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Project Runway vs. Top Chef
I've started watching Project Runway on Bravo this week. Fortunately for me, Bravo airs past episodes ad inifinitum, so there really isn't much of a chance of missing an episode. I've even caught up on the last 3 seasons. (Really. I had never seen this show before). One thing that really struck me watching this is how useful it is to know the industry when you are watching one of these shows. I think I have been taking it for granted that I know so much about cooking and the restaurant industry when I watch Top Chef, because I'm watching PR and for the life of me, I can't understand why some of the things that the contestants do are such a big deal. I mean... Elisa spitmarking for example. It's a little weird, I guess, but it's not like she spit in your food, Sweet P.
Take what's-his-name from season 1 of Top Chef who got eliminated first for sticking his finger into the sauce to taste it instead of using a spoon. (Note: that's actually not all that uncommon in a restaurant assuming he doesn't stick his finger back into the sauce after licking it. And even then, that's a particular hangup for US health departments, I doubt there is as much hand-wringing about that sort of thing in the rest of the world. It was the fact that he did it on TV and exposed non-industry people to the dirty secrets of the kitchen that got him eliminated.)
There are other things too, that are much less obvious if you don't know much about fashion and/or garment construction. I mean, it's totally obvious to me why Betsy's soups were way too chunky because she didn't strain them through a chinoise, but it's less clear to me why a certain fabric or cut is such a no-no. So know I realize that my enthusiasm for Top Chef might have been a little annoying to anyone who isn't a kitchen geek like me.
There are some redeeming qualities to PR that I enjoy. First of all, Tim Gunn is really a supporting role to the designers not a combination of spy/judge that Tom Colicchio apparently is. I hate it when Tom C. uses his knowledge of what was going on in the kitchen during his checks in the ultimate judging. Partly because it's not really fair, the contestants should be judged on the final result, not what they tried to do that didn't work out. But also partly because he's kind of a dick about it. Tim G. is much more supportive and kind about telling people that they might have problems with their project.