Project Runway episode recap: the one where nothing happens.
So, Heidi comes out and tells the designers, "Look, we don't have time for a motherfucking walkoff so someone just steal someone else's muse and let's get on with this pointless challenge."
OK, so Uli steals Michael's model.
Nick Verreos is devastated! He's crying, "Oh, my God! Can you believe that bitch just did that?! Life has no meaning for me anymore. I can't go on!"
Cher bitch-slaps him and tells him to snap out of it. I wish she had done that LAST season!
Michael has a nervous breakdown but it's a much more quiet and composed nervous breakdown. Instead of whining he says, "I think I'll just stand here and work on this sketch for two days."
Tim explains the challenge: basically there is no challenge. The designers can do anything they want. He deals with this problem every season:
Tim: Designers, you can create any garment you like.
Designers: Great! So should it be made out of garbage or something?
Tim: No, it can be made out of anything you like.
Designers: Oh . . . like the interior of a 2007 Saturn Roadster?
Tim: No, I think you should just go to Mood and get some fabric!
Designers: OK. What celebrity are we designing for?
Tim: What? No, there's no celebrity! For Christ's sake, why is this so difficult?! Just design any goddamn thing you want!
Designers: SHIT! WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO?!!
Well, the episode is enjoyable enough, if not very exciting. Since we're stuck with Jeffrey for the final, the editors go out of their way to make him seem cute and cuddly. We see scenes of him modeling Uli's dress and braiding Laura's hair. Oh, they're having so much fun!
The designers have to find three words to describe their style and their dress.
Michael is still almost comatose and ends up using three variants of the same word: Slutty, Whorey, and Trampy.
Laura chooses Fabulously, Glamorous, and, um, Hailing-a-Cab.
Uli chooses Partying, Drinking, and Hungover.
Jeffrey chooses the interesting combination of Insulting, Misogynistic, and Romantic.
So the trick is to design something that looks completely like something you would design without making it look too much like something you would design. Yeah, I know.
Uli wins! I really was expecting this to be the round where she was eliminated but she makes a really cute dress at the last minute and completely deserves to win. So, what does she win? Nothing. She goes on to the final with the rest of the losers.
Laura creates the same dress she always makes. It's fabulously glamorous and it looks perfect for hailing a taxi if you're late for a business meeting. What? It doesn't? Oh, well; at least it's fabulously glamorous.
Michael: what the hell happened? He had these nice criss-crossing strips going across the bodice and then he just gave up and didn't put them on. The dress looks unfinished because it is. The criss-crossing he kept on the belly makes his model look pregnant. Wait; the model's chest is showing and the dress makes her look pregnant? Was he designing a dress for Laura? That's so sweet!
Jeffrey creates a piece of crap, as usual. No, I'm just kidding; I like some of his outfits and I didn't think this one was terrible. Pretty bad, yes, but not terrible. I'm with the judges: I just didn't get it.
After much phony deliberation, Heidi announces the huge surprise that most of us had suspected since her "We're not committed to three finalists" comment: all four designers are going on to the final.
Uli, who was definitely going on to the final anyway says, "This sucks!"
The other three designers, any one of whom could have been out, say, "Oh, what a good idea!"
Next week: the reunion. I have a couple of predictions: some of the designers will get drunk and someone will say something shocking. Tune in to see if I'm right!
Monday, September 25, 2006
"Congratulations on buying the most stolen car on the planet!"
OK, so I started on Saturday with the mission of buying any car that comes in orange. Actually, I had decided on the specific car: the Honda Fit. I didn't know much about it because it is brand new for 2007 and Consumer Reports hasn't reviewed it yet. But what do I care? It comes in orange. There's really only one problem with the Honda Fit: while Honda spent lots of money on an advertising campaign, they apparently forgot to produce any cars. Here's a dramatization of my encounter at the Honda Dealer:
Me: I'm interested in the Honda Fit.
Dealer: Well, good luck with that.
Me: No, seriously.
Dealer: No one can get them. Occasionally a dealer can get hold of one but they get marked up so much you're better off buying a more expensive car. What color were you interested in.
Me: Flame Orange.
Dealer: Are you high? You'd have to be on a waiting list until the apocalypse to get that color.
So, that may not really be that long off but I couldn't wait; I needed a new car, like, yesterday (literally yesterday).
By yesterday my old Thunderbird no longer had brake lights and I was a little desperate to unload it. My requirements had dropped from "cool, powerful, safe, inexpensive, orange car" to "car."
I spent a little more than I wanted but ended up with a much better car than I thought I could get. I got a 2007 Honda Civic coupe. I call it my car from the future because, see, it's not even 2007 yet. Ooooh, freaky, right?! How can I have a car from next year?
Anyway, it's a really cute car; it looks great (though I had to settle for black), it's comfortable, it has every safety feature, and it feels as powerful as my 8 cylinder because it's smaller.
And, of course, it is the most stolen car on the planet! Because having your car stolen really is the sincerest form of flattery. It makes much more of a dramatic statement than the tired old, "your car is really nice."
And I'm still house-sitting at the house of the dead possums, which is not in the best neighborhood. So I'm looking forward to the week being over, when I can park back at home in Toluca Lake, better known as "The Beverly Hills of the San Fernando Valley."
OK, so I started on Saturday with the mission of buying any car that comes in orange. Actually, I had decided on the specific car: the Honda Fit. I didn't know much about it because it is brand new for 2007 and Consumer Reports hasn't reviewed it yet. But what do I care? It comes in orange. There's really only one problem with the Honda Fit: while Honda spent lots of money on an advertising campaign, they apparently forgot to produce any cars. Here's a dramatization of my encounter at the Honda Dealer:
Me: I'm interested in the Honda Fit.
Dealer: Well, good luck with that.
Me: No, seriously.
Dealer: No one can get them. Occasionally a dealer can get hold of one but they get marked up so much you're better off buying a more expensive car. What color were you interested in.
Me: Flame Orange.
