Drag Race Down Under: Season One

Please use the fucking search function before starting threads. You know who you are.

This one was first.

Is this airing in Canada?

R2 Yes, on Crave.

Trailer

I just love Karen From Finance for her name alone.

R5 I first heard about her from Trixie and Katya. They are both big fans. I think Coco Peru is as well.

It really is a great name.

Could that picture of Ru be any more photoshopped?

[post redacted because linking to dailymail.co.uk clearly indicates that the poster is either a troll or an idiot (probably both, honestly.) Our advice is that you just ignore this poster but whatever you do, don't click on any link to this putrid rag.]

Already some cuntroversy...

Yeah, Scarlet Adams is trash. She's appeared in aboriginal blackface on multiple occasions, used the N-word and "coons" on stage, and done a skit making fun of Lee Lin Chin, a famous Chinese-Australian news anchor. According to Reddit, Ru is going to confront her on the show.

Scarlet apologized on Instagram, but her fake crying failed to convince anybody.

Why is Jax! hosting?

Karen From Finance also got exposed for having a golliwog tattoo and golliwog doll collection. She's since apologized and gotten the tattoo removed.

While I don't want "wokeness" to invade Australia like it has here, it is a very racist country from everything I've heard. A number of friends who have traveled there, and are hard to shock, were pretty disgusted (MARY!) by how pervasive it is. Apparently, casual racism is rampant, and people don't even attempt to put a lid on their behavior.

R14 You sound weak.

r15 You forgot worthless. I am worthless and weak.

COURTNEY IS THE WORLD'S OLDEST TWINK!!!

Wait, I have to stay up until midnight to catch this fucking show?

But I'm ollllllllllld!

Should be out soon.

World of Wonder's site Down Under Airs Saturdays 12:00 AM PST

I'm with R18 on this one

9:00 easy, 10:00 sure. 12:00? Nope.

Oh jesus 6pm launch here in New Zealand? That is 9 fucking hours away.

[quote] While I don't want "wokeness" to invade Australia like it has here

It really does need to, quite frankly

r22 Glad to hear from an Australian about this. Could you please give us your take/experiences about what the racial issues and conflicts are like over there? I would like to learn what is experienced by someone who actually was born, raised and lives there, and isn't looking through the lens of someone from a different country just passing through on vacation or only lived there for a short time.

Aussies are trash.

I’ve saved this as a handy template for getting it all out there in the weekly Datalounge anti-Australia troll posts. Hope that this helps!

All Australians are racists. Every single one of us. All the men are misogynists. All the women are loud and called Sheila. We are all completely homophobic. And gay. A bunch of chronic alcoholics. Setting foot out of our front doors is an exercise in risking death from our killer wildlife. We have no history. None! No accomplishments of note. No cities - we all live in the outback, killing kangaroos for dinner. Because the dingo ate our baby! We’re just a tiny little island, regularly on fire or in flood, upside down, down under, somewhere down in the Pacific. Or the Atlantic. Maybe the Indian Ocean? Some big ocean, anyway. Somewhere. But definitely full of man-eating sharks!

Which one is trans?

R25 You forgot drop bears.

Thanks R27 - I’ll update!

R25 Your "template" does nothing to elucidate the issues that I'm also interested in learning about. I get that your response was meant to be snarky, but I would truly like to know what it's really like "on the ground" as it were in your country regarding racism. Though perhaps you are actually trapped in Poughkeepsie, and just playing pretend to get attention.

Not in Poughkeepsie, R29, I’m in Sydney. But you’re right about my snarkiness - obviously not your fault, it comes from being worn down with the very regular Australia threads on the DL which always devolve into two stereotypes:

1. The cliches that I posted above (and they get rolled out so often that I really do have a saved template)

2. The stereotype of the clueless American who parrots “racism!”, “kangaroos!”, “sexism!”, “sharks!” etc with any mention of Australia - I doubt that any of these people have left their state, let alone the USA, let alone visited Australia

I could (as I have tried at other times) give many examples of why the “racist” trope is either exaggerated or just plain wrong - search on Australian threads and you’ll see these if you can be bothered trawling through most of the dross - but I just don’t have the energy to educate people through an inadequate medium like the DL. Especially as whatever I say will be rebutted by people who haven’t been here and most likely couldn’t locate Australia on a map.

I know that racism is always a hot button but especially right now and especially in the USA. As far as racism “on the ground”? I’m a middle aged white male - my perspective doesn’t count for much. And it shouldn’t.

I appreciate your measured reply - wish I could say more but I choose my battles.

Many thanks r30 your insight really does help very much to know what is real, how much is real, and how much is "DL real"

*muah*

No worries R29. And with that, I bid you good night.

For anyone awake in the US, specifically on the West Coast, the first episode is up on WoW. I'm too tired to watch now, but looking forward to some good bitchery tomorrow.

Fingers and crusty toes crossed. I know. I'm so fucking sexy...

I'm watching episode one right now and I'm not sure if I'm sold on this season. It's not bad, the talent is there. However, I'm not enjoying any of the queens, so far. Something feels "off" about it to me. And I've enjoyed the other international versions, so I'm not sure why this one isn't clicking for me yet.

Elektra Shock = cutest guy

Coco Jumbo is the Brita of the season.

I just watched the first episode. It was fine. It felt like yet another US production-by-numbers season but with Australian and kiwi accents. I'm definitely in Drag Race overload and need a break. I don't know why I have a compulsion to keep watching.

Anyway, it was fine. No one in particular stood out to me.

$30,000 is a weird figure for grand prize.

I think you're right R37, it did feel very similar to the US production. I also think that a lot of the queens are VERY polished, so it appeared to lack that raw energy we had on DRUK, Canada, Thailand. (Not sure about Holland, haven't seen it yet). There was more excitement on the other spinoffs of drag race, this was a bit lacking.

I thought "Tragedy" was a fun choice for their first lipsync, though.

Love how they incorporated Ru losing her luggage into the judging.

R39 It's surprising that Ru didn't have a facekini on hand for such situations.

I like Karen from Foinance

I thought Jojo was a cute boy and it’s too bad he went home first BUT the runway looks and lip sync were bad.

[quote]I thought Jojo was a cute boy and it’s too bad he went home first BUT the runway looks and lip sync were bad.

The bushy pubic wiglet was a choice.

[quote]I think you're right [R37], it did feel very similar to the US production. I also think that a lot of the queens are VERY polished, so it appeared to lack that raw energy we had on DRUK, Canada, Thailand.

Kita Mean and Anita Wigl'it actually host their own TV show in New Zealand called [italic]House of Drag.[/italic] It's like DR plus the queens live together in a house.

Elektra - woof...out of drag. I would. I so would.

WOW is also producing a Eurovision-style drag singing competition called [italic]Queen of the Universe.[/italic] I'll bet some of the queens from Chile's [italic]The Switch Drag Race[/italic] will be on this one.

^ Whoops—meant to post that in the General Discussion thread. Sorry!

R44 That show is unwatchable, and the Queens look like walking piles of shit.

r38, Holland had very polished queens. So far, Karen from Finance is the clear leader, but she is completely polished. It's kind of heartbreaking that Jojo had to go- you could tell that she doesn't have the resources that the other queens do, and I had no idea that they had reservations for Indigenous Peoples (is that the proper name?) in Australia.

The Espana queens are all body body body, or Rubenesque showgirls.

I know one of the pit crew. Max needs to workout more.

I'm over drag race. I stopped watching since the Stinky Gauche season.

I know it's considered a bit unfair to judge off of the first episode of a new season and iteration, but in this case, I have no compunctions about it.

To me it was a disconcerting tangle of too polished, yet sloppy; too over-produced, yet cheap.

It had none of the genuinely happy, excited energy from the contestants and judges that is so charming on the UK seasons. Instead, it felt rote. Maybe it's me. Maybe I'm jaded at this point.

Anyway, I was bored and that's the bottom line. I didn't think any of the contestants were particularly witty, fabulous or visually intriguing. Hopefully, I will be proven wrong as we go along. Considering the next episode is already Snatch Game, perhaps production knows they have a dog on their hands and want to get it done and over with as quickly as possible.

Can someone explain the weird cash prize figure? Is that the most someone can make off of reality shows in Australia? Or...?

If anyone does torrents, new episodes usually pop up as soon as they finish airing on the website below

thanks r53!

Pit Crew Sean

I really enjoyed it. I thought it was a lot of fun. The Queens were quick-witted and funny.

Woof. You could see in Ru and Michelle’s eyes during critiques and in the ad for the next episode that they realize they made a terrible mistake. Perhaps the Australian drag scene is smaller than we suspected because I was not impressed with the turn out for a first season. This is more like the later seasons of the parent show.

This is going to be a rough season.

r52, I guess so? At least it's better than UK, where you cannot win any money. But maybe it's better that way- when Ninja Warrior was Sasuke in Japan, there was never any cash prize money, it was for the honor, and the show was so fun to watch because of the heart and passion of the contestants. When it came to America with a cash prize that eventually became huge, it lost its charm.

