Face Off Season 3

[edwards_beard]

The new season of Face Off started last night. I didn't see a thread on it, so I figured I'd start one.

The first competition showed a lot of great talent, but I don't know what that one guy was thinking with his "burned up cheerleader" I liked seeing Sean Astin as a guest judge.

The main competition I really liked, the Star Wars cantina alien. Some great stuff, and while I can see why they chose to go with who win (they did a phenominal job - I really liked their alien) I thought the runner up looked like it could actually be in the movie. That one screamed Star Wars.

I'm glad that only one person left the show, because there was no way that that finished (well...unfinished) project showed what their partner could do.

[Noelq]

Heh - I was coming here to make this thread

With regards to the contestants:
1. During the pool challenge, I knew that the voted-off guy was going to be a pain in the butt. His design was just damn boring, and quite amateurish. I didn't, however, see the love for the winning design, but for two hours, it was very impressive. Secondly, it always amazes me that the contestants are "surprised" by the party-turned-challenge. Its a damn staple of most reality shows!

For the main challenge:
1. I was really amazed at how quickly the two girls whipped up that makeup job! Unless the time crunch was an artifact of the show, and not really an issue, those girls did a darn good job. I can't wait to see how they do when they have more time.
2. My inner geek was screaming that if their character was really from Degobah, she wouldn't be white, as the reflective abilities of that color wouldn't be needed.
3. I think they made the right choice on the winner. Blending the facial makeup with the baby-body was a very hard task, and he did it well. The dude's power-armor was damn beautiful, too.
4. "Ow! You're crushing my eyes!". I felt so sorry for that model! And he did it multiple times! The moment an artist disregards the model, you KNOW they're in for a world of problems.
5. Next week, Tommy had better do the mother-of-all-makeup-jobs to prove his worth.

Again, I was really impressed by the judges. No focus on interpersonal issues, and all the focus was kept on the makeup and the detailing. I still LOVE that they do the close-up examinations, and can see where the artists made shortcuts. I don't think they miss anything.

I really, really love this show.

[MaxTheVool]

I was at least vaguely wondering whether the jerk who left was some kind of plant or something. He was both so insanely unpleasant AND so clearly untalented. Did the producers just find some random guy, pay him money, and say "ok, be a contestant for one episode and be as unpleasant as you can be, and then leave".


It certainly did make the episode far more compelling than it otherwise would be, as it gave us a villain and a storyline, which are usually lacking in the first episode of a reality show as we get to know the contestants.

[Brynda]

The guy who left was clearly Not Right. Was it just me, or did he look like someone with progeria?

Loved the runner-up's makeup.

[Viridiana]

1. In what universe did red/yellow flower brother deserve to win over purplyorange flower brother, in the pool challenge??

2. I'm glad the judges weren't smoking crack as they sometimes do in the Cantina challenge. Two highest were miles about the rest. I admit the girl looked better, but it's hard to beat the ambition and imagination of baby-mecha.

3. I knew tiny-mohawk was bailing right away, when I noticed they weren't interviewing him at all :P

Lots of things annoyed me about this show in past seasons, but I'm glad it's back!!

[Eyebrows 0f Doom]

I knew Joe was going to be the asshole of the episode when in his very first moment on camera he described himself as (paraphrased) "a director, writer, producer, editor, make-up artist." Someone describing themselves using all those terms just screams self-important douche. Glad to see him quit since he couldn't handle the (incredibly deserved!) criticism of his "design."

[jackdavinci]

I'm glad Joe self aborted and didn't give the judges a chance to eliminate his partner for being too whiny.

I hate team challenges. And the constant rhetoric about needing to be a team player in real life is pure unadulterated bullshit. In real life, there is a hierarchy of leadership, and people who are loathsome to work with can be put in their place. And probably wouldn't be hired to begin with. And aren't competing with each other at the same time as they are supposed to be cooperating.

I liked both the top two. The other one was more Star Wars feeling, but the winner was quite an ambitious success.

When they had to incorporate something from the party "anything goes" I was hoping someone would grab one of the hosts.

