RuPaul's Drag Race

Every generation has its tv shows that sweep the airwaves. Rupaul's Drag Race is certainly amongst those for this millennium. It's not just a show; it's a cultural phenomenon that has brought the art of drag to the mainstream and earned countless fans in the lgbtqa+ community and beyond.

Drag Race is among the better reality tv competition shows because it is so fun and inventive. There's a little bit of everything in there, from fashion to comedy to acting to singing. Many of the queens to come out of the show are icons and have helped make drag as popular as it is today.

However, where Drag Race in the past seemed to be above the usual shady reality show tricks, in recent seasons it has become more and more unfair and seems to be more rigged than it ever was. Most fans agree that the show's peak was seasons 5 and 6, but since then (for the most part) it has been losing its way. Season 7 is famous for being a disaster, season 9 was good but the change in format for determining the winner was one of the shadiest things Rupaul has done, season 10 was messy and season 11 was the most unfair season of the show so far. Storyline and drama seems to have become the show's primarily focus, sacrificing fair judging for causing a stir. Yet, the earlier seasons did not need this to create a good story. Season 5 had the best storyline of any season and it didn't feel manufactured or forced by the judges. There was a definite attempt to replicate it in season 11, but because it wasn't natural, it didn't work. Things like that make the enjoyment for the show go down, along with the quality.

This does not mean the show has become awful, but it has experienced a drop in quality. The earlier seasons will always be the peak of the show and unless Rupaul changes the way things are done, I think the show will continue to go downhill.

Overall review: The show is totally untraditional, original and unique, it's very addictive and has taken the art of drag to a different level. The show is also wallbreaking considering that it boosts the LGBT community while also being very popular and accepted around the world. However, the show has demostrated to have flaws that we can see in the edition, foreign queens struggling with the language, some storylines and mostly in the judging of the show, which is one of the biggest (if not the biggest) problems. Some fan-beloved queens (or others?) had been saved off eliminations and runway tragedies over other great competitors (i won't point on any queens here, but if you watched the show you know who these are) and the judgement has poor consistency when some queens are judged off some problems that other queens have and are being ignored and praised for it. But overall the show is good, and that is why i give it 8 stars. Now ranking all seasons:

Season 1: 7/10. Very good season, just ignored by fans for several reasons. Now on the good side, this season gave some great queens such as Ongina, Bebe Zahara Benet and Nina Flowers. The show just got started and we weren't familiar with "robbed queens" or "drama", it was just pure competition and the queens didn't clash (very strongly) throughout all season. It was an entertaining season and a very talented winner and runner up. The filter was rough and the season had no snatch game (a popular comedy challenge in the show), and the runways were not so evolved as we can appreciate in later seasons, but back to the initial point, good season overall, with an awful aging.

Season 2: 8/10. Great season. In my opinion one of the most forgettable of them all, but the season was refueled from, what some fans consider (me not included), one of the worst seasons of drag race. This particular season had some of the most iconic and adorable queens, say Tatianna, Jessica Wild, Pandora Boxx, or Jujubee. Enjoyable snatch game, several unforgettable moments for big fans of the show, greater runways and better challenges than last season. Overall, enjoyable season, with a bad aging.

Season 3: 9,5/10. Fantastic season in general. Hilarious and iconic moments, improved lipsyncs (some of them), very talented queens, solid storylines and to wrap it up this season had a lot of surprises. Questionable snatch game, but great stand-up comedy challenges to back that up, some of the most iconic runway looks and some of the biggest names of drag race (Manila Luzon, Shangela, Alexis Mateo, Raja). Good aging.

Season 4: 6/10: Average season. The runway on this season was pretty bad, i won't lie, some of the queens were obviously several steps above others, there were not a lot of surprises or controversial moments (except for one that gagged tf out of everyone), and i guess we can say some queens were very beloved by fans. We also had the first real villain on the show that received a very malicious editing. Very mediocre season, i think.