Dealer: Are you high? You'd have to be on a waiting list until the apocalypse to get that color.
So, that may not really be that long off but I couldn't wait; I needed a new car, like, yesterday (literally yesterday).
By yesterday my old Thunderbird no longer had brake lights and I was a little desperate to unload it. My requirements had dropped from "cool, powerful, safe, inexpensive, orange car" to "car."
I spent a little more than I wanted but ended up with a much better car than I thought I could get. I got a 2007 Honda Civic coupe. I call it my car from the future because, see, it's not even 2007 yet. Ooooh, freaky, right?! How can I have a car from next year?
Anyway, it's a really cute car; it looks great (though I had to settle for black), it's comfortable, it has every safety feature, and it feels as powerful as my 8 cylinder because it's smaller.
And, of course, it is the most stolen car on the planet! Because having your car stolen really is the sincerest form of flattery. It makes much more of a dramatic statement than the tired old, "your car is really nice."
And I'm still house-sitting at the house of the dead possums, which is not in the best neighborhood. So I'm looking forward to the week being over, when I can park back at home in Toluca Lake, better known as "The Beverly Hills of the San Fernando Valley."
Friday, September 22, 2006
A new car: or how I will spend this coming weekend.
I drive a big old 1995 Ford Thunderbird (that's before they changed the body to that tiny little retro sports car.) I love it but it's too old and it's falling apart. Repairing it is still cheaper than buying a new car but I want something reliable that I don't have to fix all the time. It's also getting all these weird little problems that mechanics can't even figure out so it's really time for a new car. The problem is I don't like any new cars.
Is it too much to ask for a car that is exactly like the one I have now except that it be new, affordable, Japanese, and painted bright orange? I don't think that's too much to expect!
Why do cars only come in silver now? I just want to be able to find my car in a parking lot! How about Tiffany blue? too gay? OK, how about olive green? That's butch, right? Well, the affordable cars don't come in any interesting colors so I'm stuck. I don't want silver, black, or white and I don't really like red or most blues either. I think I could handle champaign (gold). That's a more common color in many models.
I wanted a Daewoo but I guess I was a little slow on the draw there; they don't exist any more. So I'm looking at the Hyundais in addition to the Scions and a few other makes. There are a couple of tiny cars that come in fun colors but I think they are just too small for me. We'll be test driving tomorrow. I'll let you know what I find!
I drive a big old 1995 Ford Thunderbird (that's before they changed the body to that tiny little retro sports car.) I love it but it's too old and it's falling apart. Repairing it is still cheaper than buying a new car but I want something reliable that I don't have to fix all the time. It's also getting all these weird little problems that mechanics can't even figure out so it's really time for a new car. The problem is I don't like any new cars.
Is it too much to ask for a car that is exactly like the one I have now except that it be new, affordable, Japanese, and painted bright orange? I don't think that's too much to expect!
Why do cars only come in silver now? I just want to be able to find my car in a parking lot! How about Tiffany blue? too gay? OK, how about olive green? That's butch, right? Well, the affordable cars don't come in any interesting colors so I'm stuck. I don't want silver, black, or white and I don't really like red or most blues either. I think I could handle champaign (gold). That's a more common color in many models.
I wanted a Daewoo but I guess I was a little slow on the draw there; they don't exist any more. So I'm looking at the Hyundais in addition to the Scions and a few other makes. There are a couple of tiny cars that come in fun colors but I think they are just too small for me. We'll be test driving tomorrow. I'll let you know what I find!
Dead possum on my doorstep.
No, that's not the name of my new indi-rock band. I'm house-sitting for a friend and I came home the other night and there was a possum dying on the doorstep. I nearly stepped on it and it completely freaked me out. It looks like a rat but is the size of a house cat, for those of you who haven't seen one up close. I normally think they are cute but this one was dying right in front of me and cute wasn't the word that came to mind. More like horrifying. I managed to jump over it and get into the house. Other Eric suggested, "Hey, don't possums play dead?" "YES!," I said. "That's it; it got scared and is just playing dead!" (Happy thoughts, happy thoughts; it will be gone in the morning.)
Now, I knew it wasn't really acting like it was dead. Keanu Reeves isn't this bad an actor. The poor thing was wheezing and it's breath was so labored it wasn't fooling anyone. So I knew it wasn't going to be gone in the morning; it was going to be dead and attracting flies and I'd have to figure out what to do with it. I got up in the morning, got a shovel out of the garage, somehow managed to get it into the trash can without having a nervous breakdown, and got the trash out to the curb before the garbage truck came. I'm so glad it's over but it was a little traumatic!
That's the last dead body I'm disposing of. And I mean it this time!
No, that's not the name of my new indi-rock band. I'm house-sitting for a friend and I came home the other night and there was a possum dying on the doorstep. I nearly stepped on it and it completely freaked me out. It looks like a rat but is the size of a house cat, for those of you who haven't seen one up close. I normally think they are cute but this one was dying right in front of me and cute wasn't the word that came to mind. More like horrifying. I managed to jump over it and get into the house. Other Eric suggested, "Hey, don't possums play dead?" "YES!," I said. "That's it; it got scared and is just playing dead!" (Happy thoughts, happy thoughts; it will be gone in the morning.)
Now, I knew it wasn't really acting like it was dead. Keanu Reeves isn't this bad an actor. The poor thing was wheezing and it's breath was so labored it wasn't fooling anyone. So I knew it wasn't going to be gone in the morning; it was going to be dead and attracting flies and I'd have to figure out what to do with it. I got up in the morning, got a shovel out of the garage, somehow managed to get it into the trash can without having a nervous breakdown, and got the trash out to the curb before the garbage truck came. I'm so glad it's over but it was a little traumatic!
That's the last dead body I'm disposing of. And I mean it this time!
Thursday, September 14, 2006
This PR episode had me crying like a whore in church (or something like that)
Laura's sad = I'm sad
I didn't think I would be able to watch this episode after seeing Laura so upset in the preview. It just breaks my heart to see her cry. But it warms my cockles (uh, the cockles of my heart?) to see her smile and, fortunately, we got to see some of that in this episode too.