Did RuPaul really lose luggage? I didn't understand why he wasn't in drag (except that I know he hates wearing drag).

I assumed he wasn't in drag as an inside joke/jab at all the digs at him lately.

I just saw this video of Jasmine Masters saying to RuPaul "you're not even doing drag if you can't do your own make up. All you're doing is playing dress up."

There seems to be a backlash against his abilities as a drag queen—very ironic given that he and Same Edna were really the only popularly known drag queens before RuPaul made drag mainstream.

I took RuPaul's clapback of "yeah, I'm not wearing makeup, you got a PROBLEM with that?" as a defiant pushback to all the criticism.

I mean, yeah, the judges are critical of makeup skills on the show because that is the game show's formula, but does anyone really think RuPaul cares what poor reality show contestants think about him hiring makeup artists when he is now worth $60 million or whatever?

The shipping container of Ru's makeup fell into the ocean en route to Australia.

R51 You are welcome bitch

They explained why Ru wasn't in drag for this episode, part of his luggage got delayed in transit.

While the production looked a little cheap, I still enjoyed it. New franchises give the ability to mine a fresh well of talent. The America version is having to out on queens they've already said no to 6 times.

Sad Jojo went home since her confessional were the funnest, reality shows need good commentators.

The Taiki Waititi bit really didn't want, just awkward.

Australians never get anything right. They confuse clueless confidence and noise for.... quality.

I'm looking at YOU, too, Miss Judy Davis.

You know Max r50? How old is her

[Quote]Can someone explain the weird cash prize figure?

I mean the most straight forward assumption r52 is the production did not have the budget for a 100k prize. This production does look a little lower budget.

It cracks me up that, when all things are considered, the winner of Canada's Drag Race ultimately gets the biggest cash prize.

I had never seen or heard of Tiki Waititi before but was curious about him because of the talk about him on DL. So that's what all the fuss was about? Frankly he wasn't witty at all and seemed like a douche.

I mean that segment was really awkwardly handled r67. Pretty sure it was just pre-recorded and there was no live interaction.

[quote]The most straightforward assumption is the production did not have the budget for a 100k prize.

For [italic]Drag Race Holland,[/italic] the prize was a crown, a photo shoot, and an ugly dress.

I know this show had production challenges. Originally it was meant to be filmed in Australia, but it had to be switched to film in New Zealand at the last minute.

There is no gift tax so the 30k is about half the prize of the American one which comes to about 60k after taxes.

Was Ru in drag during judging something that was recorded later and edited in? I'm still a bit confused by that segment (yes, I know her makeup was held up).

^ Yeah, that was obviously a post-production addition.

R65 Max must be forties now. He was, when I first met him, very vanilla, then he moved to NYC with his diplomat bf and transformed into a shaved head hot minx. He just made a short film about a FTM,

r67, Taika Waititi is an excellent director, can be an amusing actor. His projects are, "Flight of the Concords", "What We Do in the Shadows", "Thor: Ragnarok" and "Jojo Rabbit" (where he played Hitler). However I think he's going full Hollywood now, and becoming bitter and humorless.

The episode was edited in strange ways. I was also confused by the decisions but I assumed they were intentional.

The multiple RuPauls thing was sort of amusing, and it was similar to things they've done before, like when they had a mannequin stand in for a judge. So cutting between a RuPaul with makeup and one without sort of fit that mold.

The editing of Waititi kept me wondering if it was intentional. His reactions clearly were mismatches with how the questions were asked. At first I was a little taken aback. Then I started thinking it was intentional because the sensibility of asking a question and getting a mismatched reaction fits with the poor acting in all the Drag Race skits. But I'm still not sure if it was an intentional tonal thing or if it was just messy direction.

For a show that is so overexposed and which uses the same formula for every episode, it does stay interesting with these strange qualities, intentional or not. Like on All Stars, it was amusing when RuPaul sent away the people to deliberate while the judges wiled away their time doing silly things. Then the joke got old. Then RuPaul made a judge have a dance-off with a pork chop and suddenly it was fun again.

I'll keep complaining though as long as the focus of the show remains the stupid song-and-dance numbers. I pray a producer reads this and passes it on. It is so stale. I know they are producing musical numbers as tie-ins with Vegas shows and tours. I don't care. With at least one series airing throughout the year now, reducing the diversity of weekly challenges to mostly memorizing choreographed lip-sync numbers, it's just fucking boring. It's like watching men act out their Jon-Benet Ramsey fantasies. Bring back the hot glue gun design challenges. Bring back the dumpster diving. Bring back the modeling challenges, the awkward talk show challenges, the pole-dancing challenges, the crazy interactions with people on the street. Those are 1,000 times more fun to watch than 40 our of 52 episodes involving evaluating people for their abilities to dance like robo-Britneys.

For the UK there was some rule that they could not give a cash prize, perhaps it is similar in NZ?

R77 No such rule here.

Snatch Game preview

Rumors are this is the worst snatch game in the history of the franchise. Which could be very entertaining in a trainwreck kind of way.

r80 it has to be...so early in? too many girls to manage all being loud for attention.

There should be a challenge where they have to race up to the top of Ayres rock in full drag and in the highest heels they can find. Winner gets a gift certificate for a cruise.

There are only 10 queens right? In the US they usually do snatch game with 9 queens.

Snatch Game is almost always terrible except one or occasionally two quasi-funny contestants. It's one of those TV things like SNL is that seems like it was always funnier in past episodes but in realtime is almost always terrible.

Bad Snatch Game performances can be very entertaining though r84. That's what sticks out in my memory, the ones that were good and there ones that were a complete trainwreck.

Spme are great and memorable—Tatiana as Britney, "Why don't you come up and fuck me in the ass sometime? Ohh!" Bob as Carol Channing.

They're mostly lame. It's always watchable but the formula has worn out for me. I wish they'd come up with different formats for interactive improv and celebrity impersontion. Why not do standup in the character of a celeb? Or a roast? It's just too much of the same thing too often for me.

Stand up or a roast would work better. In the snatch game and the snatch game of love it boxes the contestants into reacting to what RuPaul gives. The freedom of stand up would allow the impersonations to go wherever the queens want them to.

R25 - brilliant post and summary of contemporary Australia for the Datalounge Neanderthal audience like R14 et al who have never visited Australia, have no intention of ever visiting Australia, have no factual information about Australia, have never read or researched anything about Australia but all mysteriously have some made up friend who thought about visiting Australia once in the 1970s something, something, which never happened...

It's just fascinating how R14 et al all have such strong and completely fabricated opinions about Australia and Australians and feel compelled to post them over and over and over on Datalounge at any chance they get.

BUT - you forgot to add that we have no culture, architecture, music, culinary industry, art or fashion. Those things are all highly frowned upon here and will earn you a severe beating for even mentioning them. Also - those things in the Simpsons episode were all true.

Here's a recent official Australian postage stamp: "Australia - Celebrating 30 years of Electricity".

Also R25 - thank you for explaining why we have no babies in Australia to the Americans.

RE: the Snatch Game preview at R79. The one queen is doing Lindy Chamberlain-Creighton who was charged with killing her baby but who claimed the child was carried off by a dingo (leading to the infamous "A dingo stole my baby!") and was later found not guilty after a retrial. In some parts of Australia, it's still a touchy subject so it will interesting to see if the queen in question can pull any comedy from it.

OMG! That was the worst snatch game in history. I couldn't believe how bad it was. Ru obviously means business this season and it was 100% right that 5 of them were up for elimination.

Lindy Chamberlain's name was spelled incorrectly on the card and that was a really dodgy character to do because her baby WAS taken by a dingo and Australia crucified and vilified her for decades because she was an emotionally cold person. That destroyed her life.

Karen's Dolly Parton was terrible. I had high hopes.

Art Simone looked and sounded nothing like Bindi Irwin. Irwin is very eloquent like a happy clean cut fake grinning robot. I grew to really hate Art Simone more and more as the episode went on. The awful entitled attitude and entitled over confidence because of the perceived "thousands of fans". He has terminal Kath Day-Knight voice too. Not sure if Americans can hear it but Simone speaks all the time with the accent and affliction that Jane Turner made famous for the Kath comedy character from Kath & Kim. It's hilarious and appropriate for Turner to do it but not for Simone to steal someone else's comedy and pass it off as her own. I was surprised Simone was booted but it was well deserved because she's another one of those God-awful queens who believe their own Instagram and publicity and then out in the real world - they can't cut it. "I'll never live this down" (because I'm such a stah and was expected to win this series) were Simone's parting words... Good riddance to absolute talentless garbage.

Anita Wigl'it seems really nice but because of the endless gagging and mugging and exaggerated facial expression it's literally impossible to hear anything he says or even see his face. Ru has already pulled him up about it when doing the pre-snatch game walk through. If he doesn't stop it immediately he'll be going pretty soon.

The rest are a bit meh. There's something NQR with Etcetera Etcetera and it looks like Elektra Shock is going to cause major issues next week...

I’ve never seen RuPaul look more miserable in my life. This was a risk that went south. It could’ve been like UK. WOOF, this Australia drag population is shit. This was the worst Snatch Game of all time. Boring and leaden. My boyfriend and I chit chatted to get through it.

