RuPaul's Drag Race S9E1 - Oh My Gaga!

by Chris Feil

It’s here, children! We’ve finally arrived at the premiere of season nine of RuPaul’s Drag Race! Not that we should complain about waiting considering we got a bonus All Stars season last fall, but when you’re talking the most joyous show on television enough is never enough.

So it doesn’t please me to say that this season premiere left me begging for more in the worst kind of way. While the episode starts out with the usual high energy and first day of school nerves as we meet every queen entering the workroom, we don’t get much of the queens beyond this introduction. The energy flatlines right around the second commercial break when much hyped presence of guest judge Lady Gaga establishes the challenge: a non-elimination Miss Charisma Uniqueness Nerve & Talent Pageant, each queen presenting a look representing their home city and a Gaga recreation.

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Would you rather...

It's our favorite celebrity social media game. 

Would you rather...
... visit an art museum with Russell Tovey and pup?
... play with a kitten with Mahershala Ali?
... cuddle with Marc Jacobs dogs with Michelle Visage?
... visit sea turtles named after actresses with Katya Zamolodchikova? 

The photos are after the jump to help you decide.

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A First Look at the Season 9 Queens of RuPaul's Drag Race

Chris here and can you believe it's already time to start your engines for a new season of RuPaul's Drag Race? That All Stars extravaganza truly spoiled us after a great season eight! But now meet the new set of queens to obsess over, and from this first glance season nine can already be called the return to fish - especially for the jawdropping Farrah Moan.

Here's the full cast:

• Aja (Brooklyn, NY)
• Alexis Michelle (New York, NY)
• Charlie Hides (London, UK)
• Eureka O'Hara (Johnson City, TN)
• Farrah Moan (Las Vegas, NV)
• Nina Bo'nina Brown (Atlanta, GA)
• Peppermint (New York, NY)
• Sasha Velour (Brooklyn, NY)
• Shea Coulee (Chicago, IL)
• Trinity Taylor (Orlando, FL)
• Valentina (Los Angeles, CA)

While this lineup lacks a certain diversity of styles and influences, each of these girls are instantly charming enough to bet on an entertaining season. The current standouts for me are the Almodóvar-referencing Valentina, polished and confident Alexis Michelle, and the coolly hilarious Shea Coulee. My heart so wants to root for brit Charlie Hides (who you can bank on taking Snatch Game), but a win for a comedy queen after Bob the Drag Queen seems like a lofty order. Almost as lofty as the wait we must endure until the show returns in March.

What queen do you love most based on the first look?

Chris Gives Thanks !

Greetings from Chris, lovely readers! This Thanksgiving, I'm grateful for our faithful readers, our feisty team, and our relentlessly kind and passionate leader Nathaniel. In my estimation, this has been a great enough year to just be thankful for such a bevy of riches - but here's a few of the things earning my gratitude:

... the many unsung ensembles hosting their own feasts but especially Don't Think Twice, Little Men, and Love and Friendship.

... André Holland smoking in Moonlight. It's the hottest sex scene of the year and it's between camera and actor. May we all find someone that looks at us the way that the camera looks at Holland...

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RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars E7 - Yes Gawd Mama!

by Chris Feil

Let's just call RuPaul's shocked expression pictured here the official facecrack of the century. Let the image on your left burn into your memory, because Mama Ru does not normally crack. I guess that's just what happens when you're given the most infuriating elimination in Drag Race herstory. But more on that shortly.

This week, the queens were all visited by their mothers and sisters with the challenge being to make them over with a drag family resemblance. Alyssa Edwards and Detox were coming on the anniversary of the death of their parents, so emotions were already running high outside of the competition/drama. However, this episode was more than a little frustrating for all but pushing the actual challenge aside. Sure, the shade has got us talking this season, but these girls are the best of the best and more attention must be paid to their actual drag!

Best Mom - Katya's mom Pat - Well we see where Katya gets her absurd humor. Pat was more memorable than some of this season's contestants (sorry bout it, Ginger) and so ready to have a ball. When she discussed watching Katya's anxiety struggles on season 7, it just made us feel all the more proud of Katya's ongoing journey...

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