We start out with Laura saying, "At least there are only five of us left. I don't think I could go on if there were any more of us." (Flashback to Chloe saying, "At least I'm done; there's no way I could make one more dress!")
So then, of course, Heidi (wearing a giant scarf as a dress) tells the designers, "We have a big surprise for you: we're bringing back all the eliminated designers and starting the show all over again!"
oh shit
OK, it's not that bad. But they are bringing back the two other designers who won challenges. Fortunately, they just happen to be the two worst designers from the show so it shouldn't be a problem.
So, Angela and Vincent are brought out looking dazed and blinking at the lights, "Where are we? What's going on? Who are you people?" Oh my; they are even more confused than usual. Clearly they were drugged and kidnapped by the producers. Even for Project Runway, that's going too far.
I admit, it took me a little while to wrap my mind around this. Three designers will be off but at most it will be two of the final five and, more likely, it will only be the one elimination that would have happened anyway. Only one of the returned designers can stay, and only if he or she wins. That's not going to happen. So just relax!
They have a poll for who the viewers would have liked to see return. Alison's picture has a text balloon and she's screaming, "Pick me, you fuckers! Heidi and the other judges are threatened by my incredible talent but you should ignore those retards and pick me because I'm so sweet and adorable!"
America picks Alison.
So they have to make black and white cocktail dresses. Laura wonders, "What else IS there?" So I'm worried about her because she needs to do something different this time. She goes with black lace over white. OK, now I'm REALLY worried. I always think that looks so cheap. The previews make us think that Tim Gunn is being a meany and has said something to upset Laura but it turns out he hasn't. She's just tired and who can blame her. It appears her due date is in about four minutes.
But she pulls it off. Michael Kors loves it; he thinks it's sophisticated and young looking! Nina finds it as adorable as red buttons on a blue duvet cover! Other Eric and I are WEEPING we are so happy! (excuse me a minute; I need a Kleenex just thinking about it). She Wins!!!!!!!!!!
Angela and Vincent didn't win so they are locked up until they are ready to reenter society.
Michael makes a stretchy white dress with black trim and the judges love it. Kayne makes a stretchy black dress with white trim and the judges hate it.
Uli creates the perfect dress to wear to a lame Project Runway "party" where you find the need to hang yourself with your own necklace.
Jeffrey celebrates the fact that he's going on to the next round like any of us would: by flipping off the other designers and hoping they all have strokes. Congratulations as always, Jeffrey, for being a world-class prick!
p.s. the other Eric has up his little recap, too. If you are interested you can use the Everything Eric link on my home page. Also, if you are interested in reading a really long, boring commentary on the PR judging process and would like to tell me how wrong I am about the judging not being fixed, please see my previous post. Enjoy!
Laura's sad = I'm sad
I didn't think I would be able to watch this episode after seeing Laura so upset in the preview. It just breaks my heart to see her cry. But it warms my cockles (uh, the cockles of my heart?) to see her smile and, fortunately, we got to see some of that in this episode too.
We start out with Laura saying, "At least there are only five of us left. I don't think I could go on if there were any more of us." (Flashback to Chloe saying, "At least I'm done; there's no way I could make one more dress!")
So then, of course, Heidi (wearing a giant scarf as a dress) tells the designers, "We have a big surprise for you: we're bringing back all the eliminated designers and starting the show all over again!"
oh shit
OK, it's not that bad. But they are bringing back the two other designers who won challenges. Fortunately, they just happen to be the two worst designers from the show so it shouldn't be a problem.
So, Angela and Vincent are brought out looking dazed and blinking at the lights, "Where are we? What's going on? Who are you people?" Oh my; they are even more confused than usual. Clearly they were drugged and kidnapped by the producers. Even for Project Runway, that's going too far.
I admit, it took me a little while to wrap my mind around this. Three designers will be off but at most it will be two of the final five and, more likely, it will only be the one elimination that would have happened anyway. Only one of the returned designers can stay, and only if he or she wins. That's not going to happen. So just relax!
They have a poll for who the viewers would have liked to see return. Alison's picture has a text balloon and she's screaming, "Pick me, you fuckers! Heidi and the other judges are threatened by my incredible talent but you should ignore those retards and pick me because I'm so sweet and adorable!"
America picks Alison.
So they have to make black and white cocktail dresses. Laura wonders, "What else IS there?" So I'm worried about her because she needs to do something different this time. She goes with black lace over white. OK, now I'm REALLY worried. I always think that looks so cheap. The previews make us think that Tim Gunn is being a meany and has said something to upset Laura but it turns out he hasn't. She's just tired and who can blame her. It appears her due date is in about four minutes.
But she pulls it off. Michael Kors loves it; he thinks it's sophisticated and young looking! Nina finds it as adorable as red buttons on a blue duvet cover! Other Eric and I are WEEPING we are so happy! (excuse me a minute; I need a Kleenex just thinking about it). She Wins!!!!!!!!!!
Angela and Vincent didn't win so they are locked up until they are ready to reenter society.
Michael makes a stretchy white dress with black trim and the judges love it. Kayne makes a stretchy black dress with white trim and the judges hate it.
Uli creates the perfect dress to wear to a lame Project Runway "party" where you find the need to hang yourself with your own necklace.
Jeffrey celebrates the fact that he's going on to the next round like any of us would: by flipping off the other designers and hoping they all have strokes. Congratulations as always, Jeffrey, for being a world-class prick!
p.s. the other Eric has up his little recap, too. If you are interested you can use the Everything Eric link on my home page. Also, if you are interested in reading a really long, boring commentary on the PR judging process and would like to tell me how wrong I am about the judging not being fixed, please see my previous post. Enjoy!
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
PR judging: a really long, boring assessment of the judging on Project Runway.
