All language subtitles for Biggest.Little.Christmas.Showdown.S01E02.A.Tiny.Dickens.Christmas.720p.WEBRip

'Twas the night before Christmas

and all through the little
teeny, tiny miniature house.

These are mini moments.

A world of magic awaits

because these are
no ordinary doll houses.

Yes, that's a reveal.

Each week, three different teams

of the nation's
top designers and renovators

working in
the miniature space...

MAY: I have tiny pie tins.

DARREN: I'm a miniaturist.
I got this.

IGLEHART: ...compete to create
unbelievable

Christmas-themed masterpieces
from scratch

in the ultimate building battle.

Here's the thing.
We have to win.

[ Groans ]

They will be judged
by a panel of experts,

including Genevieve Gorder.

The judges.

If I didn't like you,
I would hate you.

It's so good.

And they're competing
for a prize

worth $50,000

and a supersized
design surprise.

Losing my mind.

Too many tiny things.

Building in miniature
is no small feat.

The scale is perfection.

And now we're about to find out
whose little creation

makes the biggest impression.

- What?
- Oh, yes. Awesome.

This is the "Biggest Little
Christmas Showdown."

♪♪

DARREN: Oh, my God.

MAY: It's Santa's workshop.

Oh, my God.
Where do we go first?

DARREN: I am like a kid
on Christmas morning.

It is just awesome.

Oh, my gosh. Wow.

The lights, the trees, like,
everything is just amazing.

What? Whoa!

[ Gasps ] Oh, my God.

Oh, my gosh.

I'm moving in. Oh, my God.

BETH: There's so many
great materials.

Oh, my God, the power tools.

There is a lot of inspiration
brewing.

Hey, guys. This is awesome.

I think we got this.

Merry Christmas, everyone.

- Oh, my God!
- Oh!

Let's gather round,
let's gather round.

What?

It's James Monroe Iglehart.

He's such an iconic
theater person.

He's been in
so many great shows.

Miniaturists, welcome to

the "Biggest Little
Christmas Showdown."

[ Cheers and applause ]

A tournament-style competition

where the best miniaturists
battle it out

by making marvelous
miniature masterpieces.

But only one of your teams
will advance to the finale

to compete for a prize
worth $50,000.

- Ohh.
- Oh, my God.

$50,000 is a game changer
for sure.

It's time to go small
or go home.

No one tells a Christmas tale

quite like the legendary author
Charles Dickens.

Dickens was the creator
of some of the most memorable

Christmas characters...
Ebenezer Scrooge, Bob Cratchit,

and, of course, Tiny Tim.

We want you to honor Dickens

by granting you the opportunity
to make a structure

inspired by this iconic
Christmas storyteller.

DARREN:
When you think of Christmas,

you think Charles Dickens.

He basically wrote the book.

But it's up to you to decide

how big you want
your Dickens masterpiece to be.

You were all given
one month at home

to begin building
your structures...

That was surprisingly simple.

...and were allowed to complete

up to 50% of your miniature,

including a portion
of your furnishings...

I'm working on
Charles Dickens' desk.

...and tiny trimmings.

I'm starting the Christmas tree.

But here in Santa's workshop,

you have 12 hours,

the help of one
talented elf carpenter,

use of all of the elves' shelves
full of useful materials

to complete
your fabulous designs.

And at the end
of your challenge,

you will be evaluated
by a panel of expert judges

on interpretation of your theme,

creativity,

and execution.

Are you ready?
- We're ready.

- Yeah!
- [ Cheers ]

Your time starts now.

Here we go. Okay.

Oh, my God,
we have so much to do.

This is like the best
Christmas shopping ever.

I mean, I want to grab
this whole thing,

but that would be kind of rude.

Ornaments?

Yes, ma'am.

Merry Christmas.

Just take it and let's go.

Rotate it.
Rotate 180. Rotate 180.

Oh, my God.
That thing is humongous.

Gigantic.

Great. Awesome. Awesome.

So now you can get started
and I'm going to make my marks.

We only have 12 hours.
It's not a lot of time.

I'm going to start
assembling floors.

Great.

I'm Sam Potter,
and I am a set designer.

I'm Josh Warner,
and I'm also a set designer.

So we went to college together.

We both studied set design,
but we're very different people.

We're complete opposite.

Sam, this is coming along great.
Yeah, we're almost done, Josh.

SAM: One of our secret weapons
as theater designers

is an understanding of space

because we're very used
to creating a set

that is going to be shown
in front of people.

JOSH: We're very used to working
in small scale.

