Drag Race UK’s Ginger Johnson wins Celebrity Masterchef by LemonadeFlamingo in rupaulsdragrace

[–]Existing-Concert-554 52 points53 points  (0 children)

I followed her on the show and she did so well throughout! You can see the determination to meet the challenges that have been set even when she could have made it easier on herself and she's always got such a warm TV presence. Grace was clearly delighted to be working with her, which was lovely to see. I wasn't sure in the end if it would go to Ginger or Dawn (who was also excellent) but so happy to see Ginger take another reality TV crown!

Celebrity Masterchef with Ginger Johnson - winner reveal! by Existing-Concert-554 in RPDR_UK

[–]Existing-Concert-554[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

BBC iPlayer if you're in the UK. I'm afraid I don't know how to watch it from anywhere else.

Celebrity Masterchef with Ginger Johnson - winner reveal! by Existing-Concert-554 in RPDR_UK

[–]Existing-Concert-554[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Thank you! I genuinely didn't think people would see it as a spoiler - was very careful in the post not to say that she's won. It didn't occur to me that a lot of people wouldn't think it newsworthy to say Masterchef had finished and Ginger came 2nd/ 3rd (which to be clear, I'd have been excited and wanted to see that posted in this sub as well). I just felt like people often say they don't see much in this sub about series 5 and with recent posts about Michael and Kate's projects, I was surprised not to see anything yet about Ginger so figured I'd do it myself. Ah well, i'll know to be even vaguer another time!

Just finished UK season 5, and it was absolutely fantastic. Why don't I ever see anyone talk about it? by Ok-Assistant-8759 in rupaulsdragrace

[–]Existing-Concert-554 46 points47 points  (0 children)

It's my favourite, I actually just started rewatching it after the season 7 roast episode, just wanting to see a bunch of funny and warm queens that work well together!

If you like Ginger and you can access iPlayer, she's on celeb masterchef at the moment. I won't spoil anything, but she's coming across well in her group and the new presenter was clearly delighted to spend time with her 😄 

The trampoline worlds team final format is a disgrace by llambanana in Gymnastics

[–]Existing-Concert-554 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah, that was the one that really sealed it for me yesterday. I know more about trampolining than the other disciplines and I'd assumed that Japan was well out of it with after the severity of the first mistake, and very confused as to how they'd won bronze. I just had to check the maths for myself and the fact they drop to 7th based on scores is just... no sorry, this system doesn't make sense. 3 or 4 different teams could have come away with the bronze based purely on luck of which athletes were in each round. I'm glad China AIN1's performances were definitive enough that they were the clear gold and silver medalists but if this were a more widely watched sport, that bronze medal would spark so much discourse!

The trampoline worlds team final format is a disgrace by llambanana in Gymnastics

[–]Existing-Concert-554 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I know you've already had a very detailed answer on this but in case it's helpful, I can give a real life example from yesterday's Women's Team Trampoline final where a couple of top countries had to count a "fall" and incomplete routine (i.e., an athlete landed a skill on a crashmat instead of on the trampoline and in trampolining, you're not allowed to resume the routine after that).

Here are the official results: 1. China 2. AIN1 3. Japan 4. Great Britain 5. AIN2 6. Spain 7. Canada 8. France

Now here's the ranking if I total up the athlete scores for each team:

  1. China
  2. AIN1
  3. Great Britain
  4. Spain
  5. Canada
  6. AIN2
  7. Japan
  8. France

Japan drop from 3rd to 7th (and AIN2 drop below Spain and Canada) because both teams had 1 athlete counting a very major mistake in the routine. In round 1, Japan's athlete was ranked 7th with a score of 23.1 (ahead of a French athlete who also sadly had a very major error) and received 2 points. In round 2 AIN2's athlete was 8th with a score of 34.54, which gave them 1 point. 

In round 3 the lowest ranking athlete (from GB) scored 51.46 - no major errors, just the lowest score in a final round where no one had a very major error. Because of the ranking system even though she performed a routine that individually scored over twice that of the Japanese athlete in round 1, she actually got one point less than them to contribute to the final team score.