It wasn’t completely horrible. QE2 was about the best. I don’t know why you’d pick Dr. Seuss or Bindi or Dolly. There has to be something dirty or controversial to exploit to be successful at Snatch, and there’s not much you can do with those three. Ru did force-laugh a lot.

Queen Elizabeth was average at best R93.

The whole thing was a schmozzle.

I’m not sure Ru sent the right girl packing.

I have a hard time buying that this was worse than the average Snatch Game. Was it good? No. The problem was that there wasn't a real standout performance. QE II was "fine," but not great. I actually think Karen from Finance's Dolly was one of the worst and that she should have been in the bottom. She had none of Dolly's mannerisms, phrases, etc. Nothing!

I did chuckle when Art Simone was crying after he had been eliminated and said "I'm the best one here." Clearly not, bitch! Bye!!!!

Art wasn’t the worst last night, but she totally got the kind of loser edit you see the losers get on Project Runway.

I didn’t think Catherine O’Hara and Jennifer Coolidge were bad. I thought the Lindy Chamberlain was pretty ballsy.

Dr. Seuss??? WTF. Surprised that queen was safe.

Anita became a bit more likable when he calmed down and talked about his father. But yes the mugging and gagging is already super annoying.

Anita is a tiresome fucking wanker. Smack her in the face with a newspaper.

'We were all really good...' - deluded.

I don't understand why they had to lip-sync to a lame RuPaul song with two Minogues featured in the episode? How could they not secure the rights for a song of theirs? Embarrassing.

The queen who did Dr. Seuss should have been in the bottom.

Yeah, I thought Jennifer Coolidge was definitly better than Dr. Seuss. And although it wasn't great, it was still better than a lot of the latest snatch games. I actually laughed a few times.

Maxi nailed the look of Magda Szubanski's Lynne.

Dr. Seuss is such a juvenile and embarrassing choice. Like, remember when drag queens were some of the darkest, most raunchy comedians out there? And now some maladjusted Disney homo is lowering the bar even further in his attempt to get famous by any means necessary, even if that includes putting on a wig and tucking his dick between his legs.

"I don't understand why they had to lip-sync to a lame RuPaul song with two Minogues featured in the episode?"

Because Rupaul doesn't get paid for a Minogue song, silly goose!

[quote] I didn’t think Catherine O’Hara and Jennifer Coolidge were bad. I thought the Lindy Chamberlain was pretty ballsy. Dr. Seuss??? WTF. Surprised that queen was safe.

I agree. Well, almost. I think they were all pretty poorly done, but that's standard. They all failed in looking like the women they were impersonating, which is worse than usual, but otherwise it was pretty on par. Dolly was abysmally bad and missed on all counts.

This challenge is always a drag to watch. One or two are usually a B- and that's it. It doesn't help that the skit was funny at first, bringing back an old silly game show, but nothing about it is surprising at all anymore. RuPaul's schtick works for the skit, but the skit failed to be new enough to be at all interesting a decade ago.

Also, I guess it turns out that getting away with an occasional flamboyant guy like Little Richard is a slippery slope. It's a drag show and now contestants are just dressing like dudes and not even being challenged about it? It makes no sense.

I agree that Moira (it wasn't Catherine O'Hara, just one of her characters) was fine by the usual standards of this challenge. Queen Elizabeth was actually a little bit funny but didn't resemble Queen Elizabeth at all.

I miss Ben De La Creme.

Art Simone was pissed. "THAT MEANS NOTHING"....whoa.

They were all terrible but I disagree and think Anita’s Queen Elizabeth was very well done. Every line was funny. I also think Anita moved herself into a fan favorite position with that story about her father. She seems to be a naturally positive and upbeat person even when people are unkind to her.

The Lindy impersonation would not have been done if there was more than one Australian on the judging panel. Americans don’t really understand how culturally devastating that story is. It really was in poor taste.

DO NOT: Say 'You've got shemail!' to men in dresses and makeup.

DO: Mock a mother whose baby was eaten by wild dogs.

R106 But if that's the case... they would only do RuPaul songs for the US and UK versions of Drag Race, yet they don't...

Snatch Game was awful. I was embarrassed for most of them.

I think QE 2 was the only one who sustained any type of character and had a good performance with funny responses and quips.

The right man went home.....although Bobo generally sucks. He can't stand out when everyone around him is also doing so badly.

That Rhys guy with his Dollar Store red hair is funny......

Because "la la la la la la la la" is not a challenge to lip sync?

Nobody outside of Australia gives a fuck about that Madga cunt.

I really like Rhys Nicholson. As an American I had no idea who he was before this but he’s a good fit for the panel.

The camera work is strange—lots of close-in shots. Is it to offset the fact that the set is so small?

Art Simone: "I'LL NEVER LIVE THIS DOWN! I WAS EXPECTED TO WIN..."

Lindy Chamberlain would have been fine if this was held a dingy old gay bar or on a gay cruise ship. Hell, if it was still early drag race on Logo or something like Dragula which is only in streaming and for a small, counter culture audience.

But, Drag Race is now super main stream. It is watched by millions. And with that, expectations change. One Dingo baby eating joke in an episode or two is fine. Hell, the Princess Diana joke that the Queen did was hilarious, but it was one and done. But Lindy as an entire character didnt seem right, especially when Ru won’t let the Queens make fun for Whitney Houston.

[quote]Snatch Game was awful. I was embarrassed for most of them.

Eh, I was expecting worse—to me it's par for the course. (There really is a Snatch Game Mandela Effect.) Canada's Drag Race set the bar for 2020–21 Snatch Games.

My favorites were Anita and Scarlet as Jennifer Coolidge, although it was obvious based on which queens got the most screen time that they edited the hell out of it to make it suck less. I do appreciate that nearly every queen got at have least one laugh, excepting Coco's awful Lizzo.

Speaking of Coco, did anybody else catch her saying "Soz, bitch" to Art when she sashayed? On Reddit they're debating whether she was being a cunt or it was just Aussie banter.

[quote]On Reddit they're debating whether she was being a cunt or it was just Aussie banter.

Must it be only one or the other?

[quote]I was surprised Simone was booted but it was well deserved because she's another one of those God-awful queens who believe their own Instagram and publicity and then out in the real world - they can't cut it.

Her getting sent home was a gag because she really is a big name in Australian drag and she's WOW's "brand ambassador" there, kind of like The Vivienne was leading up to the first season of DRUK. Nevertheless, she deserved to go home and her lip sync sucked.

It was not just a disaster, worse, it was boring. How, how, how, did they manage to make this worse than US season 13 is beyond me, but in my view, they did. I had heard Karen from Finance was the shit, nope, not to me, just shit. The joy and fun that the judges had/have on the UK iteration is nowhere to be found. Judges and contestants alike all seem like they are phoning it in, and they all seem regretful.

Rhys Nicholson is excellent.

R124 I wouldn’t go that far but I like him, he’s the only one who looks like he actually wants to be there. Ru & Michelle look like they’re being held hostage.

They're in Auckland R125. That's probably why.

It was bad, but other than the first UK season, i can't really even remember the last time Snatch Game was good, so it wasn't surprising.

I couldn't believe Art thought this was the BEST Snatch Game ever. He deserved to go home because of that self delusion alone. He actually thought he was in the top!

What bugged me about the Catherine O'Hara bit was the queen didn't impersonate O'Hara, he impersonated (badly) Moira Rose, one of O'Hara's MANY characters. Why couldn't he just be Moira Rose?

Why would you chose Dr. Seuss when no one knows what he looks like or sounds like?

^ You might as well choose J.D. Salinger as you Snatch Game impersonation.

I think the queens cant say they are doing characters. One queen did Monique but she was really Precious' mother. Another did an Orange is the new Black character.

Because of copyright issues they can't play another fictional character

Right, they can't use a copyrighted character so they have to say the actor but play one of their characters. Many queens have done that. Ru didn't seem familiar with Schitts Creek though.

Art really was delusional. It's one thing to mess up a challenge, it's another to not even realize you messed up a challenge. He actually thought he was doing great!

This season has been a bit underwhelming so far, and I agree Ru and Michele seem a little bored. Thank goodness you have Rhys who I wasn't familiar with but is bringing some excitement.

Producer: "Well, at least you made it onto RuPaul's Drag Race..."

Art Simone: "THAT MEANS NOTHING! I HAVE FANS WHO TOLD ME I WOULD WIN! I'M THE BEST ONE HERE...."

Art Simone planet sized ego learns absolutely nothing!

Q: [italic]Bindi Irwin was an incredible choice. Why do you think it fell flat with the judges?[/italic]

A: I'm still baffled to this day, I don't think I'll ever process it. I don't know if it got lost in translation, because there were a lot of puns related to Aussie animals.

Yeah. It was the animals...

It fell flat because it wasn't funny. God, can't believe Art still can't accept she just wasn't funny in the challenge. Should she have been in the bottom two? Maybe, maybe not. There were a lot of not funny performances.

I still think Karen's Dolly Parton should have been in the bottom two.

