I really didn't want to compare it with US, UK, Canada or even Thailand, but one thing is immediately noticeable that's quite hard to shake off. They clearly didn't have the same budget as the other series.
That's not the end of the world, and they do a great job despite the budget. The queens are great and there's a bombardment of one-liners this episode, and the choice to stick largely with Dutch as opposed to English works. The judges - for this episode - are pretty strong too.
But then it starts to tumble, the sound quality is pretty rough and often echoey. The editing feels off too, notably the use of sound effects and tracks (whilst the same as other series) is harsher and mistimed. The whole sashay away sequence really lacks impact because the sound is all over the place. The lip-sync is really far too short - only one verse and a chorus - which I feel is a mistake (Canada's drag race had longer lip syncs and that seemed to work really well). The stage is cheap, really cheap, so the lighting feels rough too. They also have a comedically short staircase which I have no problem with, but that and a small cast make it clear that budgets were tight.
I want to reiterate the magic was still there. It is by no means a bad series. It just feels like budget (or lack of) really held it back from being as special as it could have been.
That's not the end of the world, and they do a great job despite the budget. The queens are great and there's a bombardment of one-liners this episode, and the choice to stick largely with Dutch as opposed to English works. The judges - for this episode - are pretty strong too.
But then it starts to tumble, the sound quality is pretty rough and often echoey. The editing feels off too, notably the use of sound effects and tracks (whilst the same as other series) is harsher and mistimed. The whole sashay away sequence really lacks impact because the sound is all over the place. The lip-sync is really far too short - only one verse and a chorus - which I feel is a mistake (Canada's drag race had longer lip syncs and that seemed to work really well). The stage is cheap, really cheap, so the lighting feels rough too. They also have a comedically short staircase which I have no problem with, but that and a small cast make it clear that budgets were tight.
I want to reiterate the magic was still there. It is by no means a bad series. It just feels like budget (or lack of) really held it back from being as special as it could have been.