[iftheresaway]

I'm glad that Joe left, too, but did anyone else catch what he said after the Foundation challenge when he got called for his incredibly shitty job (and seriously, that didn't look anything like a human head, burned or not - it looked like shitty papier mache done by a poorly supervised kindergarten class)? He was mumbling about how he's always facing the same criticism, and that's the price you pay for being an original. Dude, when everyone you work with tells you how bad your work is, it's possible that you're coming up with 100% original crap. But hey, at least your personality is terrible, so you've got that going for you. The only reason he quit is so they couldn't fire him - you know he sitting in a bar somewhere right now, telling anyone who'll listen that he had to leave because they didn't understand how awesome his art was.

I love the two winning designs, and teams. Loved how the winning guy was so willing to give others credit and help out other teams when the chips were down. I almost felt bad for the judges - if these designs had been in two different challenges, they could both have gotten first place. They were really incredible, especially for a first challenge. Makes me really excited about what we're going to get to see this season.

[C K Dexter Haven]

Love the show, we've got this on DVR but haven't watched yet.

[Irishman]

I'm really excited the show is back. Some of those portfolio submissions were pretty impressive.

The first foundation challenge showed some talent. I agree, though, that I thought the other flower girl was better than the one Sean Astin chose. I also loved the cat girl. I thought it had the right blending of catish with human.

For the Cantina challenge, they had to think about the nature of the challenge. You have maybe 2 to 3 seconds to make something startlingly unique, eye-popping, and make the audience think "wow, who is that?". I mean, they are backdrop characters, not full fleshed characters, but still you want them to look like they are a person in a bar, not look cartoonish.

I agree that the black bounty hunter warrior was generic and didn't have anything remarkable about it. The two freak-hair girls did an amazing job pulling that off at the last minute. I was impressed how the frills turned out and that the paint looked that good in so little time. I suspect that up close it might not have been quite as quality. It's interesting, that seems a case where inexperience played a role. Tatapolous was concerned they chose molding over fabrication. I think it eventually turned out, and the frills look more fleshy when latex, as opposed to bony stiffness from foam. I also loved that they chose something besides a bounty hunter. Bar girl/waitress was refreshingly different.

The red sax beast was dreadful. I agree with all the comments, no coherency, color didn't work and absorbed the texture, didn't make much sense. Only reason both of them were safe this round was because of the utter disaster of the other bottom look team. I mean, they could have shot their model and still been safe with Joe and Tommy's result.

For the top two looks, I liked the result on the runner up better. I understand the judges deciding to reward the ambition of the other two, especially since they pulled it off. I was a little put off by the arms and feet just kinda hanging out rigid, but then realized that as a background character, there's no need for articulation or anything - that 2 second time limit I mentioned. We will see how well constructer guy does when it comes to sculpting and painting.

As for Joe and Tommy, I really felt sorry for Tommy. I mean, he was trying his hardest to make the best of the situation - deferring to Joe's drive so they could get something done, trying to work despite the constant interruptions and active intrusions. Joe was such a pretentious ass, I'm glad he walked out. I would have been sad if Tommy got booted because of Joe's antics and Tommy's poor approach to the judging. I think I would have waited until the judges commented, then made my defense along the lines of trying to cooperate but not being able to do a single task without intrusion and interference under a constant spate of derision. I think I might have summed up: "I agree with you, this is a disaster. This doesn't represent my best work; this doesn't represent my worst work, because, frankly, I wasn't able to do a single piece without intrusion by Joe sticking his hands in and changing things. I hope you will let me stay and get a chance to show what I can do when I'm allowed to actually show my own skills."

Originally Posted by iftheresaway

I'm glad that Joe left, too, but did anyone else catch what he said after the Foundation challenge when he got called for his incredibly shitty job (and seriously, that didn't look anything like a human head, burned or not - it looked like shitty papier mache done by a poorly supervised kindergarten class)? He was mumbling about how he's always facing the same criticism, and that's the price you pay for being an original.

