Red Tails, written by John Ridley and Aaron McGruder and directed by Anthony Hemingway, is based on the true story of the Tuskegee Airmen, the legendary African-American pilots of World War II. The film was first developed over two decades ago by George Lucas, but faced many challenges because studios believed a movie with an all-black cast couldn’t be profitable. It’s quite fitting that a film about these heroes, who overcame prejudice and adversity, can serve as an example to Hollywood that it’s possible to make a successful film with an African-American cast. 

Red Tails tells the story of a few of the heroic airmen. There’s Easy (Nate Parker), the straight-shooting leader who hides a drinking problem, Smokey (Ne-Yo), who’s always quick with a funny remark, Joker (Elijah Kelley), Deke (Marcus T. Paulk), the religious one, Junior (Tristan Wilds), the young gun and Lightning (David Oyelowo), the cocky one who never does anything by the book. They serve under Major Emmanuel Stance (Cuba Gooding Jr.) and Colonel A.J. Bullard (Terrence Howard) in a segregated all-black squad. As the U.S. starts to loose bombers at a rapid pace, they are forced to give these pilots a try, believing them to be mentally and physically inferior because of their race. Beginning with their first mission, they prove to be some of the best flyers the military has ever seen and end up helping the war effort and becoming American heroes.

Lucas has said that he wanted this film to feel like something made in the 1940s and unearthed today. He succeeds in this regard. All visual effects and sweeping aerial shots aside, Red Tails does have a vintage vibe in terms of storyline and characters. Most will probably criticize the corny, one-dimensional nature of our heroes, but if we look back to old war movies, they didn’t contain complex, three-dimensional characters with rich backstories and motivations. The main characters were servicemen who fought for their country and became heroes, and that’s all we really needed to know about them. Here, we get a glimpse into each pilot’s life, but the main story takes place in the air.

All the airmen have their own unique qualities. Ne-Yo stands out with the voice and swagger he creates for Smokey. Oyelowo, shines as Lightning because he gives us Top-Gun-level cockiness while still being likable. Andre Royo and Method Man bring comic relief as mechanics Coffee and Sticks. Both Gooding and Howard pull their weight and show us that the Tuskegee Airmen were fighting more than just Nazis, they were fighting a culture of bigotry and racism.

One of the most fascinating elements about the film isn’t what takes place on the screen, but everything that had to take place before the cameras even started rolling. Lucas has said that he financed the film himself because of resistance from major studios who believed a film with an all-black cast wouldn’t be profitable overseas, where most films make the majority of their money. It’s very true that Hollywood places “black movies” on a different level than “mainstream” movies. Typically, these films have very low budgets and limited distribution. Lucas set out to change that and prove that a film with an almost entirely African-American cast can be mainstream. It’s very fitting that the tale he chose to break this barrier also happened to be about a skilled group of African-Americans who were told they were inferior by the mainstream military.

Fact: Tina Fey is one of the funniest people ever, therefore 30 Rock is one of the funniest TV shows ever. I quote the show almost constantly and know most episodes by heart, so it was nearly impossible for me to come up with my favorite Liz Lemon moments. This list originally begas as a top 10 and ballooned up to 20 when I kept cracking up at YouTube videos while I was gathering clips and images.

20. Liz oozes confidence and charisma

In this great clip, she gives herself a pep talk.

19. Liz would do anything for love

Including wolfing a Teamster sub so she could reunite with the man of her dreams at the airport. Ah, just like a romantic comedy, but with a lot more dipping sauce.

18. Liz is a feminist

Tina Fey is my heroine, and by that I mean “lady hero” not that I want to inject her and listen to jazz. Naturally, I loved the episode (“Rosemary’s Baby”) where Liz got to meet the TV writer that inspired her. Unfortunately for Liz, her heroine turned out to be crazy and they ended up roaming the streets of Little Chechnya with delusions of grandeur.

17. Liz faked a pregnancy

Jack’s girlfriend, Avery, is hiding her pregnancy and her work rival, Carmen Chao, is out to expose her. Liz steps up to the plate and pretends she’s with child to fool Carmen. The result is this photo shoot. “Rufus T. Barleysheath is kicking!”

