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March 28, 2024, 02:49:05 PM

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RuPaul's Drag Race series 10

Started by Blue Jam, April 30, 2018, 12:55:41 PM

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Blue Jam

Deserves its own thread I think:

I was a bit disappointed with this series at first but I think it just had that problem that most reality series have in that they need to lose some of the less memorable contestants before things get interesting. Now we're six weeks in and we've lost some of the chaff (you need more than a name, Kalorie Karbdashian) I'm getting sucked in again. The DragCon panel challenge was also the most entertaining challenge of this series so far.

This year's queens seem a bit less polished than usual, but after the likes of Sasha Velour and Peppermint I'm quite enjoying that. I'm also glad there's no token Latina queen whose whole gimmick is babbling in broken English (though I don't count Alexis Mateo as one of those, and I was sad to see her drag daughter, Vanessa Vanjie Mateo, sashay away). I'd like to see a proper pantomime villain like Mimi Imfurst or Willam though, or at least a drama addict like Nina Bo'Nina Brown. Let's just see if Eureka makes any jokes about eating disorders this series...

I think it's reached the point where the queens' individual strengths are showing- Monique Heart seems to be the comedy queen, and while I always thought The Vixen lacked polish, that was a damn good lip sync to I'm Coming Out (I've certainly never seen anyone lip sync a trumpet part before).

I think Kameron Michaels is my favourite so far- I like the idea of a bodybuilding queen doing superhero looks and making muscles look feminine, I don't think I've seen that on this show before and it's a nice bit of body positivity. I felt bad for Blair St. Clair but I'm also glad the sob stories don't work here, especially as they're a bit inappropriate when pretty much everyone on this show has been through a major struggle. I thought Miz Cracker should have had her place in the bottom two and was very lucky to escape this week- if you have to explain that you were making a lighthearted joke rather than throwing shade you clearly don't have the comedic chops for this show. I have to wonder if there's some manipulative editing going on, setting her up to look like a real contender before a "shock" elimination.

Yep, I'm in again... Who else is in?

Swoz_MK

Looking forward to a much more more polished and seasoned Blair St Clair in an eventual All Stars appearance.
I cannot fucking stand Eureka. I don't watch Untucked now just to limit the amount of Eureka I have to endure.

Blue Jam

I think Blair St. Clair deserved a few more weeks in the competition- a few more chances to refine her act.

Eureka is a good contender for "contestant most likely to piss off all the other queens". The loud ones are always the worst. I don't like Miz Cracker (or her edgelord racist name) but I think Eureka may be even worse.

Mini

Quote from: Blue Jam on April 30, 2018, 12:55:41 PM
I felt bad for Blair St. Clair but I'm also glad the sob stories don't work here, especially as they're a bit inappropriate when pretty much everyone on this show has been through a major struggle.

The days of saving yourself by fake-crying about being left at a bus stop are well and truly over. Blair didn't deserve to go home though, she was really consistent. Definitely one for All Stars.

I don't have a problem with Eureka, yeah she's loud but I don't think she's an arsehole. Aquaria on the other hand...

buttgammon

I hated Eureka but changed my mind last week; at least she seems to have stopped banging on and on about her knee. She was the only moderator who was any cop on the convention challenge, too. I thought Blair probably did deserve to go based on this week's episode, but I don't like The Vixen and overall, she should've gone instead.

I like Kameron too - like Blue Jam says, she's doing something different, which is great when there seem to be so many queens who fit into one template or other that we've already seen a million times before.

Cuellar

I was quite surprised Blair went, and given the way they'd 'prepared' for the challenge I was expecting their panel to be much more of a shambles. As it was I thought all the teams did well, and I thought a lot of the criticism of Blair wasn't entirely fair.

That being said, I thought her looks were always a bit safe, a bit conservative. She always looked great mind, but they weren't hugely memorable.

I'm hoping for Kameron Michaels to come from behind (ooh pardon) and win. All her looks are interesting and she's got a unique look. Failing that I'd like Monique Heart to win.

Nobody Soup

#6
I haven't watched since season 7 was a complete dud. (though I looked back and Katya was in that, which further beggars belief that Violet won), but I ended up watching season 8 recently and just skipping anything that didn't involve bob the drag queen being excellent. I think I'm a pretty good judge of it by now. I liked eureka as soon as I got past the loud, fat southerner thing (about 25 minutes) and think she's a threat to win the whole thing. They've never had a big queen win before and they can waver the way of firsts when push comes to shove.

Eureka - possible winner, if she nails snatch game I'd start placing bets.
Miz Cracker - think she's too much of a poor man's Jinx Monson/Bendela but she won't slip often.
Monét X Change - either a finalist or out soon, she's got the goods but she seems to be inconsistent
Asia - could make the final but is a roxxxy andrews type who'll get by on being solid
Vixen - 4th or 5th,  potentially this series' "I'm a bit shit but for some reason I keep going through" but she's had a bad run so if she fucks snatch game, byeeee.
Monique Heart - just not really seeing anything too her that's going to get her past the good contestants
Kameron - no chance, but miss congeniality awaits
Aquaria - probably gone at the next comedy/acting challenge aaaaand it's snatch game next week...