But the scale that we're
working on for this competition

is four to eight times larger
than what we normally work into.

So that's going
to be a challenge.

I am gluing together the walls
of my first floor.

I'm nervous because
we have so much work to do.

Go big or go home.

[ Chuckles ] Go big or go...

Everybody knows what
Dickens Christmas is.

However, when you try
to pinpoint it,

it's really difficult because

there are so many
interpretations of it.

And so we found
our own interpretation.

Our structure consists
of three houses.

We have Charles Dickens'
apartment

where he's writing
"A Christmas Carol,"

and our idea is that he was
inspired by his neighbors.

So next door to his house
is the Fezziwig house

where the Fezziwig family
throws their lavish parties.

Across the street, the Cratchit
home is much smaller.

And downstairs from Dickens
is the Scrooge and Marley shop.

When's the last time
you guys slept?

[ Laughs ]

When's the last time we slept?

Who sleeps?

ENEIA: Beth, I'm just laying out
all the lights,

and I'm going to create
a lighting plan

of what's going to go
in what room.

My name is Eneia White,
and I'm an interior designer.

I'm Beth Diana Smith, and
I'm also an interior designer.

I've been working in miniatures

since a few years
after high school.

I was featured in a magazine,

and then ever since,
I've dabbled building houses.

I discovered this world
because of her.

I am the builder
in our relationship.

I am the one
that will use the saw,

cut the wood,
take the drill, everything.

Hi. Are you Lauren?

- Yes.
- Hi!

I love our elf.

It's nice to meet you.
I'm glad you're a girl.

My strategy will be
to have her use the power tools

and take over
maybe painting something.

I'm all about girl power,

so I'm ready for these three
ladies to get things done.

So the concept for our tiny home
is to create three townhouses,

one for each ghost...

The Ghost of Christmas Past,

the Ghost of Christmas Present,

and the Ghost
of Christmas Future.

The first level of each home
will be a shop.

We're going to do bricks
on the exterior

for the front and the back.

And to add a dimension
of authenticity throughout,

we decided to create
real hardwood floors.

Okay, so right now,

I'm working on
the four-poster bed.

In the house of
the Ghost of Christmas Past,

which is a she, I wanted to have
a four-poster bed

because it just feels feminine.

So when you look on her bed,
you're going to see hints

of gold, gray, and blue.

Perfect.

I have a lot of furniture
to build.

I'm going to trace them out,
give them to the elf to cut,

and then I can assemble,
paint, and dress.

♪♪

My wood. [ Laughs ]

Okay, I have to throw
a little pot, a little vase.

Yell if you need help.

I'm Darren. I'm May.

And I'm a professional
miniaturist.

And I'm an art teacher.

Got a long day ahead of us.

I've been working in
the miniature world

for about five or six years.

I'm very detail-orientated,
and I really aim for realism.

I always enjoyed miniatures
from a young age.

Then it became a challenge
to make things in scale

or make them even smaller.

I really like making
all the tiny things.

The first thing I'm going to do
is center my clay,

which it doesn't want to play.

I started making some pottery.

I have re-created a shape

that was popular
back in Victorian times.

I'm so nervous.

And then I'm going to
trim the base just a little bit.

We're all about realism,

and we are all about handcraft
and scratch build.

Everything we're making
is by hand.

I'm just cleaning it up
a little bit,

and then I'm going to
work on the top.

When we first heard it was
Charles Dickens Christmas,

we were like, "That's great.

But then this cannot be

a typical
Charles Dickens Christmas."

We needed to do it differently.

We didn't want to do
just a dollhouse.

Absolutely.

Our project is actually
a book within a book,

and the front cover opens to
reveal the two-story townhouse.

The bottom floor is a beautiful
parlor space

where we can put
the Christmas tree,

where we can put the food.

And then a study
where he does his writing.

We have a bookshelf that
actually is going to slide over,

and it will reveal
a portrait gallery

of all the Charles Dickens boys
from his previous novels

that have grown up now.

To decorate my ceramics,
I'm going to use UV nail polish

to give it that shine
and that ceramic look.

I stick it in my UV light thing,

and they set up within a minute.

May, how you doing over there?

Making tiny things.

Oh, my God, that's amazing.

These are mini moments.

We need to enjoy.

Oh, my gosh.

♪♪

It's Christmastime.
Be happy, Sam.

Now we're going
to make some brick.

I've taken on the task
of scoring the brick

for the exterior of the house.

I took a foam plate,

and then I'm scoring
the foam to look like brick.

