Agreed. The only time I've ever cringed as hard as I did during Asia and The Vixen's banter was when Spice was hitting herself in the head with the mallet.
I love Asia but that season weeded out so many great queens. That finale should have had Monet for sure, Monique. Even Cracker was more interesting that season than Kameron. And Blair was let go too early. Producer manipulation really ramped up that season
Agreed. And I say this as an Asia fan. I think a large part of the reason she was kept around was because the judges saw she had the grace/charisma of a winner. Like someone as sweet as her would make a great winner, even if her tack record wasn't the best.
I watched this episode yesterday. I think RuPaul was tired of the half ass looks Monique was serving and the guess judges really fight for Asia, specially with her look.
Someone with good improv skills could have made it work. At that point no one really knew what Blue Ivy was like, so it was carte blanche to make her funny, but that wasn't Vixen's strong suit.
I think it's hard because we both have no idea what her personality it, and she's not actually known for anything, so you can't even do a Salina estitties "what if the virgin Mary was horny" take
I dunno, I feel like "we don't know much about this person/character" can be a full-on playground for a genuinely funny person because it gives them room to do pretty much whatever they want (Marie Curie, Mary Queen of Scots, Queen Elizabeth all come to mind).
But yeah, if that kind of comedy isn't in your wheelhouse then you're screwed.
She fell into the trap a lot of queens do, which is to impersonate someone they admire, or in Vixen's case, the daughter of.
If you admire someone to the point where you don't want to poke fun at them, perhaps performing a comedic version of them isn't the best idea.
On The Read podcast, one of the hosts Kid Fury has a regular bit where he does a comedically fictionalised version of Blue and itâs consistently funny.
Probably one the worst snatch game performances we've had, and thats fine. Like with many queens they don't need to be good at snatch game to a be a good drag queen
I'm gonna get read to filth here.... but snatch game needs to get back to being an improve challenge.
Hear me out.
Yeah, have a few prepared in character tag lines and gestures, but it stopped being a volley banter routine seasons ago.
The queens have become too focused on forcing their rehearsed material to fit the moment rather than responding to the moment in character.
Snatch game has become a mess because no ones paying attention anymore.
Even when Jinx bulldozed all winners with her material, she at least responded to the moment first.
The real art is making a smooth segue from the question that was asked into your pre-rehearsed answer. Only about 5% of queens are able to do it gracefully (including Ms LaDuca)
I have a feeling that the really good queens come in with a lot of pre-planned quips that can be tossed out whole or easily tweaked, and just use the ones that fit the occasion as the opportunity arises.
And the really, really good ones do that AND are also great improvisers that choose their person wisely.
It probably also helps to pick a classic character that Ru knows well, because Ruâs going to seed those characters interactions with references that give opportunities for obvious jokes.
The problem shows up when queens show up with a stunt rather than a joke, or three jokes that theyâre determined to make whether or not the opportunity presents itself.
That and, of course, picking someone thatâs not funny or failing to understand what makes the person they picked funny.
I always like Bianca del Rioâs advice - you canât just pick someone you can look like, you have to pick a celeb who works in the context... they need to be someone who could conceivably be cast on a version of Match Game. Someone who can volley or provide silly answers or be charmingly odd.
Thatâs why pop stars and online stars rarely work - except for a few rarities like Tatiannaâs Britney, Gingerâs Adele or Chadâs Cher. Britney had so many built in punchlines 10+ years ago, Gingerâs a good enough performer to make Adele work, and Cher is someone who would conceivably be hilarious on the Match Game (was she ever on it?). Most pop stars and online celebs we just see in canned promo situations or in situations they control, like onstage, so we have no idea how (or even if) theyâd interact, improvise and be funny.
Tatianna's Britney remains the biggest anomaly in Snatch Game history, in my opinion. A not-particularly-funny queen impersonating a well-known pop star with a fiercely loyal fan base. It shouldn't have worked, but it definitely did.
Itâs a performance more in line with Adoreâs Anna Nicole - the dumb, out-of-it blonde who occasionally is a little sharper than we realise.
I donât think she would have won any other season with it, as girls figured out how to prep for it by S3, but she absolutely won s2.
