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Best Ink
Genre Reality competition
Presented by
Judges
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons3
No. of episodes30
Production
Executive producers
Running time42 minutes
Production company Bunim/Murray Productions
Original release
Network Oxygen
ReleaseMarch 27, 2012 (2012-03-27) –
February 26, 2014 (2014-02-26)

Best Ink is an American reality competition series on Oxygen that judges tattoo artists. The series ran for three seasons, the first in 2012, the second in 2013, and the third in 2013–2014. The show was hosted by Kimberly Caldwell during Season 1 and by Pete Wentz in Seasons 2 and 3. [1]

Best Ink premiered on March 27, 2012. [2] The second season debuted on April 3, 2013. [3] [4] The third season debuted on December 4, 2013. [5]

Cast

Format

A group of tattoo artists from around the United States compete in various tattooing challenges. The winner of the competition wins a $100,000 cash prize and a cover article in a well-known tattoo-related magazine. After each challenge, tattoo artist and the show's judges, along with a different guest judge every week, critique the tattoos to find the contestant with the "Best Ink".

Flash challenge

Typically a non-tattooing task that tests the contestants' artistic skills using different media, subjects and "canvases." Usually the skills tested in the Flash Challenge will be a compulsory judging factor in the Elimination Tattoo.

Elimination tattoo

This stage starts with the winner of the Flash Challenge getting a privilege in this second stage. These perks can be first/only choice of which "skin" (client) they would like to tattoo or extra time, but is predetermined by the show's production team. Once each "skin" is allocated to a contestant, a consultation period between artist and "skin" is given (typically in a set amount of time) and followed by chance to create the artwork overnight before tattooing the next day. The Elimination tattoos are performed simultaneously by all contestants and within a set amount of time. The judges then critique the work, choosing the best and worst tattoos of the week. The contestant that produces the worst tattoo is eliminated from the show until the final episode where one tattoo artist is judged the winner.

Contestants

Contestant progress

Season 1

Contestant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Flash Challenge
Winner
Charlie Roman Kyle Alexis Alexis Charlie London N/A
London WIN IN IN LOW LOW LOW WIN WINNER
Alexis IN HIGH IN WIN HIGH HIGH IN RUNNER-UP
Jon HIGH IN BTM2 LOW WIN WIN BTM2 3RD PLACE
Charlie IN IN WIN IN BTM2 BTM2 OUT
Nicky IN LOW IN IN IN OUT
Kyle IN BTM2 IN BTM2 OUT
Jessica LOW LOW LOW OUT
Roman IN WIN OUT
Meghan BTM2 OUT
Tiffany OUT
  (WINNER) The contestant won Best Ink.
  (RUNNER-UP) The contestant was the Runner-Up.
  (3RD PLACE) The contestant was in 3rd Place.
  (WIN) The contestant won best tattoo of the week.
  (HIGH) The contestant had one of the best tattoos of the week, but did not win.
  (IN) The contestant was safe.
  (LOW) The contestant had one of the best tattoos of the week, but was voted into the bottom.
  (LOW) The contestant had one of the worst tattoos of the week, but was the first to be called safe.
  (BTM2) The contestant had one of the worst tattoos of the week and was the last to be called safe.
  (OUT) The contestant was eliminated from the competition.

Season 2

Contestant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Flash Challenge
Winner
Melvin Jerod DJ Dollarz Tylor Jerod Teresa DJ Jerod N/A
Teresa HIGH IN WIN HIGH WIN HIGH HIGH IN BTM2 WINNER
DJ WIN IN IN WIN HIGH HIGH WIN HIGH WIN RUNNER-UP
Jerod IN HIGH LOW BTM2 HIGH LOW IN WIN WIN 3RD PLACE
Alli IN IN IN HIGH IN IN BTM2 BTM2 OUT
Brittany IN WIN IN IN BTM2 WIN IN OUT
Derek HIGH IN HIGH LOW LOW BTM2 OUT
Tylor IN HIGH IN IN IN OUT
Ralph IN IN HIGH IN OUT
Dollarz IN LOW BTM2 OUT
Kelly BTM2 BTM2 OUT
Melvin LOW OUT
Carolyn OUT

Bold The contestant won immunity the previous week and was automatically safe the preceding week.

  (WINNER) The contestant won Best Ink.
  (RUNNER-UP) The contestant was the runner-up.
  (3RD PLACE) The contestant was in 3rd Place.
  (WIN) The contestant won best tattoo of the week, and received automatic immunity for the next week's Ink Challenge.
  (WIN) The contestant won best tattoo of the week, but did not receive automatic immunity for the next week's Ink Challenge.
  (HIGH) The contestant had one of the best tattoos of the week, but did not win.
  (IN) The contestant was safe.
  (LOW) The contestant had one of the worst tattoos of the week, but was the first to be called safe.
  (BTM2) The contestant had one of the worst tattoos of the week and was the last to be called safe.
  (OUT) The contestant was eliminated from the competition.