I think the skill set of being
interior designers helps us

because we're used to taking
something unexpected

and making it into
something else.

I think this is going
to be really, really good.

♪♪

JOSH: Alright, Sam,
bed's going in.

♪♪

[ Bell ringing ]

♪♪

No, no, no, no, no.

What's going on?

Oh, my goodness.

The bell... what's that mean?

Merry Christmas, everyone.

ALL: Merry Christmas.

IGLEHART: Now it's time
for a festive challenge

to put a little twist
in your tinsel.

JOSH: My heart drops.

As if we don't have
enough going on.

♪♪

Coming up...

Ready? Go.

It's so delicate.
It's perfection.

Big moment, big moment.

SAM:
We only have one shot at this,

so we have to get it right.

There's a big hole
in your wall now.

Oh, yes. Awesome.

♪♪

Merry Christmas, everyone.

ALL: Merry Christmas.

IGLEHART: Now it's time
for a festive challenge

to put a little twist
in your tinsel.

A Dickens-inspired
Christmas structure

is not complete without
a grand fireplace and hearth.

You will have
just three hours...

- Ohh.
- Oh, my goodness.

...to add a fireplace and hearth

with a working
mechanical element.

The winner of this
fiery challenge

will get a huge advantage

when finishing
your overall structures.

Okay.
Your three hour starts now.

[ Bell ringing ]

Okay, should we sketch this out?

Three hours to create
a completely new design element?

It's not enough time.
It's not enough time.

SAM: Okay, so we have
in the Fezziwig house

a section of wall
that we haven't done yet.

'Cause there's
the paneling on either side.

Yeah, yeah.

And we could do, like,
a huge, open fireplace.

Yeah, that's a great idea.

We want to continue the paneling

from the walls
around the fireplace.

So I'm going to draw that out
and cut it out.

And Josh is going to work
on the electrical.

Instead of just adding
one light,

I think we should do five.
Oh, yeah.

I can solder.

And so for the
mechanical element,

I decide to make a flickering,
glowing fireplace.

Alright. So now I'm adding
the flicker bulbs.

There's just so much detail
we're putting into it.

I think the judges
are going to love it.

Just going to make sure
these work before we keep going.

Good. Great.

What if you pull this and
the hearth goes up? Yes.

And we can use the space
behind it as, like,

a second hidden room. Right.

We're going to have a brass pull

in the front of the fireplace
that when you pull it,

the whole fireplace
lifts up like an elevator

so you can see through
to a secret room.

Ready? Go.

May is going to figure out
the mechanical element.

And I'm going to work on
the fireplace facade.

I'm going to create the
fireplace design, the mantel,

the other additional pieces
that make up the fireplace.

I'm using a traditional
cherrywood stain

to create
the fireplace mantel top.

I'm in my happy place.

I think it would be
quite gorgeous

if we do, like, fireplaces here.

We want the judges to feel like
it's like a Christmas explosion.

I feel like this should be
something spectacular.

Our fireplace will feature
gingerbread men,

candy canes,
lanterns, and bells.

[ Laughs ]

Do you want to do like a marble
stone, like marble tiles?

Yeah.

Marble is definitely not
traditional Dickens,

but we're mixing our past,
our present, and our future.

And because marble
is just so classic,

speaks to all three.

- I like these.
- I like these too.

♪♪

30 minutes are down.

Hope you guys have a fireplace
going on by now.

We're building a fireplace?

Okay, engineering time.

So for our mechanical element,

I'm taking foam core
to build the elevator box

and make slots that that box
is going to fit into

and slide up and down on.

So this has to move on a track,

and the track has to go here.

In my head, the engineering
works flawlessly,

but in real life, it's catching.

What are you hanging on?
Why are you doing this to me?

I am starting to stress out.

Get your mechanical groove on.

And I don't want to over panic
and overstress her.

So I'm just patiently waiting
until she can figure things out.

Breathe.

Not breathing.

Think. Just breathe.

Hey, two hours left.

Let's keep it going.

[ Groans ]

Should not take this long.

♪♪

Going on my naughty list.

♪♪

We're going to cut these apart.

Our fireplace will feature
white classic marble.

If we cut the wood to fit.

So if this is the side,
are you following me?

Mm-hmm.

We're running short on time.

We're going to have
to cut a few corners.

We're taking our marble tiles

and gluing them
directly to the plywood

instead of gluing
our wood structure together.

We are working through

how we will attach
the top piece to the side piece.

The problem is that we will see
this piece of wood.