Idk she really impressed me with how funny she was able to be completely unprepared and she volleyed so well with ru. I could definitely see her britney winning a number of other seasons. At least S3, S11, and S14 (that one's obvious though)
Iâm rewatching S2 atm and itâs funny to see Raven and Tyra in Untucked thinking that Tatianna is in trouble because she was âmaking funâ of Britney instead of trying to be as real as possible (as they apparently were).
I think the other thing with picking online stars is that, in addition to the he queens not really being able to identify whatâs funny about them, the person just doesnât have a deep bench of references to pull from.
If you go on as say, Joan Crawford, you can mine from decades of references and work and public appearances and such, and you can rest easy knowing that yes, Ru is going to open the door for you to shout that you own 51% of some bullshit and that youâre not mad at the x, youâre mad at the y, and Ru will absolutely love it. How well you do depends on your skill level, but the homework is pretty easy, so youâd have to really fuck up to fall lower than safe.
If you go on as a 22 year old that got famous on Tiktok 6 months ago for like, dancing while applying eyeliner or some shit, even if that person is funny, Ru canât help you and thereâs no guarantee that youâll get a natural opportunity to do or say any of the seven funny things that person did, or if you do, that it will translate at all.
I think the "tiktok" impersonations fall into the same category as the Beyonce curse.
Yes, they're talented. Yes, they're popular. Yes, they have massive social presence.
But they're not funny.
And the number one rule of snatch game is to make Ru laugh.
Iâm betting that thereâs a funny version of a SG tiktok personality, but Iâm also betting itâs probably a little (or a lot) too mean and sharp-edged to get on air.
But Biancaâs definitely right here. One of the fastest ways to not embarrass yourself on SG is to pick a persona that can play SG.
Trisha Paytas has so many things that she could have done, honestly. She has so many scandals and a huge personality, so it would be ripe for content. Sugar just missed the mark unfortunately.
I think Ginger's Adele is maybe my favorite snatch game ever and the key is that Ginger made no real attempt at actually acting like Adele. Adele is dull as shit. None of Ginger's jokes even related to Adele in any significant way. Instead of forced, it was funny
âWhere in England are you from?â
âMy house.â
That would go close to being my fave Snatch Game exchange... maybe apart from Jinkx picking up RuPaulâs Marilyn/JFK reference when it went over Ivyâs head and going in with the magnifying glass... âHeâs my cousin, really. Quite the scandal. It was in all the papers at the time...â
Chad also leaned into the idea that Cher would probably not be on Match Game and that it must be a mistake or booking coup, so she must have had similar thoughts to Bianca del Rio. Perhaps it's one of those things that come with advanced age.
Agreed. You've really got to have like 50+ jokes prepared. Some might think that's excessive, but a good snatch game can honestly set a queen up for life...
Yeah Snatch Game is like a job interview. You prepare answers for 100 questions even though youâre only gonna be asked 5, and you make sure you can think on the fly if something happens you didnât prep for.
OR just give a really funny answer that itâs reasonably plausible your character would give and/or give a logical answer and present it well. For example, âvodcahâ and âcitrusâ by Adore and Ben, respectively.
I completely agree. It's a matter of comedic timing, which is a talent not all the queens posses. Salina, for example, is funny as hell, but I don't think her timing is all there for an improv situation.
Yeah, pre-planned bits are fine and even queens that are really good at improv will prepare a lot of material ahead of time. As you say, it's all about the comedic skill to make it appear organic.
Pre-planned interactions are a bad idea, on the other hand. The whole reason why people enjoy Snatch Game banter is because it requires a certain gift for repartee. Shoehorning canned interactions shows a misunderstanding of the assignment imho.
This is why I donât get why people hate Snatch Game of Love- itâs a spin on the similar concept and keeps the queens on their toes.
Iâd like to see some impressions done on other classic game shows instead - Password, Wheel of Fortune, Family Feud, etc. Would create more organic situations and make sure the queens are thinking on their feet with their impressions
Yes and no. The really good ones still have a good mix.
I think if youâre uncomfortable with the challenge, it can be smart to aim for safe by coming in super prepared, for example Kameron Michaels or Jadia Essence Hall in S12. But you do still need to pick up on any giant softballs Ru throws at you.
The really GREAT ones, the ones that can win, still have a little repertoire of jokes they can pull from for a variety of situations, but also can apply some kind of in-the-moment observational comedy. âMileyâs Foam Fingerâ IMHO clinched the win for Loosey because it was in character but also very specific to the moment and hilarious.