Season 3

Contestant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Flash Challenge
Winner
Amy May
May
Willy Darnell Joe Danny Darnell Karly Alayna Karly Darnell N/A
Karly WIN IN IN HIGH IN IN WIN WIN IN BTM2 WIN WINNER
Darnell HIGH IN IN WIN IN IN HIGH IN WIN HIGH BTM2 RUNNER-UP
Alayna IN IN IN LOW WIN IN HIGH HIGH HIGH IN WIN 3RD PLACE
Willy IN WIN HIGH IN HIGH HIGH LOW HIGH IN WIN OUT
Lara LOW IN IN IN IN HIGH BTM2 LOW BTM2 OUT
Joe IN HIGH WIN HIGH HIGH WIN LOW BTM2 OUT
Romeo IN IN IN IN IN BTM2 HIGH OUT
Danny IN IN IN BTM2 BTM2 LOW OUT
May May HIGH LOW LOW IN LOW OUT
Anthony IN BTM2 IN IN OUT
Amy IN HIGH BTM2 OUT
Izzi BTM2 IN OUT
Rudy IN OUT
Carey OUT

Bold The contestant won immunity the previous week and was automatically safe the preceding week.

  (WINNER) The contestant won Best Ink.
  (RUNNER-UP) The contestant was the runner-up.
  (3RD PLACE) The contestant was in 3rd Place.
  (WIN) The contestant won best tattoo of the week, and received automatic immunity for the next week's Ink Challenge.
  (WIN) The contestant won best tattoo of the week, but did not receive automatic immunity for the next week's Ink Challenge.
  (HIGH) The contestant had one of the best tattoos of the week, but did not win.
  (IN) The contestant was safe.
  (LOW) The contestant had one of the worst tattoos of the week, but was the first to be called safe.
  (BTM2) The contestant had one of the worst tattoos of the week and was the last to be called safe.
  (OUT) The contestant was eliminated from the competition.
  • ^Note 1 : Joe was originally supposed to be in the bottom 3, but since he had won the Ink Challenge the previous week he was automatically safe.

Episodes

Series overview

SeasonEpisodesOriginally aired
First airedLast aired
18March 27, 2012 (2012-03-27)May 15, 2012 (2012-05-15)
210April 3, 2013 (2013-04-03)June 5, 2013 (2013-06-05)
312December 4, 2013 (2013-12-04)February 26, 2014 (2014-02-26)

Season 1 (2012)

No.
overall
No. in
season
TitleOriginal air dateU.S. viewers
(millions)
11"Something to Hide"March 27, 2012 (2012-03-27)0.46 [7]
22"Pin-up Showdown"April 3, 2012 (2012-04-03)0.33 [8]
33"Emotional Skin-Pact"April 10, 2012 (2012-04-10)0.36 [9]
44"Tattoo Virgins"April 17, 2012 (2012-04-17)0.31 [10]
55"Face Off"April 24, 2012 (2012-04-24)0.53 [11]
66"Purrfect Ink"May 1, 2012 (2012-05-01)0.52 [12]
77"The King of Ink"May 8, 2012 (2012-05-08)0.44 [13]
88"For the Love of Ink"May 15, 2012 (2012-05-15)0.44 [14]

Season 2 (2013)

No.
overall
No. in
season
TitleOriginal air dateU.S. viewers
(millions)
91"Bigger and Badder"April 3, 2013 (2013-04-03)0.49 [15]
102"I've Got a Secret"April 10, 2013 (2013-04-10)0.33 [16]
113"A Family Affair"April 17, 2013 (2013-04-17)0.49 [17]
124"Live Out Loud"April 24, 2013 (2013-04-24)0.38 [18]
135"A Good Laugh"May 1, 2013 (2013-05-01)0.35 [19]
146"I'm Sexy and I Know It"May 8, 2013 (2013-05-08)0.44 [20]
157"Brand New Life"May 15, 2013 (2013-05-15)0.58 [21]
168"Be Ready For Anything"May 22, 2013 (2013-05-22)0.51 [22]
179"True Love"May 29, 2013 (2013-05-29)0.37 [23]
1810"Full Body of Work"June 5, 2013 (2013-06-05)N/A

Season 3 (2013–14)

