I have a love of reality TV shows, but only the ones where a
certain amount of technical skill is involved to even get to be a contestant,
not the ones where clusters of unpleasant people diss each other, spend money
and screech/pullhair/flip furniture etc., and what have you, and also not the
ones where a person picks the ‘love of their life’, then goes on “Dancing With
the Stars” for a few weeks, after which they break up with said romantic
partner. I’ve sampled some of those – a few episodes here and there – and nope,
not my thing.
(I do love DWTS itself though.)
I’m a people person, so yes, it’s the element of the human
interrelationships that draws me in, but there has to be that other element of
skill and meeting challenges under pressure. (Of course like any rule, I do
have exceptions, which I’ll get to.) Each season is like a mini series to me,
or like reading a good novel.
My all-time favorite is SyFy’s ‘Face Off,’ where makeup
artists work frantically on all kinds of challenges (“here’s a weird sound, now
go invent the alien that might have made it” or “mix Alice in Wonderland and
the Wizard of Oz and keep it Tim Burtonesque”…) I LOVE that program. I own all
16 seasons and I binge watch it fairly often. As with murder mysteries where I
forget who dunnit as soon as I’ve read the book and set it aside, I often don’t
remember which person won what specific challenge, and I enjoy the entire
process involved in going from the explanation of the challenge to the final
reveals. (I also have a teensy crush on Tait from Season One – tell no one!) I’m
in awe of the things these artists can create from L-200 foam, paint and a well placed LED light. (Roy
is THE wizard at this.) I have utterly no talent in this area. I’d love to be a
guest judge though!
Hey, I write science fiction – I could totally judge. I
watch special effects movies with a different eye now, let me tell you. There’s
a commercial running currently for a TV service where the characters are
paranormal tropes (werewolf, mummy, etc) and the edges on the facial prosthetics
are AWFUL! (See, I know these things now…)
SyFy just launched a new spinoff, entitled ‘Game Face,’
where the challenges are much quicker and favorites from all the previous
seasons are competing (even Tait according to the previews, sigh). So far I like it!
I’m also fascinated by McKenzie Westmore’s reveal stage wardrobe over the years…
One thing I also love about this show is how collegial the
artists are, I think the tone was set nicely in season one and has carried
through. No matter how pressed for time everyone is, if someone’s 200 lb. mold ‘locks’
with five minutes to the deadline, everyone drops what they’re doing to help.
I enjoy ‘Top Chef’ and ‘Project Runway’ in all its many forms as well,
although the drama levels on those programs can spike without warning. Not a
fan of certain contestants on this season of Runway, let me tell you, although
I love love love the diversity of the models. With ‘Top Chef’ I probably wouldn’t
actually enjoy most of the refined and rarefied foods they cook - I lack the palate - , but I enjoy the
tools, technique and knowledge on display. And the Restaurant Wars episode is
always a nail-biter.
Those are my top three, but I also have been known to spend
time with “Say Yes to the Dress,” “Say
Yes to the Dress - Atlanta, “I Found the Gown,” and “My Fair Wedding”. I used
to adore the “What Not to Wear” program, although the sartorial advice in the
earliest episodes became pretty hilariously dated as time went on. But their
makeover process was fascinating. A little harsh on some of the participants,
who didn’t nominate themselves but were often shoved into it by friends,
co-workers and family.
I like the ‘Below Deck’ series set on private yachts for
rent in exotic locales. Since I write an interstellar cruise liner in my
Sectors series of scifi romances, I enjoy watching the scenarios on this
program. Except many of the seasons I get pretty fed up with everyone by midway
through and bail on them LOL. It always fascinates me that the show follows a
select number of the crew but the boat in question actually has a lot of other
people working on it that we never see.
I watch 'The Amazing Race' in horrified awe at what these people can make themselves do for a chance at $1 million. I have a fear of heights and a gut-wrenching terror of sooo many other things that get thrown at these contestants every season. I've been known to stop watching mid-season though if all the couples I liked get eliminated. See, I'm there for the people!
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| Yeah, NOT the Author LOL |
OK, but my real guilty pleasure? ‘Making the Team.’ In my
heart of hearts I still harbor a tiny thought that hey, *I* could be a Dallas
Cowboys Cheerleader. (WARNING: Do NOT shatter my dream by reminding me I can’t
do a sustained series of high kicks, don’t know left from right, my hair isn’t
big and blonde and I’m uh slightly over their target demographic for uniformity
of appearance. In more ways than one. I could TOTALLY do it.) Having lived a
significant portion of my life in the South, I get the DCC and the entire cheerleading thing. Even if nowadays it’s
actually professional dancing and there seem to be a lot of corporate events
where they have to schmooze with fans.
On second thought, maybe I should stick with my goal of
becoming a guest judge on ‘Face Off’!
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All photos purchased from DepositPhoto
