Iʼve been without a proper TV for the last few weeks, a fact interesting only in so much as, during that period, I somehow managed to score a gig as Salon's TV critic. Last night, finally and firmly ensconced in front of one of those aggressively vivid hi-def rigs that makes movie stars look like reality show contestants and reality show contestants look like bright pink neighbors, I decided to catch up on this season of “Project Runway.” What can I say? Iʼm a creature of habit and a loyalist.
I stand by “Runway” as one of the remaining reality competitions that requires combatants possess a demonstrable skill set in addition to a gluttonous appetite for attention. That said, over the last few years Heidi Klum & Co. have come to lean a little too heavily on cheap reality show contrivances and personality theatrics that were once no more than the acceptable byproducts of a fascinating process that involved very talented people under great duress hoping to sew themselves into a viable career.