HALLOWEEN WARS

Season 1 (2011)

I never thought competitive cupcake making would make for such enthralling television but I am a big fan of Cupcake Wars.  I therefore have been dying to watch Halloween Wars, a seasonal spinoff, but due to our lack of cable until recently never got the chance.  Luckily the Cooking Channel ran a marathon this weekend in anticipation of the Season 3 debut this past Sunday.  The show met my expectations and then some!

Unlike Cupcake Wars, which consists of self-contained episodes, Halloween Wars is a tournament in which one team is eliminated per week.  Each team of three consists of a pumpkin carver, a baker and a candy maker (sadly, they do not rub-a-dub-dub in a tub).  They are given a theme and tasked with making elaborate Halloween displays made entirely out of, you guessed it, pumpkins, cake and candy.  It’s a simple enough premise but the displays are incredibly impressive and it’s great fun to watch what a little spun sugar and fondant can add up to.  One of the most impressive was a Sleeping Beauty who never woke up:

What I wasn’t expecting was the high level of drama that this show delivers.  The most exciting thing to happen on Cupcake Wars is the occasional overcooked cake but Halloween Wars is operating on a whole other level.  To give you a sense of how intense things get, two contestants quit within the first two episodes!  One of the two had a full-on meltdown, fleeing the set and then literally running from the cameras before snapping at the judge when her work was questioned.

The judges are pretty unremarkable and the quality of the guest judges varies.  There were a couple of boring actresses but I was thrilled when R.L. Stine showed up.  And then he name-dropped his book, Weirdo Halloween!  I live for interconnectivity that like.

A swamp-themed display.

During one challenge “trick-or-treaters” were brought in to sample sweets that were created as part of the displays.  One of the kids was the single most obnoxious child I’ve seen on screen (“It’s Veruca Salt,” said Nick). Dressed like a cat, she stampeded her way to each sweet and “bantered” with the host (it’s a good guess that she’s his niece or something).  There is nothing I hate more than precocious children.  One of the other kids, dressed like a cowboy, was more my speed.  “It’s gross,” he stated flatly about one of the candies.

Vampire Marie Antoinette vs. a zombie.  

On-screen freakouts, amazing edible artwork, rude children: this show has it all!  I will definitely be watching the new season, currently airing on Sunday nights on the Food Network, as well as catching up on Season 2.

Halloween Quotient: 5

See It, Skip It, Own It?

This is perfect holiday viewing and here’s hoping that new seasons continue to crop up every year!