Projekt Runway

If you aren't watching Project Runway, boy are you missing out. That show is addictive as hell.

It's amazing to watch Heidi Klum, because she has completely remade her personality since first becoming a public figure in the US a few years ago. Back when she first started appearing on TV, she used to embarrass herself with a painfully awkward Germanness, but along the line someone gave her some very good advice: Cool it. Now she's very suave. The geeky German only comes out occasionally, like when David Letterman asked her "Wie geht's?" She was totally caught off guard--after all, she lives in a world where no one speaks German--and the "SUPER!" that burst forth felt like it was coming straight out of the aisles of a Penny Markt. What a sweetheart.

An even better show, though, is Design Star on HGTV. This series has the most drama of any reality competition I've ever seen, and it is fascinating. Can't-take-your-eyes-off-the-screen fascinating.

Anybody who complains about the profusion of reality TV is either being disingenuous, or they just don't get it. These shows are popular because--ahem--the stories in them are better than most fiction. You can't make this shit up; it's too good. And it's real life! Give me The Amazing Race over the latest tome from John Updike any day. Who wants to see some eighty-year-old jizz all over the page? I'll be spending my evenings with Heidi.