Mike Airhart was the founding editor of Ex-Gay Watch, until he left in 2007. He has returned as a contributing writer. He is a project manager and data scientist for the National Center for Lesbian Rights, and an interfaith advocate, living near Phoenix, Arizona.
Except Starbuck doesn’t look quite as good now that she’s growing her hair out.
I wonder if they’re going to continue reinventing plot points from the old series. I’m not sure if they could pull it off, but it would be really interesting to see what they would do with Count Iblis.
I enjoy the show. I’m not that crazy about Santino, but I like Nick, and Daniel, and most of the others. I can’t stand all the constant murder and the bad lighting on so many other shows today, including BSG.
And yes, with Starbuck spending so much time on a leaky whaler, I imagine his mane is getting a little shaggy. But I missed the part about him becoming a her.
Project Runway is an hour-long weekly series on the U.S. Bravo cable network in which aspiring clothing designers compete against one another to create a celebrity-worthy outfit in just a day or two.
The show is hosted by supermodel Heidi Klum, who is attractive enough that many men (gays included) would happily watch her simply fixing a car or computing tax returns for an hour.
But the show instead manages to evoke high drama out of designers’ interactions, skills, weaknesses, tight deadlines, catfights, really weird fashions, and blunt reviews by the judges and celebrities. At the end of each show, one of the contestants is politely fired. Another wins a prize (industry recognition of some sort), and the final remaining contestant receives a car, a fashion spread in Elle magazine, and $100,000 to start a new fashion company.
In Season One, the contestants formed an ensemble cast of little controversies. In Season Two, one intemperate and arrogant designer named Santino has dominated the show with a mixed collection of designs (some excellent, some just horrible) by shouting down judges and insulting other contestants.
The judges seem to be afraid to terminate Santino because the season would lose a key source of drama.
So instead of watching each week to see which contestants justifiably win or lose, I feel resigned to watching what excuses are made for Santino’s survival while talented and emotionally balanced contestants get cut.
A 1978 Sunday night sci-fi show for kids is turned into a post-9/11 reflection on social and religious warfare between secular polytheistic humanists and fundamentalist doomsday monotheists.
The new Starbuck:
Unconventional and often uncompromising femininity.
If “uncompromising” means “wooden” then I would agree with you. I think Michelle Forbes was much stronger and more interesting in terms of female characters.
As for PR, I will agree that I’m getting tired of Santing staying around. I think they are starting a redemption arc for him, which is absurd after the way he has behaved. But what happens with Santino isn’t really much different than what they did with Wendy last season. The show was never going to keep Diana, Marla or Emmett anyway, and Daniel Franco basically fell on his sword.
I’m just ruminootin’ and reminiscinatin’…
What IS it about Celtic music that is so soulful and haunting and unbelievably angelic?
I get all weepy at ‘Carrickfergus’ and “Sea to Skye’.
Could that bit of my ancestry be speaking to me?
It’s said that sometimes the blood calls.
My friend Kerry O’Quinn wants me to go to Ireland with him the next time he goes and find my cousins if I can.
He says that I’d find my tribe there just from my looks and for sure because of the way I sing like it’s meant to call us to each other.
I have a buddy, a music director that I worked in a musical with. She teaches at Trinity College and told me I should come out there to visit.
Even she was surprised I had a lyrical soprano kind of like Emmylou Harris.
She said I could do well there as a singer because I already have the right kind of ear for the music there.
Whaddya think gang?
gotta say that I LOVE Project Runway. And so does my very butch (albeit Japanese born) partner. It’s the closest thing we have to Japanese television in some odd way. Plus, although the drama is distractive, the craft and work is quite interesting. A lot more goes into fashion than maybe people consider. (And the prize, by the way, includes an internship at Banana Republic’s design headquarters in New York. Hence the Banana product placement.)
Almost makes up for the Sci Fi channel cancelling “Firefly”.
