Project Runway vs GBBS

 

   I used to love watching TV shows, but I've gradually lost my taste for them. I don't seem to have the time for it. I go to bed early so there's not much time available between supper and sleep. And it seems terribly wrong to watch television during the day. But living here in the boondocks I feel I need to expose myself to at least one hour of TV while I eat supper to stay in touch with the outside world.

   I've given Teresa the difficult job of finding something I can tolerate. I'm fussy. Drama's are too predictable. Mystery shows are illogical and violent. Give me a good reality show. Not something cringe inducing like The Bachelor, but a real competition such as The Great British Baking Show (GBBS) or even  the fashion competition Project Runway.

   I can't do justice to the wonderfulness of GBBS. Over a ten week period twelve amateur bakers from all over Britain gather in a big white tent in the garden of an English manor to compete for the honor of being named best all-around baker. The bakers are given three challenges each week and one baker is named star baker for the week and one baker is eliminated. Each week has a theme such as bread, pastry, chocolate, etc. On day one the bakers bake something on that theme that they would make at home for family and friends. Next comes the dreaded technical challenge. The bakers are given ingredients and a minimal recipe and are expected to have enough skills to make, say, a galette, whatever that is. 

   Day two is the Showstopper Challenge. Contestants make a structurally complex creation that must look impressive and also taste great. The walls of a castle cake must stand strong and tall and be delicious too. The charm of GBBS is the personal, the bakers, the judges, as well the silly hosts who attempt to relieve  the pressure on the bakers who are trying to make fabulous food in a narrow window of time. Season 13 starts this September on Netflix. Five stars. Check it out.

   Project Runway is a different cup of tea. I like to bake myself and I eat baked goods every day. But I can't sew a button on and know nothing about fashion, but the attraction of the competition is the same as for GBBS- the skill exhibited by the contestants and the contestants themselves. Both sets of contestants are under tremendous pressure. There are lots of meltdowns. The bakers tend to melt with stiff upper lips. I remember one baker as his show stopper collapsed saying, "Can someone pease call me a cab".

   The Project Runway contestants melt down more spectacularly, sometimes tearing off their body mikes, storming out of the building, and quitting the competition. They'll appear later in a short clip saying, "I guess I wasn't ready for this." One contestant was injured in a van accident on the way to the fabric store. She was ok, but did poorly that week and was almost eliminated. She was consoled by a male contestant who called her mommy. She called him daddy. When daddy was eliminated later, she lost her mojo and was eliminated herself the next week. These personal dramas keep me in touch with the bigger world outside Roseau County.

   Both GBBS and Project Runway have had various permutations and spin-offs over the years. When desperate for something to go with our evening hot dish we may watch one of them. Teresa is productive in the evening knitting sweaters, scarves and such. She likes to have the TV on in the background as she knits. Meanwhile I drift off to another room to write my diary ("Daddy was eliminated tonight. I worry about Mommy") then I hit the hay.

The best baker in Britain wins this platter. The winner of Project Runway wins $250,000.