Rupaul’s Drag Race UK all seasons

[juicy_but_terribly_drab]

Feb 12, 2021 9:38:09 GMT HereForTheatre said:

To be honest i thought RU was a bit unfair. Don't kick off about looks off the rack when many other queens have done the same thing and not been pulled up on it even gone on to be the weeks winner. Asttina wore a jacket and some shorts from Asos and won it in the first week? The American queens admit to buying stuff from Amazon and places all the time and it literally never gets mentioned by the judges. Plus there was a lockdown, no shops were open and they had limited income, don't kick off like that.

Can we just talk about Bing Bang Bong though? I will not get that out of my head for days now and I'm annoyed about it.

Yeah it felt like way too much energy for a challenge outfit that Joe was effectively forced to wear to match her team's aesthetic as best he could. Like you're here to critique them sure but I don't think any of them expected or agreed to getting berated like that for an outfit they wore for less than ten minutes. The shouting and swearing was just totally unnecessary and the critique itself felt unfair, especially since Joe Black in particular only had 3 weeks to prepare for a mere chance to return to the competition.

[oxfordsimon]

It was all done for 'drama'. Ru never has an original thought. It is all preplanned.

Joe knew from the outset it wasn't his sort of challenge. It was almost certainly engineered that way to create a moment so that they could send home a major personality twice in one season.

Is that unfair? Yes. But it was all planned that way. A queen like Joe is never going to change their core style to fit with that sort of challenge. But he won the runway with a brilliant combination of look and performance that none of the others could come close to emulating. But that was never going to be enough to save him.

[Deal J]

True, although after the initial delight seeing Joe's return, I was massively disappointed with how unenthusiastic they seemed to be during the RuRuVision challenge as it seemed almost certain that we'd be losing him again by the end.

What an amazing runway look though, the way he delivered it really gave it action.

What a shame he wasn't brought back for Snatch Game week, I expect he'd have aced that.

I really like Tia Kofi, but seriously she has had so many warnings to step her pussy up she had better bring it next week!

And as for Sister Sister... I grow more and more weary of her each week. She seems to have so much massively misplaced arrogance... she reminds me a little of Nathan (from UK's Queer as Folk) - "I'm Mozart! I'm f***ing MOZART!"

[BurlyBeaR]

Very rare that an eliminated queen who returns gets to stay for more than one or two episodes so this came as no surprise. I think Alyssa Edwards might have been an exception to that rule.
And Joe was hardly going to spend thousands of £ on costumes for a one in three chance of getting back into the competition followed by a very high possibility of a fast exit even if he was chosen.

I enjoyed “chip gate”. I mean, if Sister Sister had clocked what A’whora was going to wear for that challenge when they were all there the first time then she must have genuinely forgotten it over lockdown because who in their right mind would knowingly come back with the same concept?

[intoanewlife]

Ru's reaction was completely real and completely justified. If I'd have just been through what he had prepping for the series, I'd have done the same thing looking at that sh*tshow of a team.

It clearly had built up from their atrocious performance based on her reactions throughout it and the fact she didn't even clap when they finished.

Tia deserved everything she got. She's had one decent look the entire series and gives the same excuses every single week. I love her, but she is not putting her all into the competition.

Joe was a victim of circumstance. By the time he made his extremely ill-timed joke, things had already spiralled beyond the point of no return.

Everything Ru said was valid and I don't think it was aimed just at Joe, it was aimed at everyone across the franchise.

As for Joe, he clearly was never longed for this competition. He has fabulous looks and I actually like both his looks first time around and thought the judging was dreadful. But apart from having good looks he can only really do one thing, Norma Desmond via Glen Close...and that's it. His Eurovision look was a disgrace, no matter where it came from.

As for him only having 3 weeks prep...bollocks! They are contracted for the full length of the shoot of the whole series no matter when they are eliminated, in case they need to go back for some reason. He filmed the entire way through lockdown for the lockdown special. He had all the original outfits he took in with him first time around AND a 7 month break to fix anything that needed fixing.

He stuffed up and got eliminated end of story.

[BurlyBeaR]

Joe Black did express reservations about the pink dress being basic but it was (if we believe the edit) dismissed with “it will look ok when we’re all up there together” or words to that effect.

[intoanewlife]

One team looked like Eurovision performers, the other team looked like they were on Children in Need...

[oxfordsimon]

Neither team came anywhere close to being Frock Destroyers....