I'm going to work on a garland
that will drape our fireplace

and hopefully make
the judges forget

that they even see an ugly piece
of wood exposed at all.

Sam: Can I just see that
one more time?

We're going to put the fireplace
in the Fezziwig house.

So should we cut?

JOSH: Can we? We don't have
space back there, right?

No, we have this much,

because the exterior goes
on the outside.

Great. Great.
I think we should cut it.

So we have to cut out a wall
that we've already finished

and then inset
the fireplace into it.

How do we want to cut that
out of the wall?

I don't know.

We only have one shot at this,
so we have to get it right.

That's why I'm saying
cut from the outside.

But the outside you need a line.

So draw a line.

We definitely clash heads.

I do like to push for things
to be done correctly.

I think you're making it
really hard

by having to get your arm
inside the room.

No, it's fine.

♪♪

There's a big hole
in your wall now.

Soon to have a beautiful
fireplace, though, right?

Yeah.

You guys, we have 30 minutes.
That's it.

- Aah!
- Aah!

I need you to work for me.

Stop messing up,
and let's just get on with it.

I finally figure out how to
get the elevator to go up.

I backtrack down the track,

and I fixed where it's hanging,

and now it works really great.

- So can I take this now?
- Yeah, take that.

- And build?
- Yeah.

But I have not given
the fireplace to Darren

with enough time to put
the outside of the fireplace on

and have the glue to dry.

The test

is if once we hold it up,
it stays.

And so far, she's staying.

We haven't done the lighting.

Beth and I are having
a hard time trying to figure out

how to even make
a mechanical feature happen.

Would it be faster for us
to use this since it switches on

and then we can put
something around it

that looks like orange?

We could.

So the light is figured out?

I think so.

JOSH: Sam, the fireplace...
What's your ETA?

I'm actually, I think, really
close to moving on to dressing.

I am creating a wreath
to hang on our fireplace.

The aesthetic we're going for
is Christmas explosion.

I'm throwing everything
at this fireplace mantel.

I'm wrapping presents right now.

10 minutes, everyone.

10 minutes.

[ Scoffs ]

Ohh.

There's a lot to do. There's
a lot to do. There's a lot.

So I'm just putting a little bit
of a glaze on top of this.

JOSH: We have no time,
and Sam is still painting.

We have to get
this done quickly.

It's going to be like
the last two minutes,

it's going to go in.

My goodness,
you're driving me crazy, Sam.

We have to get that fireplace
in place.

5 more minutes. What?

Let's finish those fireplaces.

I have no idea how we're
going to get this done.

I just need to put some hot glue
on here and just pop it in.

We don't have time for glue.

10, 9, 8, 7, 6,

5, 4, 3, 2, 1.

Hands up.

[ Chuckles ]

Okay, miniaturists,
it's time to meet your judges.

SAM: I'm getting nervous.

There was so much more detail
that we needed to put in.

I'm curious to see
what the judges say about it.

Coming up...

Oh, my God.
What are we going to do?

JOSH: Oh, my gosh.

Merry Christmas.

You have been naughty
and not nice.

It feels like
my family Christmas.

The fireplace is a little sad.

We're screwed.

♪♪

Okay, miniaturists,

it's time to meet your judges
for the mini challenge.

First up, June Clinkscales.

[ Applause ]

Famed miniaturist to the stars.

Happy holidays, miniaturists.

WOMAN: Happy holidays.

June Clinkscales,
she's known for doing

such ornate miniature furniture.

It's incredible what she does.

And Dave Asling,

who makes amazing
visual effects miniatures

for ho, ho, ho
Hollywood's biggest movies.

MAY: I'm pretty impressed
when Dave walks out.

He's going to be a tough judge

And a surprise judge
will be joining us later.

You will be evaluated on
interpretation of your theme,

creativity,

and execution.

Alright, Sam and Josh,
we're coming for you.

Tell us about your Dickens-
inspired fireplace and hearth.

SAM: We continued
the paneling of the walls

around the fireplace,

and we added
simple green garland

and red bow embellishments.

JOSH: Our mechanical element

is a fireplace that lights up,
and it flickers.

CLINKSCALES:
I love the architecture of it.

I like the style
and the execution.

It's very clean and precise.

I love that.

It's a tremendous amount of work

in a small amount of time.

The paneling is excellent.
It feels very period.

The details around the fireplace
all feel very authentic.

I do like the flicker
that's happening inside,

but the color temperature,
it's a little on the green side.

LEDs tend to go that way
sometimes.