16. Liz is tenacious

She works hard for her beloved show and nobody’s gonna take that away from her.

15. Liz is the boss

Who run the world? Girls! Liz Lemon is at the top of the food chain on TGS, and in this clip, she finally started getting the respect she deserved.

14. Liz’s love life

Floyd, Dennis and even the studly Dr. Baird (Jon Hamm) have all courted Miss Lemon. We get a great example of Liz’s taste in men when she discovers that Dennis was on To Catch a Predator.

13. Liz knows how to party

Liz has had some wild times in her past. Everyone knows there ain’t no party like a Liz Lemon party, ’cause a Liz Lemon party is mandatory.

12. Liz is resourceful

After purchasing, and subsequently ruining a wedding dress with ham grease, Liz found a new use for the dress when she used it to prop up the leg of her Swedish ready-to-assumble furniture.

11. Liz gets freaky

Though she keeps it on the down low, Liz can be a bit of a freak in bed, as Jack finds out when he puts a black light on her.

10. Liz was a bully

All these years, Liz thought she was a lowly nerd in high school, picked on and teased by the likes of Kelsey Winthrop and the popular kids. It’s only later that she learns she was actually the mean girl.

9. Liz’s success song

“I’m a star! I’m on top! Somebody bring me some ham!” All of us have little motivational songs we sing ourselves, though most of them probably don’t include ham.

8. Liz should not be photographed in 1080p

Hi-def isn’t for everyone, and it certainly isn’t for Liz Lemon.

7. Liz is a bad hooker

What would Liz do if TGS suddenly got canceled? She’d start turning tricks. But she’d be really, really bad at it.

6. Liz’s diet

Whether it’s Sabor de Soledad or Cheesy Blasters, Liz will eat just about anything fattening, processed and fried. Thanks, Meatcat!

5. Liz sleepwalks…and sleep eats

And on the subject of Liz’s diet, she once ordered a pizza in her sleep. That’s a true skill.

4. Young Liz Lemon

One of my favorite things about 30 Rock is the flashbacks to Liz’s past. What aspiring actress hasn’t been represented by Suzanne’s B+ Talent as some point?

3. Astronaut Mike Dexter

There can be no greater made up boyfriend that Liz’s fantasy man, Astronaut Mike Dexter.

2. “I want to go to there!”

The phrase was originally coined by Tina Fey’s then three-year-old daughter, but has now been used the world over when describing something you want so much that it erases all your knowledge of grammar. For example, I used it the first time I saw Jason Momoa without a shirt on.

1. Two words: Night Cheese

There are so many more, but I’m limited to what clips/pics I can find online. This list doesn’t include the time she accidentally called Floyd’s girlfriend and pretended to do a survey for the Ranford Group but ended up yelling “Who is this?! I’m your worst nightmare is who I is!” Other great moments I unjustly left out: the Dealbreakers talk show, the time she tried to refill the water cooler when she got in a fight with Tracy about gender equality, when she pretended a lego train was a robot penis or the time she had a drunken phone break up with the co-op board of the apartment she wanted.

I am a huge fan of RuPaul’s Drag Race, and when I say huge fan, I mean it. I’ve watched every season, featured full episodes on the Trashwire blog and gone to see some of the girls live when they pass through Denver. As such an avid Drag Race watcher, I decided to compile this list of my favorite contestants of all time. These queens are artists and entertainers, serving true Charisma, Uniqueness, Nerve and Talent.

10. Pandora Boxx
Pandora makes the list for her fun, creative style. Her sense of humor shined through in all of her looks and performances. Despite all that, the judges constantly gave her unwarranted negative critiques on the runway. Pandora had the last laugh, though. Her Absolut commercial is the most memorable of the bunch and she was the stand out Drag Professor on RuPaul’s Drag U. Her most memorable moment came from her hilarious impression of Carol Channing on the “Snatch Game” episode.

9. Ongina
Ongina may have been on of the smallest contestants, but she left on of the largest imprints on the show. She was high-energy and fun, like a little pixie, but it was her Viva Glam video that stood out as one of the most touching moments in all of Drag Race. After a joyful video about celebrating life, Ongina revealed that she was HIV positive, bringing pretty much everyone to tears. Ongina was a shining example of someone who always had a good attitude, even through tragedy.