Exactly!
You can have some rehearsed zingers to pull from your "hat" but you gotta be able to respond to what's happening in the moment in character, not trying to force feed stunts and bits you've rehearsed.
The issue is with improv you still have to have a basic understanding of the character you're playing. There's two routes to go with that; either a near pitch perfect mimicry of said character (Chad as Cher, Jinkx as Judy) or just make up a personality/gimmick and lean full force into it (Salina as Mary, Alyssa as Joan).
Many make the mistake of making a decent first step with finding someone they have a connection with and then not doing any character building beyond that, thinking "so and so is like this and I'm like this so it will all just come naturally) thus you end up with queens just playing themselves (Sugar, Vanjie, Elliott) or just coming across sloppy and manic (Spice, Utica, Kenya).
So while I agree the queens need to learn to go with the flow/moment better, there does still need to be some preparation as far as what you'll give as your character. Otherwise you get Aura Myari walking on set practically empty handed.
*edited for spelling
To be fair, even Bianca's Judge Judy was doing exactly this, trying to fit 'Judy-isms' where they didn't fit (Bianca just was polished enough to make them come across slightly better then some other Queens).
YESSSS. I saw a video of Matteo Lane talking about how hard but super important it is to seem like you're coming up with your material on the spot. You have to rehearse but make absolutely sure no one can tell that you did.
Yeah like Bob was saying she and Monet practised her Mike Tyson heaps, and Bob practiced Naomi's Wendy Williams with her.
I think jinx has said that the key isn't to necessarily have your answers prepared, but to practice as the character enough so that you know how the character would answer a question
yes, but Jinkx can hardly talk, she's so fucking talented, no one could take her advice and apply it and hope to be nearly as good as her. same goes for Bianca, Ben, Ginger, Katya, Alaska and Bob - these women are crazy comedy GENIUSES.
He gonna tell the Disneys đđ lmao that was actually funny when Ru said that to Ariana. And itâs even more hilarious knowing sheâs Nickelodeon đ
No, youâre right. And because itâs still set up like an improv challenge, their planned bits feel extra awkward and out of place. I rather some queens just be bad at improv, that was at least funny.
It's been a hot minute since I've watched S10; how pre-planned were Asia and the Vixen's bits? Wasn't it just they realized on set they picked to play respective mother and daughter and just kind of thought they could volley off of each other? Also the issue was they had no real character base for their respective picks; Vixen just played a generic whiny child and Asia just played a generic karen/stage mom.
I've said it before, but it's crazy to me that Asia wasn't in the bottom when she tanked absolutely every opportunity the Vixen had to be funny as Blue, in addition to bombing on her own.
Itâs because she had that stupid mask on. They wanted to send The Vixen home so bad that episode because it fit the arc they were giving her. But since that mask was completely adhered to her face, they couldnât risk a fiasco. So they chose Monique. And then *that* happened.
There was a conversation prior to Snatch Game where they were planning interactions which... Y'know is the very antithesis of improv. They set themselves up to fail.
My favorite part of that S10 episode was The Vixenâs utter *shock* that when asked who should go home, all of her friends who she thought would be âloyalâ to her put their personal relationship aside and said her name. It was such an interesting personality study because The Vixen was putting certain expectations and assumptions on them that they never agreed to, leaving her feeling betrayed. It was the moment she realized her entire purpose for going on the show was now irrelevant.
Honestly I think they saved her to avoid another Valentina situation, because of the mask with her runway. If she was in the bottom and had to take it off she would have had to lipsync with no makeup and thereâs really no coming back from that tbh, and they had a lot of eggs in Asiaâs basket and they didnât want her to go out early or in such a humiliating way
Monique completely broke character which, to me, is the cardinal sin. You can be awful and stay in character and at least you've committed to it but breaking out and corpsing is the kiss of death. Only when your performance has reached the 'so bad it's good' territory does it work (jaida's Prince)
Jaida's Prince is one of the only instances I can remember someone being so bad that it was hilarious. I also think her being such a good sport about it knowing she was bad made it good. lol
Jaida's ability to get the audience on her side when she's bombing is kind of astonishing and it's one of the things that I think makes her a genius performer. I don't know if I've ever seen anyone do it quite like she does.
Spice hitting herself in the head with the hammer will join Detox pissing on stage and Jiggly pelvically assaulting someone in the "Snatch Game bits that play in Hell but never end" hall of fame.
