Thursday, January 12, 2012

We’re Off to See the…WHAT THE HELL?

Face Off returns!

Sheridan Crane welcomes us back to Season 2, saying the casting brought several wannabe contestants. And they’ve gotten bigger guest judges. But we still have Ve Neill (Pirates of the Caribbean), Patrick Tatopolous (Rise of the Lycans), and Glenn Hetrick (Lady Gaga). The contestants will get makeup, a car and $100,000.

LA! We see the cast’s motorcade on the highway. We meet RJ, who had to give up his dreams to take care of his dad and teaches. He won the online vote. Tara says she wants to get out of her kitchen studio. Brea owns her own company while Heather thinks people will underestimate her. Jerry calls himself the “old guy.” Sue is fresh out of school as is Miranda. Greg arrives and says he loves zombies. Nix says he’s known for his body paint.

Everyone arrives and so does a limo. Out comes McKenzie Westmore, who still is Sheridan Crane to me (see above). She starts them with a challenge. They are in Universal Studios Hollywood, the largest backlot. They wave to the tourists before finding their models. This is a foundation challenge, which gives the winner an advantage. They have wardrobe, makeup and props. But before they start, Ve emerges with Conor, our first season winner. They were working together on The Hunger Games. They will be judging the challenge: to create a character from head to toe. They must use something from each trailer. The winner will get immunity. OHMIGOD IAN IS FROM MY HOMETOWN! I’m rooting for him—DO STATEN ISLAND PROUD, IAN!

Rayce has an adorable family. Athena is, surprisingly, from the Ukraine. She wants to do a cat person. Cue “Jellicle Cats.” Beki decides to go for Voodoo witch doctor. Brea wants to make it look like her model is being zipped out of his own skin…To reveal a Slitheen? Brea is stressing out as her zippers are too heavy and someone calls twenty minutes. McKenzie calls time.

RJ calls her “Ghoulish Sandy from Grease.” Ve and Conor like it. Athena looks like a cat meets Avatar. Conor can see the streaks. Ve likes Brea’s concept but doesn’t like the execution. Ve calls Jerry’s elf very well blended. Ve isn’t impressed with Nix’s design. Ian’s looks good. Time to reveal the winner! They says Brea and Nix didn’t do so well. Their top picks were RJ and Jerry. And the winner is…

COMMERCIALS!

It’s now night as we come back to find out who the winner is. And it’s Jerry! Yay! He wants to win every single challenge. So he has immunity. And that light is not flattering for McKenzie.

The contestants go to their house. Jerry fears living with the others because of the age difference.
The next day, they go to Hollywood Blvd where they meet McKenzie. She talks about “The Wizard of Oz,” a legendary film made from a book. She reveals a first edition copy of the book…Wow. They will be paired into teams to reimagine four characters from the story: Tin Man, Scarecrow, Cowardly Lion and the Wicked Witch. But it will also be men vs. women. They are dismissed and go to the lab for model selection. Nix is impressed with the studio. The teams have a tablet to help them with their visions as well.

It starts with the design phase. Sue wants tribal, but the others aren’t impressed. Someone suggest horror, post-apocalyptic. They combine it. Brea wants the Witch to look like poison ivy—beautiful but you don’t want to touch it. Athena and Sue pair up to do a slave lion. The girls held for the sculpting phase. The guys are still in the design phase. Someone over there suggest steampunk. Jerry seems to be slowing them down.

Coming Up: The judges arrive, judging, the first loser.

LA! It’s still Day 1 and the guys are still unsure where they are going. They decide to do horror as well. I kinda liked steampunk. Jerry wants to handle the witch, making her look dried. RJ and Ian get the last jobs. Tara does the Scarecrow. Athena is casting her own body parts for her character. Someone does do steampunk on the girls’ side. Sue is confused by Athena’s decision. Jerry decides to look at the girls’ designs. He is afraid as the girls are better sculptors. Ian confirms it. The boys regroup to discuss this. Jerry suggests resculpting the Tin Man and Scarecrow. Nix calls the five minute warning before Day 1 ends. They leave.

Day 2. The women want to get their molds ready. The men start to catch up. When in walks McKenzie and Glenn Hetrick, one of the judges. One person says Jerry is the men’s leader, Jerry says they aren’t a lead. Others agree with him as Glen asks it again and we go to…

COMMERCIALS!