They could have done Nicole Kidman as a robot, Dame Edna would have been easy. There were plenty of Kylie songs they could have done - Time Bomb was one I would have choosen

What would have maybe been funnier is Bindi played as her dad. Or play her up as a bimbo, or someone who likes dogs and peanut butter *wink, wink*. Bindi on her own isn’t very exciting. That’s what some of these queens don’t understand about Snatch Game. You have to play caricature and not just dress up to look like the person. I also think it takes an innate sense of humor and comedic ability - if you don’t have that, you won’t do well at Snatch.

Definitely one of the worst, if not THE worst Snatch Games in the herstory of Drag Race. Though to be honest, it's usually a disappointment! It was weird how they were all "Oh that was really good!" in Untucked and then Ru was like, "Yeah, it was....interesting" i.e. shit. They couldn't seem to recognise that it was shit except for Karen from Finance.

I was a bit disappointed that Art Simone went as I liked her looks and I think she would have more to show, though the level of self-entitlement and bitterness was not a good way to end it.

I think it's time to retire Snatch Game for good, they can still have a challenge that is based around impersonations because that is a staple of drag performance but the format is tired and it's rarely as funny as it could be. They should just do a stand-up impersonation challenge I think.

BBC cuts Prince Andrew joke from RuPaul’s Drag Race

Joke in Australian version at expense of Queen’s scandal-hit son deemed not suitable for British audiences

That Dolly impression....he didn't even try to do the voice--didn't even try! SHAMEFUL!

He also should have at least said a lot of the stuff Dolly usually says in interviews. It takes a lot of money to look this cheap or saying she looks like a drag queen. Nothing about her was Dolly aside from a faint resemblance.

My absolute favorite comment that made me laugh the hardest was QE 2's quip about her DAP.

I am SHOCKED that no one did Kylie or Dannii for Snatch Game considering they are Aussie gay icons. Dannii especially would have been fun - they could have talked about being Kylie's less successful shadow, fucking Simon Cowell and pissing off Sharon Osbourne, posing for Playboy, etc. I wonder if the queens were told not to do either of them because they were going to appear on the show.

The Prince Andrew joke was cut in England.

Robot Nicole Kidman with a bad wig and prosthetic face programmed by the Scientologists to forget about her adopted children would have been fun and tasteful.

Episode 3 is up and available for torrent download

Karen from Finance is really getting a pass. Her Dolly Parton last week was not good and I thought her verse this ep was quite boring.

I know R128! Really surprising how incredibly average Karen has been after coming out strong at the beginning. I thought she would have been a standout.

The right person went this week again. Coco Jumbo was too basic but had a nice smile. Speaking of basic - Elektra Shock has been given many warnings now about her drag being far too basic. She better listen but she doesn't seem to be listening. So she'll be next up on the chopping block if she fails to do something about it.

That facial grimacing and mugging from Anita Wigl'it! Enough! I can't stand looking at her.

As an Australian - I'm quite embarrassed overall. High hopes - but they have been smashed.

Sorry meant - R148/Karen from Finance comment.

I’m having trouble trying to pay attention to this show. It’s so bad.

R151 I agree, I think I'm going to tune out. I can't be bothered to care about any of these queens.

Is Anita Wig'let retarded? Just so endlesssly tiresome.

I thought Elektra's critiques were sketchy. Telling her she looked cheap in a Bogan Prom Realness runway? I thought Kita's look was worse because it didn't fit the challenge.

Criticizing her for pulling focus in the song? Never heard that one before. The number-one thing in group challenges that lands queens at the bottom is that they faded into the background.

It's almost like they wanted Coco out and put Elektra in the bottom by any means necessary to send her home.

The best Australian talent being showcased is Rhys Nicholson. I'd want to go to his show more than the queens.

R154 I agree that it seemed very weird they put Elektra in the bottom two because she pulled focus too much. Seems to go against the philosophy Ru has preached.

My God I thought that fucking song would never end. I couldn't understand a word any of them were saying or rapping or singing.....

This really is a bad group and coming right after a really average group in the US......

They really need to retire the girl group challenge, nothing will compare to "UK Hun."

Is Anita actually Utica’s Aussie cousin?

Not to mention having to listen to the same song twice. Couldn't they mixed the two performances together rather than having two full ones?

Anita has money.

It's too bad that they couldn't have waited until Covid-19 was more... contained, at least, so they could have real guest judges. The show and the contestants are both lacking excitement. Did Ru and Michelle just film this series to get an all expense paid vacation to New Zealand during the middle of the pandemic? I'm leaning towards "yes."

It's overkill. They're killing their franchise. After the episode on WOW, Michelle V did a promo for upcomong Drag Race España and for all their cable-access quality draggy spinoffs.

I think viewers are now addicted or feel obligated to watch all the franchises but they're all failing to live up to what the show used to feel like because they are all paint by numbers, and all mostly lame song-and-dance sequences. I sometimes turn off those episodes because they are all effectively the same. The show doesn't have any of the magic it used to. It's like they took something improvisational and inspired and outsourced it to a Chinese factory for mass production.

I still have a good feeling about Drag Race España, I don't know why! Their promos look more expensive than Drag Race Down Under, at least.

[Quote]Did Ru and Michelle just film this series to get an all expense paid vacation to New Zealand during the middle of the pandemic? I'm leaning towards "yes."

Well they wanted a vacation to Australia r161. This show filming in New Zealand was a last minute mistake, and you can tell.

I get the two skinny twink queens mixed up. I don't even know their names. One of them was safe, and one of them won the challenge. I find them both really fuckin' annoying.

Anita is a New Zealander - not an Australian R158.

What the hell was up with Troye Sivan talking excitedly about buttfucking and being fucked up the arse out of nowhere?

I'm not an Elektra fan, but to be fair a bogan prom outfit is meant to look cheap and trashy. A s someone who grew up in that kind of area, out of everyone she got the bogan look the most correct. She really is basic, but a bit unfair to judge her like that on this challenge.

RuPaul: You need charisma, uniqueness, nerve and talent to win this show!

RuPaul Down Under: TOO MUCH CHARISMA, ELEKTRA!!!!

Was anyone else confused by Elektra’s sob story? Did she lose her dance studio because she went bankrupt?

She lost it in a poker game.

No more jazz squares and rear marches on the show this season - Elektra used up the allotment in her routines.

R168 those contradictions are common in every variation of Drag Race.

Ru and the judges: "We want to see more (or less) of such-and-such."

Queen revamps their style and a couple of episodes later. "Why are you giving us so much (or little) of such-and-such?"

The song was bad - there was nothing they could do about that. Elecktra did overshine her team mates - which can be a negative in a team challenge but Ru has said time and time again - look out for you, so it was not Elektra's job to make the others look good.

I wish those pics of Sean were still available R55 - he looks hot!

I thought the critique for Elektra was totally unfair and inconsistent with previous judging. The judges have always said that in group challenges, you have to work well as a group but you also have to shine individually and I think that's what Elektra did - I also thought her outfit suited the theme of the challenge way better than some of the others who weren't read for filth. It was very puzzling to me that she was bottom two when I would have put her at the top. It just seemed like they picked fault to justify putting her up against Coco and wanted Coco to go.

I felt like Elektra was so extra because she knew that the rest of her group was pretty dull and she was trying to save the performance.

What the fuck????

Art Fucking Simone returns to the competition with absolutely no reason or explanation given! She's just suddenly there again. Popped up out of a box of trash and stayed. Same shitty Kath Day-Knight copied put on voice and no humility whatsoever. What a cunt thing to do.

I wanted this season of show to be good but it’s just fucking horrible.

I just finished the episode...what a load of shite!!!! The producers are taking the piss! Why bring back a girl with no explanation? It completely reeks of favoritism...just when you thought the show can't get any lower...

Agreed R177 & 178. I just don't understand it at all.

(*I know we all always flounce about and say how awful everything all the time is but THIS IS THE FUCKING PITS!)

I couldn't understand the return either. Not like the returnee's elimination was suspicious or their time on the show was extraordinary. Just something to bring drama - which didn't provide much overall. I am curious about the preview though, with Ru telling someone about to be eliminated "There's something we need to discuss" or words to that effect. Some backstage bickering? Someone break one of the rules?

Aww, I’ll kind of miss spastic Anita. She seems sweet. However, Karen from Finance did win that lip sync, hands down.

[quote]I am curious about the preview though, with Ru telling someone about to be eliminated "There's something we need to discuss" or words to that effect. Some backstage bickering? Someone break one of the rules?

According to Spoiled Drag Race on Reddit, Ru calls out Scarlet for her racist shit.

I don’t understand all of the complaints about how bad it is. Producer Fuckery aside, I’ve found it quite enjoyable. I like how they’re all total bitches to one another, but it doesn’t turn into episodes long drama fests like the US version.

I think people are just Drag Race-d out and this season is the tipping point.

For some reason, I'm still having a lot of trouble identifying who is whom in confessionals and the workroom. Maybe it's a side effect of a lack of interest overall.