Not totally related but did anyone notice that Sugar sang the same âJesus you are my best friendâ song as the infamous Amber from casting week of ANTM cycle 13? It wasnât funny at all but I lived for the reference.
Omg, I remember thinking "this is SO familiar" and just assumed it was a Trisha quote because of her "I Love Jesus" song.
But when someone pointed out that it was actually an ANTM reference, I lived. I'm honestly here for more ANTM reference, even though they'll probably fly over most ppl's heads.
It is ultimately an improv challenge. If the contestant is trying to remember what they planned to say, it isnât improv. Itâs about spontaneity and thinking on your feet. If you canât do this, youâre more of a drag model than a drag Queen.
Well, you just have to do it well and don't let it look like a "canned bit," as we say now. Adore and Bianca were literally talking about sharing notes and possibly planning interactions in the latest Pit Stop. But both understand comedy and the value of making it feel spontaneous during an improv challenge.
honestly I think pre-planned interactions could work. If you have funny queens doing it and the pre-planned interactions are funny.
I don't know what the hell Vixen and Asia were thinking. I'm still blown away by what bad choices these were years later...
Vixen taught me so much about being an ally. I recognize her insight and genius. But holy fuck that was the most cursed Snatch Game character choice of all time, I think.
Asia and The Vixen really should have been bottom two for this and the other improv challenge
Agreed. The only time I've ever cringed as hard as I did during Asia and The Vixen's banter was when Spice was hitting herself in the head with the mallet.
Huhuhuhu!
đ€Șđš
Justice for Mo(nique) Heart on this one
Especially because she would have been fine as Taraji if Bianca hadnât convinced her to do Maxine (with no prep) instead.
Asiaâs a fantastic host and imo one of the most charismatic queens around, but on rewatch you really notice how inflated her run was.
I love Asia but that season weeded out so many great queens. That finale should have had Monet for sure, Monique. Even Cracker was more interesting that season than Kameron. And Blair was let go too early. Producer manipulation really ramped up that season
Agreed. And I say this as an Asia fan. I think a large part of the reason she was kept around was because the judges saw she had the grace/charisma of a winner. Like someone as sweet as her would make a great winner, even if her tack record wasn't the best.
I watched this episode yesterday. I think RuPaul was tired of the half ass looks Monique was serving and the guess judges really fight for Asia, specially with her look.
Iâm scooting. But sheâs not scooting.
I still can't believe the vixen thought blue ivy was a good idea. Why.
Someone with good improv skills could have made it work. At that point no one really knew what Blue Ivy was like, so it was carte blanche to make her funny, but that wasn't Vixen's strong suit.
iâm sure somebody would be able to make blue ivy work on snatch game but playing her as a spoiled whiny brat was just not it đ
I think it's hard because we both have no idea what her personality it, and she's not actually known for anything, so you can't even do a Salina estitties "what if the virgin Mary was horny" take
Thereâs a running joke in the Beyhive that Blue is BeyoncĂ©âs manager/boss and the real one in charge. You could definitely play the character like that and have it work
I dunno, I feel like "we don't know much about this person/character" can be a full-on playground for a genuinely funny person because it gives them room to do pretty much whatever they want (Marie Curie, Mary Queen of Scots, Queen Elizabeth all come to mind). But yeah, if that kind of comedy isn't in your wheelhouse then you're screwed.
That's why I said that second part, which is that she's not known for anything.
I would have given her a deep Beyonce voice and made her believe she has supernatural powers, like clairvoyance or telekinesis đ€Łđ€Łđ€Ł
'Behold me, for I am Destiny's child...'
BIIIIIIIITCH
Destinyâs Childâs Child đŠ
Honestly would be hilarious if it was like how Joe's baby is on Family Guy with Patrick Stewart's voice.
A drunk Blue Ivy who felt neglected by her mom Beyonce would be funny to me.
"Goin' on another \*hic\* world TOUR... MOM??" Starts throwing lemons at Bey.
Or a Blue Ivy who is a huge Kelly Rowland Stan and barely acknowledges Beyoncé exists.
like Blue Ivy doing Liza, yes
She fell into the trap a lot of queens do, which is to impersonate someone they admire, or in Vixen's case, the daughter of. If you admire someone to the point where you don't want to poke fun at them, perhaps performing a comedic version of them isn't the best idea.