8. Shannel
Who could possibly forget Shannel?! This season one stand-out was a true entertainer, a Las Vegas showgirl with a larger-than-life personality. Her outfits were creative, often showing off a lot of skin and bitch knew how to work a room. Shannel’s look, combined with her talent, commanded the attention of both the judges and the fans. Best moment: when her headpiece “accidentally” came off during her lip sync performance against Akashia, who is most definitely NOT on this list.

7. Jujubee
Juju was memorable for her incredible sense of humor. She was like a tiny, extra fierce Kimora Lee, whom she portrayed in the “Snatch Game” episode. She and Raven were the perfect duo and most of the funniest moments from season two came from their interactions. Juju’s best moment was the reading mini-challenge where she stole the show by throwing shade at the other girls.

6. Delta Work
Delta is on the list in the sixth position mostly because I wanted to avoid having all Heathers in the top four, even though they deserve it. Delta was one of the smartest and wittiest contestants on the show, often teaming up with Raja to throw shade about the other girls backstage during Untucked. Best moment: Delta was on fire during the QNN Untucked episode, but my favorite moment was when she and Raja were discussing Manila’s Asian reporter character and Delta referred to her as “dollar Chinese menu”, perfectly (and humorously) summarizing her performance.

5. Raven
Raven scores just a bit higher than Juju because she was the runner up on her season. Raven did dark and wicked beauty like no other, like the drag Angelina Jolie. Where most contestants froze up, her red carpet interview on the “Diva Awards” episode proved that she could work the media better than most Hollywood starlets. Still, Raven could out-shade the Heathers, at least when it came to fellow contestant Nicole Paige Brooks and her acrylic toenails.

4. Manila Luzon
I’m sure placing Manila at number four will be a little controversial, considering she was the runner up on the most popular season. Manila was an artist with the ability to create themed outfits. Manila’s pineapple dress was one of the most creative pieces I’ve ever seen on Drag Race and the way she made over her burly athlete in the “Jocks in Frocks” episode made her one to remember. As far as Manila’s best moment, two words: MacArthur Park.

Manila x Delta – MacArthur Park by MacArthurManila

3. Carmen Carrera
The Original Body Queen is one of the most unforgettable contestants in Drag Race HERstory, a RuPaul would say. Carmen’s outfits were so skimpy that it was amazing they stayed on and her tucking skills are mind-boggling. She said it herself, “Carmen is nudity.” She was one of the only queens that didn’t get into a huge fight with someone, often brushing off all the Booger nonsense like she was Jay-Z. The ultimate Carmen Carrera moment came in the “Jocks and Frocks” episode when she faced off with Raja in one of the steamiest lip syncs ever.

2. Nina Flowers
Nina is a legend! Her look is completely unique and she’s also one of the sweetest human beings to ever grace reality TV. Nina was the runner up in the first season, and no disrespect to Bebe, but I think she should have been the winner. Nina wasn’t your typical drag queen. Her style showcased more artistry than female “illusion” and she was instantly memorable. In the news challenge, Nina proved that, despite her ultra fierce exterior, she could be funny too. She kept making mistakes with the teleprompter, but she kept a good attitude and was able to laugh at herself. Werk Loca!

1. Raja
Some people love her, some people despise her, but there’s no denying that Raja is the fiercest of the fierce. No one can walk the runway like her, and that includes supermodels like Naomi Campbell. Her creativity was unparalleled and her looks were the most fashionable and memorable, occasionally outshining RuPaul herself. No one else could pull off the tribal warrior outfit, the blood-drenched Carrie dress or the high fashion Marie Antoinette look. This Diamond Crowned Queen was a winner from day one, and not for all the made up reasons the pro-Shangela conspiracy theorists throw around. She won because she was the best, plain and simple.

So there you have it, my RuPaul’s Drag Race top 10. Do you agree with my picks or is there someone I’ve unjustly left out?

Stay tuned for clips from RuPaul’s Drag Race season four in January on the Trashwire blog and view the trailer below!