I think it's something
I would have probably corrected

into a much more warm yellow.

Beth and Eneia,

tell us about your Dickens
hearth and fireplace.

ENEIA: So we really
wanted to just cause

a Christmas explosion,

and our mechanical element
is our light,

which is illuminated.

I really love the way
that you took the time

to do presents,

decorate the hearth,
and get it all homey looking.

ASLING: I do love the garland.

It definitely feels like

sort of my family Christmas
when I was a kid.

There's a lot of activity
happening

that is really selling
that idea of Christmas to me.

But your fireplace looks
very modern.

In a Dickens home, would there
be a marble fireplace lounge?

I don't think June understands
our concept.

Christmas Past, Present,
and Christmas Future.

Darren, May, tell us about
your Dickens-inspired fireplace.

DARREN: We have
a very traditional

Victorian fireplace.

It's stained wood
with a handcrafted flame.

So this mechanical element
is sort of like an elevator.

It's a movable fireplace

and it reveals
this tiny bonus room.

And there's a tiny book inside.

I like that.

ASLING: Yeah, it's very
inventive, very creative.

I really like the hidden room
behind the fireplace.

It's a really nice touch.

There's no dimensionality
to the brickwork itself.

Like, it is very clearly
just an appliqué paper.

CLINKSCALES:
I love the mechanics of it.

The secret passage is amazing.

But the fireplace
is a little sad

with the one little flame
coming up.

We sort of liked
our flickering flame's size.

It's a miniature show.

It's a miniature show.

Alright, miniaturists.

The judges have made
their decision.

And the winner of the Dickens
fireplace challenge...

Sam and Josh.

[ Applause ]

It really did feel
period-accurate to me.

The scale of the elements
within it felt very true.

It was very precise.
It was beautifully done.

- Thank you.
- Thank you.

Okay, Sam and Josh,
you've won this bell,

the ultimate jingle bell.

When you ring it,
the other two teams

will have to stop working
and sit in Santa's chair

for 30 minutes because
they're on Santa's naughty list.

Ohh.

And you'll get
an extra 30 minutes to work.

- Ooh.
- Wow.

Alright, Josh,
come up and get your bell.

Thank you.

We need the extra time.

Thank you. Thank you.

We've been very ambitious
with what we're trying to do,

and it's going to make
a huge difference.

Alright, everyone, back to work.

BETH: I'm not happy about
losing the 30 minutes.

I don't even want
to lose 30 seconds.

Merry Christmas.

You get the naughty chair.

Right after I'm done with this,

I'm happy to help you
get that house together.

Now that
the mini challenge is done,

we need to focus
all of our attention

on getting
the Fezziwig house up.

SAM: Is there one with a window?

Just this one.

It's almost like
we're loading in a set

for a theater right now.

We have to get this whole thing
glued together super fast.

We're planning to put
on a floor, glue the walls on,

hold them in place,
glue the next floor on.

I just need to make sure
that this corner

lines up with the floor.

I'm going to go crazy.

Just... Just...
Just pop it off again.

Yeah, we're definitely
running out of time.

So much to do.

I'm going to keep doing this.
But, Sam, I'm happy to help.

I want you to get that done.

I think the size
of our structure

is going to put us ahead.

As long as we can get this done,

I think that will
win over the judges.

Is there another wall
somewhere in the pile?

Okay, I am getting started
on a tiny cake.

I'm going to make tiny cookies,
a gingerbread house, pies.

I have tiny pie tins
I made on a Coke bottle caps.

Making the homemade
miniature baked goods

is going to give us an edge.

Tiny ingredients.

Look at your...
Oh, like a tiny little recipe.

Flour, baking powder.

I have my tiny spoon.

Because you're dealing in
such small amounts,

the tiny teaspoons to
measure with are essential.

So it's basically everything
the same as making a big cake.

It's just smaller portions.

Nothing pulls on the heart
strings like food. That's right.

Can't have Christmas
without gingerbread.

Are you guys baking?

We might be having
a little bit of a surprise.

Well, it's not
a surprise anymore.

This isn't a baking competition.
It's a miniature competition.

It has me a little nervous.

ENEIA:
So I'm just going to measure

where my 4-inch cut
is going to go.

Our design concept is really
about the three ghosts.

This tile is going
into Future's bathroom.

We have a little bit of texture
that we added in the tile,

which is very future-esque.

Once you start to
introduce wallpaper,

you have an opportunity
to introduce color

and pattern very quickly.

When you're applying wallpaper,
you really have to balance

the right type of glue.