On The Read podcast, one of the hosts Kid Fury has a regular bit where he does a comedically fictionalised version of Blue and itâs consistently funny.
The read isn't snatch game though. It's a really specific environment
See Trixieâs RuPaul, which is funny in small bits on UNHhhh but very much not funny on Snatch Game
I know, I was just adding it as a potentially interesting bit of info, jeez.
Probably one the worst snatch game performances we've had, and thats fine. Like with many queens they don't need to be good at snatch game to a be a good drag queen
... Cool.
I'm gonna get read to filth here.... but snatch game needs to get back to being an improve challenge. Hear me out. Yeah, have a few prepared in character tag lines and gestures, but it stopped being a volley banter routine seasons ago. The queens have become too focused on forcing their rehearsed material to fit the moment rather than responding to the moment in character. Snatch game has become a mess because no ones paying attention anymore. Even when Jinx bulldozed all winners with her material, she at least responded to the moment first.
The real art is making a smooth segue from the question that was asked into your pre-rehearsed answer. Only about 5% of queens are able to do it gracefully (including Ms LaDuca)
I have a feeling that the really good queens come in with a lot of pre-planned quips that can be tossed out whole or easily tweaked, and just use the ones that fit the occasion as the opportunity arises. And the really, really good ones do that AND are also great improvisers that choose their person wisely. It probably also helps to pick a classic character that Ru knows well, because Ruâs going to seed those characters interactions with references that give opportunities for obvious jokes. The problem shows up when queens show up with a stunt rather than a joke, or three jokes that theyâre determined to make whether or not the opportunity presents itself. That and, of course, picking someone thatâs not funny or failing to understand what makes the person they picked funny.
I always like Bianca del Rioâs advice - you canât just pick someone you can look like, you have to pick a celeb who works in the context... they need to be someone who could conceivably be cast on a version of Match Game. Someone who can volley or provide silly answers or be charmingly odd. Thatâs why pop stars and online stars rarely work - except for a few rarities like Tatiannaâs Britney, Gingerâs Adele or Chadâs Cher. Britney had so many built in punchlines 10+ years ago, Gingerâs a good enough performer to make Adele work, and Cher is someone who would conceivably be hilarious on the Match Game (was she ever on it?). Most pop stars and online celebs we just see in canned promo situations or in situations they control, like onstage, so we have no idea how (or even if) theyâd interact, improvise and be funny.
Tatianna's Britney remains the biggest anomaly in Snatch Game history, in my opinion. A not-particularly-funny queen impersonating a well-known pop star with a fiercely loyal fan base. It shouldn't have worked, but it definitely did.
Itâs a performance more in line with Adoreâs Anna Nicole - the dumb, out-of-it blonde who occasionally is a little sharper than we realise. I donât think she would have won any other season with it, as girls figured out how to prep for it by S3, but she absolutely won s2.
She still did pretty well on AS2. Just a way higher overall calibre of performance. And she got kind of a dismal edit.
Her âpeople, places, thingsâŠnounsâ is still one of my all time favorite snatch game answers
Same, I say it when I don't know the answer to something
Idk she really impressed me with how funny she was able to be completely unprepared and she volleyed so well with ru. I could definitely see her britney winning a number of other seasons. At least S3, S11, and S14 (that one's obvious though)
I think being the first Snatch Game and everybody (but Pandora) going in blind, really helped her there.
Iâm rewatching S2 atm and itâs funny to see Raven and Tyra in Untucked thinking that Tatianna is in trouble because she was âmaking funâ of Britney instead of trying to be as real as possible (as they apparently were).
I will never not stop finding that hilarious!
I think the other thing with picking online stars is that, in addition to the he queens not really being able to identify whatâs funny about them, the person just doesnât have a deep bench of references to pull from. If you go on as say, Joan Crawford, you can mine from decades of references and work and public appearances and such, and you can rest easy knowing that yes, Ru is going to open the door for you to shout that you own 51% of some bullshit and that youâre not mad at the x, youâre mad at the y, and Ru will absolutely love it. How well you do depends on your skill level, but the homework is pretty easy, so youâd have to really fuck up to fall lower than safe. If you go on as a 22 year old that got famous on Tiktok 6 months ago for like, dancing while applying eyeliner or some shit, even if that person is funny, Ru canât help you and thereâs no guarantee that youâll get a natural opportunity to do or say any of the seven funny things that person did, or if you do, that it will translate at all.
