Holiday miniature show on HGTV starting November 27

[Mid-life madness]

1 hour ago, Sable said:

I kept yelling at the TV, “Use some Flex Seal!!!!”

Me too! Where's Phil Swift when you need him.

I watched the show with my daughter, and when the mother daughter team began I thought the Mom picked the wrong person to help her. I wanted to smack the daughter for being embarrassed. She had no enthusiasm whatsoever. My daughter agreed.

I thought the boat crew had the best personalities and were the most likable.

The big house was awesome....I wanted the shutters.

Another thing I noticed was that the were standing the entire time. I would not last 12 hours on my feet.

[NellBell]

On 11/24/2020 at 5:35 AM, KathieB said:

LOL ... you may be right!

Yep it's defiantly lots of fun reading this thread.

 

[Soapz]

So, I finally watched yesterday - and I have sooooo many questions.... What exactly is 50% prep work? Prepping all walls, floors and ceilings and then put the house together? What about the interiors? Prepped? Built? What are the carpenters doing? I didn't really get what they are helping with.

Well, I hope the show will get better. The work was messy and I wasn't impressed. 

[KathieB]

I didn't get what the elves were doing, either. Only one team was seen giving their elf a job, the mother/daughter team who had won a 2nd elf in the water competition, but their house has some serious constructions flaws, which you'd think could have been fixed by the carpenter elves. They wouldn't have lasted one shift in Santa's workshop!

With nothing better to do this evening, I watched the show again. From bits of conversation I missed in the first run, it seems they knew the theme ahead of time, which explains how the winning team had the foresight to design a pontoon boat and the other two builds also were tropical-themed. 

[KathieB]

Second installment tonight. Think I'll make popcorn.  

[fov]

I'm looking forward to it!

[jbnmini]

Friends of mine were once on a cake competition show and shared the experience at one of our state cake club meetings.  The teams were notified of the theme several months before.  Their designs actually had to be approved by the producers (the "on the spot designing" was merely for TV drama).  They could then practice doing the work for the finished cake, as well as make the percentage of items ahead of time as allowed.  With the practice time, once at the studio and into the competition each person on the team knew what their responsibilities were when work began. 

It was quite interesting to hear about their experience (they came in 2nd).  It gave us a new perspective on these types of shows!

[fov]

A woman who owns a dollhouse store on the east coast was on one of those cake shows. (Cake Boss?) She posted about the process on another forum. The show made it look like she and her husband came in and ordered a dollhouse cake when in fact the producer had approached her ahead of time. They also presented her as a hobbyist even though the point of doing the show had been to get exposure for her shop (which was never mentioned).

I've also read about House Hunters (which I watch a lot) that the participants have already bought the house when they film, so the entire premise that they're house hunting is staged. I'm sure this miniature show is mostly staged as well.

[jbnmini]

My cake friends also talked about the time limit: whenever a cake team was behind, the clock would stop and they would allow that team to catch up- since at the end of the show they want finished pieces!  

Also, some things that were done or said were edited/manipulated to create drama where none actually existed.  One girl had cut herself, and while she may have uttered a slightly colorful word, she was mostly apologizing to her teammates....but on the show they edited out all of her apologies and made it look like she was really angry.

At any rate, it's fun to see what these miniaturists create- and I look forward to watching it again tonight.    

[Mid-life madness]

@Qubanqteewas on one of the cake shows. She will have to chime in.

 

My husband likes that "Forged in Fire" show.....The macho version of forced drama and competition. My favorite is the British Baking Show....they really have me believing it is all real or it seems the most authentic.

[Mid-life madness]

5 hours ago, KathieB said:

Second installment tonight. Think I'll make popcorn.  

This week has flown by, If you hadn't mentioned this, I would have forgot it was on tonight.

[Qubanqtee]

2 hours ago, Mid-life madness said:

@Qubanqteewas on one of the cake shows. She will have to chime in.