People have left a lot of comments on BPR about the quality of the judging and the involvement of the producers but I don't think there has been a post dedicated to that topic so I thought I would cover it here.
These are my opinions. Please feel free to leave a comment (and by "leave a comment" I mean "completely agree with me and praise my insight.") No, seriously, you can disagree with me but be polite because I'm very sensitive.
First let me say that we can all agree that we would like to see more designing and less fighting on the show. I think the producers really pump up the drama on the show and sometimes the actual designing aspect suffers.
However, where I disagree with many viewers (and one of the aufed designers) is when the producers are accused of manipulating the judges and keeping on controversial designers just for the sake of good television. I'm not saying this isn't possible, I'm just saying I don't see any evidence that proves this. People seem to cite the fact that they don't agree with the judges decision as proof that the show is rigged. I don't think that evidence would go very far in a court of law.
Let's look at a few details:
Yes, there is that disclaimer at the end of the show. It says the producers consult with the judges. It doesn't say the producers tell the judges what to do. Tim has said repeatedly that designers are not kept on the show just for drama. He isn't involved with the judging but he is a witness to all of it. I, for one, would not call Tim Gunn a liar. Michael Kors has also stated that the producers have never tried to change the judges decision. He doesn't say it could never happen, but he makes it pretty clear that it never has. Do the producers discuss the decision with the judges? It sounds to me like they do. Why? I don't know. Maybe the producers just want to know what's going to happen on their show. They probably decide in what order the winner, the loser, and the safe designers are announced and to do that they need to be in on the judges' decisions. I also think that disclaimer is a legal requirement, reminding us that this is a television show and not the Olympics. They don't want to be sued over judging problems - they're telling us, legally, they have the right to do whatever they want.
Some good examples of "good characters" getting kicked off the show and "low-drama" designers being kept on are Zulima and Malan (the former) and Chloe and Uli (the latter). Zulima made good television but when she created a boring dress the judges got rid of her. Also, some designers who seem quiet and boring in the beginning are simply not getting the air-time.
One more point on the producers: Hiedi is a producer and a judge so obviously at least one producer is completely involved in the judging. Maybe she votes to kick someone off because she's "threatened" by her or maybe she votes to keep someone on because he's clinically insane. It's possible. But any of the judges could do that.
I think it was a recent EW article that explained a little of the judging process. Apparently the judges score the runway, then the producers collect the score cards and add up the results (someone has to do it; are they going to call in Price Waterhouse?), then they bring in the high and low scoring designers and talk to them, and then the judges (in consultation with the producers) make their final decisions. This was very interesting to read. It means the producers are in fact involved in the judging process. But it doesn't prove that the producers make the final decisions; until proven otherwise, I'm going to believe Tim Gunn and Michael Kors that the judges make the decisions. The other thing I think was mentioned in this article was that prior work is taken into account by the judges. This is also very interesting but you have to remember that, even if they consider that, it is still only one of many criteria they use for judging. Someone who created consistently good work can still be eliminated for one terrible outfit. It depends how bad it is compared to the others.
So now on to the judging:
Why do the judges decisions not always match the viewers decisions? Well, I think there are three possible explanations:
1: The judges are complete idiots
2: The viewers are complete idiots
or
3: It's a matter of taste
So many factors go into the judging that it would be impossible for everyone to agree. The viewer polls are far from unanimous so I don't think they prove that the judges are wrong. I think if we had polls of the top and bottom two they would very closely match the judges' decisions most of the time. Then you have to factor in that the judges are seeing the garments up close and in person instead of on television, they spend many hours making their decisions instead of just a few minutes, and they have different industry knowledge than most of the viewers. I think this can help explain why we won't always agree with them.
People also complain that the judging is inconsistent. One week they say the execution is bad, the next week they say the conception is bad. One week they say they like innovation and the next week they keep the boring dress. But you have to remember that just because they mention one judging criteria that doesn't mean that is the only thing taken into consideration. So maybe one week the concept is good enough to make up for bad execution and the next week it isn't. To understand every nuance of the judging process the show would have to be five hours long. (I'm all for extending the show to two hours, by the way; I think that would help the process be more transparent.)
Some examples of controversial eliminations and why I think they went the way they did:
The wedding dress episode from season one. Both Austin and that woman who was eliminated (sorry, I forget her name) made just horrendous dresses. Austin's dress was so ugly it almost made Heidi puke. As a wedding dress is was easily worse than the other one. Now, if the other dress had been well made and fit properly, then Austin would have been in trouble, but it wasn't. They both looked terrible so the judges chose the designer who at least tried to do something different.
The skating costume episode from season two. OK, this was mostly upsetting to me because Emmett was my favorite. I actually liked his costume and thought it was very pretty, other than the skirt. So I completely disagreed with the judges on this. But the judges thought it was ugly; in fact, just as ugly as Santino's. So again, the chose the one they thought was less boring, which was Santino's. I point this out because, although I was distraught, it didn't make me want to boycott the show.
And the most controversial elimination of the entire series: uncle Nick. I think this was responsible for the destabilization of the Middle East. There was rioting in the streets. People were jumping from rooftops. The stock market crashed. I escaped to the safety of my bomb shelter. OK, you get the point: people over-reacted a little. I thought Nick put more work into his suit than Santino put into that jump-suit but I can't fault the judges for their decision. Nick's garment was really bad. The fabric was bad, the construction was bad, there was puckering everywhere (this must have looked even worse up close), the no buttons and pockets thing was just weird. Santino chose the right fabric and the design was good but the construction was terrible (basically nonexistent). Did the producers tell the judges, "We have to keep Santino in order to make good television so get rid of Nick"? I don't think so. I think they looked at two really bad garments and decided one was slightly more interesting than the other.