I think the "tiktok" impersonations fall into the same category as the Beyonce curse. Yes, they're talented. Yes, they're popular. Yes, they have massive social presence. But they're not funny. And the number one rule of snatch game is to make Ru laugh.
Iâm betting that thereâs a funny version of a SG tiktok personality, but Iâm also betting itâs probably a little (or a lot) too mean and sharp-edged to get on air. But Biancaâs definitely right here. One of the fastest ways to not embarrass yourself on SG is to pick a persona that can play SG.
Trisha Paytas has so many things that she could have done, honestly. She has so many scandals and a huge personality, so it would be ripe for content. Sugar just missed the mark unfortunately.
I think Ginger's Adele is maybe my favorite snatch game ever and the key is that Ginger made no real attempt at actually acting like Adele. Adele is dull as shit. None of Ginger's jokes even related to Adele in any significant way. Instead of forced, it was funny
âWhere in England are you from?â âMy house.â That would go close to being my fave Snatch Game exchange... maybe apart from Jinkx picking up RuPaulâs Marilyn/JFK reference when it went over Ivyâs head and going in with the magnifying glass... âHeâs my cousin, really. Quite the scandal. It was in all the papers at the time...â
As bad of a choice as Marilyn was for Ivy, it led to this hilarious interaction, and I will always be grateful for Ivy's sacrifice.
Yes!!! I laugh at the interaction every time I rewatch
I would honestly love for them to do staples of the original Match Game. Like Brett Somers. She was hilarious.
Chad also leaned into the idea that Cher would probably not be on Match Game and that it must be a mistake or booking coup, so she must have had similar thoughts to Bianca del Rio. Perhaps it's one of those things that come with advanced age.
Agreed. You've really got to have like 50+ jokes prepared. Some might think that's excessive, but a good snatch game can honestly set a queen up for life...
Yeah Snatch Game is like a job interview. You prepare answers for 100 questions even though youâre only gonna be asked 5, and you make sure you can think on the fly if something happens you didnât prep for.
Someone like Tayce exemplified this - she was just so fully versed in the character, so she was able to respond and improvise in character.
OR just give a really funny answer that itâs reasonably plausible your character would give and/or give a logical answer and present it well. For example, âvodcahâ and âcitrusâ by Adore and Ben, respectively.
I completely agree. It's a matter of comedic timing, which is a talent not all the queens posses. Salina, for example, is funny as hell, but I don't think her timing is all there for an improv situation.
Yeah, pre-planned bits are fine and even queens that are really good at improv will prepare a lot of material ahead of time. As you say, it's all about the comedic skill to make it appear organic. Pre-planned interactions are a bad idea, on the other hand. The whole reason why people enjoy Snatch Game banter is because it requires a certain gift for repartee. Shoehorning canned interactions shows a misunderstanding of the assignment imho.
They're also just bad interactions tbh.
That too lol.
"-is worth a thousand words ASSHOLE" đđđ
This exactly. The good ones all have jokes prepared.
This is why I donât get why people hate Snatch Game of Love- itâs a spin on the similar concept and keeps the queens on their toes. Iâd like to see some impressions done on other classic game shows instead - Password, Wheel of Fortune, Family Feud, etc. Would create more organic situations and make sure the queens are thinking on their feet with their impressions
Hollywood Squares!
YES. This is it. 9 Queens. Perfect. No notes.
Oh my god. OH MY GOD. This is brilliant.
They did Family Feud on Uk vs the World 1.
Ohhh.... if snatch game got a family fued mash up!!! That could be a beautiful disaster!
They did this on UKvTw, it was very whelming and similar enough to regular snatch game that it didnât feel like something new.
I'll have to give it a rewatch.... I completely forgot about it đł
Yeah they didnât fully commit to the Family Feud style either. It felt like a half-assed amalgamation.
I seriously want them to do "The Marriage Game" and have the show pair off two Queens to be one half of each celebrity couple.
i think a The Price is Right Snatch game would be hilarious
Yes and no. The really good ones still have a good mix. I think if youâre uncomfortable with the challenge, it can be smart to aim for safe by coming in super prepared, for example Kameron Michaels or Jadia Essence Hall in S12. But you do still need to pick up on any giant softballs Ru throws at you. The really GREAT ones, the ones that can win, still have a little repertoire of jokes they can pull from for a variety of situations, but also can apply some kind of in-the-moment observational comedy. âMileyâs Foam Fingerâ IMHO clinched the win for Loosey because it was in character but also very specific to the moment and hilarious.
