The Fashion Show

Is it just me, or did Project Runway go seriously downhill this year? The designers were fine (although Gretchen never did make anything I found interesting), but the hour and a half length just did not work. They filled the extra space with more personal drama (because that's apparently what sells for reality TV), and it felt like they showed even less of the clothes than with the old hour format. Part of what I always liked about Project Runway was the focus on the designs and the competition and not on crazy people. Not that some of the best designers aren't a bit crazy, but if I just wanted to watch crazy people, I'd go for a Real Housewives or Real World.

So, enough with the complaining about a show that ended two months ago. Last night I finally watched "The Fashion Show," which is Bravo's attempted replacement now that they lost Project Runway to Lifetime. And now I'm hooked. It's a show about designing clothes that actually shows you the clothes being designed. What a novelty!

So far (two episodes in, not sure if it changes later), they've just had group challenges, which means the camera time can be split more evenly among the designs. This way, you don't automatically know who's going to be safe because they never showed up on camera during the episode. It also means that the drama between the designers will actually be related to the designs, since they have to collaborate.

We'll see how the rest of the season goes, but right now, I think I've found my new favorite design show.