Got some real mixed feelings on Art Simone coming back after being gone for all of one episode, and for no real reason. Guess they're earmarking her for a top 3 spot. Just wish it wasn't this transparent.

This week we got our non-binary lecture, which appears to be a requisite of every season these days.

If I were the other queens I would have said "why are you just bringing back Art and do we all get that opportunity?" I would have walked.

The lip synchs have been dreadfully boring.

Elektra is the first queen I have seen on this show that I would consider fucking. That is all.

I’d fuck him too, r188.

Here you go R188/R189:

James Luck is Elektra's name.

I hate to say it, but Electra needs braces.

They brought back that hispanic queen who lost a lip sync to Applause to Layla. Same thing. They know they need high caliber Queens to get folks to watch the show, and they know Art is talented.

Plus they brought back Kenya, Trixie, Carmen back in past seasons. I would rather they bring someone back early and make the competition more interesting than later on for one episode.

[quote]and they know Art is talented.

In what way is he talented R193? I've seen no talent whatsoever and some gigantic missteps coupled with a really bad attitude.

[quote]They brought back that hispanic queen who lost a lip sync to Applause to Layla. Same thing.

Naysha Lopez, and that was after the double elimination of Laila McQueen and Dax Exclamation Point the previous week. Not the same thing.

And Trixie had to earn her re-entry to the competition in S7 by winning the twins design challenge with Pearl. I had and have no problem with that; I'd have preferred that to what we got.

THey brought back Kenya Michaels but that was late in the season and they teased it, they brought back Carmen Carerra but same thing - they told the queens Ru was bringing on eliminated contestant back. This was just hree you Art's back, - no explanation.

I think it's because they have a short cast of queens- I sort of surmised it when they announced who they were- they would have to bring at least 2 queens back. Otherwise, it's a 9 episode season.

Although I really liked the design challenge- all of these queens (with the exception of Karen), really made well rounded looks.

I felt Art Simone’s hot pink Marie Antoinette look was at least as “we’ve seen this before” as Anita’s book dress. Also, I can’t believe knowing who the drag race audience is these days that producers decided that bringing the skinny white queen back was a smart move.

Karen can’t sew, can’t dance, can’t land the plane on snatch game and seems to be a C minus lipsyncer. Snooze.

I can’t help but warm to Maxi, I don’t think she’ll make top 4, but she’s the one who feels like an “Australian” take on drag to me.

Scarlet is a bitch, and not in a good way. I actually think Maxi could go really far.

The judging on Down Under is as rigged as it was in the latest U.S. version. I fully expect Ru to have Kandy pop out at some point and declared winner, because, why not?

Agree that Elektra is definitely the trade of the season. I think he’s really hot bald but he looks extremely fuckable in R190 too. I wonder if his fuckability is the reason Ru doesn’t seem to like him. She treated Pearl in a similar shady way in season 7.

Elektra rocks.

R209 It is the opposite. Ru treated Pearl with kid gloves because he was fuckable.

[quote]Although I really liked the design challenge- all of these queens (with the exception of Karen), really made well rounded looks.

Agreed. Had really low expectations after the miserable mediocrity of their Snatch Game performances, but this group really came through for this design challenge.

Ru and Michelle finally seemed engaged this episode, at least.

Scarlett and Etc are such nasty bitches, that I have come around to Elektra a little. That being said, I do love a bitchfest. It's boring when they are all nice to each other.

I've got a feeling that Scarlett is going to be cancelled for blackface next week...

This is why:

#2:

#3:

#4:

R206 Yes, we knew months ago this was happening, they confront them. Yawn. yawn.

OMG it was endless.....and then after the commercial, they were still in the workroom..... The show seemed two hours long.

Art Simone being brought back with zero justification was hilarious to me, just "she is back cause we say so". Though my main problem is I don't find Art interesting, hell I'd rather the saved be used on Anita.

Karen continues to not impress. Ru called her a very talented queen...based on what? Week after week she has been mediocre and boring on this show. I am feeling the emperor has no clothes with this one.

Man compared the debut seasons of UK and Canada, Aussies should be ashamed.

"I can't wait for a comedy challenge" said Karen. "It was called snatch game.." said everyone.

Thankfully the tedious Queen got eliminated. Fuck this season is shitty.

Would the reaction to this season nix a season 2?

^ YES.

R216 Probably not. I think they'll do a second season, but filmed in Australia this time... maybe with a budget.

Yeah, I’d fuck Electra.

Electra giving a flirtatious "Sup" to the pit crew guy was great r219. Where is that episode of Untucked...

Oh Gods, Ru lecturing anybody is utter bullshit.

I was surprised there wasn't an Untucked segment this week. While I'm glad they addressed Scarlet and the use of blackface/cultural appropriation, it seemed a bit forced since we had the discussion in the werk room among the queens themselves AND RuPaul addressed it on the runway with the latter featuring some comments from Ru which seemed to target cancel culture, basically "apologize, learn and leave it in the past"

Any details on the Pit Crew members that were so prominently featured on this week's episode?

Love the 360 turn that one did just before the Reading is Fundamental mini-challenge. And speaking of, while I'm not a fan, Art Simone secured (and deserved) her win with that 'they/them' read on Etcetera Etcetera.

I enjoy the fat one. I think her name is Panty Shields?

I also find the Scarlet Adams kinda hot out of drag.

r223 Regarding the Pit Crew guys, they are hairless power bottoms. Very feminine despite the steroid physiques.

I did agree with Ru on the learn and leave it in the past comment.

R226 But of course Reddit says it isn’t enough. Funny thing is, they can never seem to say what is enough. Karen from Finance once had a gollywag tatoo which she later got removed. That is an expensive and painful process. But even THAT isn’t enough.

Sean is his name r223. Though he doesn't update his insta often.

Gracias, R228. Looks like he's actually gay, which is motherfuckin' refreshing when you consider that all the US pit crew is straight with the exception of Jason, who was hired way back in Season 3.

Interesting, r229, I didn't know that. Ru's production company is taking a page from the WeHo bars with their straight bartenders. No hook-ups, no drama.

That's so wrong r229. The only straight pit crew in America version are in Season 1-2, and then Bryce. All the other guys have been gay. They got out of their way to prioritize gay guys.

At this point, I'm only watching it for Elektra. As a guy, I think he is very masculine in mannerisms, style and the way he carries himself. If you watch his reactions in the workroom, he never goes into a tizzy like the other queens. Very calm, cool and collected. Then he does a 180-degree flip into crazytown while in drag and really comes out of his shell (and is still not necessarily feminine). I think it's a fascinating take on drag.

Surprised that Etcetera went home, but she exudes an exhausting "Gen Z who gets all their opinions from Tumblr" vibe. It was kind of great that someone as old school as Maxi sent her home. Etcetera probably saw Piss Christ in an art class and ran with it.

Scarlet's vagina jokes were crass as fuck as well.

Totally agree R232. Elektra did well this week. The commercial was well done and the runway look - although still basic - was a big step up. Elektra is not a fashion queen and is always going to be basic.

Etcetera Etcetera was a bit too big for their own boots and everything was a lecture. I can't be bothered. Too exhausting. Too boring. Glad they went home. The commercial was gross and not funny gross.

Looking at the rest of them, Karen from Finance is a big let down and was told she isn't living up to expectations this week, Art is repulsive and I fucking KNEW we would see Kath Day Knight trotted out at some point - very tired, Maxi can't cope with anything and doesn't to quite get it, Kita is average ok & Scarlet is ultimately not likable. I hope Elektra wins but I think it will be Art.

What a shitshow. It's over in 2/3 weeks.

Love that they used Vanessa Amorosi for the LFYL!

I think Karen from Finance brought out her big guns on the first day... and that’s all she had. She’s letting down Karens from Finance the world over.

Agreed R236. Very disappointing. She got a warning this week so I think she'll be the next to go if she doesn't pull something out of her box of tricks.

I honestly don’t know who can even win at this point. Karen from Finance is boring, Scarlet is a cunt and I can’t see Art Simone winning after she was already not only eliminated, but has never won a challenge. I’m rooting for Kita, Maxi and Elektra at this point. And yes, I would definitely fuck Elektra.

I haven’t thought of Vanessa Amorosi for decades. Have people outside of Australia heard Absolutely Everybody before? That song was a banger back in the day.

Anyone but Scarlet!

Karen from Finance is this season's Tina Burner. The comedy doesn't quite land, and her last few looks haven't either. I don't get the praise for the firefighter runway - she looked boxy and very mannish.

The firefighter runway worked because she was playing to an international audience R241. Everyone around the world heard about the wildfires and the koalas dying, so she (smartly) banked on the emotional impact of the look rather than the construction. She’s definitely not living up to her hype.

I’m American and hadn’t heard of that song until now R239, but it’s a banger.

“Karen from Finance” sounds like a name and idea borrowed from the DL or another website, that is funnier in concept than execution.

Yeah Karen seems to be a "comedy queen" solely based off her having a clever drag name. She hasn't brought much to this season in the challenges or even the confessionals.

I will say her drag is better than Tina Burners though r241. God she often looked a mess.

R239 yes it was popular in the clubs here in the UK. Good song!

