Don't RUN it That WAY

I admit that I am a fan of Project Runway. Yes, it’s true. Here’s how it happened.

A friend of a friend (I honestly don’t remember which friend and that extended friend I had never seen before and have never seen since, just by circumstance) had been visiting (along with first friend) and she said, “Hey! Project Runway is on... can we put it on?” Begrudgingly, we allowed it to happen. It just seemed like one more idiotic reality show and I had wondered who on earth would ever watch such a thing. Well, about a third of the way into it, I wondered: I’m not watching this WHY? And we have ever since (for about 4 or 5 seasons.) In fact, Banky, Clara, Buttercup and Josiecat come over every Thursday to watch (as well as It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and at off-seasons it’s just “movie night.”) I’m not even into fashion. Really. Just look at my drawing of myself, that will show you. Outside of the program, I don’t give a damn. But in the context of the show I find myself critiquing with the rest of them. There's something about seeing the creative process and its execution.  I also have to say that if it were not for Heidi Klum and Tim Gunn I don’t think I’d be watching. Their personalities and presence are a good chunk of what makes the show.


Okay, now that I have that disclaimer out of the way, I want to express a complaint about the advertisement editors.

First, another explanation. Yes, I am well aware that “marketing” is part of the deal.  For instance, at the glimpse of next week’s show they’ll have a particularly nasty (and humorous) comment by a judge and then show the designer’s reaction. However, that “the” is erroneous. It won’t actually be the designer the comment had been directed to, possibly not even a comment that had been meant for the runway critique. In other words, they arrange the facts so as to be enticing.  I’m fine with that... it’s actually kind of fun to see how it really “goes down.”

But last week they went too far. Way out of line. All season long during the commercials they have been hyping that someone is accused of cheating. We’re now at the tail end of the season and it finally just occurred. No, that’s not the complaint. For the week leading up to the show, we hear (and see) Tim Gunn saying “You will not be returning to the show.” GASP! What intrigue!  What scandal!  Naturally, we sat on the edge of our seat to see who had been ejected for their dishonest practice.  Well, here’s what really happened. Tim Gunn informed a designer that his model had an emergency and she “will not be returning to the show.” The word “You” did not begin that sentence. Thus, they didn’t just creatively adjust what’s there, they purposely manipulated and altered the facts and sound bites of what had happened! (For the record, the accusation of cheating fizzled away into a non-issue.)

Why would they be so deceitful? I seriously doubt that someone who does not watch Project Runway would be swayed into doing so by that “scandal” they had you believe. If anything it would make them roll their eyes at such petty drama and not want to watch ever. So why re-edit it for the regular fans so that Tim Gunn is misquoted? He should sue for misrepresentation if you ask me.

Shame on them.

Series-ly Good

Somehow Bart came across a delightfully quirky movie called Sordid Lives. It strings together various storylines of (dare I say) White Trash folks. The major one is three grown women dealing with the death of their mother. It’s a comedy. A dark comedy. I won’t spoil how the matriarch died (hilarious!) or even the other lines of story in case you decide to watch this wonderful mess. (I say mess in relation to the people’s…um…sordid lives, not the script or production.)

Written by Del Shores, it began as a stage play. He also wrote said stage play. And directed it, as well as the movie. Obviously he is either very controlling or very passionate about his work. I’d guess a healthy combination of both.

The reason I am bringing it up, however, is that last night Sordid Lives: The Series [also by Del Shores] aired on Logo television. Many of the same actors (including one of my favorites, Leslie Jordan and the incomparable Beth Grant and yes, even Olivia Newton-John) have returned for the series. Quite a blessing, given their amazing performances in the movie.

However, the fact that there is a television series based on a movie is not what makes me write about it now. Not a new phenomenon at all. It’s been done many times, to both great success and miserable failure. But this one? Sordid Lives pulls a glorious trick that to my knowledge, has not been done before. And I take my hat (if I wore one, which I used to do all the time) off to Del Shores for this endeavor, what I believe to be a unique idea: The series begins before the movie does. In other words, it backtracks to when mother has not yet died and she is now a seen character played by Rue McClanahan. It’s far enough back in time that we are seeing a lot more in depth of the characters. Leslie Jordan’s final scene in this first episode I found particularly moving, especially knowing what would come for "Brother Boy."

Imagine, though, the fun to be had in revisiting your own work some 8 years later to expand it in this capacity! I’d certainly love it. I’m always interested in the original creator(s) building outwardly on a story. Especially when it’s as good or better than the source material. Both Bart and I laughed out loud many times during the half hour. Sympathetic, tender moments quieted us, as I mentioned with Jordan.

We’re looking forward to the rest of it. TiVo will faithfully obtain it all for us. And it comes on right after Project Runway. What could be better?

Thank you, Del Shores and company for your marvelous exploration of storytelling! Bravo!