Alison. Boy, I was surprised people were so upset about this. I think it must have mainly been people who were new to the show this season because I didn't think it was nearly as big a deal as when Nick was cut. I mean, it was relatively early in the season when we aren't quite as invested and there isn't as much work history to evaluate. Yes, she had been consistently pretty good but clearly not enough to make up for that train-wreck of a dress. Yes, Tim liked it, but he's not always going to share the taste of the judges and it was also before the model had that ridiculous bow put on her head. The best comment people (and Alison) seemed to make about this dress was that it would translate well into fabric. First of all: I doubt that. Secondly: that wasn't the challenge. And by the way, the judges weren't calling the model fat. They were saying the dress made her look fat. It's pretty bad when your dress makes a tall, skinny model look dumpy.
Similarly, Robert took a woman and managed to make her look larger than she really was. When you saw her in her own clothes she looked fine. He should have at least made her look that good or what's the point? Just like the wedding dress debacle, he designed exactly what the client said she liked, without making any adjustment for what he thought would look good. She likes red and black. That's nice; that doesn't mean all her clothes have to be red and black. I'm sure she would have been just as happy in dark blue. My point is this: they judges took two outfits that made the client look terrible and, as usual, chose the one that they thought was more interesting. I think the fact that Jeffrey made the client so unhappy should have tipped the balance but the judges didn't think so. (Or the producers just decided to piss off their viewers for some reason.)
Oh, another thing I wanted to mention was the question how the judges seem to know some of the things that go on in the work room. Well, the judging process goes on for hours and as they talk to the designers some of this information comes out. But we don't see all of that.
Also, as far as improving the judging, I don't think judging the garments without knowing the identity of the designer will really make a difference. First of all, I think they do the runway judging this way already. This is why we get comments like, "I could tell it was a Laura." But since they can can usually figure it out anyway, I don't think it makes much difference. But the rest of the judging needs to be done by talking to the designers and I think this part is important.
So, finally, I just want to repeat that there is simply no way to make the judging process perfect. It will always come down to a matter of taste.
People have left a lot of comments on BPR about the quality of the judging and the involvement of the producers but I don't think there has been a post dedicated to that topic so I thought I would cover it here.
These are my opinions. Please feel free to leave a comment (and by "leave a comment" I mean "completely agree with me and praise my insight.") No, seriously, you can disagree with me but be polite because I'm very sensitive.
First let me say that we can all agree that we would like to see more designing and less fighting on the show. I think the producers really pump up the drama on the show and sometimes the actual designing aspect suffers.
However, where I disagree with many viewers (and one of the aufed designers) is when the producers are accused of manipulating the judges and keeping on controversial designers just for the sake of good television. I'm not saying this isn't possible, I'm just saying I don't see any evidence that proves this. People seem to cite the fact that they don't agree with the judges decision as proof that the show is rigged. I don't think that evidence would go very far in a court of law.
Let's look at a few details:
Yes, there is that disclaimer at the end of the show. It says the producers consult with the judges. It doesn't say the producers tell the judges what to do. Tim has said repeatedly that designers are not kept on the show just for drama. He isn't involved with the judging but he is a witness to all of it. I, for one, would not call Tim Gunn a liar. Michael Kors has also stated that the producers have never tried to change the judges decision. He doesn't say it could never happen, but he makes it pretty clear that it never has. Do the producers discuss the decision with the judges? It sounds to me like they do. Why? I don't know. Maybe the producers just want to know what's going to happen on their show. They probably decide in what order the winner, the loser, and the safe designers are announced and to do that they need to be in on the judges' decisions. I also think that disclaimer is a legal requirement, reminding us that this is a television show and not the Olympics. They don't want to be sued over judging problems - they're telling us, legally, they have the right to do whatever they want.
Some good examples of "good characters" getting kicked off the show and "low-drama" designers being kept on are Zulima and Malan (the former) and Chloe and Uli (the latter). Zulima made good television but when she created a boring dress the judges got rid of her. Also, some designers who seem quiet and boring in the beginning are simply not getting the air-time.
One more point on the producers: Hiedi is a producer and a judge so obviously at least one producer is completely involved in the judging. Maybe she votes to kick someone off because she's "threatened" by her or maybe she votes to keep someone on because he's clinically insane. It's possible. But any of the judges could do that.
I think it was a recent EW article that explained a little of the judging process. Apparently the judges score the runway, then the producers collect the score cards and add up the results (someone has to do it; are they going to call in Price Waterhouse?), then they bring in the high and low scoring designers and talk to them, and then the judges (in consultation with the producers) make their final decisions. This was very interesting to read. It means the producers are in fact involved in the judging process. But it doesn't prove that the producers make the final decisions; until proven otherwise, I'm going to believe Tim Gunn and Michael Kors that the judges make the decisions. The other thing I think was mentioned in this article was that prior work is taken into account by the judges. This is also very interesting but you have to remember that, even if they consider that, it is still only one of many criteria they use for judging. Someone who created consistently good work can still be eliminated for one terrible outfit. It depends how bad it is compared to the others.
So now on to the judging:
Why do the judges decisions not always match the viewers decisions? Well, I think there are three possible explanations:
1: The judges are complete idiots
2: The viewers are complete idiots
or
3: It's a matter of taste
So many factors go into the judging that it would be impossible for everyone to agree. The viewer polls are far from unanimous so I don't think they prove that the judges are wrong. I think if we had polls of the top and bottom two they would very closely match the judges' decisions most of the time. Then you have to factor in that the judges are seeing the garments up close and in person instead of on television, they spend many hours making their decisions instead of just a few minutes, and they have different industry knowledge than most of the viewers. I think this can help explain why we won't always agree with them.
People also complain that the judging is inconsistent. One week they say the execution is bad, the next week they say the conception is bad. One week they say they like innovation and the next week they keep the boring dress. But you have to remember that just because they mention one judging criteria that doesn't mean that is the only thing taken into consideration. So maybe one week the concept is good enough to make up for bad execution and the next week it isn't. To understand every nuance of the judging process the show would have to be five hours long. (I'm all for extending the show to two hours, by the way; I think that would help the process be more transparent.)
