dialyn

I fell for it too. It was very clever. I heard a story today about an online channel that broadcasts people playing video games (one guy seems to be filming from his basement). That's all it does. And it got me thinking that it would be really interesting to have something like Big Brother (I never thought I'd say that...not my favorite show) where we can see the designers in the work room in real time....creating their designs, problem solving, interacting with their models, adjusting, all that stuff. I don't mean 24-hours-a day, but just the dynamic inside the workroom. I'd like to see the designers without all the editing manipulating our view of them. And I'd like to have a space where the public could talk to the designers and ask them questions about the creative process. Would this cost more? I don't know that it would. The technology exists. I am just so tired of the manipulation of the producers and owners of the show. I might be the only one who would be interested, if it comes to that, but I know one reason I watch "Face Off" is to watch nothing turning into something. Fascinates me every time.

A real twist would have been if the judges actually made a decision and if they obeyed their own rules (which are written in sand). I thought Sam would be eliminated but I forgot about the sad story leading to the pass through to four at the end. How could I forget It's happened on the regular Project Runway and they haven't missed any cliche on this show. I am sure Sam went through a difficult time. So did Mondo. So did Tim. So did many of us. But I'm getting tired of the sad story on the runway. As moving as the stories are, unless having the most tragic story is part of the criteria, I don't see how it relates. I would be more impressed if someone won and then told us their sad story afterwards. Oh well. I keep reminding myself that the winner has already been chosen and no amount of complaining on my side will change a darn thing, and it's really not important to my life who wins. Yes, I do try to keep that in mind.

Get rid of the current mentors (sorry, Nick, but you too). Give the designers more time and focus more on the designs and not drama. If the producers must pick a winner ahead of time, try to be less obvious with it, which means eliminate talking heads and other red herrings for the sake of stirring up drama. Demand everyone, including Tim, act in a professional manner. All rules apply to all contestants, mentors and Tim (he doesn't get to choose who can give advice and who can't...everyone has the same instructions). Judges must judge and not delegate their job to the mentors. Frankly, once I find out who wins this season, it is really possible I wouldn't watch a second one no matter what changes they made.

The Blogging Project Runway site has an interview with Dani Vierra, the model for the now infamous green gown. Turns out the color is the favorite of her mother, and in the top five of her own favorite colors. She is very complimentary of Oscar. Going to say....she still seems very happy with the results.

Someone posted on the main site for Under the Gunn (Lifetime) that casting for Season 2 has been announced. Good grief. I have no facts and no links. I don't know if it is true. I would hate to think all the disgruntled discussion of the last few weeks has resulted in a renewal of this sad show. I don't know if this is the April Fool Joke that Blogging Project Runway posted. I just don't have any verification. Anyone? ------------------------- Looks like the only source, at this point, is the April Fool's Day joke. It was a good one, though.

"Make the model's body draped in black cloth to look like a shade, and put quadrotors on the model's camera head, and claim the robot was modular. It moves around as a unit but when it goes to take photos, it separates and the camera part can fly to get better shots or something." That would have been a better idea. Daran's looked more like he was going for a SteamPunk kind of robot; more retro than futuristic. I think photographer was a poor choice anyway.....now that many people take photos constantly with their phones, I don't see anyone bothering to build a photography robot unless it was a little drone robot that could fly into people's personal lives without being so obvious, and that is already here. What would be the advantage of a big robot taking photographs unless, as Taeolas suggested, it broke into smaller pieces.

I think Tim Gunn thinks he should be above criticism....in other words, he has bought his own press. It would be courageous of him to admit that he didn't understand the issues that people were angry about, but he seems stuck in a hole of his own making. I suspect Sam will be the sacrificial lamb on tomorrow's show, and we will be pushed to think Asha is in danger so that there will be more "suspense" when she wins. I hope I am wrong but I don't trust the mentors or the judges or Tim Gunn to do the right thing at this point. I've watched two reality shows lately....one in which the contestants helped and encouraged each other and were honestly pleased for the winner, and one in which the judges called contestants on bad behavior and warned them that needed to act better. How refreshing after the quagmire of "Under the Gunn". The thing is, stupid designers and mentors, you never know who you will have to work with again in the real world, you never know who will end up in a position of power, but you should know how hard it is to clean mud off your reputation once you've gotten a reputation for being hard to work with. If you are a genius, you can overcome that, I guess (we have a ridiculously forgiving society about bad behavior) but I think a couple of the designers overrate themselves. Healthy ego is one thing; delusional thinking is another. I'm not looking forward to Thursday's show but I'll watch to the end in the hopes that I am wrong, wrong, wrong.

Rashad deserved the win, and I continue to be impressed by how willing he is to stop and help other contestants (really, Niko seems so clueless at times). Daran has seemed to lose energy over the last couple of weeks....probably ready to go. I was a little afraid of what George's robot was going to end up looking like since he started out with a bit of an odd design, but he took suggestions to heart and the results were a greatly improved subject. Tyler was inventive as always, though I can't imagine how he missed the difference in size between his manniquin and his model. Still he made it work and the result was pretty original (I didn't really like the transparent face mask though; that would scare me as a patient since you can see through to the parts behind it). All in all, I wasn't looking forward to robots (afraid they were going to go the monster route) but it turned out to be pretty fun to see how they worked the professions into the design (sorry no one took the chef, though). This is by far my favorite reality show and I'll miss it when it ends.

Here's an interesting little thing. Someone by the name of Anders Christoffer pasted a suggestion on Tim's Facebook page that people hold off a day watching this show this week so that the producers get the hint that fewer people will watch the original showing because of the negative feelings over the way Tim and his team acted. I don't know how long that suggestion will stay up, but I know if you try to post a link or quote to it on the Lifetime page (main page or episode page), it may be deleted unless you are oblique about your reference. Of course it will do zero good since that's not how ratings are calculated but at least people are voicing serious concerns about the direction this show has gone in. I wonder how long Tim Gunn's people will allow the suggestion to stay up. On the other hand, A. Chris K.created a public event on Facebook called: UTG - Let Them Know -- I don't use Facebook so I can't comment on it (apparently it was removed so forget about that). I have the feeling they do know how some of us feel and they are glorying in in it. Correction: the powers that be apparently reversed some of their deletions, and then deleted them again. I can't keep up. On the other hand, it is interesting to go to Francesca's Facebook page because they are getting a lot of comments on the topic of bullying and the disappointment people have with this show. They posted a note saying they don't condone bullying. Of course they are stuck with their contractual responsibilities since the show has already been recorded. I wonder if the the activies of Tim's Team will have any impact on their future relationships with Project Runway shows. Probably not. Business is business. Any publicity is good publicity. Cliche, cliche, cliche. But I do think going to the sponsors with complaints is the only way to have real impact. Lifetime doesn't seem to feel any need to address the issues at this point. dialyn, another refugee from TWOP.