Yeah, I totally caught that. Joe's burned girl was dreadful - the shape of the head didn't look human, the coloring was all wrong. Dude, original is great, original is one of the key points they're looking for, but there are two other important points: design choices for how to fabricate, and execution of fabrication techniques. The concept of a burned cheerleader in itself was fine, it was the shape of the head, the coloring, etc that just make that a WTF design. And guess what, the same WTF design carried over into the cantina creature, with the bulging head, etc.

Dude, when everyone you work with tells you how bad your work is, it's possible that you're coming up with 100% original crap. But hey, at least your personality is terrible, so you've got that going for you.

Geek comment: just because characters are hanging out in a bar on Tattooine doesn't mean they live on Tattooine all the time. Mos Eisley is a space port. I imagine there is a heavy turnover of spacers of all varieties travelling around the sector or whatever. Maybe there are haulers on a regular route to Tattooine, maybe there are some just passing through on a one off. There's no reason to think that a bounty hunter hangs out on Tattooine full time, other than Jabba makes his home there because it is out of the way of Imperial interference. Not every bounty hunter is working for Jabba, even on Tattooine. Just like Han didn't live on Tattooine, he was just dealing with some business in that sector and trying to pay off his debt.

Aside: I noticed SyFy has a new competition series coming out this fall, Hot Set, about SF set design. Awesome!

[aceplace57]

This show frustrates the heck out of me. Why do they always create full prosthetic monsters or aliens? It made sense to do aliens in the first episode. I loved the little short alien in the walking machine.

Tonight was pirate night. Think of the great makeup in the Johnny Dep films. Pirates with scars, tattoos, and great costumes. That takes real skill to make those small prosthetics and to blend them seamlessly. Instead we get monsters again.

I got fed up in season 2 and quit watching. Those alien/monsters got so monotonous episode after episode. Now, they are doing the same thing season 3.

I do like the new cast. They got some real talent this season.

[jackdavinci]

I think because of the nature of the competition, it's less of a risk do something ambitious and exuberant than something excellent but more subtle.

[Acid Lamp]

Originally Posted by jackdavinci

I think because of the nature of the competition, it's less of a risk do something ambitious and exuberant than something excellent but more subtle.

Yeah this is an issue of "made for TV". Really awesome subtle work doesn't translate well to the dumb-dumb audience at home. I"m sure the judges would love it, but the audience feedback would be terrible.

As to season three: First off, I'm not sure why Joe even made it onto the set. His portfolio designs were sculptural, abstract, and bizarre. They resembled more people in mardi-gras heads than anything else. I agree with the above poster who thought it was possibly all to drive drama. I felt so sorry for poor Tommy.

However: THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, for abandoning team challenges early in the competition to allow us to at least get a glimpse of what the contestants are capable of on their own. I've said from the beginning that this is how this show should be run. We should whittle off the chaff on an individual basis before teaming up the real competitors. It works well to do it this way: CC was in the bottom of the team challenge, and on her own her design was lacking. So she goes home and doesn't have the opportunity to get carried by a far more talented contestant. Hell do a double elimination if the episode constraints are an issue. Once the bottom people are gone, then the team designs should all be complicated and skillful; here we could really watch the judges tear into the make-ups.

[Noelq]

1. The Sea Urchin one was just amazing. The look, the concept, and her execution was damn good.

2. I disagree with the vote-off. At least her Barnacle look had some barnacles, even if they were totally wrong. The Jewels look was just stupid, and uninteresting. It had NOTHING of the concept in it, and a lot of octopus. The guy had an idea, and stuck with it, even though the concept wasn't what he was supposed to be working on.

3. I'm glad loser-guy from last week was safe. It showed his work has some merit.

I really, really wish this show had the 90-minute format each week. There's just so much detail I'd like to see, and I'd really love to see more regarding the creative process.

(and Seahorse-chick scared me!)

[Acid Lamp]

Originally Posted by Noelq

2. I disagree with the vote-off. At least her Barnacle look had some barnacles, even if they were totally wrong. The Jewels look was just stupid, and uninteresting. It had NOTHING of the concept in it, and a lot of octopus. The guy had an idea, and stuck with it, even though the concept wasn't what he was supposed to be working on.