[juicy_but_terribly_drab]

I'm not saying the critiques of Joe were unjustified even if it came across a little classist (especially Ru's flippant comment about having 50 people to put him into drag - of course Tia's going to look like you with those kinds of resources) it's moreso the tone. Like these people have been out of a job for 7 months, a job which probably already doesn't pay particularly well. I doubt any of them are starving or anything but expecting them to have immaculate looks for every mini, maxi and runway just seems unrealistic and even if you want to make that critique there's no need to shout and swear at them, that just comes across as demeaning and disrespectful to me.

[oxfordsimon]

They were engineering a moment like Tyra exploding at one of the contestants on ANTM

It was designed to get people talking.

And it worked

[BurlyBeaR]

I have long thought that Rupaul is not a particularly sympathetic character. It’s all business. This “you’re all my children” schtick is just that. Anyone listening to his podcast (when it was running) will know he can barely remember their names. Even the winners.

[intoanewlife]

Feb 12, 2021 19:02:49 GMT juicy_but_terribly_drab said:

expecting them to have immaculate looks for every mini, maxi and runway just seems unrealistic 

Ummm isn't that kinda the point of the show...it certainly has been on the other 20 seasons.

Or are we changing it now for Joe Black?

[intoanewlife]

Feb 12, 2021 19:31:00 GMT BurlyBeaR said:

I have long thought that Rupaul is not a particularly sympathetic character. It’s all business. This “you’re all my children” schtick is just that. Anyone listening to his podcast (when it was running) will know he can barely remember their names. Even the winners.

Why does he have to it's a tv show. 

Do you think Carol Vauderman remembers every contestant from Countdown?

He gives these people a massive opportunity and then they trade off of his name for the rest of their lives.

I think that's a pretty sweet deal don't you x

[BurlyBeaR]

Feb 12, 2021 19:38:57 GMT intoanewlife said:

Feb 12, 2021 19:31:00 GMT BurlyBeaR said:

I have long thought that Rupaul is not a particularly sympathetic character. It’s all business. This “you’re all my children” schtick is just that. Anyone listening to his podcast (when it was running) will know he can barely remember their names. Even the winners.

Why does he have to it's a tv show. 

Do you think Carol Vauderman remembers every contestant from Countdown?

He gives these people a massive opportunity and then they trade off of his name for the rest of their lives.

I think that's a pretty sweet deal don't you x

I didn’t say he had to. I was just making the point. x. 

[juicy_but_terribly_drab]

Feb 12, 2021 19:36:40 GMT intoanewlife said:

Feb 12, 2021 19:02:49 GMT juicy_but_terribly_drab said:

expecting them to have immaculate looks for every mini, maxi and runway just seems unrealistic 

Ummm isn't that kinda the point of the show...it certainly has been on the other 20 seasons.

Or are we changing it now for Joe Black?

I mean I've always loved this show but that doesn't mean I didn't believe it was incredibly classist before and highly favoured queens with a big enough budget. Queens will drive themselves into huge amounts of debt to get outfits which meet expectations and then go home a few episodes in with nothing to show for it. Queens on a budget often get critiqued for looking crafty or basic. Yes there are things you can do to alleviate these things if you're creative enough and yes there are queens who break the mold but as a rule it's incredibly hard for those who are less well off. This isn't even to say that I thought Joe did well this week, it was just the utter disdain Ru had for him and the tone he took with all of them that didn't sit right with me, especially considering they've been out of work for 7 months.

[oxfordsimon]

It does seem from Ru's barbed comment about Ginny that they won't be welcomed back as part of the family.

Which rather gives credence to the reports that Ginny did make some comments before walking off

[intoanewlife]

Feb 12, 2021 20:45:50 GMT juicy_but_terribly_drab said:

Feb 12, 2021 19:36:40 GMT intoanewlife said:

Ummm isn't that kinda the point of the show...it certainly has been on the other 20 seasons.

Or are we changing it now for Joe Black?

I mean I've always loved this show but that doesn't mean I didn't believe it was incredibly classist before and highly favoured queens with a big enough budget. Queens will drive themselves into huge amounts of debt to get outfits which meet expectations and then go home a few episodes in with nothing to show for it. Queens on a budget often get critiqued for looking crafty or basic. Yes there are things you can do to alleviate these things if you're creative enough and yes there are queens who break the mold but as a rule it's incredibly hard for those who are less well off. This isn't even to say that I thought Joe did well this week, it was just the utter disdain Ru had for him and the tone he took with all of them that didn't sit right with me, especially considering they've been out of work for 7 months.

He's not asking for a big budget, he is asking for some creativity and effort which costs nothing.

Joe walked into a Eurovision task wearing a wig from the 1920's and an off the rack H&M dress. How was that appropriate for Eurovision 2021 challenge? His complaint had nothing to do with money, it had to do with laziness. Look at every other look Joe has done...amazing! so he clearly has the funds and creativity to pull it off. He was not sent home for that outfit, he was sent home for a bad lip synch. 

