'...and DON'T *bleep* IT UP!' -- the RuPaul's Drag Race thread

About time for this, I figure! Fifth season premiered yesterday.

condragulations

Quite right!

this show is kind of fascinating in a "gender is all performance!" way - everyone congratulating each other (incl the judges) on how well they achieve some kind of archetypal female-ness

Okay come on, I KNOW I'm not the only person on here watching.

I promise to start now.

Marilyn Monroe should've been in the bottom. She didn't do anything.

Yeah that was an epic flop. I like Ivy well enough but that made me go "Whuh?"

Jinkx, Alaska and Roxy were the best overall, but Jinkx just owned it period.

I like Ivy too and I think she was lucky she didn't have to lipsynch against Lineysha. I didn't expect her to do so well (but her Celia Cruz was unforgiveable).

Deep clusterfuck, that. Also what WAS Detox thinking.

um hi I just started watching season 5 online having never watched and omg I'm hooked

I'll be caught up in no time :D

Don't forget to watch Untucked, an essential part of this show!

Yeah I just figured that out...gotta love these bitchy girls. MORE drag homework? *twists arm*

Very good. Join us, join us...

Shanté, you stay!

Season 2 still the best so far, I think.

I just binge-rewatched season 3 over the weekend on Netflix and I might have to vote for that one. Then again I just like Raja a hell of a lot, so.

Yes for Raja and Manila. But the rest, not so interesting. Yara-Sophia maybe...

It actually came down to the right final four I thought, Alexis was a character in her own right. But yeah Yara (Xara?) was next level.

I still haven't seen season four! For some stupid reason it's not on Netflix -- it was for about two seconds and then went away again without explanation. (Already know who won, obv., but I'd like to see it happen.)

Wait what!! Can't you watch it on logo online or something? We can't in Canada but I thought you could in the US.
Season 4 was pretty good, although they tried to create too much unnecessary drama. But I'll let you see by yourself.

You can see the Untucked episodes from season 4 on the site but not the main shows. Since you can buy all the shows from iTunes maybe they want to go that route? Who knows!

Makes sense. If RuPaul had a dollar everytime she mentions iTunes...

Hey, house payments are probably up there. (And I don't begrudge Ru ANY success and trappings.)

I don't either. At least she's very upfront and funny about it.

Fun fact we learned during the All Stars season: Jujubee's real name is actually Airplane!

Hahaha yeah I remember thinking "Wait, what?"

I also love that Manila's real name is the none-more-Minnesota Karl Westerberg.

Lol wow

Almost caught up on S5 now yay!

Every single time Alyssa glams up for the runway all I think is JOAN COLLINS JOAN COLLINS JOAN COLLINS

I don't know why but I think I like Detox. Jinkx is great but I dunno if the unglam thing is going to hold out for her or not. I love her for it, but it could wear thin.

I will say this, have started following her on FB -- win or lose she seems to be having a blast and is booked for other live appearances and things and more this year already, so I like to think of her as winning already!

Meanwhile, it's a little surprising to see such a mostly white group at this point. Not that I think the show is biased, appears to be more luck of the draw season by season in terms of who survives.

that little edie impersonation was fuckin awesome in the last ep. too bad her fashion totally sucks.

I found s2 streaming on Amazon Prime, so yaaaay

Meantime:

http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2013/02/27/drag_race_grey_gardens_and_jinx_monsoon_why_the_queens_need_camp.html

I do have to quibble with some of the assertions there -- while Sharon's success in 4 is great, in 3 Raja was more than a little disruptive herself -- as was Manila really; if anything Alexis was the one let go at the end precisely for being full pageant.

I haven't watched all the seasons, but I don't get the impression that they are only seeking pageant or necessarily favoring that. And while I noticed the lack of "camp history" in the S5 girls, isn't there an argument that maybe a lot of queens are trying to let go of that, like that cliche of teens not wanting to know about older music? I mean, I'm bummed that they don't know who Little Edie is but maybe when they see Jinkxs win they go find out. And it doesn't mean they're any more terrible for what they don't know of their history. If anything, it's kind of fabulous that they all came to that same place *without* it.
I dunno. That article seemed a little too buttclenched.

Related but I think better expressed post, linked off the official site

http://www.newnownext.com/drag-race-jinkx-monsoon-snatch-game-little-edie/02/2013/

Oh and in checking Twitter Alyssa DID apologize to Ms. Perry.