Season 5: 10/10. Great in every sense and way. A lot of surprises, a great snatch game, a notoriously improved runway and the ultimate fan favourite Alyssa Edwards, with the biggest rivalry in the show ever, with Coco Montrese, which are at the same time two of the biggest names on this show so far. The season aged very well and in my personal opinion the winner was very deserving. Great lipsyncs and comedy challenges, and the first roast ever which was hilarious. Flawless season and probably in my top 2 of favourite seasons.

Season 6: 9/10. So far the most deserving top 3 of the whole show, and a lot of fan-favorite queens. We had some of the best lipsyncs EVER, and a hysterical snatch game. Runways were great and we had a lot of funny moments from the queens. The judging on some parts was controversial, and so was the editing, but overall it was a great season.

Season 7: 4,5/10. Now... The judging on this season was absolutely terrible, and the season contained comedy challenge after comedy challenge, which was a struggle for most queens. The runways were very good since we had a lot of fashionable queens (Some of them modern, some of them not so modern), but most decisions were controversial and problematic. Very bipolar snatch game. The editing left several queens in a very bad position and some of them were straight up impossible to love, and they literally edited one queen out of the season.

Season 8: 9/10. Good season. The queens that couldn't make it on the runway made it in the challenge and vice versa. Some eliminations were shocking, but not unfair, and we had some of memorable runway looks and lipsyncs. I only wish this season was longer. A few desicions were a little stupid, but nothing that could hurt the season too bad.

Season 9: 10/10. Fabulous season. Some of the greatest lipsyncs ever and some of the best runway looks ever too, a great snatch game (that might be an unpopular opinion but i really enjoyed the jasmine masters, liza minelli and marlene dietrich impersonations). We got gaga on the show finally, and the Kardashian Rusical / 9021-HO challenge were some of my favourite challenges ever.

Season 10: 10/10. My favourite season ever. I'm a big fan of great runways and comedy challenges, so i feel like this season was right made for me. Runways were better than ever and overall the season was very fashionable. Not one but two hilarious rusicals and a very bipolar but funny snatch game. A lot of good storylines and a decent judging.

Season 11: 7/10: A very good season with a great cast, but sadly the judge was non-sense in most episodes, refering to a lot of favouritism for a specific queen and a lot of weird eliminations. The snatch game was... cough. But happily the fashion and lipsyncs were very good on this season, and generally we can say it was an enjoyable-to-watch season.

The checklist for this show reads like this :-

• Reality TV - Drama - men in drag - cheese extra thick - beauty pageant

I'll be honest and say this show has everything I DESPISE all crammed together! I watched it by accident one day (season three mid episode) and I thought it was a normal beauty pageant show... then the camera went back stage and my mind took a minute to process... wait what? WHAT?!?!

So what's the verdict? I LOVE IT!!!!!!!! not only is everything done tastefully and with a lot of dignity attached to it, it also manages to do that with a lot of fun and not taking itself too seriously.

The show Humanizes the people on it so you don't see a "drag queen" you see the contestants. (Raven you will always be my fav!) at their best and not so best. each bigger then life and an entertainer at heart.

Rupaul keeps it interesting with lots of fun little twists and event and the clothes (and the shoes, oh god the shoes!!!) are always beautiful.

I love that the show celebrates different body types, they're not all skinny and tall blondes, curvy girls have a real shot here and some you'll fall in love with.

Right now this show is by far the best American reality TV show there is. which queen will you root for this season?

I have seen every episode to date and just cannot get enough, obsessed is an understatement. Color, comedy, drama, entertainment, and all kinds of feels... This show has it all! Rupaul is legendary.

This show is truly ground breaking. This show allows all of America to see a bit of what gay culture is. Not to mention that its funny and the competition is fierce. IT makes people look at how talented and funny drag queens are. Drag is truly an art and it takes skill experience and talent. This show has guest judges apart from the standard judges which are Rupaul, Michelle Visage, and Santino Rice. The guest judges have included actors,singers and TV personalities. The challenges are design to test the queens and to allow them to show America why it is they should win. Acting, singing, rapping, comedy, dancing, impersonation, have all been bases for challenges. Anyone who is obsessed with pop culture should watch this show.