I'm 70% blair will return, the series feels too built round her at these early stages and someone usually comes back around the point there's five left. actually, it's never come close to happening but if she does come back I think she could be a threat to win.

Nobody Soup


BlodwynPig


Blue Jam

^^^ A couple, but only out of drag- no-one like Sasha Velour or The Princess this time.

Just caught up with episode 7- Snatch Game is usually my least favourite episode of the series because I usually have no idea who half the American celebrities are (and that's one reason why I'd love to see a British edition of Drag Race) but this one was more enjoyable than usual, perhaps because a lot of the celebrity impersonations were so crap.

I was hoping someone would do Ivanka or Melania Trump and I think Aquaria did her well- a bit robotic with the movements and I loved the eyes. Miz Cracker trying to be as witty as Dorothy Parker was a huge risk and again I can't believe she got away with it.

Doing Beyonce is never a good idea- she's beautiful but not especially funny. Impersonating her daughter however was an even worse one...

I liked Aquaria's oil slick mermaid runway look, even if it was a bit Sharon Needles. I liked Kameron Michaels' looks too- so much personality in her face, she's always good value.

Throughout this series Eureka has been better than I had expected but I agreed with The Vixen and the other queens who said she was treading on everyone else's toes and she's really getting on my wick with her loudness and need to dominate everything. She was annoyingly insincere about The Vixen there too, to Shea Coulee levels. Good to finally see a feud here though.

Loved Ru's eyeroll as Monique Heart threw off her wig during the lip sync- a cardinal sin on this show. And then she committed the biggest sin of all: not knowing the words. I thought she had potential as a comedy queen but after Snatch Game I had to revise that opinion. As for her whining that she had no money as an excuse for her outfits being crap- again, sob stories don't work on this show, and as the very first challenge in this series was all about doing drag on a budget it was a pretty crap excuse.

I like The Vixen but the judges were right that you can always see what she'd look like out of drag and I can't see her lasting much longer.

Mini

Quote from: Blue Jam on May 07, 2018, 10:43:24 PM
Throughout this series Eureka has been better than I had expected but I agreed with The Vixen and the other queens who said she was treading on everyone else's toes and she's really getting on my wick with her loudness and need to dominate everything. She was annoyingly insincere about The Vixen there too, to Shea Coulee levels. Good to finally see a feud here though.

I think that's unfair, yes she's loud but I think she's genuine and never mean, which is more than can be said for The Vixen. As Monet pointed out the only person treading on people's toes during Snatch Game was Asia as Beyoncé. She should have been in the bottom instead of Monique, though it's only right that she's sent home for not knowing the words.

Cuellar

Man, I found that Snatch Game hard to watch. I thought the vast majority of the impressions didn't land at all. Melania Trump was good, Eureka was ok (a bit annoying and one note), but so many weird choices. Surely you have no excuse not to have a character down for this, after 9 series.

Monique's lip sync was one for the ages, certainly. My god. Feel for her, thought she was quite good on the whole. Could easily have been Asia lip syncing with The Vixen, in my view.

Thought Aquaria smashed it on Snatch Game and on the runway. Fair play.

The Vixen - definitely a 'why is she still there'? Well the answer is: drama. Can't say she doesn't bring that!

Eureka has, to her credit, really raised her game. She always looks good (if a bit samey these days) and goes all in for the challenges.

Think Ms Cracker isn't long for this world. As you say, choosing Dorothy Parker was a hugely risky move, and it didn't pay off.

buttgammon

I think Aquaria is in the driving seat now, though Kameron is probably my favourite so far.

Quote from: Mini on May 08, 2018, 10:33:17 AM
I think that's unfair, yes she's loud but I think she's genuine and never mean, which is more than can be said for The Vixen. As Monet pointed out the only person treading on people's toes during Snatch Game was Asia as Beyoncé. She should have been in the bottom instead of Monique, though it's only right that she's sent home for not knowing the words.

Completely agree with all of this. At least we got a passable Maya Angelou this time (Chi Chi did her in the most recent All Stars and was painfully bad - Ru set her up by asking her "why does the caged bird sing?" and she didn't even get the reference). I was also happy to see I had actually heard of most of the celebrities this time, as Snatch Game can sometimes be a painful watch for a British guy who doesn't watch much American TV and doesn't follow celebrity stuff.

Blue Jam

Quote from: Cuellar on May 08, 2018, 10:56:08 AM
Man, I found that Snatch Game hard to watch. I thought the vast majority of the impressions didn't land at all.

