RuPaul's Drag Race: Season 1, Episode 9

November 26, 2013 by Chad Sell in Blogging the Drag Race, The Sellout

What a reunion! Remember the good ol' days, when we got some real drama and closure at the end of each Drag Race season? Well, actually, I hadn't remembered how good they were, so watching this week's was a very pleasant surprise.

Tammie is a legend, and I'm so glad she was on this first season... even if she isn't. She admitted that she was relieved to go home so early in the season, and I don't blame her. The crazy interchange she had with Ru at the end of the reunion got clouded by weird metaphors and tangents, but I think she was basically saying: Why does there have to be judging, why do we have to compete?

You get a bunch of talented queens together, they get to know each other, and then you pit them against each other for a moderate amount of money and fame. It can be brutal, which wasn't for Tammie. And I've sometimes felt the same way--particularly during the toxic drama of Season 5. I'd much prefer to see the queens hanging out and getting along.

But that doesn't make for compelling TV. There's just something so tantalizing about the classic reality show competition format. Despite how arbitrary, maddening, and convoluted the structure of the show, it hooks you.

Ru's rant in response was also a little hard to follow. I think the gist of it was something to the effect of: You've gotta be tough and strong, bitches, 'cause the world's a rough place for all of us. And something about Dorothy and The Wizard of Oz.

In any case, it was fabulous to visit with each of the season's queens. All of them looked good, too. Ongina's headpiece was pretty terrifying (was that alligator head real??) but her attitude was sunny as ever.

Nina's sleek hair and spooky eyes accented one of her more distinctive looks, and they inspired my favorite portrait of her!

Throughout the season, Bebe has inspired some of the most detailed, elaborate, and realistic Drag Race portraits I've ever done, but for my final piece, I tried to scale it back a bit, sticking with a simpler style. And I'm glad I did! When people talk about my "Drag Race style," they're usually thinking about the more minimal, "flat" look that they see more often in my earlier work. ...But it's nice to trot it back out every once in a while!

Thanks so much for checking out my weekly updates for Season 1! I plan to collect the work into another art book, so keep an eye out for updates!

I'm relieved that Season 6 of the Drag Race won't start up until February--I need a break! But until then, follow me on Twitter, Facebook, or gossip with me in the RuPaul's Drag Race Reddit!

RuPaul's Drag Race: Season 1, Episode 8

November 19, 2013 by Chad Sell in Blogging the Drag Race, The Sellout

Okay, some quick thoughts on the "finale" episode of this first season: Cazwell was hilarious. His reactions to the queens' rapping were flawless. His utter disdain for Rebecca? Jaw-dropping.

Wait, rapping queens? Sure, okay.

Lunch with Ru: Bebe and Nina both had lovely Tic Tac lunches with Ru, opening up about all sorts of emotional stuff. Ru was clearly grateful to both of them for giving her crazy new TV show a try. Throughout her stagnant, limp lunch with Rebecca, Ru's internal monologue went something like, "HOLY GOD SERIOUSLY WHAT WAS I THINKING" and "Can we edit Shannel back into this show?"

Crowning a winner in reality TV is always tricky. For RPDR Seasons 1-3, they featured the winner being crowned, collapsing in a fit of joy and bewilderment, but then there's not much else. Roll credits! You want some sort of pay-off, some grander celebration. Like, maybe Ru and the winner run off and become best friends. And maybe they rob some banks, I dunno.

For Seasons 4 and 5, the show went to extreme lengths to prevent spoilers, filming sequences in which all three final queens are crowned. And then they only really find out who won during a live event in NYC that coincides with the airing of the show. So unless you're there in New York, you can't see the queen's actual reaction to her win. So, for everyone at home, it feels like you didn't see the "real" finale to the show.

Why not broadcast the NYC crowning live? It would be messy, loud, and chaotic, but that would give a much better sense of what a real drag show is like. Queens might have to deal with wardrobe malfunctions, broken heels, or snatched wigs, but all the better! It would be utterly riveting. And don't you think those queens would really work their asses off performing in front of those live cameras? It would separate the girls from the queens.

Anyway, I know it will never happen. I'm sure broadcasting live television is a total nightmare. For Season 6, I'm just praying for a more satisfying conclusion than the limp "reunion" episodes we've gotten the past two years.

Oh, right! Back to the beginning: Season 1.

Nina and Bebe are both great, agreed.

Nina stole our hearts in the workroom with her infectious energy and optimism...

...but Bebe really ruled the runway. She's arguably the most elegant and regal queen this show has ever seen.

So... LONG LIVE THE QUEEN!