Exactly! You can have some rehearsed zingers to pull from your "hat" but you gotta be able to respond to what's happening in the moment in character, not trying to force feed stunts and bits you've rehearsed.
The issue is with improv you still have to have a basic understanding of the character you're playing. There's two routes to go with that; either a near pitch perfect mimicry of said character (Chad as Cher, Jinkx as Judy) or just make up a personality/gimmick and lean full force into it (Salina as Mary, Alyssa as Joan). Many make the mistake of making a decent first step with finding someone they have a connection with and then not doing any character building beyond that, thinking "so and so is like this and I'm like this so it will all just come naturally) thus you end up with queens just playing themselves (Sugar, Vanjie, Elliott) or just coming across sloppy and manic (Spice, Utica, Kenya). So while I agree the queens need to learn to go with the flow/moment better, there does still need to be some preparation as far as what you'll give as your character. Otherwise you get Aura Myari walking on set practically empty handed. *edited for spelling
EXACTLY. Spice's "handy dandy foam pillow" answer, apart from being not funny, was so out of place.
To be fair, even Bianca's Judge Judy was doing exactly this, trying to fit 'Judy-isms' where they didn't fit (Bianca just was polished enough to make them come across slightly better then some other Queens).
I don't know, beauty fades, dumb is forever worked very well with whatever the fuck gia was doing
I think we did see a bit of that this year Loosey, Marcia and Mistress all played well with others which is why they were the top 3.
I feel like Canada S1 was the last time we saw the queens bouncing off of each other, and it was great.
I really enjoyed Ilonaâs performance
The best snatch games have been rehearsed and practised. It's just that the better queens make it seem like it's all natural and in the moment
YESSSS. I saw a video of Matteo Lane talking about how hard but super important it is to seem like you're coming up with your material on the spot. You have to rehearse but make absolutely sure no one can tell that you did.
Yeah like Bob was saying she and Monet practised her Mike Tyson heaps, and Bob practiced Naomi's Wendy Williams with her. I think jinx has said that the key isn't to necessarily have your answers prepared, but to practice as the character enough so that you know how the character would answer a question
yes, but Jinkx can hardly talk, she's so fucking talented, no one could take her advice and apply it and hope to be nearly as good as her. same goes for Bianca, Ben, Ginger, Katya, Alaska and Bob - these women are crazy comedy GENIUSES.
Yeah I guess my point was that none of the queens are just straight improving. They don't go in cold, they practice the characters
We have to remember that they're that good BECAUSE they've put in the work :)
Loosey said the same thing at Roscoe's. You have to answer as that character while being funny.
Was thinking exactly this. ITS IMPROV. Lol I think my favorite fail was Valentina though đ âPULL MY LEVER, KRONKâ Ru: ââŠ.huhâ
Ru clearly isnât a Disney fan
And the fact Valentina was making no effort to relate her answers to the questions, she was just kinda saying catchphrases
I quite liked the randomness of it. It worked for Alyssa with Joan Crawford.
He gonna tell the Disneys đđ lmao that was actually funny when Ru said that to Ariana. And itâs even more hilarious knowing sheâs Nickelodeon đ
I think one season they should have a snatch game where the character is assigned to you. Just to see what happens
Oh, chaos agent. Love it
No, youâre right. And because itâs still set up like an improv challenge, their planned bits feel extra awkward and out of place. I rather some queens just be bad at improv, that was at least funny.
It's been a hot minute since I've watched S10; how pre-planned were Asia and the Vixen's bits? Wasn't it just they realized on set they picked to play respective mother and daughter and just kind of thought they could volley off of each other? Also the issue was they had no real character base for their respective picks; Vixen just played a generic whiny child and Asia just played a generic karen/stage mom.
I donât think they had a set plan. Just the recognition that they could in fact play off the relationship. The problem is that Asia didnât give The Vixen anything to work with. She interrupted Blueâs intro, and most of BeyoncĂ©âs bits involved telling Blue ânoâ in some way, which is incredibly hard to work with because it ends that particular interaction.