Who else is glad that woke little whinging shite Etc is gone?

R245 Etc is now going for Scarlet online now. Painting him as anti women for making pussy jokes.

Karen "wait til they see what I can do" From Finance....to quote Michelle ....we're waiting.

Yeah, Karen is a comedy legend in her own mind.

All I'm hoping for at this point is that Art Simone doesn't win. What a fucking travesty that would be. I can't deal with it.

I predict Karen or Maxi will go next week.

Maxi pulling out a microphone from her sleeve was genius.

I honestly don’t mind if Art Simone wins. I’m fully team Kita from here on out, but this is an irretrievable dumpster fire of a season. Art or Kita or Maxi would be worthy winners.

Just a quick link to the Spain thread.

There are leaks of Elektra’s Grindr nudes online.

Well, I never in all my life R253!

I knew I wanted to fuck Elektra. And now I have proof!

well I can see her talent now! woof.

Oh my. How would one even go about tucking that...

Nice.

I know where he can tuck that

I am blocked by GirthyAus! He he cut or uncut?

Dang, Elektra.

He’s fucking hot. Very blokey energy about him. That little “how’s it going” to Sean from the Pit Crew this episode was a turn on.

Heh. We get a queen with some masculine energy to them and people's mussies go crazy.

It's noice, it's different, it's unyewsyewul

How fucking stupid is Fart Simone? It’s a family resemblance challenge so she dresses up as characters from Priscilla and doesn’t understand why she got read by the judges. Has she never watched another season of Drag Race? Family resemblance means that, yes bitch, they pretty much want carbon copies or close to.

Why the fuck is Karen still on this show? She’s hasn’t done one memorable thing all season. Is she really the best Australia has to offer?

Remember that Art Simone thinks he's better than everybody else, knows better than everybody else and will win this season R265.

I quote; "I'm the best one here" and "But I was supposed to win I have fans" and "I'll never live this down..." when he got booted the first time.

I really enjoyed Scarlet's lip-sync.

Hated Scarlet’s. Throwing your arms around like you’re about to take flight and flopping about the stage from side to side, front to back, does not a good lip synch make. Sadly it’s the default for a majority of queens.

I can't stand Art Simone - horrible person and horrible face.

R270 He seems to be living his life as the Guy Pierce character from Priscilla...an obnoxious self obsessed child.

Okay, some of those rugby players were hot. In particular, the one Elektra got. What a beautiful man. Wonder if they fucked?

Karl is a darling. Elektra and his giant cock definitely got some island action.

R272 Not while the show was filming anyways. The Queens are sequestered in their hotel rooms while the show is filming. I know in the US version they used place tape across doors that would break if the Queen tried to leave the room but then later had the locks changed so the doors could only be opened from the outside.

R274 that screams lawsuit waiting to happen. What if there was a medial emergency or fire, etc? I can't imagine that ever getting past their legal department.

R275 Actually R274 is correct Queen who've appeared on drag race have talked about this openly. Their doors are apparently rigged with an alarm that sounds if they attempt to leave. Producers and nurse live on the same floor as the Queens during production in case of emergencies.

R276 God, you'd think it was fucking Chekov.

R276 rigged with an alarm is different than only opening from the outside. I can’t see any scenario where that is legal.

Australia and New Zealand are serious about skin cancer prevention these days. Almost all the contestants and models this week are as pale and pink as newborn mice.

The accents on this show are confusing. Would Art Simone’s accent be considered bogan? Also why do both of the Kiwis sound vaguely British?

That's just the kiwi accent

[quote]The accents on this show are confusing. Would Art Simone’s accent be considered bogan?

Most of the time Simone's voice is a carbon copy of the fictional comedic character Kath Day Knight from Kath & Kim. Simone puts on a deliberate, concocted comedy accent in an effort to sound like her and sound funny and he's been talking like that for so long that he obviously can't stop. Seeing as Simone dressed up as Kath the other week - the character must be the only one he's got. It's fucking nauseating to see someone ripping off a talented actresses's shtick and pretending it's their own. For context - it would be like Chad Michaels talking like Cher all the time including the facial expressions.

Example of Kath Day Knight:

r281 isn't Art Simone an Ozzy.

Why would any of the Pit Crew hotties sleep with any of those shrill, fug queens when they could just hit each other in one big, sweaty man orgy?

Did they bring back Art Simone to stir the pot so that the audience would have someone to point fingers at and hate? Because it seems to be working. Kind of like when Ru brought Kandy Muse back right after she was eliminated in her lip sync. I'm not sure it's a good long-term strategy though. These types suck up all the energy and make it a chore to watch.

Anyone have a link for torrents for the recent episode (episode 6)? thanks.

G T R U has them all R287.

r285 have you seen Elecktra's Grindr pic? At least nine and thick...I am guessing any of those pit crew bottoms would spread eagle for him. Hell I would.

There’s a show in New Zealand called House of Drag which is basically Big Brother meets Drag Race. It’s hosted by Kita and Anita and Elektra was on the second season. Similarly to this season of Drag Race, most of the storyline was about Elektra, who on House of Drag was the head of a clique and created a bunch of alliances. She clearly makes good reality television. Also on that show she joked that her huge cock gets her jobs, so you have to wonder if that’s why Kita and Anita employed her at their cabaret club after the show.

What's GTRU?

R290 That show was so cheap.

You're in the if you have to ask you can't afford it lingerie section R291.

[quote]isn't Art Simone an Ozzy.

The poster immediately above me (who I was replying to) asked why the kiwis had slightly british accents.

The Kiwis are the only good part of this show. Unfortunately because the show was originally only meant to be Australian Drag Race, they’re going to push the undeserving Karen or Art to the win.

I am rewatching All Stars 3 and Trixie says something something Karen from Finance so, that's likely where there down under one got the name

Finally watched this week's episode.....it took me a minute to realize that those guys were from a GAY rugby team.....

The mini challenge was fun to watch, but not much....especially since there was no singing or dancing or acting in the main challenge.....

Oh well.

Scarlet and Elektra only hate eachother because they want to fuck.

Elektra does not want to fuck Scarlet. She might want to fuck him due to his giant cock but Elcktra out of drag like bears.

Hated Elektra the first two episodes, but I want her to win now. I'm hoping Art and Scarlett are the next to leave.

R299 Elektra does not like bears. Her boyfriend is a tiny twink.

His boyfriend seems like a handful - it seems oversharing is still alive and well. Although Elektra only appears in one photo. Maybe they just started dating?

R302 Is handful code for cliché Maori boy?

Elektra being in the bottom 3 last week isn't sitting well with me, but the makeover episodes always have a noticeable degree of riggory to them. I'm glad that this time around, it was kept to a minimum. But it's clear that Elektra will probably be earmarked to go as soon as she stumbles next, while Art Simone is guaranteed a top 3 spot no matter what.

Still loving Elektra's line about how there isn't a dick big enough to get her to stop doing drag. Especially considering she wakes up every morning with THAT dick between her legs.

Elektra is a DL icon. Will not win, but she fucking rocks.

I find it truly incredible that Art Simone, a Melbourne drag legend, has not won ANY challenges on this show. If they were going to rig the show in his favor and bring him back with zero reasoning, wouldn’t they throw him a few wins? At this point him winning the show would be a joke.

r306 you can lead a horse to water...They can't give Art wins. He has to earn them and he is just doing okay. I think Art thinks he knows better thant he judges. You win challenges by listening for what the judges are looking for. It was a simple Strong Drag Family resemblence. Art did what he wanted.

Shart Simone is annoying. I hope a kangaroo punches him in the nuts.

Elektra must have her pick of absolutely any bottom she wants in Auckland.

[quote]I am rewatching All Stars 3 and Trixie says something something Karen from Finance so, that's likely where there down under one got the name

No, Karen has had that name for a while. The reason she’s so well known is because she hosts all of the U.S. queens when they’re in Melbourne. They all got to know her and started name dropping her unique name, which brought her fame. Unfortunately she’s not cut out for Drag Race at all and production’s choice to have her coast to the top after doing nothing of note is embarrassing.

R309 is right. It's her name the US queens love because it is brilliant.

it is brilliant and I am glad that he came up with it rather than copying a toss off line- I like knowing the backstory!

It's not as good as our very own Ginny From Billing!

I don't remember what department Svetlana was from.

My drag name is Linda from Human Resources.

The show is much better as the season progressed.

They’re literally dragging Karen’s lifeless corpse to the finale based on her name alone.

Elektra trying to fuck Raven was hot.

I really don't care who wins now. Down Under is a low budget, badly made version of Drag Race and it's obvious from the beginning that Ru and Michelle were really annoyed about having to relocate to Auckland at the last minute and that has tainted the show. No guests. No budget. No talent.

Looks like Scarlet Adams will be the winner. She'll do. As long as it isn't Art Simone - I don't care.

Art Simone's face is so.....mobile.

The Down Under season has demonstrated to me how important all the unseen people involved with the production are. All the raw ingredients are similar every season but the end product is so different. Down Under is hard to sit through every week, and Spain is a delight.