Just used spray adhesive
for this

because this is
a very thin scrap of paper.

Being interior designers,
we'll probably be more bold

in our pattern choices,
and I hope the judges love it.

♪♪

How many times can I glue the
wall in the wrong spot, right?

Tiny, tiny cake batter.

Once my tiny batter is made,

I put it in my little oven
to bake.

Hopefully it works.

I'm feeling good about
these cakes.

They smell great.

And then we'll keep
an eye on that.

You got 3, count them,
3 hours left.

There are five levels
to this house.

Oh, my gosh.

We have to get
all these levels glued together

so that we can get the exterior
on and get the texture going

so it can dry
so it can be painted.

Oh, my... What am I doing?
What am I doing?

We need whatever advantage we
can get to get the project done.

So we got to make it happen.

Let's do it. Okay.

[ Bell ringing ]

♪♪

- We have the cakes.
- Oh, you put them in?

- The cake's in.
- You put them in?

Oh, my God.
What are we going to do?

Josh and Sam,
you rang your jingle bell.

So that means Beth, Eneia,
Darren, and May,

for 30 minutes, you can't touch
your Dickens creation.

We're screwed.

Would all four of you
please go take a time out

in Santa's chair

because you have been naughty
and not nice.

♪♪

This is our time to pull ahead.

That little cake is only
supposed to bake

for about 10 minutes.

And now it's going to be
in there for 30 minutes.

I don't want to pull out
charcoal cake.

It's gonna burn.

Tiny cake. Big problem.

[ Groans ]

♪♪

Now my cake is in the oven
for 30 minutes.

I'm not allowed to touch it.

And it just keeps baking.

That poor little cake.

For these cakes not to burn,

it would take
a Christmas miracle.

I think we should throw
the bell back at them.

DARREN: I think we should.

It doesn't have to be hard
or at their head, but...

SAM: So, I needed to ring
the bell because I just, like,

need a second
to get ahead of this.

We know we have so much to do.

JAMES: We have
such a big structure.

And this is our chance
to get to a point

where we want it to be at.

We're just behind.

We've pre-made all of these
window inserts.

We have to get them in
to fill in the hole

we've created where they go.

Shoot, Josh,
this didn't line up.

So I realize in the rush,
we actually got the facades

in slightly off,
so our holes for the windows

did not align with one another.

Got to make it work, Sam.

I know.

So I'm taking a knife,

and I'm just carving away
at the foam core,

getting it to the right size.

This is ridiculous.

The windows aren't fitting,

and it's taking way more time
than I thought it would.

Sam, tell me what you're doing.

Sam. Sam.

Sam, talk to us.

The other teams
are just annoying me so much.

They're yelling my name.
They're screaming at me.

They're trying to distract me,
and I'm trying to focus.

But it's just crazy.

Sam!

Strategy number one...
Attack Sam.

You guys sound like Josh
in the morning

when he gets up
and we're in the car ride.

That's what he sounds like.

I feel like we've gotten
a lot done, but not enough.

JOSH: This is driving me crazy.

Miniaturists,
your 30 minutes are up.

You are released
from Santa's chair.

Get back to work.

Go. Let's go, go.

Check the cake.

The cake.

It's overdone.

It's not what I wanted.

I am... I'm disappointed.

Okay, that one's burnt.

I'll have to remake it.

We do not have
that kind of time.

I have plenty of other treats
that the judges can try.

You got it. Thank you. Okay.

Ladies and gentlemen,
you have 2 hours left.

♪♪

DARREN: So you're starting to
paint. Okay.

Picked a guy with a beard.

We love your beard work.

We want to create
a portrait gallery

that represents
a Christmas future

where the boys from our story
have grown up

and become accomplished people
in their fields.

MAY: If I can just get this
one last portrait done.

I am going to hand-paint
the portrait

so everything that we made
would be special.

Hopefully the judges agree.

What do you think of
this sea captain guy?

DARREN: I love him.
He's got a very bushy beard.

♪♪

Oh, my God. Yellow team,
you got an elf on the shelf.

[ Laughs ]

♪♪

JOSH: So, Sam, I think I'm ready

to get all of our cables
through the holes.

We need to get
our street lamps in,

and we need to make sure
that we have power

to each of our houses.

JOSH: We need to
run all of the cables

through the holes
and down the bottom.

So we need to lift
the entire structure.

The holes that I drilled earlier
are not big enough.

So what we need to do is take
our base off of the turntable,

hold it in the air

while I drill holes
and run our cables through.

We just need to lift it up
so that I can

run all of the cables
through that center hole.