RuPaul's Drag Race: Season 1, Episode 7

November 12, 2013 by Chad Sell in Blogging the Drag Race, The Sellout

The clip show! Traditionally, on the week of each season's clip show, I like to go back and draw any queens or outfits I missed the first time through. The one queen I regretted not drawing earlier is Jade! I really enjoyed Jade's contribution to the show, and she's gorgeous as hell! So I tried to capture her most elegant runway outfit:

I also wanted to go back and draw the gorgeous gown and headdress Bebe wore for the MAC challenge--especially because I've been thinking of using the illustration for the cover of this season's book collection! What do you think?

I don't know whether the book collection should be called The Lost Season or The Lost Queens. Would the latter sound too... grim?

RuPaul's Drag Race: Season 1, Episode 6

November 05, 2013 by Chad Sell in Blogging the Drag Race, The Sellout

For the sixth season of the Drag Race next year, can they just repeat all the first season's challenges? Like, everything? I want to see another vogue-off, please, please. Do another Oprah challenge--maybe this time you can get the Queen of All Media herself to show up. Hose off some of the queens on the hood of a fancy car. Seriously, this season has had a lot of magnificent, funny, crazy challenges. More voguing. What is a drag show without voguing? (And yes, that's how you spell it. Wikipedia says so.) Even this Absolut challenge was pretty good. I always love this point in the season--The "Ball" episodes serve up a ton of gorgeous runway looks. The Absolut theme gave each queen a distinct color palette, which was surely a huge challenge for some of them, but I was impressed with the vivid looks they came up with. (Which made it hard choosing which ones to draw!)

Also, I want to see more random celebrity appearances in the workroom. Did they even explain why Charo showed up? She was magnificent. It was fun. More of that!

I took this episode as an opportunity to finally draw Rebecca, because she was pretty stunning. Maybe some of the detailing of the dress was overdone and a little corn-y, but I can conveniently leave those elements out of my illustration! Art is magic.

There's been a lot of orange this season. When I think Lost Season, I think orange. But Shannel pulled off the color smashingly--I especially loved her Executive Realness and Swimwear looks. They had a youthfulness and lightness that sometimes gets lost in Shannel's more theatrical, overwrought outfits. The long, dark hair and whimsical headdress/hat/hair poof she sported for the swimwear ensemble were just too striking to ignore, so I had to draw 'em.

I'll reiterate that Shannel is the greatest character of Season 1--everything you'd want in a reality TV star. Ego, looks, talent, and a flair for the theatrical.

In re-watching this episode, I was blindsided by Shannel's choice to kick herself off--a twist I had totally forgotten from my first viewing years ago. She seemed to have a change of heart and gave a good lip sync, but I can't help but dwell on the fact that two of the nine contestants this season, Tammie and Shannel, burned out and expressed interest in leaving the competition.

Maybe it's nothing, but I'd speculate that they just didn't really know what they were getting themselves into. It was the first season of this crazy show, so it was an unknown quantity. Each queen has their own scene, their own clubs, their own audience. Most of them had been doing their own thing for years prior to the show, and so they were most likely shocked at how unfamiliar the Drag Race set was, how different it was from their past experiences. I can only imagine that the shooting process of this show was grueling and surreal, with an unclear pay-off. Who knew if anyone would ever watch or care about this show?

Obviously, after running for so many seasons, I like to think that queens know what they're getting themselves into when applying for the show. But... I'm not so sure.

In any case, I should get around to my final piece for this episode: Bebe!

I was just struck speechless by Bebe's raspberry-themed looks. The sleek, simple dress with that severe, Japanese-inspired hair. She had, by far, the most imposing challenge with those fickle little raspberries, but her use of them was smart and elegant.

This queen is good.

Just... gagging.

RuPaul's Drag Race: Season 1, Episode 5

October 29, 2013 by Chad Sell in Blogging the Drag Race, The Sellout

Can we talk about Shannel for a bit? This cast has a lot of lovable queens and a ton of talent, but there's no character quite like Shannel. She's the one who reliably makes the best reality TV--the drama, the exhibitionism, the style, the ego! Whether it's calculated or just her typical charisma and competitive nature, she brings a hunger and driving force to the show that the other queens don't. Nina and Ongina are energetic and radiant, but they're too nice to bring the drama. Bebe tends to be too withdrawn in the workroom, and Rebecca is... well, she's Rebecca.

You might roll your eyes at some of her theatrics or her jaw-dropping costumes, but her contribution to the show is undeniable.

Plus, she looked damn good in this episode. And her partner Sweepea was just the best.

This show has had a lot of really spectacular makeover challenges over its five seasons, but I think this one still stands above the rest. There's something just so fascinating and totally endearing about a bunch of butch ladies getting made over by flamboyant men. It captures the vast spectrum of gender expression in such a crystal clear way, entire college seminars should unpack everything going on here. In subsequent seasons, when the queens are paired with various men to transform into queens, there just isn't the same juxtaposition. (Yes, those episodes are often highlights of each season, but in different ways.)

