Face Off – Barnacle(less) Bill the sailor

Two episodes in on Face Off, isn’t pretty evident the stakes have been raised? And I’m not just talking about the $5K offered to the best creation on this week’s episode.

Right now, Roy can do no wrong. The last two challenges have showcased him as the contestant to beat. The guy can do no wrong. He’s got skills, he’s got a lot of innovative ideas and he’s a forward-thinker. He’s damned dangerous in that he can put concept to creation and produce. He’s done it consistently thus  far and I don’t see him slowing down anytime soon.

On the flip side, there are a few folks who hadn’t a clue this episode: CC, Jason and Eric. CC churned out some of the sorriest barnacles ever, Jason kept his inspirational feature a secret for the most part (I heard Tom Cruise in the background yelling “Show me the money!”) and Eric cartoonified his pirate to the point it looked like one of those “ah-OOOOOOOOOOOO-gah!” cartoon characters who’ve just seen a hot chick walk down the street.

Which leads me to squawk about what these three particular contestants were thinking. When you’re supposed to have jewels as an element of your creation, put jewels in your creation. Jason failed at this spectacularly. Just as dopily, Ve Neill specifically told Eric he was flirting with disaster going down a steam punk path. In the event he did, however, she warned him not to crow about it; it seems judge Glenn Hetrick has a Jones for steam punkery. Do it wrong and you’re going to get lambasted by him. Did you see Glenn’s head hit the table when Eric defied Ve and made mention of it? Yeah … bad move.

But the kicker was CC and her “Barnacleless Bill.” The judges were right: Her applications didn’t look barnacled. They were too symmetrical. Her make up gave the overall feel of a pirate who spent too much time in a “fake and bake” tanning booth rather than encrusted with crustaceans. These were the reasons she was booted from the competition this early in the game; she had little in the way of innovative thinking and there was little chance of her skills keeping up with the pack.

Notes:

• The youngster of the group — Alana Schiro — continues to impress me. Self-admittedly scatter-brained, she’s still managed to crank out a nifty design for the second time in as many weeks despite being under-the-gun and stressed to the limits of her abilities. Inexperienced as she is, however, she can’t continue down that path. Eventually, it will come back to bite her in the ass at the absolute wrong time.
• Yeah … Sarah’s sea urchiny-encrusted make up was not only a winner but the winner of the show. When I saw her incorporating the oozing goo effects to her model, you just knew it would add an element of surprise and take it over the top. Bully.

Clacked by Michael Noble
on Aug 29, 2012 @ 11:26 EST5EDT