Yeah, but remember that CC was in the bottom looks last week as well for the "jazz alien". I agree with Glen that her skill set just wasn't up to part yet. That was two failed concepts in a row.

[GargoyleWB]

I nearly couldn't complete watching it due to wincing at poor carpal-tunnel guy What made it worse is that nearly everyone had horrible ergonomic practices. Pounding on clay with palm heels, twist while lifting, digging with fingers instead of tools...gah! Has none of these people ever taken an industrial safety class? They're all going to be crippled gnarled messes by the time they're 40.

[Irishman]

Originally Posted by aceplace57

This show frustrates the heck out of me. Why do they always create full prosthetic monsters or aliens? ...

Tonight was pirate night. Think of the great makeup in the Johnny Dep films. Pirates with scars, tattoos, and great costumes. That takes real skill to make those small prosthetics and to blend them seamlessly. Instead we get monsters again.

I think the concept for SyFy is creature makeup, not just make up. That, and as mentioned, subtle pirate tattoos isn't going to work as well on the screen as monsters.

Originally Posted by Noelq

1. The Sea Urchin one was just amazing. The look, the concept, and her execution was damn good.

I was thrown by this one. Everybody had something that made me kinda question. The sea urchin one, the chestpiece seemed off on a woman without alluding to boobs. The line of the appliance on the face folded weird when she smiled.

The shell one was pretty good, except I couldn't figure out what kind of sea creature that was supposed to be. Maybe an octopus, with arms curled around the nostrils?

The knife one was an excellent reef, and the concept of knives in the torso was interesting, but the shape of the chestpiece didn't work for me, it protruded weirdly and was odd shaped. And what was with the neck?

Meh.

2. I disagree with the vote-off. At least her Barnacle look had some barnacles, even if they were totally wrong. The Jewels look was just stupid, and uninteresting. It had NOTHING of the concept in it, and a lot of octopus. The guy had an idea, and stuck with it, even though the concept wasn't what he was supposed to be working on.

She didn't really have a concept, her barnacles didn't look like barnacles. But I agree, Jason the jewels guy could have been sent packing for not using his assigned item and doing a sorry job with what he did do. But CC was low two weeks in a row, so that probably factored in.

3. I'm glad loser-guy from last week was safe. It showed his work has some merit.

(and Seahorse-chick scared me!)

I liked the seahorse head and profile, wasn't impressed with the chest/neck.

[jimpatro]

I worked with Joe on a few occassions and actually picked up some good tips for creating quick zombies. He did, however, pull a fast one on crew and cast of a film he produced/directed that was based on the Chupacabra legend. Everyone worked deferred and when he sold the film to a distrubutor he skipped town. It was enjoyable to experience his downfall on Face Off.

[Palo Verde]

I really liked the concept for this week, because they've never done something as different as Chinese dragons before. And I totally agree on the winner, that gold paint looked awesome! I also liked the white one, but they were right that it wasn't dragony enough.

But it's sad that the time one twin wins, the other twin is eliminated. Those guys seemed really close.

[Noelq]

Yep, I agree. Another good show.

I really liked the concept behind the mouse-tails-as-mustache concept, but I agree with the girl that having them dangle down would have been awesome.

I also agree that the Goat one looked the best - but it didn't have enough elements of the Dragon.

I would have liked to see a little more integration into the rear-end of the dragon, perhaps some hooves or tail, though.

Overall, I was really impressed with the lack of manufactured drama this episode - Although I'm pretty darn sure that if Other Redhead Chick keeps cutting herself, Other Twin might be coming back . My gods, keep that girl away from sharp implements!

And JimPatro - thanks for the behind-the-scenes info! Nice to know that his bad character wasn't simply due to bad edits.

[Brynda]

Originally Posted by jimpatro

I worked with Joe on a few occassions and actually picked up some good tips for creating quick zombies. He did, however, pull a fast one on crew and cast of a film he produced/directed that was based on the Chupacabra legend. Everyone worked deferred and when he sold the film to a distrubutor he skipped town. It was enjoyable to experience his downfall on Face Off.

Oh, interesting. Nice to see it confirmed that he really is a dick.