No.
overall
No. in
season
TitleOriginal air dateU.S. viewers
(millions)
191"The Seven Deadly Sins"December 4, 2013 (2013-12-04)N/A
202"Playing Dirty"December 11, 2013 (2013-12-11)N/A
213"Fight Club"December 18, 2013 (2013-12-18)N/A
224"Pain in the Ribs"January 1, 2014 (2014-01-01)N/A
235"Quittin' Time"January 8, 2014 (2014-01-08)N/A
246"Science Friction"January 15, 2014 (2014-01-15)0.35 [24]
257"Man and the Machine"January 22, 2014 (2014-01-22)N/A
268"Life's a Beach"January 29, 2014 (2014-01-29)N/A
279"Sexy Pin-ups"February 5, 2014 (2014-02-05)N/A
2810"Shock and Awe"February 12, 2014 (2014-02-12)N/A
2911"Crash and Burn"February 19, 2014 (2014-02-19)0.56 [25]
3012"The $100,000 Tattoo"February 26, 2014 (2014-02-26)N/A

See also

References

  1. ^ "Best Ink 2: Coming this Spring!". Archived from the original on October 23, 2013. Retrieved February 13, 2013.
  2. ^ "Best Ink Episode: "Something to Hide"". Retrieved November 23, 2012.
  3. ^ Bibel, Sara. "'Best Ink' Season 2 to Premiere Wednesday, April 3 on Oxygen". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on February 22, 2013. Retrieved February 19, 2013.
  4. ^ "Tattoos and Art Collide When Oxygen's "Best Ink" Returns for Season Two with New Host Pete Wentz on Wednesday, April 3, at 10 PM ET/PT". The Futon Critic. February 19, 2013.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Kondolojy, Amanda (October 22, 2013). "'Best Ink' Season Three Premieres Wednesday, December 4 at 10PM". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on October 28, 2013.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l [1], Season 2 Contestants
  7. ^ "Tuesday's Cable Ratings: "Tosh.0" Continues Demo Reign". The Futon Critic. March 28, 2012.
  8. ^ "Tuesday's Cable Ratings: "Tosh.0" Wraps Spring Run on Top". The Futon Critic. April 4, 2012.
  9. ^ "Tuesday's Cable Ratings: "Deadliest Catch," NBA Top Charts". The Futon Critic. April 11, 2012.
  10. ^ "Tuesday's Cable Ratings: "Deadliest Catch," NBA Share Top Honors". The Futon Critic. April 18, 2012.
  11. ^ "Tuesday's Cable Ratings: Another Week, Another "Deadliest" Win". The Futon Critic. April 25, 2012.[ permanent dead link]
  12. ^ "Tuesday's Cable Ratings: NBA Playoffs Continue Surge on TNT". The Futon Critic. May 2, 2012.
  13. ^ "Tuesday's Cable Ratings: NBA Playoffs, "Deadliest Catch" Lead the Night". The Futon Critic. May 10, 2012.
  14. ^ "Tuesday's Cable Ratings: NBA Playoffs Continue TNT's Reign". The Futon Critic. May 16, 2012.
  15. ^ "Wednesday's Cable Ratings: "Duck Dynasty" Still Unstoppable for A&E". The Futon Critic. April 4, 2013.
  16. ^ "Wednesday's Cable Ratings: A&E's "Duck Dynasty" Overshadows the Competition". The Futon Critic. April 11, 2013.
  17. ^ "Wednesday's Cable Ratings: "Duck Dynasty" Crushes the Competition". The Futon Critic. April 18, 2013.
  18. ^ "Wednesday's Cable Ratings: "Duck Dynasty" Goes Out on Top for A&E". The Futon Critic. April 25, 2013.
  19. ^ "Wednesday's Cable Ratings: TNT Rides NBA Playoffs to Top Spots". The Futon Critic. May 2, 2013.
  20. ^ "Wednesday's Cable Ratings: NBA Playoffs, "Psych" Top Charts". The Futon Critic. May 9, 2013.
  21. ^ "Wednesday's Cable Ratings: TNT Tops Third Consecutive Night with NBA Playoffs". The Futon Critic. May 16, 2013.
  22. ^ "Wednesday's Cable Ratings: Pacers/Heat Opener Dominates for TNT". The Futon Critic. May 23, 2013.
  23. ^ "Wednesday's Cable Ratings: Blackhawks/Red Wings Finale Tops Originals". The Futon Critic. May 30, 2013.
  24. ^ Kondolojy, Amanda (January 16, 2014). "Wednesday Cable Ratings: 'Duck Dynasty' Tops Night + 'American Horror Story', 'Crazy Hearts: Nashville', & More". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on January 16, 2014.
  25. ^ Yanan, Travis (February 20, 2014). "Wednesday's Cable Ratings & Broadcast Finals: "Minds," "Idol" Can't Catch Winter Games". The Futon Critic. Retrieved February 20, 2014.