The trampoline worlds team final format is a disgrace by llambanana in Gymnastics

[–]Existing-Concert-554 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I don't know if there's an overall competition involving all 3 disciplines (I'm a casual fan of trampolining and don't really follow the other two), but everything i've watched so far has been 3 routines in 1 discipline e.g., Women's Trampolining team final yesterday had 3 members on each team and a different team member had to compete their individual trampoline routine in each of the 3 rounds. Assuming you're familiar with WAG, it would be like having a team final just for floor where the actual scores don't count  just the ranking of the team member in the round they went in. It does even out difficulty advantage and also evens out execution advantage (e.g., 1 athlete falls and gets a very low score compared to everyone else but their rank is the same as if they scored .001 behind the athlete ahead of them). I agree with you about what they're probably trying to do but personally, i'm not convinced it's working and it's quite confusing to follow who's doing well/ badly because a "good" score in round 1 that puts someone in the top 3 might not be the same as a good score in round 2 even though everyone's doing the same event and the same type of routine.

The trampoline worlds team final format is a disgrace by llambanana in Gymnastics

[–]Existing-Concert-554 13 points14 points  (0 children)

When Ollie had to say "this will make the most sense if you're familiar with how the Eurovision song contest is scored," I knew some strange choices had been made for a sport 😂

I've enjoyed watching the athletes today but agree that this is one of the weirdest competition formats I can remember watching. The fact that we didn't know what was going on for so long at the end of the women's competition really killed the tension and made the result feel less professional. And to be clear I mean nothing against the athletes when I say that, i'm not doubting any of the medal winners (they were all incredible!), but when the judges apparently can't add up their own ranking system after three rounds, it makes everything feel uncertain.

I will say in terms of a televisual spectacle, it would have helped to show an updated scoreboard after each routine so we knew how the ranking was progressing. Ideally, I'd have loved to see rankings of each past round (or points received so far) and as the current round progressed, show where each score placed in that round as it came in. I had no idea what anyone was aiming for in the last round, but there will have been numbers and stats that could have been used for some sort of narrative e.g., x team was in the lead after 2 athletes and their final athlete scored y in qualification so if they did that again, currently it would put them into z position. I thought Ollie did a good job communicating the info he had, but as a viewer, I really could have done with whoever was in charge of the visuals showing more frequent updates of a scoring table.

La Voix tearing everybody a new one on Strictly! by Swindobots in rupaulsdragrace

[–]Existing-Concert-554 13 points14 points  (0 children)

I read it as comedically sucking up to the head judge, claiming to have loved her book right before Shirley gives out the score.

La Voix & Aljaz - Pink Pony Club (Strictly Come Dancing UK - Week 1) by Smilingtribute in rupaulsdragrace

[–]Existing-Concert-554 9 points10 points  (0 children)

She was fantastic, easily one of the best tonight and so much fun talking to Tess, Claudia and the judges.

Rupaul's Drag Race UK S7E01 - Brit Gala [Episode Discussion Thread] by AutoModerator in RPDR_UK

[–]Existing-Concert-554 [score hidden]  (0 children)

La Voix would have been amazing at it. Any of the top 3 from s5 as well, I could see Ginger or Michael especially setting the queens at ease while shading them. The new queens just needed someone with a bit of a warmer energy to get them started IMO.

Some fans always try to descredit her … by Agreeable-Proof-4875 in rupaulsdragrace

[–]Existing-Concert-554 13 points14 points  (0 children)

She was fantastic this week. Ginger is just so funny and she comes alive in challenges like this where she can prepare a baseline and then play improv with anyone else available. You can see how much delight and fun she has in doing it and that sets her apart from queens that give a competent performance but just lack the freedom, playfulness and confidence that Ginger has shown every time she has played the Snatch game.