As a professional, what do you think of the contestants so far?

[jimpatro]

It's been a few years since I've done prosthetic make-up professionally but I still have my chops. I really like Laura's design work and I've been most impressed with her color palettes. And I think Rod shows the most ability to come through in a pinch. He produces quality under strict deadlines. Very desirable in filmmaking.

[jimpatro]

Sorry, that's Roy.

[Irishman]

I enjoyed this episode. Not being familiar with the Chinese dragons and culture, I was a little confused on this challenge. I mean, they're using prosthetics and makeup to make what is typically done with puppets? Okay...

I agree the rat/goat head was exceptional. I guess I'm getting hung up on what it means to be a "dragon". I mean, they were told to incorporate animals from the zodiac, they did, and then are told they aren't enough like dragons. But Chinese dragons don't particularly look like dragons to me. Chinese aesthetic is so different than Western, that I just don't get it.

Tommy and Derek did have the best integration work - they were consistently on the same page, and like the judges said, you couldn't tell where one person's sculp ended and the next began. The paint was well integrated was well. Tommy handed the win to Derek, though, when he said it was Derek's baby and he just tried to go with the flow. That guaranteed the win to Derek over him.

With Sarah and Eric, they didn't like the horns and they didn't like the paint, both of which were Eric. Ergo, that was pretty obvious who was losing. I liked the tusks and the lips aspect, but not the paint. Glenn Hetrick complained about unintentional assymetry, i.e. they couldn't get things to line up. Okay.

Nicole got praise for the flags - she was the one who spotted that in the mural designs and made sure they were incorporated. The rat tails flowing off the face would have been interesting too. Overall, they managed to smooth out their differences and work together. I thought there's had a good look and feel, too.

I hope Alana makes it through without losing a major appendage.

[jimpatro]

The judges were way off base regarding the lack of dragon influence on the costumes. The character dancing at the temple was a LION not a dragon.

[Acid Lamp]

Originally Posted by jimpatro

The judges were way off base regarding the lack of dragon influence on the costumes. The character dancing at the temple was a LION not a dragon.

True, but Westerners in general have difficulty parsing Asian art. It doesn't help that there is a lot of visual overlap between depictions of dogs, lions, and dragons. The Dragon theme came from it currently being the year of the dragon, the lion dance was for TV wow factor.

As to the "dragon-osity" of the sculpts and designs, it isn't that hard to do a google search for "Chinese Dragon" and make sure you knew what you were doing. It was fairly obvious that none of them had any real familiarity with Asian aesthetics except the winning team. What created their problems was hubris. They should ALL have immediately grabbed some reference material and made certain they incorporated the characteristic traits into their designs. Instead, nearly every team decided to go their own way completely,and it cost them.

On a more positive note, it seems that either the judges or the producers, ( or both) have learned from the earlier seasons when it comes to the judging. Every decision so far has been justifiable, and I love that they are incorporating individual challenges early in the competition. That is SO important to getting a final group who truly deserves to be there.

[gonzoron]

One thing that's starting to get to me, after watching the pirate and dragon episodes back to back: "Man, I can't get this mold out. It's going to be ruined. Somebody help me! This sucks, if I can't get this out, we have nothing!!!!!" <Commercial break> "Pop! Oh, it came out. Everything's fine!"

[Irishman]

They do oversell that drama a bit. That, and the part about Alana panicking because she's the one with the least experience and blah blah blah OUCH! I'M BLEEDING!

I hate the pacing of the commercial breaks. As soon as they start doing that "coming up" stuff I start fast forwarding. Too much spoilerage, I want to see it unfold in order. Too much repetition.

And I still hate the "And the winner is.......... [commercial break]" crap. Don't give me a 30 second dramatic pause and then a commercial break. I'm trying to anticipate those and fastforward there, too.

Oh, anyone else notice the tendency somewhere in the middle of the show, they'll stop for a commercial break, run 2 commercials, come back to the show with a .5 - 1 min bit part, then return to the commercial break? The latest one was about how one of the guys is so hurried, he runs everywhere all day long.