If only Drag U had captured the same energy, right?

Anyway, Shannel and Sweepee should have won. Yes, Rebecca forced her partner Tempele into a fairly good likeness of herself, but only after grinding away any last vestige of goodwill we might have felt for her.

I had to draw Nina as an evil Disney stepmother, because clearly. Also, her partner really reminded me of Cece's roommate from New Girl. Or am I just crazy?

Okay, and... Ongina.

Obviously, she's great. Ongina brought so much energy, positivity, and humor to the show that it's hard to imagine the season going on without her.

I wanted to try something a little different in this week's illustration of her--with my previous drawings of Ongina, I felt like my digital style wasn't capturing some of the softness of her face, so I tried doing a more traditional drawing on paper with pencil and charcoal, then adding some color digitally.

It was great to see Ru give Ongina such a heartfelt goodbye. Seeing that crack in his composure added to the weight of the moment and the sincerity of his praise. I wish we'd see more of those rough edges in subsequent seasons. (Let it allll out, girl!)

RuPaul's Drag Race: Season 1, Episode 4

October 22, 2013 by Chad Sell in Blogging the Drag Race, The Sellout

Once again, while re-watching this first season, I'm struck by how much the producers got right in this short little "lost" stretch of episodes. The lead-up to the mini-challenge, where the queens give feedback on their peers, was surprisingly candid and interesting without resorting to (too much) cattiness. And having the queens make each other over was brilliant! Not to mention the intriguing results, seeing their faces painted in dramatically different styles. Nina looked soft and understated, Ongina looked fresh-faced and lovely, and Bebe gave Rebecca a smoldering, smoky eye.

I always feel bad for the shy queens on this show. We get some screen time with this season's two quieter queens, Jade and Rebecca, but they express dramatically different attitudes. Rebecca, irritated that the other girls don't "get" her, says fuck 'em. Jade realizes that her introverted personality isn't anyone else's fault, and she needs to step up her game.

The Viva Glam challenge was an especially complicated one--how do you balance a socially conscious message of HIV prevention and research while also projecting an image of yourself as glamorous and fun? Nearly all the queens stumbled, in variously hilarious ways. The way they edited Shannel's wandering monologue was laugh-out-loud funny, resulting from yet another misunderstanding of the challenge's criteria. (Do you think in subsequent seasons they've been extra careful about meticulously spelling out the requirements for each challenge to avoid these blatant screw-ups?)

Rebecca's breakdown was a face-palm moment, Nina's language problems continued to plague her, and Jade just plain missed the mark, despite bringing more energy and confidence than I had expected. Bebe, however, brought a sincerity and seriousness to her commercial shoot, as well as a stunning outfit. But Ongina was the clear winner. Oh, Ongina! Just the best.

It's interesting to look at the first season's (mostly) awkward MAC commercials compared to some of the stand-out film shoots of Season Five. For their perfume commercial, we got funny, smart performances from Alaska, Jinkx, and Detox. (Some painful ones from the other queens, but still.) Nowadays, it seems like the queens are generally much more media savvy, experienced in promoting themselves, shooting crazy YouTube videos, pandering to legions of Twitter fans. The queens from that first season seemed much more awkward in front of the camera, not sure of how to present themselves, how to act on a film set.

This week's runway looks were mostly underwhelming. Rebecca's outfit was a trainwreck. And that makeup? Yeesh. A lot of the queens wore dark, understated dresses that were hard to see through the greased up camera lens. I did love Nina's feathery flourish, though, and her tall column of hair.

And Bebe served up a dynamite look. Sure, there are a lot of mixed opinions out there about her, but week to week, I find myself saying, "Ooh, I want to draw her in that! And that! And that!" There's something so engaging and unique about her style that keeps me coming back for more.

Was anyone else surprised that Jade was selected to sashay away? She definitely had better moves and more stage presence than Ms. Glasscock, but maybe she still came across as too tightly wound, too choreographed? Or maybe, with Rebecca's simmering attitude and conflict with the other queens, she was kept on purely for the sake of drama.

It's a shame! I had really been hoping to draw Jade this season, but none of her runway looks really jumped out at me. Maybe I need to go see her perform live here in Chicago and ask for a personal modeling session?

RuPaul's Drag Race: Season 1, Episode 3

October 15, 2013 by Chad Sell in Blogging the Drag Race, The Sellout

Lordy, what a legendary episode! Seriously, this should be considered one of the all-time classics of Drag Race herstory. It started off slow, with Ru's weird trivia introduction to the week's challenge. And then... Oprah? A bunch of activities based around Oprah?

