Post by Mark T. Locker

Okay, first thing I need to make abundantly clear: this is not the 1997 Nicolas Cage/John Travolta movie Face/Off. That little slash makes all the difference here.

No, what I’d like to discuss today is the Syfy Channel’s reality competition series, whose fifth season just launched. No, I am not normally one to go for the reality show format, with confessional cameras and everyone living in a big house together. But I love this show. The premise is this: a bunch of amateur special-effects geeks come to California to show off their makeup and prosthetics and latex caking prowess. Each week they are given a theme, such as alien werewolf or demon king of a particular geographic region. They have three days to go from concept to execution. The final day includes models who will wear these crazy rubber getups. They are then judged, fairly but sometimes harshly, by a panel of judges who take themselves WAY too seriously, especially given they are analyzing alien werewolves (I’m looking at you, Glenn Hetrick!). As you can guess, contestants are eliminated one at a time until a big theatrical finale.

Now here’s what I like about the show: these people are, by and large, really nice. There is no manipulation, no back-stabbing. They’ll even rush over and help each other out when they are struggling! It’s just so sweet. The first four seasons are available here and there online; we actually bought season 4 because it was a bargain. I recommend you watch it tonight and dream of mutant giants.