Also, is anyone participating in the live interactive content online? I'm not watching live, and I don't care for interactive content anyway, but I'm just curious what they are doing with their app.

[Palo Verde]

A zombie virus has infested Wonderland! Great concept for a challenge!

But overall I wasn't too impressed with the makeups. Most of them I felt were kinda blah and unexciting. Roy's was by far the best. That guy has so much experience and creativity, my early prediction is Roy's going to win it all.

[araminty]

Originally Posted by Irishman

Oh, anyone else notice the tendency somewhere in the middle of the show, they'll stop for a commercial break, run 2 commercials, come back to the show with a .5 - 1 min bit part, then return to the commercial break? The latest one was about how one of the guys is so hurried, he runs everywhere all day long.

We call those "interstitials" in our house, and I think they're just a way of negating some of the benefits of DVRs for advertisers.

[Noelq]

Loved the episode, again!

That crown of flesh was a wonderful thing to see. And damn gory, too.

I can't say enough about how much I like the judging on this show. They catch all the flaws, and the fantastic techniques, that make the judging accurate and realistic.

Great show.

[Shawn1767]

I was disappointed that Nicole got canned. I thought for sure the guy who missed BOTH ideas would get kicked off. However, while Roy is pretty good, I think Nicole is consistently doing good work. She is my pick for the overall winner. She is almost always in the top looks and seems to have a good head on her shoulders. But yeah, the judges are really good. They are critical without being condescending and offer good constructive criticism. I feel like that are actually trying to nurture these artists and not tear them down with pointless insults. There are times when they will flat out just say something is crap, but usually, the artist already knows that it is.

[Irishman]

I agree that the judges seem primed for Roy to be the winner. He had been high three times, including this win, and been praised every time for the quality and the amount of work.

Laura (I think that's who you meant) is also doing well, but after last year, I think I may be getting a feel for the judges.

I wasn't fond of Roy's Red Queen. I didn't really like the crown, but I can see the quality and detail of the work, with the overlaid skin separate from the under layer.

I think the judges missed the call on Nicole. They should have sent Rod packing for failing to get the concept of zombie. Nicole had interesting work, just the paint job went dark - which she realized was bad, but was struggling with faulty equipment. Her airbrush stopped working. I liked the concept of eating the white rabbit. The bottle in the chest was interesting, though shoving a bottle into a chest through a ribcage is going to be a challenge. Even Tommy's was worse. His rabbit head was the best part, and it wasn't great. It just was a mess, with nothing really standing out. The shirt didn't match the theme, the pants were dreadful - supposed to be white rabbit legs, but looked like baggy pants. At least Nicole had a coherent idea that was evident in the work, even if the paint job was bad.

I do like that they're doing individual projects more this year, less collaborations. It is much easier to see the individual's work, and lots harder to coast on someone else's talent. If Becky last year had been doing individual work instead of collaborations, she wouldn't have had that bad mess with Sue.

And Danger-prone Daphne Alana got by with only dropping her cowl, not amputating something, so there's that.

I thought the purple Cheshire cat was a weird color choice, but then Ve commented that the cat in the book was purple, so at least it made sense in that context.

And nobody seems to be doing the extra content with the online app?

[Shawn1767]

You're right, I meant Laura, not Nicole.

[araminty]

Originally Posted by Irishman

I thought the purple Cheshire cat was a weird color choice, but then Ve commented that the cat in the book was purple, so at least it made sense in that context.

Nitpick: the cat in the Disney adaptation was purple. Mr. Lewis Carroll offers no physical description of the Cheshire cat. The term Cheshire cat was popularized, but not invented by Carroll.

[gwendee]

While I certainly understand why Nicole didn't win the Zombie Wonderland challenge I was disappointed that she was sent home.

Years ago (and many time since, I suppose) on Top Chef one judge called a dish a failure and Tom Collicchio said "yeah, but is it a failure of idea, or a failure of execution." And that has informed how I make my own choices while watching competition shows. I think Nicole's concept answered the challenge better than Tommy's baffling bleeding eared skater bunny. Yes, the paint job was flawed, but their time is so limited.

