at least I know you by both name and image which is sadly more than I can say for half of the folks this season

[enoughcats]

Here's a question that I'll try to ask gently:  At the beginning of the competition, some of us think we could list certain competitors who might be, well just say it, cannon fodder.  Allowing for respect for fellow competitors, are fodder apparent?

 

If you never watched Project Runway, back in PR's early years there was a competitor who left first who didn't know how to use the kind of sewing machines they have for the show.  (She only knew machines for home use.)  That was pretty blatant.  Do some of your copetitors come out and say "I've never done ___________ before."?

[sourpickles]

Ooooh, me too, I have questions for KC!  I'll do my best to type without babbling, though I am sending my newfound famous people excitement to everyone I know.  Most especially my kids, who can think I'm cool again.  Anywho.........two parter here.

One: You said you are a long term fan, so was being cast on FO a goal, or was it just one of those things with the shop?

Two: And you know everyone is dying to know.........how is it watching yourself on TV?  Me personally, I can't even listen to my voicemail message, so..........

[Nessie]

I have a question @KCMUSSMAN, about this last challenge.  Were you told it was for a video game in the brief and they just didn't show that part in the broadcast?  I ask because to me, Andrew's finished product, as awesome as it looked, looked like a mask, like the model couldn't move his face at all, and previously, the judges had always made a big deal about the models being able to move their faces - or at least their mouths - through the makeup and prosthetics, and here they didn't say anything about it at all.  Obviously the model not being able to move their faces wouldn't matter for a video game.

[LadyMustang65]

I felt bad for Twisted Six.  This is the second time now I've felt that they clearly won the challenge, but for whatever reason, the judges didn't award a team win.  So as far as I'm concerned, they've had 3 wins.  I really liked the looks they came up with this time whereas I really didn't care for any of the looks from Ethereal Effects.  KC and Andrew were clearly the best two.  I probably would have gone with Andrew for the win, but I can't argue with a win for KC either.  And I didn't think Phil's was as bad as the judges did.  And he seemed like a nice guy.

[strippedhalo]

1 hour ago, Mabinogia said:

I think because such a huge part of the love of this show stems from everyone helping everyone else and bouncing ideas off each other and for us, the viewers, it felt a bit like the teams kind of divided you all. Did it feel that way from the inside?

This is a great question for KC, because she is the one person (to the best of my recollection) who has been shown to "cross team lines" by showing the other shop how to attach their horns in the Dante's Demons challenge. 

[KCMUSSMAN]

hi everyone...

Thanks for all the awesome comments. So much fun to chat with people watching the show.

I saw f/o season 1 in Israel where I was living at the time and that is what encouraged me ti move to L.A and open a shop. I always wanted to be on the show. It was a dream come true.

...

The shows crew are amazing warm people and cared for us very well. 

...

As for the team format there where a lit of pros and cons. 

I loved working with a team. Sharing the work and having people ti support you. 

But the firmat felt restrictive to me and I rarely got to do makeups that I felt reflected my style. Everything was a compramise to match up to other team mates and to conform to the foreman. 

Nelson for instance is one of the most talented hard working people I know... Super humble and helps everyone, but he got lost in the team format as did Phil ... Also super talented sculptor. Its hard to keep your identity in this shop format. 

Another problem was the physical wear. Im a strong shop tech and a lot of the shopwork in T6 fell on me and Phil... It wore us out and I got a serious neck injury on the dream house episode and had to get physical therapy after the show. During the lastest episodes I was getting steroid shots for my neck. But Andrew and Phil and Nelson always helped lift me up and lent a hand. (its a lot of hard work and by the end of each challenge we are beat)

...

Seeing myself on T.V is weird.... Its a little unnetving lol. But I just laugh at myself whrn I think i look silly.

...

 

I will try my best to answer everyone, let 

...

On the fungus challenge we where told Cordyceps Virus and zombues and reffered to the game "the last of us" which is a game where people are infected by the cordyceps virus. So that was indeed the premise of the challenge.

...

Andrew owns a mask company and is a master at mask sculpting. He sculpts masks very well and is a very experienced veteren artist.

...

Cannon fodder: i dont know...

The team format can allow a lot of coat tail riding.

...

Everything is edited but happened the way it did. What you see on T.V is real. 

[KCMUSSMAN]

They told us that each team had an equal to their skills and abilities. Mine was kiersten.

But when the horn challenge came about faina came to me for help since they couldnt figure out the mounting.

Mounting horns can be tricky and also can injure the model. I have a lot of experience in these methods and I wanted to apply my knowledge to help the models and artists.  I would have felt tetrjble if a midel got hurt or an artist sent home for a floppy horn if the makeup was good.

Quote

This is a great question for KC, because she is the one person (to the best of my recollection) who has been shown to "cross team lines" by showing the other shop how to attach their horns in the Dante's Demons challenge.