Bravo is getting greedy
After all the gladness and excitement that it was time for a new season of Project Runway, I have to admit, I’m not feeling the love. I’m still watching it but I’m not anxiously waiting for Wednesday nights and if the new episode sits in my Tivo for a few days - whatever. I’ll get around to it eventually. I can’t get behind any of the designers this year, they’re all so bland and they interview in that bored can’t-be-bothered monotone that puts me right to sleep. The only guy to show any emotion is Crying Ricky and he’s just annoying, not sweet like overly-emotional Andre from season two. The designs are uninspiring and often downright ugly. Bubble skirts, shapeless sack dresses, Rami’s overly-draped monstrosities, Christian’s puffed sleeves and endless wickety-wack…Blah. Where’s the glamor, where’s the fun? Where is Laura Bennett? Gone. The judges and the models? Zzzzzzzz. The worst part though is all the product placement. I put up with the corporate hair, makeup, and accessories and the fact that Tim has to recite sponsor names approximately 700 million times per episode. I have been sufficiently desensitized that I accept it as an evil of reality television. I was even okay with cotton being the Official Fabric of season one even though it was stupid because does cotton really need to sponsor anything? That’s like having water sponsor a swim meet - oh wait, it probably does. (Dasani, I’m looking at you.) So cotton was marginally okay, but it’s gotten waaaay out of control. More and more challenges center around a product and I’ve noticed there are a lot more shots of contestants with electronics, candy, makeup, etc.. You can tell the sponsors are dictating how things are filmed, edited, and presented and it’s starting to feel like one long commercial. I was browsing Bravo’s website last week and discovered that the contestants and the judges wear designer clothes (from known designers) and you can buy replicas with a few simple clicks (and a big hit to your credit card). Something’s messed up when fashion designers on a fashion design show are not even allowed to wear their own fashions. Ugh! Yeah, I’ll probably keep watching but the shine is definitely off the penny. It’s just like The Apprentice. I loved (LOVED!) season one and then Trump started pimping and by season two even the breath mints were getting a money shot. I quit watching and apparently so did a lot of people because the ratings plunged. It’s hard to find ratings data on Product Runway but I wonder if the same thing will happen now that Bravo has unleashed the greed beast.
One Response to “Bravo is getting greedy”
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January 24th, 2008 at 10:45 am
Agreed! I only started watching PR last season, but this season is boring in comparison! No enemies or cat-fights, no strong personalities (even Christian feels like a poser). If I spend my time judging Nina’s frizzy hair instead of the actual designs, something must be wrong.