I worry for Alana. and join you in being relieved that at least this week's calamity didn't involve bloodshed.

From the limited amount of time we got to see it I didn't really get "crown" from Roy's - wait a minute let me finish---it's also possible that I just need to see it from some other angles. Without being told "queen" I might have thought she was morphing into some type of coral undersea sort of thing. However, the work he did was outstanding. I loved, Loved, LOVED the stretchy latex piece placed over the beautiful muscle-y paint job. Each week I'm amazed at how much he does, and does well. He also seems least likely to start crying in an on camera interview. I can imagine him observing some of the chaos and thinking "that's right. You kids enjoy the stress and the drama. I'll be over here working three times as hard and as fast as you." I do hope he wins. My fear is that he'll get shafted somehow by a team challenge. But that's my fear on all competition shows.

Plus, he did ALL of that work AND saved Alana's floppy ears. What a good guy.

[Irishman]

Originally Posted by gwendee

I think Nicole's concept answered the challenge better than Tommy's baffling bleeding eared skater bunny. Yes, the paint job was flawed, but their time is so limited.

And a damn sight better than Rob's swelling/shriking vampire queen thing. Her execution was overall better than Tommy's, just the colors went too dark too early, and the pulsing thing on the head didn't quite work. Tommy had a rabid earless rabbit head with the wrong shirt and floppy pants for bunny legs. How did that beat Nicole's Alice? Seriously, this is the first elimination they've made that I fully disagree with. There have been others where a case could be made, but this one strikes me as a WTF?

From the limited amount of time we got to see it I didn't really get "crown" from Roy's - wait a minute let me finish---it's also possible that I just need to see it from some other angles. Without being told "queen" I might have thought she was morphing into some type of coral undersea sort of thing.

I think that's part of why I didn't like it. The extended bits didn't say "crown" to me. But I agree the workmanship was excellent.

Each week I'm amazed at how much he does, and does well. He also seems least likely to start crying in an on camera interview. I can imagine him observing some of the chaos and thinking "that's right. You kids enjoy the stress and the drama. I'll be over here working three times as hard and as fast as you." I do hope he wins. My fear is that he'll get shafted somehow by a team challenge. But that's my fear on all competition shows.

If I had to pick a winner right now, it would be him. Unless he has a complete breakdown some week - maybe he goes too ambitious for even him to accomplish in the time given - I am having trouble seeing how he can lose. He's got abilities and skills outpacing everone else. Some of the others have their niches, but he seems to be well-rounded.

The judges have overall been pretty good about determining who is most to blame for team challenge failures, IMO.

[Slow Moving Vehicle]

My wife and I have been watching it for all three seasons. I haven't watched many other reality shows, so I have no good basis for comparision; but it seems that Face Off focusses less on conflict between the contestants and more on the creative process - instead of "Will X sleep with/ally with/betray/murder in her sleep Y?", the tension comes from "Will X's mold fall apart/headpiece work/color palette impress the judges?"

I enjoy watching these people actually creating their art; and boy oh boy do they do some cool makeups!

[Biggirl]

I've seen all of two episodes and what I saw, I like. The problem is that I'm not a regular TV watcher so I don't know when anything is on-- or even remember that it is on.

I must check to see if it is On Demand. That is how I watched the other two reality shows that I liked: Home Channel Star and Worst Cooks. Also must check to see if Tori Spelling's crafting competition show has lasted and is on demand.


P.S. The stuff they do on Face Off is amazing!

[YogSosoth]

I keep telling myself to see this but I can never remember when its on. What day is it on and are there repeats during the week?

[Slow Moving Vehicle]

We always DVR it, but I think it's on Tuesdays.

[Noelq]

We've got another thread going on this.

http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/...d.php?t=662910

[twickster]

Merged duplicate threads.

[Irishman]

Regularly playing on Tuesday nights on SyFy. It should be On Demand.

[Saint Cad]

First judge's decision I vehemently disagreed with. Nicole was at most the third-worst. The Red Queen was not a Zombie but the judges loved the details. The Rabbit should have gone as it was badly conceived and badly done.

I didn't see the crown on the winning Queen. It looked like she was morphing into a moose.