But I need you to lift it more.

Oh, geez.

That structure is so big.

It weighs a lot,

and just holding
it there in place.

While Josh does whatever
he's doing underneath...

You guys okay?

- Yep.
- Yep.

My hands are shaking.
I'm super nervous.

Well, not down. Not down.

Just keep holding it up.

I need you to lift.
I need you to lift.

JOSH:
This has to happen right now.

It's so important
because we're hoping to win

the judges with our electrics,
and we can't not have electrics.

Josh, I can only hold this
for like another...

Well, okay.

♪♪

IGLEHART: Coming up...

SAM: My hands are shaking.

JOSH: Stay strong, Sam.

It looks like
time caught up with you.

JOSH: Pick it up.

Oh, yes. Awesome.

♪♪

JOSH: I need you to lift.
I need you to lift.

That structure is so big.
I need to set it down.

Josh, what are you
doing down there?

There it is. Got it.
Can we set it down?

Yes, you can set it down.
There it is.

Don't you love me?

And ready? Power.

In the end, we pulled it off.

Everything lights up
and it looks great.

Nice.

You only have 1 hour left.

Aaah.

We have so much to do.

It makes you a little giddy.

♪♪

The mirror...
Yeah, it's having issues.

ENEIA: Finish the floors,

the brick needs to be
painted red,

and then furniture.

Those are the hard ones
at the front of the list.

We're running short on time,

but I'm going to try my best
to up the charm factor.

So I'm just taking
some transparent paint

just to give it
some more Christmas jazz.

While Eneia focuses
on the interior,

I'm going to finish off
the outside of this house.

This is going to be
for the brick.

Oh, this is the perfect color.

Time is of the essence.

We have to divide and conquer.

We cut about a million Popsicle
sticks to make it look

like real hardwood floors.

I'm painting each room by hand.

♪♪

This is the story. Yes, it is.

You better be careful with it.

We created the structure
to look like a book,

and the front cover
actually opens

to reveal the two-story
townhouse.

We have created the book covers
using vinyl wrapping around.

How many people does it take
to screw in a door?

Beautiful. Two and one elf.

Of course they waited till
the last minute to put it up

so that we wouldn't know
it was coming.

Santa's sleigh is on its way.

Only 30 minutes left.

[ Gasps ]

We're all done? No.

JOSH: We're running out of time.

The confidence that I had
at the beginning

of the competition
is now shrinking.

And we're changing
the layouts of our rooms

just so that
we can make things fit.

And you want to turn this?
I don't think we should.

SAM: Do it. Just do it.

No, you glued the rug down.
It's got to be like this.

I'm not sure we're ever going
to get done with this thing.

I'm just making one of
the counters for the clock shop.

♪♪

This is like
putting it all together.

The pieces have
to fit perfectly.

It's the finishing touches,
and we're running out of time.

You're scaring me.

Relax. I'm a miniaturist.

I got this.

10 minutes, everyone.
10 minutes.

Ohh. Stay strong, Sam.

Everybody breathe.

These are all candles
that I made

from pieces of earring backers.

Big moment, big moment.

Stunning.

Sam, you want to get
set dressing in?

Candles.
I would love some candles.

What's our time?

5 minutes left.

♪♪

Let's go. Pick it up.
Pick it up.

SAM: Where's that window?

JOSH: What? I don't know
what you're talking about.

Get your brush.
We have cleaning to do.

Give me a piece of art.

Piece of art in 1 minute?

And 10, 9... Aaah!

...8, 7, 6, 5, 4...

Throw something in there.

...3, 2, 1.

Hands up.

[ Sighs ]

Feel the relief.

I feel really, really proud
of what we've done

and what we've been able
to accomplish.

I am getting emotional.

It's a little overwhelming,
but a good feeling. Yeah.

Miniaturists,
final judgment is here.

So it's time to welcome back
your judges, June and Dave,

who are now joined
by one of HGTV's biggest stars

and most accomplished designers,

Genevieve Gorder.

[ Applause ]

Hi, guys.

I am a super fan, and I might
have a fan girl moment

when she's standing next to me.

Josh and Sam, you're up first.

We're so nervous right now.
We're freaking out.

Tell us about your huge

Charles Dickens-inspired
structure.

Our concept was that in writing
"A Christmas Carol,"

he was inspired
by his neighbors.

He would be looking
out his window

and seeing the class divide

between the Fezziwigs
and the Cratchits.

The downstairs room
in the Fezziwig house

has a set of hidden doors.