Who are we supposed to be rooting for to win? Honestly. Looking at the final four the only one who has had a good season is Scarlet Adams and crowning miss blackface isn't going to go over well. What a hotmess this season has been.

Scarlet Adams is the winner this shit season deserves.

In the world of kangaroos, platypuses, blue-ringed octopuses and koalas, you'd really think the drag queens could use more imagination.

I was really rooting for Elektra. Her dancing was divine and her final look was wonderful. She and Scarlet were the only ones with any talent. The other three are just so basic. And I agree that crowning Miss Blackface 2021 would really taint the brand.

What an inauspicious first season, Australia.

I realized after I posted at R304 that I should have included Karen From Finance along with Art with my "top 3 no matter what" assessment. Is this the first time in any Drag Race iteration where a queen's hype and high placement is 90% due to her drag name?

And speaking of Art, WTF was that excuse of a 'talent'? Of course the judges raved about it. Kita should be pissed on having to lip sync this week, but The Powers That Be clearly wanted her to be the one to send Elektra home.

Scarlet is also clearly top 3 bound along with Art and Karen, but she's the only one of the three who has performed anywhere near the level that a winner should, so she's probably going to win. No wonder they had to address the blackface elephant in the room mid-season.

I keep finding myself not wanting to root for Scarlet simply based on her personality. Yes, she has looks and talent, but there has been too many times when she's been nasty toward other contestants. Not shady or tongue in cheek, but some very "mean girl" comments in confession and face to face. Luckily, most of the other queens could take the insults and throw them back just as well. As mentioned above, the blackface incidents don't add to any redemption of her overall personality.

I know things have come out about queens post win like Sharon and others but if Scarlet won would she be the most disliked, scandal ridden queen upon crowning?

My main take away from drag race down under is that I’d much rather go to a drag show in New Zealand than Australia

I loved Instant Hotel and the Real Housewives of Melbourne is probably the best housewives iteration ever, so I just assumed the Australian drag race girls would be lightening in a bottle, but yikes...it’s kind of shocking that New Zealand and fucking Canada produce more charismatic drag performers.

I hope Scarlet wins.

That was their talents?

I hope Scarlet spontaneously combusts.

Scarlet is reasonably attractive and modestly talented, but they in no way compensate for the fact that she's clearly a very unhappy and nasty person.

So basically Laurence Chaney will win bc Ru plays favorites. And the peoples’ queen loses.

[quote]That was their talents?

[italic]One[/italic] balloon animal?

Art Simone out of drag reminds me of a live-action Xander from [italic]Drawn Together.[/italic]

R334 Posting from last month.

Is no one going to mention Kita’s Tuck Shop lady under-arm bingo wings?

R338 Yes, I noticed that too.

I’m very curious to see where Elektra’s career goes after this. I would say she’s a lock for International All Stars 2 if she can clean up her drag a little bit. She brought so much story to such a lackluster season, I’m sure the producers are aware of what a fan favorite she is and how much charisma she has.

If I were Elektra I would have said in my parting words - 'Do I get to come back like Art?" when they all were picking her, and Elektra picked Art show should have just said "She was already kicked off the show and you brought her back and she has failed to win one challenge, unlike me who has been here the whole time and won challenges."

r339 - she can do only fans and make a shit ton. i would pay to see that dick.

R340, or just, “At least I haven’t done blackface.”

Love. Elektra.

R338, my boyfriend and I have taken to calling her Baga Skin

I was really rooting for Elektra, but her talent performance was pretty bad. Not only was the dancing lackluster, but she looked like a man in a ratty wig and troweled-on makeup, which were things she had been criticized for before. It made me question her judgement.

I might get slagged for saying this but Scarlett - who was excellent at the pole dancing - was not doing drag. They seem amazed he performed in those heels. Strippers do it all the time. I am not negating the work it was great but he was not in drag. Not tits, no hair, barely any makeup and the bondage outfit showed about 90% boy body. It was a man doing poll work in heels. Karen from Finanace should have been bottom two. Kita at least showed a talent, sure it was not couture but it was good. Karen literally made one baloon dog. Art? WTF was that? He stuffed shit in his mouth. At this point they should just hand the crown to Art. It is obvious he is going to get it. Any other time Ru has brought a girl back they are judged harshly if they underperform. Art has not won a damn thing and screwed up the make over challenge. Did not even follow directions. Still here. His talent is sticking his fist in his mouth vs a magic show and a interpretive dance nymber - still here. Art Simone is the fucking cockroach of drag.

R338 and R344, it's because she has lost a lot of weight. Fat people really can't win, even once they've lost weight they are still ridiculed.

Elektra’s dance routine looked like something Mary Katherine Gallagher would have done at the school talent show.

R348, it was much better than the first three “talents.”

It didn’t exactly raise the bar after the first three, R349.

It raised my pole.

The talent show was bad. Michelle's facial expressions were hilarious. I love Elektra, but that dance was just terrible.

Elektra should have just whipped it out - now that is talent!

This is Elektra's routine broken down:

I really liked Elektra too but to be 100% honest - the dance was embarrassing in how bad it was. The wig was just awful and Elektra was very obviously a male doing the dancing and should have dressed to soften his body and make himself appear more feminine. All in all it was the pits. I was really sorry to see him go. I'm not a fan of any of the leftovers.

But it was clear that compared to the other queens, Elektra didn't have the money for costumes/makeup behind him like they did.

R354 - ha!

Do we have a thread on the guy at r354?

Elektra never had a shot at winning - you can’t win this show without money - but she made great TV. It’s better to walk away the fan favorite than to win such a shitty season.

I'm so glad that's finished. I can't even be bothered posting about the season finale and winner.

It was very clear and obvious that RuPaul, Michelle and the show's producers (STAN) wanted to get it finished and over with ASAP. It [bold]really[/bold] showed.

[quote]It really showed.

Is that why they had all four finalists lip sync one at a time instead of all at once?

It played out the way it had to. They were forced to choose the only palatable and least problematic queen left. What an anemic, inept season, what the hell went wrong?

It didnt help 2 queens with controversies got to the finale. Also it looked cheap.

This title sums up the season...Art is back...but WHY?

Why was that ginger Queen a judge?

Well, I'm very happy they chose who they chose, even though I agree about the season. Had they voted for any of the other three, it would have been a problem.

I’m now listening to Olivia Newton-John’s greatest hits, which is the best possible outcome of this season.

So they just decided to give Art some backstory in the last episode? I feel like his whole therapy session came out of left field.

Art must have melted the fuck down after he was eliminated the first time. Maybe they brought him back because they felt bad for him and/or didn't want him to have a nervous breakdown.

Art is not taking his loss well. Someone asked him if he would want to do Al Stars and he responded “nah”… he then tweeted and immediately deleted this.

R368, it’s funny you say that because I got a weird vibe between him and the judges, especially when they brought up that he was a breadwinner. I wouldn’t be surprised if something happened where he laid it on thick about how much money he spent and how he has to support his whole family and production felt pressured to bring him back somehow.

There’s different more to this than they’re letting on.

On the RPDR Drama sub they're speculating that Art was originally supposed to host.

oh for god's sake: who won?

R372 Kita Mean.

R371 Host what? All he does is scream fuck and bitch.

I live in Melbourne and have never heard of Art Simone before this show. I admit I don’t go out much anymore but she talks up national radio and advertising campaigns, drag shows at every venue in the state and a huge social media presence.

Does this make me non-scene?

I'm also in Melbourne R374. You're not alone in never having heard of Simone. I haven't either and nobody I know has.

Art Simone is famous in her own mind only. Nobody has ever heard of him. I Googled and the radio and advertising campaign (singular - just the one dear) was for AAMI Insurance. Various corporate events appearances like any other drag queen. Simone is a massive narcissist who believes her own "Instagram created world" and in that world - she's famous.

Look at her website and the appearances tab. Small time pubs. At the height of RPDR season finale. And you bet Simone is pissed he didn't win. "I deserve to win" is what he said several times.

I was happy for the winner. As mentioned above, if it had been anyone else but Kita Mean, there probably would have been an uproar. But Kita did have the talent, looks and backstory which made her sympathetic and likeable. Still can't get over how nasty Scarlet seemed, even almost up to the finale. Overall, the show was more enjoyable than the recent US version and on par with the UK version. Some other thoughts...

Enjoyed Rhys Nicholson much, much more than his US counterparts Ross Matthews and Carson Kressley.

Also enjoyed having someone like Elektra on the show. Know I might be criticized for saying it but it was nice seeing an average bloke doing drag rather than an entire case of stereotypical feminine contestants. Not that Elektra didn't have his moments but generally he seemed like the guy next door.

Speaking of Elektra, it goes to prove once again that you really need money and a large wardrobe, design and make-up expenditure. You're not going to win on cheap.

The needs to stop with the "surprise" of bringing back eliminated queens unless there is a logical reason for doing so. Art's return was so out of the blue and i don't ever really explained.

The Kiwi queens were partying hard in Auckland last night, very fun (and kind of sexy?) video of Kita and boy Elektra recreating their lip sync.