Ru was not even yelling at Joe, he was pissed off with Tia and that carried over to Joe because he let it slip about the H&M outfit. His anger was about the situation, not about any one person. If Joe had not stood there and admitted it and tried to make a joke out it it probably wouldn't have happened the way it did. If not for LaLa's bag outfit 2 weeks ago Tia's outfit would've literally been the worst runway look in the history of the series. They needed a kick in the arse and they got one.

For me (we all see things differently) this was about laziness and throwing away the opportunity given to them, it has nothing to do with their budget.

Now did he do it on purpose or to shock people, maybe? Considering what happened the week before, it's hardly surprising he would try and take back the reigns of his own show after being make look like a fool by a total wanker. That is what a good tv personality does, that's why they are paid the big bucks. They have the ability to make a 'moment' out of something that happens and they do it. They're the people who in multiple Emmy's, it's not Rupaul's Best Friend Race.

Considering the British literally invented this kind of 'nasty' television and exported it around the globe, I find the faux outrage over this a little ironic.

[intoanewlife]

Feb 12, 2021 20:46:10 GMT oxfordsimon said:

It does seem from Ru's barbed comment about Ginny that they won't be welcomed back as part of the family.

Which rather gives credence to the reports that Ginny did make some comments before walking off

They are all over the Lockdown special so there can't be too much bad blood there or surely they'd have been left out.

[oxfordsimon]

That was one of the worst Snatch Games ever.

Only one of the queens shone.

[juicy_but_terribly_drab]

Yeah everyone but Bimini were just average, not even so terrible that it was entertaining, just boringly bad. I was surprised A'whora was in the bottom though, I thought she was better than Ellie and Sister and her look was great (and I'm so sick of psychics on Snatch Game that Sister would automatically have been in the bottom for me, it's so tired and overdone).

[Deal J]

Bimini was amazing in Snatch Game, she's rapidly becoming my favourite of the season. Having said that I didn't get the runway look this week, but it still looked good.

"Nipples... are the eyes... of the face..."

Much as I like her, it was definitely 

SPOILER: Click to show

{Spoiler - click to view}Tia Kofi's time to go. How many times can one be told to step one's pussy up on the runway!? Her Mel B wasn't particularly funny and her make-up was terrible

!

[cherokee]

Bimini has crept up to be my favourite. She's confident without being arrogant, and very funny in real life and as a performer. She really feels like a front runner now, although I suspect Lawrence Chaney remains the queen to beat.

Drag Race has a weird history of assuming that bigger queen = comedy queen, and it's simply not (always) the case. Lawrence Chaney isn't a particularly accomplished comedian (as Snatch Game proved), nor is Kandy Muse on the current American series, or Boa on last year's Canadian show.

Sister Sister and Ellie Diamond feel like fodder: neither of them is going to win, so I just wish they'd go now: I agree they were both weaker than A'whora this week in their looks and their Snatch Game performances.

Feels like the right queen was eliminated, although she was a very warm and likeable presence.

[oxfordsimon]

I am rather over the make clothes out of trash challenges now. It has been done too many times. Time for a rethink.

The winner was well deserved. But Bimini should have been bottom 3 with that ragged curtain. Lawrence displayed far more skill and accomplishment.

The loser was inevitable. She had reached the end of her road.

[juicy_but_terribly_drab]

Pretty painless as far as stand-up challenges go which is impressive considering there was no real audience but the challenge itself should probably have just been scrapped without the proper audience because it just felt empty. I think everyone was pretty even but with Bimini as the clear stand out in both performance and looks.

I think Ellie vs A'Whora would have made more sense for the lip sync though. A'Whora's set lost some charm when I watched it uncensored so I think her bottom placement was deserved. Ellie's look was the weakest and I thought her performance was a little stilted and had some poor timing while Tayce had some good jokes in there and a good look so Tayce should've been safe. It also would have closed out the drama between Ellie and A'Whora these past couple episodes which I think is more compelling than a best friends lip sync. Still though this season has had very few missteps and continually overshadows season 13 week on week, hopefully it sticks the landing!

[oxfordsimon]

What was the really rude bit? I couldn't work it out.

I was expecting Ellie to go this week.

What I didn't get was the excessive anger towards Ellie. She made a choice. Awhora would have bombed with that act no matter where she went. Similarly Lawrence was always going to be safe on this challenge.

The lipsync was clearly won by Awhora. Tayce fell back on rolling around rather than living the lyrics.

Hey ho.