Also this exchange is interesting (notice it's everyone else BUT Jinkx and Michelle who get riled up -- and as Michelle notes, in noting the obvious, there's always editing).

https://twitter.com/JinkxMonsoon/status/306550634079977473

This is better than what they showed on the show:

http://www.newnownext.com/jinkx-monsoon-little-edie-rupauls-drag-race/02/2013/

My Top 5 Snatch Game contestants from all seasons:

1. Sharon Needles as Michelle Visage
2. Pandora Boxx as Carole Channing
3. Tatianna as Britney Spears
4. Jinkx Monsoon as Little Edie
5. Alexis Matteo as Alicia Keys

Only three eps in (S5; no previous exposure to the show). Anyone care to rank the hottest queens out of drag? So far from S5 I'm into Lineysha and, oddly, Ivy.

xpost I just watched the S2 Snatch Game, Pandora's Carol Channing was hysterical, so good.

Lineysha's gorgeous. Ivy's not a crazy answer either, that bone structure really is something else. I was thinking about her terrible Marilyn and found myself wondering why the hell she didn't do Joan Rivers. Eh. Hindsight

Yes she would've been a great Joan Rivers!

Yeah, I know this is probably the exact rongest angle to take on the show, but I'm finding it very interesting navigating my impressions/levels of attraction to certain contestants when they're in drag vs. when they're not in drag.

Alyssa's *almost* attractive but it's like her lips are too big for her and she keeps tripping over them when she talks. Beautiful eyes though.

Coco's blue contacts freak me out. I keep expecting them to shoot lasers

Haha Alyssa looks like Will Arnett in AND out of drag.

Hottest out of drag:

S1: Jade
S2: Tyra, Raven
S3: Raja, Carmen, Mariah
S4: PhiPhi, Lashauwn
S5: Lineysha

xp otm

Well, actually, in drag he often reminds me of Hugo Weaving.

xpost elmo otm! Defnitely Will Arnett out of drag. In drag as mentioned upthread I just get constant Joan Collins, lol

The online hate the winner is getting is horrifying. I'm upset at the producers for taking the excitement out of the show with the random judging and obvious editing and favoritism, but it's not her fault. Actually, it's been happening since All Stars 1 when they made the season to crown Chad. It's just too obvious and boring for us as viewers now. I still love and enjoy the queens, but the placements don't mean anything to me at all.

Yeah we could all see it coming...but I enjoyed the overall series performances well enough! Irene is all time now.

Considering I felt the winner had been outright robbed at least once before, it seems churlish to deny them their win. Otoh, they were one of the few queens in this season who didn't elevate their drag in some way. They just came on and did the same old stuff to the same level -- admittedly a very high level, but still. Irene is the real winner of this season, I agree.

"Listen up, gay people!"

There's a Dublin drag queen on Drag Race UK!

There is! Seems a good sort too!

Yeah, it doesn't really seem like a vintage cast overall so far, but maybe they'll settle down.

Bones is probably going to take it?

Tainted Love lipsync was disappointing, i dunno, it's like the youngsters don't get the song

i will never forgive Bonnie Ann Clyde for not going with Boney M Clyde

Rooting for Elle Vosque myself

but her arc

Yeah, it's probably going to be Bones, though it should be Elle. It's not exactly a vintage year, although they all seem very nice.

españa airing at the same time really stresses how poor this uk season has been. difficult to care about anyone after nyongbella and sally left, just a void of c/u/n. but sure bones, why not.

anyway, satín greco or laca udilla ftw.

i'm fine with Elle or Silllexa or Bones winning but we can probably all agree there is a number of queens that should've been in the finale in place of Catrin Feelings

Maybe, but there is absolutely nothing Ru and Michelle love more than a "comedy" UK accent. Anyway, the whole thing was very underwhelming. The chat section with Ru and Michelle, which they went to all the trouble of getting the mams and dads on an Easyjet to Glasgow for, was nothing at all, and the section where Kyran "riffed" on their audition tapes with them was not even worthy of some teen's Twitch stream, never mind an actual television programme. And what was that lipsync? Just wafting. It was all very thin stuff, I thought.

Could have been sharper all around, yup. And but for a shoe, etc.

But to dbs’s point, España continues to kill it and I am Laca Udilla for life at this point.

Meantime, Season 18 queens announced!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1yala3B_qc

Watched the intros of ep 1... Cool bunch! Love that they're older than last year's batch. But quite the Florida continent...

Contingent!

It's been a solid season so far, honestly. Discord's walk alone becoming a thing is great, and there are some sharp designers and queens who know sharp designers in that group.

I so agree with Tom and Lorenzo, though. The RdR Live challenge is practically unwatchable.

Definitely the most 'uh okay' of the new 'traditions' they've added. Onya showing she was great as a host last year was a delight but that's about it in terms of anything memorable from any version of it.

Important reading:

https://www.papermag.com/trixie-mattel-katya-unhhhh#rebelltitem35

thank you, good read!
glad to hear them blame it on the edit, since it really was the magic sauce

That was a good read.

Meanwhile, on UK vs the World, I can't believe that the production team on a drag show allowed Jade to sit there with her wig tape so clearly visible.