Some examples of controversial eliminations and why I think they went the way they did:
The wedding dress episode from season one. Both Austin and that woman who was eliminated (sorry, I forget her name) made just horrendous dresses. Austin's dress was so ugly it almost made Heidi puke. As a wedding dress is was easily worse than the other one. Now, if the other dress had been well made and fit properly, then Austin would have been in trouble, but it wasn't. They both looked terrible so the judges chose the designer who at least tried to do something different.
The skating costume episode from season two. OK, this was mostly upsetting to me because Emmett was my favorite. I actually liked his costume and thought it was very pretty, other than the skirt. So I completely disagreed with the judges on this. But the judges thought it was ugly; in fact, just as ugly as Santino's. So again, the chose the one they thought was less boring, which was Santino's. I point this out because, although I was distraught, it didn't make me want to boycott the show.
And the most controversial elimination of the entire series: uncle Nick. I think this was responsible for the destabilization of the Middle East. There was rioting in the streets. People were jumping from rooftops. The stock market crashed. I escaped to the safety of my bomb shelter. OK, you get the point: people over-reacted a little. I thought Nick put more work into his suit than Santino put into that jump-suit but I can't fault the judges for their decision. Nick's garment was really bad. The fabric was bad, the construction was bad, there was puckering everywhere (this must have looked even worse up close), the no buttons and pockets thing was just weird. Santino chose the right fabric and the design was good but the construction was terrible (basically nonexistent). Did the producers tell the judges, "We have to keep Santino in order to make good television so get rid of Nick"? I don't think so. I think they looked at two really bad garments and decided one was slightly more interesting than the other.
Alison. Boy, I was surprised people were so upset about this. I think it must have mainly been people who were new to the show this season because I didn't think it was nearly as big a deal as when Nick was cut. I mean, it was relatively early in the season when we aren't quite as invested and there isn't as much work history to evaluate. Yes, she had been consistently pretty good but clearly not enough to make up for that train-wreck of a dress. Yes, Tim liked it, but he's not always going to share the taste of the judges and it was also before the model had that ridiculous bow put on her head. The best comment people (and Alison) seemed to make about this dress was that it would translate well into fabric. First of all: I doubt that. Secondly: that wasn't the challenge. And by the way, the judges weren't calling the model fat. They were saying the dress made her look fat. It's pretty bad when your dress makes a tall, skinny model look dumpy.
Similarly, Robert took a woman and managed to make her look larger than she really was. When you saw her in her own clothes she looked fine. He should have at least made her look that good or what's the point? Just like the wedding dress debacle, he designed exactly what the client said she liked, without making any adjustment for what he thought would look good. She likes red and black. That's nice; that doesn't mean all her clothes have to be red and black. I'm sure she would have been just as happy in dark blue. My point is this: they judges took two outfits that made the client look terrible and, as usual, chose the one that they thought was more interesting. I think the fact that Jeffrey made the client so unhappy should have tipped the balance but the judges didn't think so. (Or the producers just decided to piss off their viewers for some reason.)
Oh, another thing I wanted to mention was the question how the judges seem to know some of the things that go on in the work room. Well, the judging process goes on for hours and as they talk to the designers some of this information comes out. But we don't see all of that.
Also, as far as improving the judging, I don't think judging the garments without knowing the identity of the designer will really make a difference. First of all, I think they do the runway judging this way already. This is why we get comments like, "I could tell it was a Laura." But since they can can usually figure it out anyway, I don't think it makes much difference. But the rest of the judging needs to be done by talking to the designers and I think this part is important.
So, finally, I just want to repeat that there is simply no way to make the judging process perfect. It will always come down to a matter of taste.
Monday, September 11, 2006
Jackalope of the month club: or what we did this past weekend.
OK, so we spent Sunday doing a photo shoot of a jackalope dressed in different outfits for a 2007 calendar.
WHAT?!!!
Oh, right, like you've never done that.
So, anyway . . . we (by the way, when I say "we" I'm not using the royal "We," I'm not the Queen of England, I'm speaking of myself and the other Eric, who has the Everything Eric site in the sidebar) so we were taking pictures of a jackalope for Eric's friend. Now, before PETA attacks me, let me point out that it was not a real jackalope; it was just a toy.
Now, ostensibly the jackalope is a boy (refered to as "he" and such, though I don't know if he has a name) but we dressed him as a June bride anyway. He didn't seem to have a problem with it. As we were setting up the shoot the friend asked, "now, where could he get married?" I suggested, "Massachusetts?" but it turned out she meant where in our apartment would be a good background for the photographs.
So the photos were cute (Eric has some up on his site), we had a 30-minute meal from my new Rachael Ray cookbook (it took about 40 minutes, but that was my fault; it could have been done in 30), and then we sat down to watch the final episode of Design Star.
I'm not a big reality television fan; in fact, I never watched reality shows until a couple of years ago, other than the ones on PBS like 1900 House. But the other Eric got me hooked on Project Runway and now I watch a few of the similar ones that have a real objective like PR and Top Chef. We missed the first couple of episodes of Design Star but we caught up with the rest of them and we tuned in last night to watch the completely predictable outcome.
It was a choice between a very sweet and cute girl with a southern accent and a hot young guy who takes his shirt off for any reason (and failing that, for no reason at all). Guess which one the viewers picked?
Yes, OK, I voted for him too. We both thought she was probably a little better as a presenter but her final room was terrible. There was really no contest; as sweet and talented and charming as Alice was, David was just the far superior designer. He's actually really good.
Here's the problem: nobody's going to watch a show with either one of them.
Friday we saw Curtains with David Hyde Pierce. It just closed here in Los Angeles but in case it makes it to Broadway (and that doesn't take much) here's a review:
The audience seemed to love it.
That sounds bitchier than I mean it to be. I thought it was perfectly enjoyable and cute. The acting was uniformly excellent, the dialogue was very funny, and the choreography was pretty amazing.
Oh, did I mention it's a musical?