Actually it was Fox that canceled Firefly – which was a deplorable move on their part but hardly surprising giving their track record of greenlighting and then quickly scuttling innovative shows.
Thanks for the correction!
An extra unaired episode of Firefly showed up on Sci Fi later after cancellation, thus the confusion on my part.
I think I despair at the willingness to strain to promote the mediocre and untalented.
Writers in Hollywood are seriously suffering with the networks, anyway.
Well trained singers and dancers get so little opportunity and exposure on tv that’s healthy, even for the masses.
We’re stuck with half step (literally) stupid programs like “Dancing with the Stars” where a talented ballroom dancer has to go through the indignity of trying to keep a game face, while paired with someone not nearly their own caliber.
And with unknown or virtually over actors or sports figures (as if overexposure isn’t a disease unto itself.)
I used to watch the international ballroom competition on public tv.
THAT was some spectacular dancing!
A contest, but the dancers were well matched, heart stopping wonderful and their talent and discipline given it’s due by the audiences.
These days, a youngster who aspires for a show biz career will think that being on reality tv IS the substance of such a job, rather than the sweat equity of performing arts training and exposure.
Talent contests aren’t new.
Constests that are deliberately mean spirited and humiliating, are.
I wouldn’t call that innovation, it’s crassness chillingly glorified.
And it’s conservative commentators who are always bemoaning the destruction of culture.
They vilify the custodians of culture (like gay people) while they are silent on mediocrity and rudeness dressed up as hip.
If an anti-gay (or heck, even a pro-gay) person comes on here and makes the same untrue claim at least three times even after being corrected, that person gets banned.
“A 1978 Sunday night sci-fi show for kids is turned into a post-9/11 reflection on social and religious warfare between secular polytheistic humanists and fundamentalist doomsday monotheists.”
Hmmm,… reminds me of some poli-sci texts I’ve been reading 😉
Battlestar Galactica is still da bomb tho.
Boo,
You said it!! I watch BSG — shall we say — religiously.
Except Starbuck doesn’t look quite as good now that she’s growing her hair out.
I wonder if they’re going to continue reinventing plot points from the old series. I’m not sure if they could pull it off, but it would be really interesting to see what they would do with Count Iblis.
And that’s my geek quotient for the day.
I enjoy the show. I’m not that crazy about Santino, but I like Nick, and Daniel, and most of the others. I can’t stand all the constant murder and the bad lighting on so many other shows today, including BSG.
What is this Project Runway of which you speak?
And yes, with Starbuck spending so much time on a leaky whaler, I imagine his mane is getting a little shaggy. But I missed the part about him becoming a her.
Project Runway is an hour-long weekly series on the U.S. Bravo cable network in which aspiring clothing designers compete against one another to create a celebrity-worthy outfit in just a day or two.
The show is hosted by supermodel Heidi Klum, who is attractive enough that many men (gays included) would happily watch her simply fixing a car or computing tax returns for an hour.
But the show instead manages to evoke high drama out of designers’ interactions, skills, weaknesses, tight deadlines, catfights, really weird fashions, and blunt reviews by the judges and celebrities. At the end of each show, one of the contestants is politely fired. Another wins a prize (industry recognition of some sort), and the final remaining contestant receives a car, a fashion spread in Elle magazine, and $100,000 to start a new fashion company.
In Season One, the contestants formed an ensemble cast of little controversies. In Season Two, one intemperate and arrogant designer named Santino has dominated the show with a mixed collection of designs (some excellent, some just horrible) by shouting down judges and insulting other contestants.
The judges seem to be afraid to terminate Santino because the season would lose a key source of drama.
So instead of watching each week to see which contestants justifiably win or lose, I feel resigned to watching what excuses are made for Santino’s survival while talented and emotionally balanced contestants get cut.
Battlestar Galactica
A 1978 Sunday night sci-fi show for kids is turned into a post-9/11 reflection on social and religious warfare between secular polytheistic humanists and fundamentalist doomsday monotheists.