Here I am Chiming!  The show is eerily similar to Cake Wars style format in which random drama is created and manipulated edited and fabricated to make it more marketable - honestly tho I think it’s totally unnecessary and believe that weather you’re a baker or miniaturist that if you put 3 or 4 teams of talented people into a timed situation it’s own drama emerges and you’d have a great show regardless.  I prefer a show that’s real over a show that’s dramatized with fabricated problems - but that’s me - I do love that the miniature world is getting exposure! 

[Tigpuppy]

I watched the show last week and have to say I was NOT impressed!  But then again, most reality TV shows annoy me because they replay the same over-dramatized conversations over and over.  If you cut all of that out, you really only have maybe 15 minutes of actual content.

I would have preferred that they cut out most of the interviews/conversations with the contestants and instead focus more on showing their actual work.

I think you folks on here would do a better job at being a judge of this show in my opinion!

Even though I didn't like it initially, I'm still planning to watch.  Maybe it'll be like brussels sprouts - I hated them as a kid but tried them again as an adult and love them now!

[havanaholly]

I never could get the first episode to play on my computer, but I watched the preview and if I havetime this weekend I'll try again to see if I can watch tonight's show. 

I used to watch Cake Wars in Havana when we had a big dish; one of the last ones I watched was the cake dollhouse. The one that impressed me was the cake rendition of one of Frank Lloyd Wright's houses.  Then there was some real drama when one of the teams created an intricate tower-style cake with all sorts of delicate stuff that toppled over and cascaded onto the floor as the team was moving it to the table to be judged; laughed myself sick! after all the fake drama.

[Tigpuppy]

1 minute ago, havanaholly said:

 

I never could get the first episode to play on my computer, but I watched the preview and if I havetime this weekend I'll try again to see if I can watch tonight's show.

 

 I ended up watching it on YouTube. Did you try watching it there? 

[Cati]

On 11/28/2020 at 7:04 AM, FurMama said:

When Genevieve called one of the entries "ridiculous"  I had to wonder if it was one of those slang compliment type things or a insult. 

As for the rest of the show...meh... really didn't see anything I was wowed enough by to copy but then I was flipping back and forth to the Hallmark movie. Hope they step it up next week. 

Holly...hot glue alert! Tons of it. (time constraints perhaps)

Genevieve Gorder is trying to hip by using that lingo. 

People used to say "ridiculously expensive" or "ridiculously pretty" as a way to compliment someone/something in an exaggerated way.  

Nowadays, most younger people just say it's "ridiculous" or just "ridic."  

Gorder didn't really offer any constructive criticism or interesting soundbites. 

I shall watch the next episodes, as it appears each week the theme changes.  I look forward to the Dickensian theme episode.

[havanaholly]

Thanks, Bethany.  Last Friday's show wasn't available, but I watched as much of tonight's show as I could stand before the forced drama turned me off.

[Sable]

1 hour ago, havanaholly said:

Thanks, Bethany.  Last Friday's show wasn't available, but I watched as much of tonight's show as I could stand before the forced drama turned me off.

It’s not 9:00 yet. How could you watch tonight’s show already?

[Sable]

Drama or not, I’m watching the entire series of 4 shows in order to support Miniaturists. 

[FurMama]

26 minutes ago, Sable said:

It’s not 9:00 yet. How could you watch tonight’s show already?

It posted on YouTube earlier this week. Probably other places too. 

[Island-Shack]

I'm watching it on HGTV channel on TV, I want the ratings to be good so they'll do more seasons. I'm also recording it so I can go back and pause. etc.

I can't say I've learned anything yet, but I just love love love looking at other people's work.

 

[fov]

5 hours ago, Sable said:

It’s not 9:00 yet. How could you watch tonight’s show already?

I'm in California and get some shows off an east coast feed, so it airs here at 6:00 instead of 9:00.

