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

I've come out of these first two episodes of DRDU feeling like my head's been pummelled, the fast pace* and lack of relief / weird stilted editing where it feels like everybody is in different places (maybe because they are) / extremely high in the mix music and sound effects is making it very tough going

What was with the weird cutaways to Ru this week? Very odd.

Look, at least that apology was a real apology and not just "I'm sorry if you were offended." But yes, the whole thing just feels too frantic, as if we'll all notice how shoddy it is if they slow it down at all.

Seriously, what is up with all the sound effects ?

The All Stars 6 cast is really weird. There's way too many of them (13 instead of the usual 10), which could've been cut down easily. It just feels like it's RuPaul's Queens who've been on Drag Race Before. And I don't mind them casting All Stars 1 girls every year, cause it's not a well known or well loved season. But Ginger Minj already did All Stars 2, which is arguably the best and most famous season of All Stars ever ! Should they give Katya or Alyssa another go too ?

Should they give Katya or Alyssa another go too ?

I mean, the obvious answer now is yes.

...can they have her be the permanent guest judge and just read everyone involved for filth?

HOLD ON pic.twitter.com/zUURMfsaRs

— grant (pride edition) 🧔🏻🏳️‍🌈 (@urdadssidepiece) June 8, 2021

Anyway, trailer in full

WATCH: #DragRace #AllStars6 Official Trailer Paramount+ https://t.co/qrpcguezQx

— RuPaul (@RuPaul) June 8, 2021

Down Under...continues. (It wraps up next week and I'm just fine with that!) España continues to be much better -- and we had a pretty classic/dramatic "I'm out!" moment when Inti left, and frankly I don't blame her all that much because that was a hell of a look on the runway.

Meantime, though, read this:

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/paris-is-burning-emcee-junior-labeija-pose-rupaul-1234964404/

RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under: Local version of hit reality TV series missteps when it comes to race and representation

For a country where roughly one in three people aren't Anglo, half are first- or second-generation migrants and one in five speak non-English languages at home – and with one of the most multicultural drag scenes – some felt the casting was … qwhite odd.

Of the ten competing queens, there is only one Aboriginal and one Polynesian queen.

the scenes in the workroom where Adams discussed her problematic "past" (although tbh I'm not of a mindset that 2018 is that long ago) were so obviously a prompted set-up, the way all workroom scenes are. "Tell me about a time when..." It's really obvious that they waited until they had eliminated all the non-white queens to have this discussion, to avoid the risk of having one of them say that, actually they don't forgive Adams. That wouldn't have played into RuPaul's own beliefs around #cancellations. I also noticed in that scene that Karen From Finance was very quiet despite their golliwog collection and tattoo.

yeah, the whole thing was so awkwardly constructed it had the opposite effect

great article with junior lebeija, absolutely makes the ball stuff iconic in the doc, "why ya'll gaggin' so, she bring it to ya, every bwall'', junior definately brought 'IT' to every ball.

Honestly belongs elsewhere than just this thread but still, very much worth a read:

https://jezebel.com/i-love-boobs-michelle-visage-on-her-documentary-explan-1847094870

Separately as part of their ever expanding podcast empire, Willam and Alaska now have a third one going, temporarily: a limited edition one about the history of pageants over the last few decades. It's not some rigorous documentary per se but based on the first episode it's setting up a nice mix of things.

and just how the whole season of down under was unremarkable, the finale.. just was

donno if it’s due to different production but the chats with ru and michelle felt dr phil level ridiculous

Yeah that was a slog (didn't mind the winner though). But España is still going (and much more interesting). (And yes All-Stars starting this week but...)

As for said DRDU winner, the short reaction video is very sweet.

yeah, happy about the winner, didn’t expect that outcome (but makes sense from the producers point of view i guess)
and definitely didn’t expect Down Under to be tamer than the US and UK versions

DRDU was a disaster. They were obviously banking on the audience giving Scarlett Adams a pass because Ru said they should, and I'm glad the fandom gave that a massive Nope. The Not Tic Tacs chat was particularly painful, not just in levels of second-hand cringe for Michelle but also in revealing how little we had actually learned about these queens and their personal struggles, which had clearly been pushed aside for the "bitchy" plotlines with the end result that nobody seemed likeable or interesting or easy to support. The right queen won but it was so obviously by default.

