Short Review: Face Off

Type of Review: Short, Opinion-Based

Review Subject: Reality TV, Competition Show

Available Platforms: TV: SyFy

Spoiler Content: N/A

Personal Enjoyment: High

Face Off is a reality competition show on the SyFy channel. Today I was watching the latest episodes and found myself really examining why I loved the show and have loyally followed it since it started. In my honest opinion I feel that Face Off is one of the best, if not THE best, competition shows on television and I will tell you why.

1) It doesn't need to instigate drama to keep viewers watching. This show really maintains the spirit of competition better than any other competitor show I've ever seen on TV. The contestants are all in it to win, but you almost never see them pitted against each other (i.g., say a judge compares one's work with another, which never really happens because all pieces are judged individually!), and there have been countless times where one contestant will stop what they're doing to help another. That is not to say that there is no drama on the show, but it is always natural, and usually only happens whenever there are team competitions.

2) The house judges genuinely care about their competitors. They don't just tell you to pack up and leave when you've been eliminated, they always get a last word in before they send you off and it is always words of encouragement for the eliminated artist. I can't express how much I love this about them.

3) The judges and guest judges are relevant to the show. Every one of the house judges are experts in their field, and all guest judges will have something beneficial to say regarding the theme of the show they appear on.

4) All of the challenges are genuinely creative. Each challenge, even the small ones, are designed to showcase each artist's particular set of skills. It's almost impossible to win the season unless you are a well-rounded artist, because the focus challenges will highlight a particular weakness an artist has. Each show also carries a theme, and those themes make the show more quirky and enjoyable because it gives us a sense of familiarity to the types of movies that we all love.

5) I can almost guarantee that this show has introduced a lot of artists to a new passion in make-up art. In my eyes, this is a great response to a wonderful show. Even I wish I could dive right into this field of work!

So here is to hoping that each new season continues to maintain this sense of awesomeness and sincerity that I have come to appreciate as a loyal viewer. I feel that other creativity shows, such as Project Runway and Ink Master, could really stand to learn from Face Off. You don't need drama to sell a show, and you really shouldn't encourage drama in your field of work. A creativity show should inspire artists, young and old, as well as build up awareness and appreciation for their line of work, and Face Off manages to do that spectacularly well.