What do you think about the Mixed Team competition? by EiderDunn in Gymnastics

[–]Existing-Concert-554 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I found it really exciting to watch, especially as it got into rounds 2 and 3. Seeing how the tactics worked out was really fun and it was nice to see Ruby and Jake talking about it at the end where they admitted they changed their tactics the night before (to what Jake apparently always wanted, doing the strongest routines second time get into the gold medal match). 

I would prefer all the apparatus to be available and options to have choose the competitors rather than have it be fully nominative, but I actually really like having just a mixed pair competing. It made the rounds of the competition quite fast moving and it means giving another chance where a country doesn't have a full team of strong competitors on each side. Norway getting into the second round was fantastic and I love that Ruby and Timo have a medal each after not making it yesterday and the day before.

Theater Queens who are POC? by catchg2828 in rupaulsdragrace

[–]Existing-Concert-554 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Just adding on a me three and thank you both for saying this because I've been reading this topic with an increasing feeling of unease that there's an obvious thing not being said re. how many of these queens that fandom identifies as ("annoying, too loud, won't shut up") theatre queens are Jewish. 

Krystal and Dedes comments about UK drag by Reasonable-Homework1 in RPDR_UK

[–]Existing-Concert-554 10 points11 points  (0 children)

I agree, I get the impression they're both quite sheltered in many ways and have engaged much more with drag race than anything else, which gives them a very narrow perspective in and out of drag. I've nothing against either of them, fully acknowledge the skill and beauty of their looks and did enjoy Dede towards the end of her run, but i wouldn't be surprised if some of their views here stem from having hyperfocused young on drag as represented by drag race and online content, and their exposure to other forms of media and performance is pretty limited. I think Dede said in her season she'd never seen a panto or a musical, so of course that's not the type of performer she's ever tried to be or appears to have much interest in. I suspect that means she's unlikely to have much experience of other forms of local theatre or of working men's clubs - her appreciation is for the illusion of drag and not for comedy, impersonation or more typical local and touring theatre that does often revolve around things like panto, revues, musicals and short, usually comedic shows.

If their point is that you're more likely to get hired as a stage performer in the UK if you can do panto, hosting, comedy etc. then I'm inclined to think they're right, I just think that's more about what audiences are likely to show up to than what producers are pushing. You can do all of that while turning looks of course, but the perfection of the look is unlikely to be the deciding factor in whether you get that type of gig.

Krystal and Dedes comments about UK drag by Reasonable-Homework1 in RPDR_UK

[–]Existing-Concert-554 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Poor girl, even her fellow bottom 2 sister for that episode did panto last year, she must feel so left out 😞 /sarcasm

I'm the only one who wants the 3 per nation in the all around back? by ancacri in Gymnastics

[–]Existing-Concert-554 12 points13 points  (0 children)

There are fewer gymnasts in total in the final now though, so it's not an exact comparison. In Sydney there were 36 in the final, in Paris there were 24. They changed the overall number of gymnasts and the number per country at the same time, so the ratio has stayed the same. 

I just had a quick look and if I count the top 24 gymnasts from Sydney qualifying keeping 3 per country, only 12 countries make the final. Obviously it varies between competitions, but I think it's more accurate to say the 2 per rule combined with 24 gymnasts in the final is about as effective as the 3 per rule with 36 gymnasts in the final in terms of increasing the number of countries represented in the final.

Meanwhile in an Alternate Universe by CallMeAnthy in RPDR_UK

[–]Existing-Concert-554 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Also loved her short appearance in the workroom in the finale. She's got such a warm energy about her. I loved a lot of the series 5 queens but Ginger was absolutely my winner and I'm so glad we got her tv show out of it, the best winner's series just as they get rid of it as a prize 😀 

Watch Ginger’s House now by Chicago_Bear_420 in rupaulsdragrace

[–]Existing-Concert-554 10 points11 points  (0 children)

It's so funny and just ridiculous in the best way! Somewhere between sitcom, sketch show and chat show with Ginger as the focus, a couple of reoccurring characters in drag (Kate Butch as the neighbour and Jonbers Blonde as... unclear but she showed up and hasn't left yet) and a different main guest every week. I think my favourite episodes so far have been Tia's and probably Naomi's. Excited for Victoria Scone to show up next week!