But man, the funny/strange/sweet/insane moments started piling up, one after another, culminating in one of the most memorable lip syncs ever on the show.

First, Shannel's over-the-top excitement and certainty that, at any moment, she is absolutely definitely going to meet Oprah. Every time Ru shows up, surely it must be to drag Oprah from behind a curtain and meet her biggest fan. Seeing Shannel so giddy and joyful revealed a sunnier side to the shadiest queen of the season. And girl, I wish you had gotten to meet Oprah.

And then Jade, sweet and sultry Jade, begging Bebe for some dark foundation to serve up some blackface realness. Oooooh my. What a trainwreck that could have been. Kudos to the other queens for stepping in and offering some sanity. Wowza.

Despite Nina's worries about the challenge, she overcame her language problems through sheer pluck and personality by laughing at herself and rolling with the punches. Seriously, signing off from her newscast with "This is your name, good night," was just the absolute best.

I loved the interview sections, too. Seeing the queens shoot the shit with a couple random celebrities made for some great TV. And my favorite part was Ru bringing Tori and Dean to the workroom afterward and hanging out with the girls. So fun and light-hearted, a great way to break the tension after the queens ran themselves ragged throughout the challenge.

It's strange that it took three episodes to offer the contestants a chance to wear their own clothes on the runway. Nina's wig and make-up were divine, and I loved the color palette of her look. Her styling lends itself well to a more angular, geometric illustration approach, which I love love love playing with.

Ongina's look was gorgeous--so sleek and sexy, accented with her whimsical doll headpiece. Even though she didn't get a ton of screen time during the main challenge, it was great to see her shine on the runway.

Shannel had a lot of missteps this episode, with the crazy red dress she wore during the challenge, and her overeager interview, but her Medusa look was certainly a stunner. I drew this super cartoony take on it last year in preparation for All-Stars. (A sidenote: It's interesting to see how much Shannel changed between the first season and All-Stars. In the later season, she seemed much goofier, light-hearted, and humbled, as opposed to the I've-already-won attitude she wields throughout the first.)

In any case, Shannel brought it for her lip sync. Did those snakes fly off by accident, or not? If it was intentional, it was a superbly calculated move on her part. I tend to think it was just a serendipitous slip, but who knows?

Speaking of missteps, we can't forget Akashia. Man! Tripping on the runway! A disaster, but one she handled admirably.

This week's runway also offered up Bebe's most memorable and magnificent outfit. And that wig! Everything about Bebe's walk down the runway just screamed sex, elegance, and power. That combined with her strong, centered performance in the main challenge finally showed her as a real competitor for this season.

RuPaul's Drag Race: Season 1, Episode 2

October 08, 2013 by Chad Sell in Blogging the Drag Race, The Sellout

Did anyone else start feeling claustrophobic this week, scratching at the walls as things heated up in this pressure cooker of an episode? The intense scenes of the groups working and arguing with each other felt really different than what we’ve gotten used to in subsequent seasons.

The bulk of the main challenge was shot really intimately, with lots of close-ups, and you couldn't look away from all the conflicts brewing among the queens. It was smart to give each queen a different responsibility for her group, to see how they could contribute and convince the other queens of their ideas. It came together for Ongina’s team (go, girl!) but for Akashia’s, well… all I can say is: Poor Tammie!

Miss Tammie Brown gave it her all in this challenge, gamely going along with a group that didn't want her. Sure, most of her ideas didn’t fit the fishy fashion the others wanted, but they could have at least considered those capes!

The other girls just didn't get Tammie, and my guess is that most viewers didn't either when this season first aired. But it also became increasingly clear that Tammie didn't get this show, either. She didn't anticipate the intensity of the competition, and after being steamrolled by Akashia throughout the whole challenge, she wasn’t willing to fight for her spot during the final lip sync.

It was a shame, because I would have absolutely loved to see more of her-- and I’m not talking about her nip slip during the girl group performance!

Overall, I thought this first group challenge was fabulous--intense, fun, and it separated the queens from the girls. However, since we didn't get a proper runway show, I wasn't left with especially memorable outfits to illustrate.

Ongina’s team “Serving Fish” lived up to their name, except for that crazy, cartoonish hair! Those giant, poofy wigs? I just… I couldn't. The standout performance was from Ongina--although half the height of the other queens, she had double the energy and attitude.

I actually loved the fashion and attitude of Akashia’s team “3D” despite Tammie and Akashia’s sloppy dancing. Bebe really stood out--I live for the fierce intensity she brought to the lip sync. Those facial expressions! Good lord. But she really faded into the background during the workroom scenes. I’m interested to see her trajectory over the course of the season, whether she emerges more as a personality among the cast, or whether she only shines onstage.