It seems like ages ago, since the last season of RuPaul’s Drag Race and I was more than anxious for the show to return.  Logo did it right with letting Ru have a full three hours to get us all back into our boas, tiaras, and glittered heels.

They kicked it off with the “Casting Extravaganza”, which showed many of the aspiring divas who didn’t make the cut. Some were probably contenders, but others had a more William Hung quality.

Hour two officially kicked off the uber anticipated third season. The new cast members sashayed into the room where outfits and dreams are made. This year’s cast of 13 consists of more jumbo queens than years past: a super model makeup artist, a wannabe Madona, a couple of pretty Puerto Ricans and, because Ru always knows what’s hot, a drag queen from Jersey who could give J-Woww a run for her money.

The first episode “The Queen Who Mopped Up Xmas” seem like a strange place to start, since it’s airing in late January, but Ru can break the rules all day long.  One example of breaking protocol is when Ru let Shangela Laquifa Wadley from the last season, return to give it another shot.  Don’t scream “unfair” yet. It turns out to be a non-issue.

Also, in a drag queen’s worst nightmare, two queens, Phoenix and India Ferrah show up in the same outfit. Shock! Horror! 

The bigg girls (so big we need to use an extra ‘G’) begin to file in. Stacy Layne Mathews says she is from “Back Swamp”, North Carolina, another shouts out, “The Weather Girls are here!” and I wonder if Ru is planning at least one rendition of “It’s Raining Men” because these queens could pull that off.

Venus D-Lite arrives and tells us she has had cheek implants to look more like her idol, Madona. Yara Sofia and Alexis Mateo are our Puerto Rican queens, but Alexis seems too sweet to hang with this crew. Mariah, a 6’2” glamazon from Atlanta rocks a red dress as she enters and when one of the big girls has a break down, she shows a lot of compassion–I like her already!

Mimi ImFurst, makes her entrance with a tray of cookies and we sense she will be campy drag, not usually Furst on Ru’s list in the past.  Raja, the super model comes in and yes, she is fierce, but I recognize her as the make up artist from America’s Next Top Model.  She is clearly the front-runner, but it’s a little like letting Janet Jackson try out for American Idol.  We’ll have to see how this plays out.

First challenge was a photo shoot on a trampoline. The contestants were also sent to a thrift store where they were challenged with putting together a holiday outfit with used clothes and Xmas decorations.  The ladies got creative, but in the end, only Raja wins both challenges. If she goes on to win them all, dare I say it, it could get boring.  Here’s hoping they keep the challenges interesting and the outfits fierce.