It’s not necessarily that España is any better on certain fronts — you can read a lot into Inti’s self-departure — but the whole vibe is way different and it’s just much more engaging. Hell they had their Snatch Game episode yesterday, I knew absolutely none of the celebrities they were portraying (aside from the Mona Lisa!) and it was still a blast.

but also in revealing how little we had actually learned about these queens

otm, the US one by contrast felt like an actual chat between friends and i think for this very reason

So the first two episodes of All-Stars dropped and *shrug*

About the only hook of note at this point is this 'game within a game' idea that's being set up for the losing queens so far.

i’m glad they did a sewing challenge so early on and there were several queens who made better outfits than what they brought

I'll def watch this weekend but I'm not exactly rushing to the tv :/

some reflections on allstars season6 *spoilerific, possibly*

this is odd cast in terms of having some many rugurls who either didn't do so well on their season or who were 'villains' on their season..either way, there is lack of 'star' quality which actually makes it more of an even playing field in terms of the race for the crown, literally feel this one has the potential for a less obvious winner than ever.

delusion is strong with this bunch, the reliable 'I need to stay in the competition because I have so much left to give/show...has been uttered too many times already and it's only a few episodes in....jiggly, serena, trinity - kinda drunk on some version of themselves that they continually have failed to show, in meaningful moments. Unsurprising early struggles.....Jan is a upbeat, ru-postle who seems almost too wide eyed to be believed and will surely be beaten down by some of these unachieving, insecure types...Yara is a loco joy, tho seemingly getting a course correction for ru and the production as she didn't deserve to be in the bottom and so can only have displeased the gods, in the some way...she worked the fake boob moments for all it was worth and more, tho I think it's wrong to read her for it, while also having laughed your ass off (calling you out here, Ru + judges).

winner: is ginger or eureka too obvious? yara is a wild card that seems a little to wild for the ru-corp brand. Scarlett has a gorgeous poise and striking look, I think she's a dark horse for the crown.

oh ...and the unusual material dress challenge was a triumph for almost everyone, except for jiggly, kinda lost in the same insecure reflections as in her original season and unfortunately, in a shady group that was dining out on having someone clearly in the bottom at the outset of this challenge. Any true 'friends' would have not allowed her to take to the runway in a poorly assessorised blanket....oh..and shouts out to Rahman o hara for killing it in the fashion/serving stakes, this was her challenge and boy did she deliver

Meantime Willam, currently working in the UK, had some intel on Hot Goss this week that Drag Race UK 3 is filming and allegedly Ru wanted to get through it quicker so each episode was filmed in *a day* — that seems a little nightmarish.

Given how much queens labour and sweat with agonising foot pain during normal filming conditions, this seems a kind gesture from the almighty phaRUoh

First episode of AS is on Youtube -- I'll be honest, I was thinking of sitting this one out, but if it's YT, why not.

And just as Eureka enters, I can think of one reason why not.

there is lack of 'star' quality which actually makes it more of an even playing field in terms of the race for the crown, literally feel this one has the potential for a less obvious winner than ever

wow this is a great point and one that I'd never considered. I have bemoaned how middling and star-free this group is but you're right in that it makes it less obv than ever who is going to win

I LOVE Jiggly 2.0 and am crushed that she's just not that talented, bcz I want to see her on TV more but she def deserved to go. I also love Kylie and I'm surprised at how much I love Scarlet? Jan is hyperactive and cloying but it's corny that the producers are fucking w her and making her safe when she's clearly standing out.

Also holy shit I was amazed at how well Laganja did in that lip sync????? She's one of my most hated queens but maybe she's actually grown a lot and is good now????

Surprise! Yeah definitely seems to have levelled up -- various comments by Willam over the years on the podcasts have said similarly.

This episode is kinda where everything really clicked for me, partially for the reasons outlined above, but also because it seems to have settled into an interesting groove.

have seen this episode....
"I LOVE Jiggly 2.0 and am crushed that she's just not that talented, bcz I want to see her on TV more but she def deserved to go".

I think its mentioned on untucked that she has an acting part on pose and knows Ryan Murphy, so it's great to see she is thriving as the dragrace competition doesn't suit her, speaking about laganja, she has done amazing stuff with her dance and she has explained her dragrace meltdown as not dealing well with the stress of the competition and it seems really compelling, competition brings weird shit out of people.. I like her a lot, she really is the best dancer from the school of Edward's and has matured so much since her season.