I know that a lot of the queens want to avoid the obvious choices like Liza Minelli and Cher, but those are the ones that work best, probably because everyone knows them. The worst ones for me are queens who impersonate former contestants, and the ones who impersonate RuPaul tend to fuck it up- how can any of them think that trying to be as polished and witty as the real deal when he's standing right next to you could be a good idea?

Also it's infuriating to see how many of the queens completely ignore Ru's advice. Sasha Velour told Ru she was going to do either Marlene Dietrich or an obscure second-wave feminist, and when she explained who that obscure second-wave feminist was, Ru said "Uhhhh... I think you should do Marlene Dietrich..."- and so she did, and she ended up in the top three, and went on to win outright. Asia O'Hara told Ru she was going to do Beyonce, and Ru said "Beyonce isn't funny- maybe do one of the other Destiny's Child girls? Play her as jealous?" she... looked that gift horse in the mouth and did Beyonce. Why did she not take that massive, massive hint? Not just a hint, an actual idea from Ru?

Asia is far from the first- I remember series 4 and the magazine cover challenge, when Jiggly Caliente said she wasn't going to go for a funny photo and comedy captions like the other queens and was going to make her magazine cover a serious statement about body positivity, while Ru advised her against it- she did it anyway and got eliminated.

This is another one for the "reality TV contestants who have never actually watched the show they're on" thread.

Snatch Game is never my favourite... I'd love to see a British version with queens impersonating Cheryl Cole and Kerry Katona and Cilla Black and Camilla Parker-Bowles...

Blue Jam

"I have such a big fear of singing in public..." oh fuck off Eureka.

The Vixen's glitter runway look was more polished than her previous looks but still looked like a primary school craft project. And despite being slim with delicate bone structure she never quite managed to hide what she looked like out of drag. It's a wonder she got this far.

I don't think Monet X Change or Asia O'Hara have long to go either, and I'd say the same for Miz Cracker but the judges seem to see something in her that I can't.

I'm predicting a Eureka, Aquaria and Kameron Michaels top three. I'd have no idea who would join them if they were to return to last year's format and pick a top four for the final- none of the other three are really final material. Maybe Miz Cracker would be a shoe-in... and I'm also calling Blair St. Clair for Miss Congeniality.

Twed

They should call it RuPaul's Terf Wars.

(Ever make a joke so obvious that you know it's been made before?)

I'm getting Violet flashbacks from Aquaria, I think she has it. Final three will be her, Eureka, and Monet. Cracker is due for a fall soon, they're playing up the self-doubt narrative too much. Kameron seems as surprised as the audience to still be there.

BTW the Vanjie meme has led to her having massive queues for her meet and greet at Dragcon, and she had the highest fee for the M&G/picture ($30). Insane.

Cuellar

Yeah Eureka's starting to get on my tits but she's nailed on top 3 material.

Agree re: Ms Cracker, don't think she's got much left in her.

Reckon Eureka, Aquaria, Kameron is a good shout for top 3. With either Eureka or Aquaria winning it. Probably, on form alone, Eureka.

Mini

Quote from: Cuellar on May 17, 2018, 09:28:46 AM
Reckon Eureka, Aquaria, Kameron is a good shout for top 3. With either Eureka or Aquaria winning it. Probably, on form alone, Eureka.

Plus they've never had a "big girl" winner whereas Aquaria (as Carpool Dragon pointed out) is a Violet Chachki type.

Cuellar

Yeah true.

If only Kim Chi had won instead of the utterly pedestrian Bob the Drag Queen, they could have covered all (nearly) their bases so far.

Just need a Latina to win too.

Blue Jam

"I love The Vixen and that girl's gonna be a star"... Oh FUCK OFF Eureka... and as for her lecturing Aquaria on learning how to "share the spotlight"... Aquaria may be an overt bitch but frankly I prefer that to Eureka hiding it...

Blue Jam

I enjoyed that mini-challenge a lot.

Cuellar

Well I think the winner is pretty obvious now

Blue Jam

HAHAHA FUCK OFF EUREKA... oh fuck off Ru...

Cuellar

Yeah I was raging.

She's too big to fail, it seems (not a crack about her weight honest)

Blue Jam

No way did Kameron deserve to be in the bottom two there, she had the best runway by far and was the only one who knew how to do proper "old" make-up. Also in the lipsync I suspect she had been channeling "Mom", queen of the friendly robots and thus very apt for this episode:


Asia O'Hara bringing fierce Gordon Ramsey realness with a few squiggles of black eyeliner on her forehead was somewhat less impressive. As for Aquaria- what the fuck was that supposed to be? She was very lucky this week.

Cuellar

Should definitely have been Cracker and Eureka lip syncing.

Cracker's 'old' look was nowhere near the theme

Mini

The fuck was that challenge? Hard to pick a winner but really? Asia?

Mini

Watched the latest episode last night - is RuPaul back on the coke or something? 

Cuellar

I know right. Fuckin bouncing off the walls.