Yeah, that's the problem. The music was instantly forgettable and mostly not funny. It started out well with an Oklahoma-style tribute to Kansas and there were a few cute songs about the theater buisiness but mostly I found the songs too serious. I think it was supposed to be a satire of an old-fashioned musical but the songs in the musical-within-the-musical were often direct imitations of B-rate musicals--not good enough to be good and not bad enough to be funny. They were lively, though, because of the very raunchy choreography that accompanied them. The love songs in the musical-OUTSIDE-the-musical (it's a musical about a musical, if you didn't get that) were mostly dull. Now, if you really love old-fashioned musicals you may enjoy these songs. I prefer either the real thing or very funny parodies. The Drowsy Chaperone is a good example of this done right.
But, as I said, it was mostly enjoyable. There were a lot of in-jokes for the theater crowd and Edward Hibbert (from Frasier) was drop-dead hilarious as the bitchy gay director. OK, so he was playing himself.
The best line in the play is when he comes on stage and says (and you have to say this in your best bitchy English homo voice, as though you don't say everything that way), "I was taking a walk and I went into a service at Saint Mary's and I just have this to say, 'Those fucking Catholics really know how to put on a show!'"
OK, so we spent Sunday doing a photo shoot of a jackalope dressed in different outfits for a 2007 calendar.
WHAT?!!!
Oh, right, like you've never done that.
So, anyway . . . we (by the way, when I say "we" I'm not using the royal "We," I'm not the Queen of England, I'm speaking of myself and the other Eric, who has the Everything Eric site in the sidebar) so we were taking pictures of a jackalope for Eric's friend. Now, before PETA attacks me, let me point out that it was not a real jackalope; it was just a toy.
Now, ostensibly the jackalope is a boy (refered to as "he" and such, though I don't know if he has a name) but we dressed him as a June bride anyway. He didn't seem to have a problem with it. As we were setting up the shoot the friend asked, "now, where could he get married?" I suggested, "Massachusetts?" but it turned out she meant where in our apartment would be a good background for the photographs.
So the photos were cute (Eric has some up on his site), we had a 30-minute meal from my new Rachael Ray cookbook (it took about 40 minutes, but that was my fault; it could have been done in 30), and then we sat down to watch the final episode of Design Star.
I'm not a big reality television fan; in fact, I never watched reality shows until a couple of years ago, other than the ones on PBS like 1900 House. But the other Eric got me hooked on Project Runway and now I watch a few of the similar ones that have a real objective like PR and Top Chef. We missed the first couple of episodes of Design Star but we caught up with the rest of them and we tuned in last night to watch the completely predictable outcome.
It was a choice between a very sweet and cute girl with a southern accent and a hot young guy who takes his shirt off for any reason (and failing that, for no reason at all). Guess which one the viewers picked?
Yes, OK, I voted for him too. We both thought she was probably a little better as a presenter but her final room was terrible. There was really no contest; as sweet and talented and charming as Alice was, David was just the far superior designer. He's actually really good.
Here's the problem: nobody's going to watch a show with either one of them.
Friday we saw Curtains with David Hyde Pierce. It just closed here in Los Angeles but in case it makes it to Broadway (and that doesn't take much) here's a review:
The audience seemed to love it.
That sounds bitchier than I mean it to be. I thought it was perfectly enjoyable and cute. The acting was uniformly excellent, the dialogue was very funny, and the choreography was pretty amazing.
Oh, did I mention it's a musical?
Yeah, that's the problem. The music was instantly forgettable and mostly not funny. It started out well with an Oklahoma-style tribute to Kansas and there were a few cute songs about the theater buisiness but mostly I found the songs too serious. I think it was supposed to be a satire of an old-fashioned musical but the songs in the musical-within-the-musical were often direct imitations of B-rate musicals--not good enough to be good and not bad enough to be funny. They were lively, though, because of the very raunchy choreography that accompanied them. The love songs in the musical-OUTSIDE-the-musical (it's a musical about a musical, if you didn't get that) were mostly dull. Now, if you really love old-fashioned musicals you may enjoy these songs. I prefer either the real thing or very funny parodies. The Drowsy Chaperone is a good example of this done right.
But, as I said, it was mostly enjoyable. There were a lot of in-jokes for the theater crowd and Edward Hibbert (from Frasier) was drop-dead hilarious as the bitchy gay director. OK, so he was playing himself.
The best line in the play is when he comes on stage and says (and you have to say this in your best bitchy English homo voice, as though you don't say everything that way), "I was taking a walk and I went into a service at Saint Mary's and I just have this to say, 'Those fucking Catholics really know how to put on a show!'"
Thursday, September 07, 2006
Ding dong the dingbat's gone!: My Project Runway posting with genuine French couture hand details:
Oh, my goodness, this episode was emotionally draining; both Laura and Michael made terrible gowns and I was really worried about them!
Here are some highlights:
So they are in Paris and Tim and Catherine tell the designers, "OK, you have to make a couture garment with lots of hand detailing."
Is there anything you would like to add?
"Oh yeah, here's the thing: you won't actually have time to make a couture garment with lots of hand detailing. . . So, good luck!"
Huh?
Here's how the designers handled the situation:
Laura decides to make the world's most boring dress and then act like she is making the world's most time-consuming ruffled collar in the hopes of disctracting the judges. She explains that she is completely hand sewing the collar as she is sitting at the sewing machine.
Michael suddenly acts as though he has never seen a needle and thread before in his life. Also, one of the judges felt he did a terrible job of protecting his dress from falling groceries. I mean, he is Captain Save-a-Ho; he could have used his super powers.
Uli decides that couture means a dress that would be good for getting drunk on champagne instead of taquilla.
Kayne tones it way, WAY down and makes something that looks to me like a dress. The judges still say it's too much.
Jeffrey can't figure out any new ways to insult women so instead he throws a bunch of cool fabric at his manequin to see what sticks and then tells the judges it was completely hand sewn, knowing there is no way they can argue with him.