I don't think they will, but if Channel 4 ever decide to resurrect their terrible knitting competition, they should get Kate Butch to host it.

Absolutely. A brilliantly WTF look.

could we have Raven permanently replaced by Nicole Paige Brooks on Photo Fashion Ruview please

Yeah that was a brilliant turn. Forgot she'd done it before almost a decade back!

"i would totally wear it.. in blue"

I am NOT happy about who was eliminated this week wtf

I'm so tired of the way they make this show for drama and comments.

Yeah, that was some bullshit.
Also, that improv challenge is awful. It's always awful.

i'm watching for the first time since i think 2019, really enjoying this season. also didn't hurt that one of last week's cowboys turned out to be a high school friend of my husband's.

No way! I loved those cowboys. I would love to see some kind of crossover episode where they take the queens to the rodeo and get them to try roping or something.

yeah cowboy makeover was a fantastic episode

Cowboys were great. This week…yeah I successfully avoided spoilers but I sensed enough chatter that I was all “Man, SHE didn’t lose, did she?”

I’ll add, pretty moving and thoughtful Untucked too! And it feels honest, since nobody who was left is a shit-stirrer.

I would love to see some kind of crossover episode where they take the queens to the rodeo and get them to try roping or something.

at least they got to practice on each a little bit :)

*each other

that's the thing though, this show _is_ for drama, and everybody is aware of the rigga morris so much at this point that it became an intentional part of the show.

as an aside, i just watched the netflix america's next top model doc, and it's hard to not make parallels, like the exploitation aspect (which is the most cringeworthy thing about the top model, together with the "we were filming a documentary and the girls were aware of that" BS that just made everything they did that much worse). and still, it feels less exploitive on drag race - maybe because the contestants aren't as young/naive (not to be confused with delusional), or maybe because just appearing on drag race gives you an actual chance of being employed, or maybe because the show isn't afraid to make fun of itself and its heavy handling of its own story lines.

which is exactly the reason for what happened - i think the biggest mistake she did was to not create drama / make a story arc for herself (there was an interesting bit in untucked iirc where mikey said something about her story arc working in her favour? which makes it clear how well the queens understand this being a big part of the game).

the improv challenge was excruciatingly bad, and what made it worse was that it dragged on so much. and unlike the crew, we didn't even get paid for having to sit through the unedited version! (the crew getting paid was brilliant, the funniest moment of the season so far)

makeover challenges are maybe the best drag race challenges period, there is some amazing chemistry that happens when you inject people that have no clue about all the drama and the dynamics established at this point, with queens having to explain some of it. and somehow even the heavily constructed story lines work (while queens sharing some of their life stories with each other can feel forced at times), and all the camaraderie and the banter and everything is just so great.

i really wish they changed the rules though to make all makeover episodes non elimination episodes. just make it about celebrating people.

the crew getting paid was brilliant, the funniest moment of the season so far

Absolutely. They were all TERRIBLE with the puppets, the best joke was this beforehand:

https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:kqdyhnklmmv34nmml6btyqv6/bafkreiagigf52kug36nw3i5tqvnkcbcrq3cwr4ynu274iivwtf4bi7otdu

i really wish they changed the rules though to make all makeover episodes non elimination episodes. just make it about celebrating people.

Arguably the best seasons based off the main franchise were the all-winners All Stars and the charity All Stars seasons.

as an aside, i just watched the netflix america's next top model doc, and it's hard to not make parallels, like the exploitation aspect (which is the most cringeworthy thing about the top model, together with the "we were filming a documentary and the girls were aware of that" BS that just made everything they did that much worse). and still, it feels less exploitive on drag race - maybe because the contestants aren't as young/naive (not to be confused with delusional), or maybe because just appearing on drag race gives you an actual chance of being employed, or maybe because the show isn't afraid to make fun of itself and its heavy handling of its own story lines.

I think there's also a key difference in this sense: unlike the ANTM heyday of the 2000s, RPDR hitting in the 2010s and onward also means social media/control of one's own narrative is more accessible, combined with the shift into podcasting. Whole lotta veteran queens can and do say a lot more now about it all, and stuff like Race Chaser actually breaks news at points:

https://www.out.com/news/drag-race-barry-winchell-murder

yeah Willam’s the best for putting that story in its correct, respectful context

also i hated this week’s elimination ;_;

Calpernia followed up:

https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10162054556687687&id=521932686

I love the make over challenge, but the judging sucks every time. I feel bad for the guests.

Yeah, me too. They always feel so responsible, and they shouldn't be made to feel that way. Completely agree that the makeover challenge should be a no-elimination week every time.

Meanwhile, Cats is getting a ballroom makeover:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xG_BqtI0S0

Also, I saw the trailer for Stop! That! Train! and while I'm sure it will be terrible, I did laugh at "Tell it to me straight... now tell it to me gay."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9O9ZeG6op_Y