We come back to Glenn asking if there were a lead. Glenn tells the men to come up with a battle plan. Glenn asks the girls about their symmetrical lines. The girls are confused what he means. He wants you to defend your choice, ladies. Glenn is impressed with the girls, especially the scarecrow. He is concerned about the Tin Man. Glenn is worried about the mens’ power struggle. The men regroup again. Jerry offers to deal with the witch and the others pair off to focus on individual characters. The second day ends and people are nervous.

At the house, everyone relaxes and discuss the competition.

Day 3! The lab is ready for application. Tara hopes she can get some help. How about asking? Anyway, the models arrive and application begins. Sue worries about Athena’s claws while Jerry sits around. Tara finally asks for help. Sue says she wishes she could help but calls Athena is dead weight. They have fifteen minutes left. Tara feels crazy and says she isn’t good.

Coming Up: Last Looks!

We come back to everyone applying everything before Last Looks. They enter the judging room. She welcomes the judges and talks about the challenge. The women are first. We see the Scarecrow. And I will be seeing that in my nightmares if my dream catcher doesn’t work! The Tin Man is next. Miranda is a bit worried. The Cowardly Lion is next. Sue isn’t happy with Athena’s work. Finally, the Wicked Witch of the West. Let’s put her in a movie! A little Dorothy comes out with their characters.

The men get their turn. First is the Scarecrow. He looks closer to a scarecrow than the girls’ but not as scary. The Tin Man follows. Or maybe the Terminator with his face torn off? The Cowardly Lion follows. I think it’s a female model—it is. It’s amazing, much better than the women. The Wicked Witch of the West is…eh. Dorothy returns with their characters.

Time for the judges to take a closer look! They look, they prod, they question. Miranda says she’s going to throw up and she doesn’t want to go home.

COMMERCIALS!

The judges continuing studying the art before returning to their seats. Ladies go first. Glenn calls Tara’s work impressive and Patrick likes it as well as Ve. Ve doesn’t like the Tin Man. Glenn doesn’t like the symmetry of the face. Ve loves the lion’s face but not the paws. Athena blames time management, cutting off Sue. Glenn says they went away from the traditional design and he likes it. Ve calls it “spectacular.” She praises the moles to hide the lines.

Time for the men! Glenn calls the original concept stronger than the Scarecrow turned out to be. Patrick calls it a Halloween mask but he likes the fingers and shapes. Ve doesn’t like the chest. Glenn says the application is inadequate. Patrick hoped for more metal. Patrick loves Rayce and Ian’s work. Yay, Ian! Glenn loves the colors they chose. Ve loves the claws and the face. Glenn likes the Witch’s shapes. Ve doesn’t like the makeup because the paint job isn’t great. She doesn’t like the teeth. Jerry calls it a group decision. Ve doesn’t seem to buy it.

McKenzie dismisses the group so the judges can deliberate. Glenn loved Tara’s work. Ve loved Brea and Beki’s work on the Witch. Glenn liked Rayce and Ian’s lion. They didn’t like the Tin Men at all. Patrick thinks the men’s was worse.

The contestants come back out and the room goes red. Glenn reveals the winning team is…

COMMERCIALS!

Anyway, the winning team is the girls! YAY! They have a group hug. But there can only be one winner. And that is…Brea. I thought it would be Tara, but okay. They loved the headpiece. Brea is happy to come back to the top. The women are dismissed. Since Jerry has immunity, he is dismissed as well. Rayce, Ian, RJ and Matt are also safe (Go, Ian!) and are dismissed. Greg and Nix step before the judges. Glenn tells Nix they had issues with his sculpture while the chest didn’t work out on Greg’s part. And the person eliminated is Greg. Aww, too bad, man. He and Nix hug. Greg says he was too much a team player. The others hug him and cry. He hopes it only gets better.

Face Off

Athena
Beki
Brea
Greg
Heather
Ian
Jerry
Matt
Miranda
Nix
Rayce
RJ
Sue
Tara

And Season 2 is off and running! I’m excited about this crop of contestants and not just because one of them is from my hometown. I am rooting for Ian for that reason, but I also like Rayce and Tara so far. I’m also excited about the crop of guest judges they have planned. Especially Vivica A. Fox and Levar Burton! So, here’s to the challenges ahead!

Phrase of the Episode
“Hairy metal.”

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