The new Starbuck:
Unconventional and often uncompromising femininity.
If “uncompromising” means “wooden” then I would agree with you. I think Michelle Forbes was much stronger and more interesting in terms of female characters.
As for PR, I will agree that I’m getting tired of Santing staying around. I think they are starting a redemption arc for him, which is absurd after the way he has behaved. But what happens with Santino isn’t really much different than what they did with Wendy last season. The show was never going to keep Diana, Marla or Emmett anyway, and Daniel Franco basically fell on his sword.
I’m with Boo,, Battlestar Gallactica rocks.
Almost makes up for the Sci Fi channel cancelling
“Firefly”.
I own that whole series on DVD.
I can’t BELIEVE they did that.
Joss Whedon is a friggin’ GOD!
I’m just ruminootin’ and reminiscinatin’…
What IS it about Celtic music that is so soulful and haunting and unbelievably angelic?
I get all weepy at ‘Carrickfergus’ and “Sea to Skye’.
Could that bit of my ancestry be speaking to me?
It’s said that sometimes the blood calls.
My friend Kerry O’Quinn wants me to go to Ireland with him the next time he goes and find my cousins if I can.
He says that I’d find my tribe there just from my looks and for sure because of the way I sing like it’s meant to call us to each other.
I have a buddy, a music director that I worked in a musical with. She teaches at Trinity College and told me I should come out there to visit.
Even she was surprised I had a lyrical soprano kind of like Emmylou Harris.
She said I could do well there as a singer because I already have the right kind of ear for the music there.
Whaddya think gang?
gotta say that I LOVE Project Runway. And so does my very butch (albeit Japanese born) partner. It’s the closest thing we have to Japanese television in some odd way. Plus, although the drama is distractive, the craft and work is quite interesting. A lot more goes into fashion than maybe people consider. (And the prize, by the way, includes an internship at Banana Republic’s design headquarters in New York. Hence the Banana product placement.)
Almost makes up for the Sci Fi channel cancelling “Firefly”.
Actually it was Fox that canceled Firefly – which was a deplorable move on their part but hardly surprising giving their track record of greenlighting and then quickly scuttling innovative shows.
Thanks for the correction!
An extra unaired episode of Firefly showed up on Sci Fi later after cancellation, thus the confusion on my part.
I think I despair at the willingness to strain to promote the mediocre and untalented.
Writers in Hollywood are seriously suffering with the networks, anyway.
Well trained singers and dancers get so little opportunity and exposure on tv that’s healthy, even for the masses.
We’re stuck with half step (literally) stupid programs like “Dancing with the Stars” where a talented ballroom dancer has to go through the indignity of trying to keep a game face, while paired with someone not nearly their own caliber.
And with unknown or virtually over actors or sports figures (as if overexposure isn’t a disease unto itself.)
I used to watch the international ballroom competition on public tv.
THAT was some spectacular dancing!
A contest, but the dancers were well matched, heart stopping wonderful and their talent and discipline given it’s due by the audiences.
These days, a youngster who aspires for a show biz career will think that being on reality tv IS the substance of such a job, rather than the sweat equity of performing arts training and exposure.
Talent contests aren’t new.
Constests that are deliberately mean spirited and humiliating, are.
I wouldn’t call that innovation, it’s crassness chillingly glorified.
And it’s conservative commentators who are always bemoaning the destruction of culture.
They vilify the custodians of culture (like gay people) while they are silent on mediocrity and rudeness dressed up as hip.
Can I propose a rule for the commenters?
If an anti-gay (or heck, even a pro-gay) person comes on here and makes the same untrue claim at least three times even after being corrected, that person gets banned.
Opinions?
“A 1978 Sunday night sci-fi show for kids is turned into a post-9/11 reflection on social and religious warfare between secular polytheistic humanists and fundamentalist doomsday monotheists.”
Hmmm,… reminds me of some poli-sci texts I’ve been reading 😉
Boo, it might depend upon how measurable or objective that truth is.