And Vincent simply creates the most beautiful dress ever in the history of man . . . In his mind.
As they go to the boat for the judging Jay McCarroll is throwing eggs at the designers. Why is he so bitter?
Vincent tries to butter up the judge by telling her that she gets him off. He asks if she is wearing her own shoes or has she stolen them. He also asks if he can fondle her breasts because Keith told him that is the best way to compliment a woman. Fortunately, when Americans are speaking to the French all they hear is, "La la la la la la la la la" so it didn't bother her at all.
So what did Catherine have to say about Vincent?
"No, no, no, no, and no."
"Oh, and one more thing: NO!"
I really thought she was too hard on Kayne last week but she really saved us all this week. She may be a bitch but she's not blind! I LOVE her!
Then they get back to New York and, even though Kayne likes the French models because they're less chatty, I think the American models are better. Maybe the French translation of "work it" is "take a six week summer holiday."
Nina tells Vincent, "I would actually like it better if the front and back were reversed."
Michael Kors adds, "Actually, you know what would make it perfect? If you took it outside and set it on fire."
Oh my god, it's like he's reading my mind!
Heidi gives what seems to me to be the slowest verdict in the history of the show:
"Laura, . . . [this is when I peed my pants a little] . . .
"You're . . . [I think my heart stopped] . . .
"In!" [could someone please pick me up off the floor?]
Oh, my goodness, this episode was emotionally draining; both Laura and Michael made terrible gowns and I was really worried about them!
Here are some highlights:
So they are in Paris and Tim and Catherine tell the designers, "OK, you have to make a couture garment with lots of hand detailing."
Is there anything you would like to add?
"Oh yeah, here's the thing: you won't actually have time to make a couture garment with lots of hand detailing. . . So, good luck!"
Huh?
Here's how the designers handled the situation:
Laura decides to make the world's most boring dress and then act like she is making the world's most time-consuming ruffled collar in the hopes of disctracting the judges. She explains that she is completely hand sewing the collar as she is sitting at the sewing machine.
Michael suddenly acts as though he has never seen a needle and thread before in his life. Also, one of the judges felt he did a terrible job of protecting his dress from falling groceries. I mean, he is Captain Save-a-Ho; he could have used his super powers.
Uli decides that couture means a dress that would be good for getting drunk on champagne instead of taquilla.
Kayne tones it way, WAY down and makes something that looks to me like a dress. The judges still say it's too much.
Jeffrey can't figure out any new ways to insult women so instead he throws a bunch of cool fabric at his manequin to see what sticks and then tells the judges it was completely hand sewn, knowing there is no way they can argue with him.
And Vincent simply creates the most beautiful dress ever in the history of man . . . In his mind.
As they go to the boat for the judging Jay McCarroll is throwing eggs at the designers. Why is he so bitter?
Vincent tries to butter up the judge by telling her that she gets him off. He asks if she is wearing her own shoes or has she stolen them. He also asks if he can fondle her breasts because Keith told him that is the best way to compliment a woman. Fortunately, when Americans are speaking to the French all they hear is, "La la la la la la la la la" so it didn't bother her at all.
So what did Catherine have to say about Vincent?
"No, no, no, no, and no."
"Oh, and one more thing: NO!"
I really thought she was too hard on Kayne last week but she really saved us all this week. She may be a bitch but she's not blind! I LOVE her!
Then they get back to New York and, even though Kayne likes the French models because they're less chatty, I think the American models are better. Maybe the French translation of "work it" is "take a six week summer holiday."
Nina tells Vincent, "I would actually like it better if the front and back were reversed."
Michael Kors adds, "Actually, you know what would make it perfect? If you took it outside and set it on fire."
Oh my god, it's like he's reading my mind!
Heidi gives what seems to me to be the slowest verdict in the history of the show:
"Laura, . . . [this is when I peed my pants a little] . . .
"You're . . . [I think my heart stopped] . . .
"In!" [could someone please pick me up off the floor?]
Fashion House really sucked!
First of all, they needed a hot gay romance among all the other couples. My boyfriend said, "that's not their target audience." I asked, "really? A soap opera about the fashion industry with Morgan Fairchild and they aren't targeting a gay audience?!"
Second, has anyone writing for the show ever been involved in the fashion industry? Has anyone writing for the show even seen The Devil Wears Prada? It doesn't seem like it.
The acting is fine and I could forgive the terrible writing if it weren't for the fact that there is such a crucial element missing from this show: FASHION!!!
Where is it? All the clothes look like they came from WallMart. I don't get it. How hard can it be to get some designer clothes or even copy some? Even the champaigne they used on the show was cheap; I think it was a $15 bottle of Piper Sonoma from Trader Joe's, which is perfectly fine for mimosas but not quite good enough for a millionaire to try to win back the affections of his wife. Please!
With the popularity of The Devil Wears Prada and Project Runway this could have been the perfect time for this type of show but, unfortunately, they seem to have left out anything people interested in fashion would tune in to see. I won't bother watching again
First of all, they needed a hot gay romance among all the other couples. My boyfriend said, "that's not their target audience." I asked, "really? A soap opera about the fashion industry with Morgan Fairchild and they aren't targeting a gay audience?!"
Second, has anyone writing for the show ever been involved in the fashion industry? Has anyone writing for the show even seen The Devil Wears Prada? It doesn't seem like it.
The acting is fine and I could forgive the terrible writing if it weren't for the fact that there is such a crucial element missing from this show: FASHION!!!
Where is it? All the clothes look like they came from WallMart. I don't get it. How hard can it be to get some designer clothes or even copy some? Even the champaigne they used on the show was cheap; I think it was a $15 bottle of Piper Sonoma from Trader Joe's, which is perfectly fine for mimosas but not quite good enough for a millionaire to try to win back the affections of his wife. Please!
With the popularity of The Devil Wears Prada and Project Runway this could have been the perfect time for this type of show but, unfortunately, they seem to have left out anything people interested in fashion would tune in to see. I won't bother watching again