| "Queens in Space" | |
|---|---|
| RuPaul's Drag Race episode | |
| Episodeno. | Season 3 Episode 3 |
| Directed by | Nick Murray |
| Presented by | RuPaul |
| Featured music | "Bad Romance" (2009) byLady Gaga |
| Original air date | January 31, 2011 (2011-01-31) |
| Guest appearances | |
| List of episodes | |
"Queens in Space" is the third episode of thethird season of the American television seriesRuPaul's Drag Race. It originally aired on January 31, 2011. The episode's main challenge tasks the contestants with acting inscience fiction film trailers.Lily Tomlin andAlessandra Torresani are guest judges.Alexis Mateo andShangela are both winners of the main challenge.Phoenix is eliminated from the competition after placing in the bottom and losing alip-sync contest againstDelta Work to "Bad Romance" (2009) byLady Gaga. "Queens in Space" was followed by an episode of the companion seriesRuPaul's Drag Race: Untucked, which includes a fight between Mimi Imfurst and Shangela.
For the mini-challenge, the contestants are tasked with pairing up and trying to guess their partner's choices for different questions.Mariah andPhoenix win the mini-challenge and are named team leaders. They must choose teammates for the main challenge, which tasks the contestants with starring in trailers for two different installments of theDrag Queens in Outer Spacescience fiction spoof film saga. Team Mariah (Alexis Mateo, Mariah,Mimi Imfurst,Shangela,Stacy Layne Matthews, andYara Sofia) star inDrag Queens in Outer Space: Return to Uranus. Team Phoenix (Carmen Carrera,Delta Work,India Ferrah,Manila Luzon, Phoenix, andRaja) star inDrag Queens in Outer Space: From Earth to Uranus.[1]
Lily Tomlin andAlessandra Torresani are guest judges.[2] The runway category is "Sci-Fi". After the contestants present their looks, the judges deliver their critiques, deliberate, then share the results with the group. Team Mariah is the winning team, and Alexis Mateo and Shangela are both declared winners of the challenge.[3] Team Phoenix is the losing team. Carmen Carrera, Delta Work and Phoenix receive negative critiques, and Carmen Carrera is deemed safe. Delta Work and Phoenix face off in alip-sync contest to "Bad Romance" (2009) byLady Gaga. Delta Work wins the lip-sync and Phoenix is eliminated from the competition.
The episode was directed by Nick Murray[4] and originally aired on January 31, 2011.
Bustle said the episode sees the contestants act in "double-entendre-laden sci-fi scenes to a fair number of laughs and snaps". In 2014, the website's Anneliese Cooper said of the episode: "It's Ziggy Stardust meets shiny chrome futurism topped with shellacked, asymmetrical 'dos — high camp strutting through a jumble of B-movie schmaltz."[5]
The show was followed by an episode of the companion seriesRuPaul's Drag Race: Untucked.[6] DuringUntucked, Mimi Imfurst "provoked" Shangela to say her "I don't have a sugar daddy" speech, according to Pride.com.[7][8] Shangela says, "I don't have a sugar daddy. I've never had a sugar daddy. If I wanted a sugar daddy, yes, I could probably go out and get one, because I am what? Sickening! You could never have a sugar daddy, because you are not-that-kind-of-girl! Bitch!"[9] Both contestants throw their drinks at the other.[10] The fight received over a million views by 2019.[11] Alexis Mateo discussed the fight withJonny McGovern onHey Qween! in 2019.[12]
For the runway, Yara Sofia wears a sparkly outfit and a blonde wig. Raja's outfit is gold. India Ferrah has a white outfit and blonde hair. Alexis Mateo has a red outfit with a cape. Stacy Layne Mathews has a silver bodysuit. Shangela's outfit is also red. Mimi Imfurst, Phoenix, and Carmen Carrera wear headpieces. Mariah's outfit is black-and-white. Delta Work wears a blonde wig. Manila Luzon's outfit is black-and-yellow.[13]
Delta Work's outfit was "co-opted from her performances" with the Dreamgirls Revue, according toPaper magazine.[14]
In 2017, Kyle Munzenrieder ofW magazine said the main challenge "remains an all-time classic".[15] Kevin O'Keeffe ranked the "Bad Romance" performance number 97 inINTO Magazine's 2018 "definitive ranking" of the show's lip-sync contests to date.[16] Sam Brooks ranked the contest number 144 inThe Spinoff's 2019 "definitive ranking" of the show's 162 lip-syncs to date.[17] In 2024, Joan Summers ofPaper said Delta Work's performance "remains a favorite across iterations of the show" and noted, "she's critical of the space-themed outfit now".[14]
Michael Cuby included the fight between Mimi Imfurst and Shangela onUntucked inThem magazine's 2018 list of the ten "messiest" fights in the spin-off's history.[18] In 2018, Stephen Daw included Shangela's speech inBillboard's list of the ten "best reads" inDrag Race history,[10] andIN Magazine said her speech was "the moment that really cemented Shangela inDrag Race herstory".[19] Brett White included the fight inDecider's 2021 list of the ten "most shocking gags" inDrag Race history.[20] In a 2021 article aboutUntucked, Joey Nolfi ofEntertainment Weekly wrote, "Can you imagineDrag Race culture without Shangela's alleged sugar daddy?"[21] Justin Smith included the fight inScreen Rant's 2021 list of the ten "most unforgettableUntucked moments".[22] The website's Moon Abbott included Shangela's line "I don't have a sugar daddy" in 2021 list of her nine best quotes.[23] Katcy Stephan called Shangela's speech "iconic" inVariety's 2023 list of the "most iconic moments" inDrag Race history.[9] Bernardo Sim included the right inOut magazine's 2023 list of the show's 25 "most iconic and gag-worthy moments".[24]
Aquaria recited part of Shangela's "sugar daddy" speech on an episode of the show'stenth season (2018).[25]Loosey LaDuca andLuxx Noir London reference Shangela's speech on the show's fifteenth season (2023).[26]