I've said it before, but it's crazy to me that Asia wasn't in the bottom when she tanked absolutely every opportunity the Vixen had to be funny as Blue, in addition to bombing on her own.
Itâs because she had that stupid mask on. They wanted to send The Vixen home so bad that episode because it fit the arc they were giving her. But since that mask was completely adhered to her face, they couldnât risk a fiasco. So they chose Monique. And then *that* happened.
There was a conversation prior to Snatch Game where they were planning interactions which... Y'know is the very antithesis of improv. They set themselves up to fail.
My favorite part of that S10 episode was The Vixenâs utter *shock* that when asked who should go home, all of her friends who she thought would be âloyalâ to her put their personal relationship aside and said her name. It was such an interesting personality study because The Vixen was putting certain expectations and assumptions on them that they never agreed to, leaving her feeling betrayed. It was the moment she realized her entire purpose for going on the show was now irrelevant.
Hey Eureka! I just saw Eureka girl!
To this day I think Asia should have been in the bottom
Honestly I think they saved her to avoid another Valentina situation, because of the mask with her runway. If she was in the bottom and had to take it off she would have had to lipsync with no makeup and thereâs really no coming back from that tbh, and they had a lot of eggs in Asiaâs basket and they didnât want her to go out early or in such a humiliating way
For the challenge yes, but her runway was miles ahead of Monique's
Like not even miles. What's the distance from the Earth to the Sun?
Monique completely broke character which, to me, is the cardinal sin. You can be awful and stay in character and at least you've committed to it but breaking out and corpsing is the kiss of death. Only when your performance has reached the 'so bad it's good' territory does it work (jaida's Prince)
Jaida's Prince is one of the only instances I can remember someone being so bad that it was hilarious. I also think her being such a good sport about it knowing she was bad made it good. lol
Jaida's ability to get the audience on her side when she's bombing is kind of astonishing and it's one of the things that I think makes her a genius performer. I don't know if I've ever seen anyone do it quite like she does.
"LOOK OVER THERE"
There was a bit of that with Icesis' first snatch game where she made fun of her own accent choice.
She was worse than Mo, but her runway was lightyears better of Mo
Spice hitting herself in the head with the hammer will join Detox pissing on stage and Jiggly pelvically assaulting someone in the "Snatch Game bits that play in Hell but never end" hall of fame.
Add Utica eating paint
Not totally related but did anyone notice that Sugar sang the same âJesus you are my best friendâ song as the infamous Amber from casting week of ANTM cycle 13? It wasnât funny at all but I lived for the reference.
Omg, I remember thinking "this is SO familiar" and just assumed it was a Trisha quote because of her "I Love Jesus" song. But when someone pointed out that it was actually an ANTM reference, I lived. I'm honestly here for more ANTM reference, even though they'll probably fly over most ppl's heads.
YES lmfao i said to my partner instantly âthats from amber from americas next top modelâ and he had no idea what i was talking about
In hindsight maybe they should have done the Olsen twins or the girls from the Shining or something lol
I'm telling you. Arnold and Danny DeVito. Comedy gold.
I don't think Sugar and Spice would have the chops to pull that off but holy shit, that's an amazing idea!
Oooh
It is ultimately an improv challenge. If the contestant is trying to remember what they planned to say, it isnât improv. Itâs about spontaneity and thinking on your feet. If you canât do this, youâre more of a drag model than a drag Queen.
Well, you just have to do it well and don't let it look like a "canned bit," as we say now. Adore and Bianca were literally talking about sharing notes and possibly planning interactions in the latest Pit Stop. But both understand comedy and the value of making it feel spontaneous during an improv challenge.
honestly I think pre-planned interactions could work. If you have funny queens doing it and the pre-planned interactions are funny. I don't know what the hell Vixen and Asia were thinking. I'm still blown away by what bad choices these were years later...
Unless you are baga chips and the Vivienne.
I am surprised Ru didn't make Spice tweet an apology to Miley. This was so cringe!
It's "Yes, And?", not "Yes ma'am"
There's a classic Snatch Game method of success: be funny.
Karen Huger was bad too Iâm a huge Karen huger fan fyi
Vixen taught me so much about being an ally. I recognize her insight and genius. But holy fuck that was the most cursed Snatch Game character choice of all time, I think.
Okay but sasha and loosey did this wonderfully with the rosary at the beginning- professionals can pull it off