[MaxTheVool]

I thought all the stuff tonight (superheroes and sidekicks) was a bit underwhelming. One of the top teams was clearly only half good, and I was MUCH less impressed by the winners than the judges were. Although at least they clearly matched their vehicle, which none of the other teams really did. If you'd taken the other 3 teams and said "pick which vehicle this is for" it would have been tough...

Cowboy Hat guy (Roy? or is Roy the other one) is clearly the favorite, I'd say, followed by blonde lady.

[Shawn1767]

How the heck is Todd still in the game? Every week he seems to dodge a bullet. Nicole is still doing consistently good work. I like her. I was also unimpressed with the winning team, especially the girl's fire girl.

[Noelq]

Yeah, underwhelmed, too. I was upset that they all went with strange characters with body issues. They were supposed to do superheroes! Where were the capes? The spandex body suits! Big, bulging muscles! They all went gothic, and monster-y. The winner went with an x-man style mutant, which was OK, but couldn't one of them gone as Wonder Woman or Mister Incredible?

It was nice to see Rayce, though.

[Irishman]

Ah, the superhero episode....

Good to see Rayce, he had some reasonable comments about how to incorporate the look and feel of the vehicle into the superhero costumes and looks.

Tommy clearly rode Nicole's work this episode. His burn/explosion scar was off, and, as Glenn said, "I love that, I hate that." He could have been in the bottom looks on his own, but Laura's superior work made him safe.

Laura went with the X-men mutant kind of thing, which is superhero-y, but not what I think of as traditional - like what Noelq said. But it is the more modern aesthetic.

Alana also clearly rode Roy's abilities to the win. Yes, her redo on the face sculpt was better, and her hero felt appropriate with the flames and the tie in to the car, but she wouldn't have succeeded without lots of assistance/direction from Roy. No worries, though.

The two from the motorcycle had costumes that integrated well with each other and the motorcycle, but they were missing the "superhero" element a bit, and I couldn't follow how the girl was basically a normal person but her sidekick was some demonspawn thing. That didn't feel coherent. Derek's makeup also fell apart, and I agree that Sarah's was unclear what that was on her face, and how the patch worked. Let me go on note, however, for nixing the rivets idea. I just hate the idea of rivets for eyepatches. They did that in Star Trek: The Undiscovered Country. Bleh.

Jason and Rod's were big fails in execution across the board. The concept of a rich hero brain and his hireling muscle wasn't horrible on the face of it, but everthing about their execution stank. Why use molded silicone for the metallic harnesses? Why cover up the physique of the muscle with the jacket? The ripping skin didn't convey well. And Rod sculped the same face 3 times. Even his redo wasn't really different. I wonder if they used the same actor each time? I expected him to get sent home for not being able to do a different face. I suspect next time that might be a deciding factor.

This one had plenty of competitors for elimination and really only three who did well, and one of those was because of the vast help of the other.

Laura's got an outside chance at this, but I really feel Roy is best of the lot. I think if Alanna get's paired with someone less capable or has to work alone, she'll crumble out.

I'll handicap the rest of the shows.

1. Roy
2. Laura
3. Alana - despite being clumsy, she's had consistent work despite the individual projects.
4. Derek, Sarah, Rod - all about even, each has strengths and weaknesses. Rod's got some abilities, but not sculpting faces. Sarah is great with costuming, not as good on prosthetics. Derek has ups and downs.
7. Tommy - his High on the last is misleading, on his own he would have been Low. His other High was with Derek on the Chinese Dragons, where Derek's aesthetics were the key to victory. His own visions haven't worked.

Obviously, anyone can screw up and lose at any time. Alana's clumsiness is an X-factor that could take her out early. Roy would have to have a really bad day with an inept partner and be overly ambitious to not make it to the final 3.

[Viridiana]

Hmm. I liked the gray/green lady (Thorne?); I thought the paint job was very nice and well thought out, and also matched the model's face/expression pretty well. I may be missing something, but every single one of the others looked like crap to me. The winning lady's flames looked awful. Maybe it's more impressive in real life.

The cars were pretty sweet.