*haven't...but excited to see laganja dance

LAGANJA ESTRANJA PERFORMS | "Life On Mars" by David Bowie | Choreographed by Easton Blake

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

this season has also been promising purely for getting rid of Silky so early

not strictly RPDR content but ive never used ilx for this and prob never will again -- promoting my friend's stuff!

episode 1 of the olly mary show just went up -- she is a montreal queen who just started (but has been a pro MUA for like 10 years so the looks are On Point af). disclaimer my gf worked a lot on this too so i am biased but i think it's a lot of fun! they have... 6-10 episodes coming 1/week for the next little while! here's the first! please watch it (even if small and volume near zero) to help make it do good <3

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e90TuwHBH68

i have caught up on these 3 eps and am enjoying it way more than i expected

i didnt rate the cast of this allstars at all but watching them now i’m like “aw shoot girls” theyre pretty endearing

i forgot how much i loooove yara sofia and her cuckoo bananas energy. inject her into my veins!

and all these lipsyncs are magic

also: ginger minj is still delusional. even if she wasnt in the losing team she would not be yhe top! because her runways look was flatout cursed. ruched pantaloons are for NOBODY.
NOBODY.

like

that look was like…Labyrinth On Ice from like 1987 Slovenia or something

i dont even know what it was but it made me angry and i would fight that look

she was fucking funny doing that weird richard simmons character though lord

ok, finally caught this episode and lol at the double post outrage towards ginger's outfit. I thought surely it can't be that bad, she's obviously wearing something kitsch, ironically...Holy fuck! it was bad, the love child of a piñata and those toilet roll holder dolls, inexplicably popular with 70's grans. She couldn't even move properly in it. I'm going for the ' (ham)burglar trapped in sensory play area window' look....stunning, love, just stunning!

other good lol at trinity winning the challenge and everyone completely passing it over, to the point where, when she lost the lipsink, ru saying something like 'you are safe, you survive for another day' and trinity's like 'didnt I win this 'effing main challenge..fml'.

the lipsynches have been very, very good

Gonna say it again, Drag Race España is the sleeper hit of the franchise this year from where I sit. Beats the pants off of Down Under and today was some honest to god perfect TV melodrama and emotion, and it was the roast episode even! Makeover episode next week.

I watched five episodes of Espana yesterday while hungover and it was excellent - it has the heart and warmth of the early original seasons but the scale and inventiveness of the later era.

Last night's episode was great !! Great challenge, amazing runway. I was sad to see the eliminated queen go, but she was the worst in the challenge. The other queen up for elimination shouldn't even have been near the bottom for her runway alone, but I thought she did good in the challenge too.

So much love for this week's lip-sync assassin !!! How she hasn't been in an All Stars season yet when some of them are on their third time is beyond me.

Yeah you’d think she’d have more of a prominent place after all this time. As it stands she’s almost as invisible as Tyra Sanchez.

Also per Untucked how come we didn’t get the tailgate party outside that one clip!

I think at this point THE PIT STOP is what I look forward to the most each week and the actual episode is just sort a formality that I have to watch before I can get to the good stuff.

I never disliked Monique Heart but I did always kinda find her a bit hollow and a bit too performative (sometimes gratingly so), and I was amazed at how at-ease and effortlessly charming she was this past week. All of the queens this season have had such incredible chemistry with Trixie (except maybe Manila which kinda surprised me but even she was still great).

multiple times over the last week I have simply thought about "Sheryl Canning" and started laughing.

Yeah I need to catch up on those but what I caught of Monique's episode was a treat!

Envy Peru on Drag Race Espana of course ruled.

Trinity’s Beyonce was beyond belief, she was fkn robbed. who cares about normcore tryhard Jan.

and yes Pit Stop is life

Monique is so great as a guest on anything. I love her, she’s hilarious. Her and Monet together is guaranteed lols

Odd little episode, like it wanted to be more serious in the challenge instead of having that be the side talk. Which is not bad! But still.

The lip sync assassin bit was top notch though!

Meantime the grind never ends: Drag Race Holland Season 2 starts up August 6. (Wonder why no Canada…yet)