Oh, yes, that's a reveal.

I'm so impressed.

You're serving up
three for the price of one,

which is an enormous task.

All of the different
texture stories,

architecturally awesome.
Thank you.

I don't want to live in that
little house.

[ Laughter ]

The scale of the furniture,
it's perfection.

Thank you.

It's so delicate and so slight.

Perfect for the size.

ASLING: There's just a lot of
different techniques happening.

I love the use of color that
you've got happening in here.

And the rugs are great.
The flooring is great.

It's really crisp work,

but it looks like time probably
caught up with you a little bit.

There's some windows missing

where you're going to have
a bit of a draft.

But I think you used
your time very well,

considering just the volume
of handcrafting

that happened here.

Well, Josh and Sam, thank you.

Beth, Eneia, tell us the story

on your Charles Dickens
creation.

ENEIA: So we dedicated our
concept to

the Ghost of Christmas Past,

the Ghost of Christmas Present,

and the Ghost of
Christmas Future.

They have a shop and then
they have a living space.

I'm impressed by your thinking
out of the box.

That's exactly
what miniaturists do.

There's so much happiness
up at the top,

but down at the bottom,
there's no Christmas happening.

I miss the Christmas.

I mean, fun story, guys.

I imagine right away how
each of those ghosts would live.

I think your use of texture
and pattern

is really playful.

Detail, accessories...
I wish there was more.

I think that from
an execution point of view,

there are definitely some things
that I would have taken

a little bit more time with.

But I love that floor.

I love the idea
of the individual plank floor.

I thought that was great.

I think if all the points
were for interpretation,

it would be through the roof.

Darren, May, tell us about this

unexpected Dickens structure
in front of us.

DARREN: Okay, so Charles Dickens
is writing his newest novel.

This is a celebration
of the children

from his previous novels.

And this is a story about
giving them the Christmas

that they never had before.

What'd you make the food out of?

MAY: Flour, sugar, eggs.

It's all real.

Would you guys like to try them?

GORDER: Yeah.

These are gingerbread cookies,

and we have two pies.

Wow.

That's about all the cookie
I really need in reality.

I have to say, it's full
of really wonderful touches.

I love the flooring,
the color of the walls,

and the little recess

on either side
of the fireplace is really nice.

The little shadow pockets
going on in there.

GORDER: I mean,
the authenticity is banana.

You painted the portraits,
and they're good,

and you hand-threw
the pots yourself.

You also served Christmas
beautifully in every space.

As a miniaturist, the story
and the emotion as everything.

And you gave it 100%.

But I wish you had hidden
some of your electrical work

a little bit better,
especially in the ceiling.

There are a couple of gaps
that I'm seeing in a few places

where light's leaking through
from the back of the structure.

There's some seams in the walls

where the same thing
is happening.

But overall,
it's a really nice presentation.

Now it's time for our judges
to make a huge decision.

♪♪

Just getting to the next step
and getting to the finale

would mean everything.

We want to win. Yes.

They're both big competition,

but I think the size
of our structure

is going to put us ahead over
all of the other contestants.

So I'm still pretty confident.

♪♪

Three very impressive pieces.

But only one can move on
to compete in the finale

for a Christmas present
worth $50,000.

While the rest of you will go
home with a little lump of coal.

[ Laughter ]

Since it's miniatures,
a really little bag of coal.

Judges, you've told me
your decision.

And the winner is...

♪♪

Darren and May.

[ Gasps ]

♪♪

WOMAN: Congratulations.

Oh, my God. I... Whoo!

I'm just over the moon.

I'm okay with it.
I mean, they're miniaturists.

That's what they do.

And they, like, geek out over
the little tiny details.

The creativity
was just through the roof.

ASLING:
I loved the presentation.

I loved the craftsmanship,
the hidden details.

We had layer after layer
of surprise and delight.

Christmas was fluent
in your masterpiece. Bravo.

Thank you so much.
Thank you. Thank you.

Congratulations, Darren and May.

You are advancing to the finale

and a chance to win
the best Christmas gift ever

worth $50,000.

DARREN: Oh, my goodness.

I can't believe
we're going to the finale.

This is crazy.

♪♪

Next time on the "Biggest
Little Christmas Showdown"...

You'll compete to make
retro structures

inspired by Christmases past.

WOMAN: Tiny vintage books.

Definitely brings back
a lot of unfortunate memories.

[ Sighs ]

WOMAN #2: Whew.
I'm, like, shaking.

It doesn't look like
anything edible.

Stress.

Mic drop.