| Reviewed on February 28th, 2010
By Jigsaw (contributor) & filed in the TV Show Reviews vault
"We all go a little mad sometimes" |
The end is nigh and I’ve finally reached the final review for the first season of Scream Queens. I’ve enjoyed my time with the show but it has been an absolute struggle churning out these recaps. After 8 long weeks the winner was crowned but with my prior knowledge of who won the competition was the journey worth it?
I know I haven’t bothered to issue spoiler warnings before but this is for the finale and this review will give away who the overall winner is so be warned, SPOILERS.
Well this was an interesting experience, going into this I didn’t actually care about the overall competition and yet as the episode progressed I found myself rooting for the queens I knew had no chance of winning and actually felt despair when they were voted off. By the episode’s end I was actually screaming at the TV and was flabbergasted by the final moments.
So we begin with an overly long recap of the entire show, yes it was overkill and wasn’t the only time in the episode this happened but it nicely vamped the whole feeling of grandeur (I’ve said before Americans know how to cut a sweet promo). The backstage drama and bitchiness was all but gone, aside from a brief little set up that was a little too convenient.
Before we swing into the dreaded Scream Queens gauntlet hinted at last week we sit through a little hissy fit from Tenedra. The strong willed woman we had grown accustomed to had gone, her fragile state of mind just didn’t seem to ring true. The judges last show told Tenedra that her inexperience was her biggest flaw. We all knew this, in fact she brings it up every week but she took it as a slur against her. Wallowing in more self pity than Lindsey, in this state she had no chance in the gauntlet.
Now I don’t want to be too harsh on Shawnee Smith as I think she’s great but her appearance in this episode was completely unneeded and she brought nothing to the table (Maybe that’s why she won’t be back next season). Over the weeks she’s fronted the immunity challenges and while they began poorly, over time they became a series highlight. I always found it hard to recognise her as the presenter of the show no matter how much it’s said. There is actually a narrator who opens each episode explaining what’s going on, Shawnee never addresses the camera and only talks to the girls when it’s part of her challenge. She never appears with Homa or Gunn who do just as good a job explaining what is going on. When the gauntlet started all three judges were present.
Returning to the warehouses where the first Saw was shot it was revealed to be a studio. Why did they not mention this in Episode 3 when they were here before? It’s a strange fact to leave out. Anyway the gauntlet (explained by James Gunn) was a fully functional set in which the potential queens were to perform a scene making use of all the knowledge they had gained over the weeks. The hard part here was that the scene was physically demanding and had to be shot in one continuous take. Shawnee reminds them at the end of the gauntlet the one who performs the worst would be axed immediately (so that’s what she does- delivers bad news).
All the girls had a brief run through of the scene and where their marks were – returning home they find the dead body of their friend, after a brief reaction a hooded killer appears and chases them through the house, the queen fights back by throwing objects, braking through doors and escaping to the roof. Finally the queen finds a weapon and is able to beat the killer down sending him falling to his death. This was going to be complex but fun.
Starting with Lindsay, she has most difficulty with the technical aspects of the scene. Her movements seem a little false but on a second run through she nails the scene. All the while the judges are watching on monitors discussing the strengths and flaws of the performance. Lindsey finally manages to get over her nerves and acts like a true professional on set.
Michelle was the exact opposite, she was great at moving through the house but her performance was not as strong. After a brief discussion with James Gunn she upped the ante and acted well. I was disappointed that it was Gunn giving her advice on her acting and not John Homa. Sure he’s a good director and this resembles his director’s challenges but Homa was there and has a knack for getting outstanding performances out of Michelle.
Now to the weak link, Tenedra was a state and wasn’t prepared for the scene. As things began she ignored her cues to start and then fluffed the opening sequence, it was a little embarrassing to watch. Homa reminded us that she had never been on a full working set before and was probably under a lot of strain. This is absolute bullshit, as I’ve stated before we know that Tenedra is no rookie, she has appeared in the Prom night remake, sure it was only as an extra but that was a full professional set. Along with this she’s been on the show for 8 weeks, James Gunn’s directorial challenges take place on sets that were no different to this, what was all this nonsense about? After a stern talking to from Gunn she manages to give a good performance but at this stage it was too little too late.
After reviewing the footage properly the judges call the girls before them to let them know who is to get the axe, even though its pretty much a given. Shawnee steps up and states “you’ve all been great but one has to go and getting the axe is… Lindsey. That’s right, wait what did she say, Lindsey? Following this up by telling her that she is too great an actress to play the leading lady in a horror film. Bollocks, why did they let her enter the competition let alone get to the finale? I was left more than a little disappointed with this decision.