Kind of surprised that they didn't bring back the eliminated queens for the finale, but then again, in a way I'm not surprised, considering how half-baked this season was.

Would have liked to have seen Coco Jumbo's reaction to seeing Art Simone in the final 4, after justifiably sending her home in episode two.

I want Elektra to fuck me. Hard. For a long time.

Art had a series on Wow Presents Plus before RPDR du mb. I think she felt like she had it in the bag. Then she got eliminated. I"m not sure if that was supposed to make you feel sorry for her or what, but bringing her back for no reason....now that was just shady. The new rule should be for ANY returning queen. If you don't win the challenge you are brough back on, you are automatically in the bottom two.

It's not as if there's no precedent at all since Shangela was brought back with no good explanation or any attempt to give an excuse, but yeah, reinserting Art so matter of factly and everyone just weirdly accepting it made this season's scripting more obvious than ever before.

It really felt all season as if they simply don't care about the quality of what they're doing, just keeping the franchises going and the money rolling in.

I learned about RuPaul's podcast from DL, and I loved it. Lots of people here hate his mentoring and his philosophizing about the art of drag, etc., but I really bought into it. Still, it was weird to me that he would talk about art for the sake of art, etc. and making poltical and cultural change through radical art and in the same breath talk about how he is all about money and will do anything for a paycheck.

His hypocrisy became undeniable when he started winning Emmys. He used to talk often about how awards are meaningless and how you can't want validation from others and so on and so on. That was a common refrain on his podcast. Then he won an Emmy and it was all about the Emmy. Then he won more Emmys and his ego blew apart the humility act and then away went the podcast, and now it's just an endless, tiresome assembly line of Drag Race franchises that have no heart, just the moving parts.

[quote]It really felt all season as if they simply don't care about the quality of what they're doing, just keeping the franchises going and the money rolling in.

[bold]THIS.[/bold]

Not only did they clearly not care - but they were very angry about having to go and film in New Zealand instead of Australia but were committed so had to spit something out for TV.

KIta Mean's speech impediment is awful. If she sticks to lip synching, she'll be fine.

There have been queens who have been brought back, like Shangela, but for a new season. Vangie also. But to bring someone back for no reason, especially someone eliminated before other queens who were eliminated after Art is just creepy.

The casting was so haphazard too - there was no audition process, they just Instagram messaged popular queens and asked them if they were interested in being on the show. The final queen was supposed to be Polly Filla, a Wellington queen who lives in Sydney. She turned it down so production needed to find a last minute Kiwi queen to replace her. Kita recommended Elektra, which is how Elektra got on the show despite not having a very big profile.

If I hear them refer to someone as "the future of drag" one more time, I will cut my ears off and eat them.

Question: who is that Ginger Queen and what are his credentials to judge Drag?

R387 he was on the Aussie version of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy.

So he's equivalent to Carson Kressley

Rhys was the best part of the show, he seemed to genuinely be having a good time and he went toe to toe with Ru and Michelle in terms of critiques and jokes.

R389 Apparently virtually all of Rhys jokes were his own and not written for him.

R389 he has a standup comedy special on Netflix that’s worth a watch.

Wonder when the decision was made to switch the winner from Scarlet Adams (who obviously would have won the season without the controversy) to Kita Mean. I think it was the right call, Kita Mean is actually likable. Even outside of her blackface history Scarlet is not.

Watching Ru and Michele go deep into trying to psychoanalyze Art and Kita was awkward to watch. Their egos have really bloomed to the point where they think they know everything.

And Michelle ALWAYS has to insert herself into the story somehow

The psychoanalysis is OK to me when it makes sense on the show. The old episodes all had personal growth arcs with RuPaul mentoring the contestants in the workroom and getting personal info out of them. Not much of that was shown during this season and the whole woe-is-Art thing in the finale came out of the blue. Did they ever tell us he supports his whole extended family and a community in Malawi and a leper colony on the Moon before suddenly dumping it on us in the finale? They may have. I zoned out a lot this season.

I am enjoying España.

Although I am a bit loath to see more paint-by-numbers spinoffs I would like to see French and Italian ones to see how they differ.

My friend had sex with Elecktra Shock at Lateshift in Auckland...Apparently, yes, he is all THAT.

Tasty R386!

r395 details please. really packing 9-10 inches? Top flip fuck ? what kind of guy is your friend? Twink, muscle, prep bear?

R397 Friend is a built Zaddy. Lots of flip flop full on anal crazy intense shit.

[quote]details please. really packing 9-10 inches?

Girl, we all saw it.

R398 Anita was on The Spinoff podcast after she got eliminated and joked about Elektra being this big top but this visual is sooooooo much hotter, thank you.

Kita released a song and a music video and her singing voice is actually quite good.

Just watched the FINALE

SPOILERSPOLIERSPOILERSPOILER _ _ _ _

Kita won? I mean I really liked her, but she won?

I didn't much care for Scarlet as a person, but I thought he was the most deserving.

The problem with Scarlet was that he was a very unhappy, very unpleasant person who has a lot of growing up to do R401.

Art Simone was talentless, didn't win anything and Karen from Finance ended up being a total let down.

So they had no choice but to give Kita Mean the crown. Best of a bad bunch.

What are the controversies that allowed Kita to win?

Who did what and how bad was it?

Did you watch it R403?

I did, and then I googled after I posted (MARY!) and now I know about Scarlett's blackface and Karen's tatoo.

I'm caught up.

Did Art have controversy besides being brought back for no good goddamned reason?

r405 not really. They never did explain it though and Art seems really bitter post Drag Race.

Art couldn’t have won because fans were upset that he was given a massive advantage, especially over two POC queens. The production really did him dirty and he’s very openly expressed his displeasure with the situation to the point of basically eliminating any chance of being asked back for an All Stars season.

Other queens in early American seasons were brought back for no real reason but Art's case was very odd. And then he didnt win shit after coming back.

R407 That's short sighted. If they went back to Australia/NZ, it would be very in keeping with the show's nature to make a running joke of bringing Art back over and over just like they've done with Shangela, and the more they did it, the more people would accept it as a characteristic of the show. But if Art is acting like a bitter little bitch, he's killed his chances of it. RuPaul steps on the faces of the ungrateful contestants who badmouth him (as is his right to do IMO).

They only brought Shangela back once and she auditioned for season 3. They knew she had beef with Raja as well as a bad blood with Manilla so they cast her. They have brough other queens back during a season but it was at first a big deal and then eventually a competition among all the eliminated queens to come back (Trixie).

To have an All Stars season they’ll need to have at least 2 more normal seasons of Down Under… after this shit show is that likely to happen?

Not at all likely R441. I'm Australian and I don't want to see another one. It was very unpleasant and humiliating to watch.

Naysha Lopez was eliminated in episode one of season three. Two contestants were cut in episode two for giving boring performances of I Will Survive, and Naysha was brought back at the beginning of episode three. No explicit explanation was given, but it was pretty clearly implied that Dax! and Layla were just so terrible that they had to go and Naysha was brought back to fill in the blank.

Scarlet has launched an OnlyFans and is pretty aggressively promoting it across her social media. Guess no one is booking her.

Is scarlett the one with the great hair?

Who was the pretty boy who told Ru on the main stage he had been sexually assaulted in college

Blair St. Clair, US Season 10 and All Stars 5.

Courtney Act spilled some tea on the casting of this. They did not take applications like normal but rather someone (he said it was an Instagram account filled with pictures of hairless cats) would contact the queens asking them if they were interested. She said Karen from Finance and Art were hand-picked to be on the show.

[quote]Courtney Act spilled some tea on the casting of this.

Where R417? Link please.

Did anyone see Karen from Finance on ABC News Breakfast yesterday morning? She was fun, very smooth and personable. Very PG. When asked by Michael Rowland, Karen admitted that she had no interest in pushing the boundaries of her character (even during RPDR) and was content with Karen from Finance just being the Karen from Finance corporate character. That may explain why she was ultimately such a let down on the show after such a strong start. What we saw in the first week's win was all we were ever going to get.

R414 darnit, I was hoping it was the pretty Scarlet.

r416 - it was on her podcast or a podcast Bussy has a clip on her youtube,.

I'm not going to go looking for evidence to substantiate your wild claim for you about an anonymous hairless cat Instagram account being responsible for casting the contestants on Drag Race Down Under R420/R417.

Post the link or STFU. If it is true then no wonder it was such a shitfest.

[Quote]That may explain why she was ultimately such a let down on the show after such a strong start

Strong start? She won the first challenge which was a "bring good outfits from home challenge". There was no real skill involved, they didn't even have to make them in the studio.

Yes exactly R422. And it was all downhill from there.

R423 has me thinking of what they’d call Season 2 if it ever gets made… Drag Race Downhill sounds about right.

There will never be a season 2 made R424.

I hope there won’t be, R425. Let Kita be the only Down Under winner ever and put it to bed.

I’d like to see the other two New Zealand queens invited back for an International All Stars season, though. Anita was robbed and Elektra makes great TV.

r421 I posted it - it is in Bussy's youtube video. You don't have to go looking for it you feckless cunt.