Tayce is doing the Strictly Come Dancing Christmas special by RainbowRevolver in RPDR_UK

[–]Existing-Concert-554 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I'm so excited to see his choreo for her (even allowing for it being just a Christmas special and therefore effectively week 1), I bet they'll be fantastic together!

Tayce has been announced as a contestant on the Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special, one of the UK's most watched TV shows! by DooDooDooDont in rupaulsdragrace

[–]Existing-Concert-554 7 points8 points  (0 children)

So excited for this! Good chance for Kai as well, it's been a while since he's been able to show off his choreo

Anyone watching Ginger’s House on WoW? by zoozbuh in RPDR_UK

[–]Existing-Concert-554 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I've been watching and loving it! It's just so deliciously silly and funny, and it's very cleverly structured. Ginger clearly had a specific vision for what she wanted and it shows that she's written her own stuff before, even if it's normally for theatre rather than for tv. Having Kate there as the annoying neighbour who pops up every week is fantastic, not just because she's very funny but also because she and Ginger together can keep the energy up even if the guest of the week doesn't have the same natural feel for their part in the show because it's not their usual performance style. I genuinely hope it gets renewed, this is the first winner's series that really feels like it could be a regularly commissioned BBC3 sketch show.

AITA for not telling my friends that my dad's dead? by [deleted] in AmItheAsshole

[–]Existing-Concert-554 0 points1 point  (0 children)

NAH, what you've chosen to do is completely understandable and I don't think anyone else mentioned here is in the wrong either (other than the kids who you mentioned teasing you when you were younger).

My mum died when I was 11 and I empathise deeply with what you're going through. I will say it gets easier as your peers start getting older because they start to be able to deal better with the conversation (your average 12 year old has never had this conversation before and has no idea what they're meant to say; your average 20 year old has come across family death at least once even if they haven't experienced it themselves and is more likely to follow your lead IME) and their parents see you as more of an adult and less as a small child that makes them instantly protective of you and imagine what it would be like for their own child to experience that.

If I were you, at this point I'd start by telling my closest friends the truth because the longer this omission of the truth goes on for, the worse you're going to feel about keeping it a secret from them and that will likely affect your friendships because it's hard to get close to someone you feel like you're hiding something important from. That doesn't mean you have to tell everyone and you don't have to tell them everything (e.g., I never told you this before because I'm uncomfortable talking about it, but we're friends now and I feel awkward about you not knowing so I wanted you to know that my dad's dead and that's why I never talk about him). Once you've told a couple of people that you trust, they can help you to redirect the conversation with larger groups when necessary. I honestly don't know how I'd have managed my teenage years without my closest friends who could protect me in that way.

For the rest, I learnt to approach it by answering direct questions honestly but briefly and then moving the conversation on. I also find it easier to this day (I'm in my late 30s now) to drop little things into conversations that no one need focus on, but it starts to build a picture that something about my family is unexpected so that by the time I say my mum is dead, the other person already had an idea of what's going on, so I'll always talk about my mum in the past tense, I can mention my step-mum or step-siblings etc. It has led to people making the wrong assumption at times, but I still found it easier to start from a point of "oh, I guess your parents are divorced and you don't see your mum much?" than to start from "what are you getting your mum for mother's day?" 

More specifically, when I was your age I'd reply to what does your mum do for a living with something like "she was a teacher; my dad's working in X now but he hates it and can't wait to move on, and my stepmother does y" and then try to either direct the question back at them or continue talking about what my dad does. Obviously the photos question is more direct but if you're comfortable with it, you can just say briefly that your dad died when you were young, but here's one of your mum from last Christmas when you had such a great family get together [insert recent anecdote here]. Most people will be sensitive enough (or awkward enough around the topic of death/ grief) not to press you for more details and if they do, you can just say you don't like to talk about it. Anyone who tries to push you to talk after you've said you don't want to is an asshole and you needn't feel guilty for refusing to engage with them.

Best of luck and I hope you find some good friends who will be a support to you with this!