Another reality competition, another eye-roll: at first glance, Face Off (AXN Beyond, Fridays at 10.55pm) looks like a rehash of Project Runway- and it does follow the same tired format: 12 contestants living in a shared space, facing weekly elimination challenges to gain a cash prize and industry opportunities. But the industry in question makes all the difference. Here, the 12 hopefuls are looking for a break in the field of special-effects make-up.
We realise from the first challenge (contestants have an hour to create an original character using the same basic tool kit and incorporating objects from a hotel function room) that watching people sculpt alien features in plasticine, glue horns and fissures onto a model's face and paint them with fake blood is much more interesting than watching people cut swathes of cloth and stress over hem lines.
Face Off is an up-close look at the unique resourcefulness and skill required to create the kinds of faces and bodies that populate the movies.
In the first elimination round, competitors are split into teams of two and must fashion a human-creature hybrid, choosing an ostrich, a beetle or an elephant. Some of the prosthetics are astonishing but one piece is bungled so badly, the contestant proclaims to the judges: 'I want to shoot myself in the face in front of all of you now.'
In a twist, the winner of a round gets the right to consult with the judges - three-time Academy Award-winner Ve Neill (Mrs Doubtfire), Glenn Hetrick (Heroes) and creature designer Patrick Tatopoulos- on who should be eliminated, which adds a layer of strategy. Of course, the panel is free to ignore the advice.
Syfy is giving the ultimate winner US$100,000 and a year's supply of make- up. It doesn't have quite the appeal of a job on the next Star Trek, but, hey, make-up is expensive and having a year's supply could be the leg up that these competitors need to build a great freelance portfolio.