I watched the first half of tonight's show during dinner tonight (through the part where they rang the bell and two of the pairs had to sit down). Strategically I was thinking they should ring the bell as soon as that lady's cakes went in the oven so I was amused when they actually did that.

I thought it was interesting that two of the pairs are from New York and one from New Jersey, as if they couldn't get people to travel (that wasn't the case on the first episode). From what I've seen so far I think the pair that won the fireplace challenge is the best of the three, but could be swayed depending on the book project turns out.

I thought the interior designers were this week's equivalent of the mother and daughter team last week. The accessories they were using all looked like cheap stuff out from Michaels, and the four poster bed and fireplace looked clumsy and not to scale. But I liked the idea of scoring the styrofoam tray to make bricks.

The art teacher seemed creative, but actually making that mini food seemed like time that could have been better spent. I wondered how her clay vase hardened without a kiln.

I was most impressed by the set designers. I wished the show would have explained better what they meant when they said they worked at "a small scale" and that 1:12 would be huge for them. It was obvious to me when they showed a picture of some of their furniture next to a pencil that it was quarter scale, but I don't know if a non miniaturist would get that. They could have put a 1:48 piece next to a 1:12 piece to make the point.

I'll have more feedback after I've watched the end of the show...

[FurMama]

On 11/24/2020 at 1:06 PM, Mid-life madness said:

Someone from D.Thomas Fine Miniatures is suppose to be a contestant. I am looking forward to learning something, anything.

I believe they were the book people from last night. Matches pics on their website. 

[KathieB]

5 hours ago, fov said:

I watched the first half of tonight's show during dinner tonight (through the part where they rang the bell and two of the pairs had to sit down). Strategically I was thinking they should ring the bell as soon as that lady's cakes went in the oven so I was amused when they actually did that.

I think penalizing the other two teams was unfair, and sabotaging the baking downright mean. They could have given the winner an extra 30 minutes. As it turned out, the team that won the challenge still didn't have time enough to finish their project. Karma bites.

I thought the interior designers were this week's equivalent of the mother and daughter team last week. The accessories they were using all looked like cheap stuff out from Michaels, and the four poster bed and fireplace looked clumsy and not to scale. But I liked the idea of scoring the styrofoam tray to make bricks.

I agree. They also really didn't capture the theme. Their challenge fireplace was more Barbie than Dickens. I thought June Clinkscale's comment that they were "thinking outside the box" was very diplomatic  

The art teacher seemed creative, but actually making that mini food seemed like time that could have been better spent. I wondered how her clay vase hardened without a kiln.

I wondered the same thing. The vase that she was shown painting with nail polish was the color of dried clay, not fired to a bisque stage. I wonder if she dried it in the toaster oven or maybe she brought some vase blanks from home. I liked this team from the get-go. Their design was unique, right on theme, and their details and craftsmanship was superb, plus they were nearly unflappable. NJ & I had them pegged as the winners almost from the beginning. I'm looking forward to seeing how they do in the final.

I was most impressed by the set designers. I wished the show would have explained better what they meant when they said they worked at "a small scale" and that 1:12 would be huge for them. It was obvious to me when they showed a picture of some of their furniture next to a pencil that it was quarter scale, but I don't know if a non miniaturist would get that. They could have put a 1:48 piece next to a 1:12 piece to make the point.

This team was too disorganized to pull off something as complicated as their 3-house project. Last week's team with the humongous house also make me shake my head. They knew the time constraints going in. Can't imagine how they thought they'd have time to finish.

I noticed a lot more editing in this episode. It was obviously not presented chronologically. Thanks to the folks who posted above regarding reality show realities, I'm a much more discerning viewer.

I wasn't impressed with the little boxed blurbs that popped up now and then -- more like mansplaining than explaining. 

[havanaholly]

Emily, I'm not sure that the art teacher wasn't using an air-dry clay, because it had whitened before she painted it with nail polish and stuck it in her little UV box to harden & set up.