Michelle and Tenedra are then whisked away to a private cinema where they will be told what the final task will be. Onscreen appears Billy the puppet from the Saw films who introduces a film clip. The girls are so excited that the voice of Jigsaw just said their names I sat back disillusioned with them. The voice of Billy is not that of Tobin Bell but a shitty imitator which pissed me off for two reasons. First of all why did Tobin not record a voice over role, this is a spin off from the films, was he too busy working on their film set? if he has the time to add his voice to videogames and can openers I’m sure he could do it for his potential new co-star. The second issue I had was how did the two girls not know this wasn’t his voice, they have openly said they are fans of the series, more crap no doubt.
The final task was to replicate a scene from Saw III where they would play the part of Doctor Lynn and convince Jigsaw (or his imitator) to let them go. Before this we meet the president of Lionsgate and Saw producer Mark Burg for no other reason than to add additional pressure on the girls.
A quick training class with Homa occurs but nothing really of note happens. They learn their lines before being told they know all he can teach them. Aww how sweet.
Going from this to the last challenge would have been too fast for the show so we are treated to one of the most bizarre choices I have ever seen. A strange montage plays where Tenedra and Michelle talk about their hopes and dreams for the future. Both girls are shown looking at the starry sky and busy Metropolis. Slow motion scenes from previous episodes are shown as sappy music plays. I was embarrassed to be watching this and it reminded me of the true quality of the show. It’s rubbish.
Building for the last two months we arrive at the final task, the girls were nervous, the producers were praying and I was not overly impressed. The recreation of the Saw 3 set was abysmal, I knew it was going to be a cheap knock off (that’s what this show does best) but this was poor. On top of this we were not getting an actor to portray Jigsaw but the same shitty impersonator from the cinema who was reading his lines through an intercom. Why? The queens were reading the script word for word, when the decision was made for Jigsaw’s dialogue to be a sound effect why not lift the dialogue from the actual film, was that too complicated for them? I understand that the makers of Scream Queens wanted to show a link to the final goal of the show but the opening gauntlet was the ultimate challenge and left this feeling somewhat anti climatic.
Tenedra and Michelle both gave it their all and gave their best performances yet (even better than the winner’s performance in Saw 6). Tenedra was good but Michelle was outstanding, totally nailing the character. Her performance was so engrossing it left me wishing she had played the doctor in Saw 3. Growing the most over the 8 weeks Michelle went from being practically useless (I stopped calling her the pretty one a while back) to the best in the show. Impressive.
So the final judgement in the ballroom hinged on the girls last Scream Queens scene. As the winner here was to win a part in Saw VI Producer Mark Burg was present and had a hand in the final decision. Welcome to sap city, following the standard format as any reality TV show finale the judges kiss the arses of both contestants. Before revealing the winner they end with the traditional line “it’s been a really hard decision”, has any show in the final stages ever said, you were crap that’s why you didn’t win?
Before the revelation of the new Saw actress Mark Burg had something to add. Saying that both girls were phenomenal in their scenes but in the end only one of them fit the role that was available in Saw VI. What kind of bullshit thing was that to say? The girls were not auditioning for the part they were in a competition where the best at the tasks should win. It’s like winning ‘Who wants to be a millionaire’ to be told you don’t have the right breeding for that amount of money (ave a tenner on us). That comment basically told the audience that someone was about to get screwed over.
And the winner is………Tenedra
Ok, I knew she had won before the series had even begun as I’d seen Saw VI at the cinema. I had no problem with her winning as she was a great actress but this one episode made me resent her and her victory, I never expected this. I know a lot of people didn’t want Michelle to win, she’s a horribly shallow individual and overall just an average actress but in all fairness her final performance should have granted her the part.
I suppose it’s apt that a show that I found fun due to it’s bitchiness should end with a moment that felt like backstabbing. Back in my review for the first episode I had mentioned that the bizarre axing decisions made on the show seem fixed, guess I was right.
The second season is scheduled to begin soon which has been retooled so perhaps the competition will be a lot fairer. The only returning member will be John Homa. Jamie King and Tim Sullivan join as new judges. No matter how well this new show does it’ll be the last as the new Saw film is rumoured to be the last (makes sense given its title Saw VII: Endgame).
I have enjoyed my time watching Scream Queens but the final show left me quite bitter. Anywho I can’t fault the episode as it was quite exciting and aside from the strange two minute montage it did away with filler scenes. I’ve deducted one point due to the bullshit conclusion to the series. 7/10
Additional: I made sure to finish these reviews before the release of Saw VI on DVD which happens to be next week. I look forward to seeing Tenedra in her breakout role again (she’s been signed to return in part 7) now I know who she is.
One extra, when I saw Saw VI originally I wasn’t impressed with her performance, I thought it was quite stilted. On reflection I now feel infuriated as all her appearances in the show were much stronger.
Starring: Shawnee Smith, James Gunn, John Homa, Mark Burg
Contestants: Michelle, Lindsey
Winner: Tenedra Howard
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