The National Parks

While I always enjoy spending time at the beach, after watching the Ken Burns film "The National Parks" on PBS last week, I am ready to plan a trip right now, and try to make it to every one of America's beautiful National Parks.

It's a fascinating story of how these parks were established, and set aside for the enjoyment of all people. It wasn't easy, there have been many struggles, and history has shown that we humans aren't always careful about what effect we're having on the natural world. But I'm thankful that there were (and still are) people with the foresight to protect the amazing examples of nature these parks hold -- the stunning geography, amazing wildlife and variety of trees and plants. How could humans even consider that we could improve upon what only nature can create.

It's hard sometimes to find and keep a balance between the progress of our modern world, and the beauty of the natural world. But it's an important balance to maintain. We need to spend a little more time in nature, and be sure it's still available to the generations who will come after us.

Project Runway

Now that Project Runway has moved from Bravo to Lifetime, fans wondered if the show would change. Except of course, that the show was filmed months and months ago, while their eventual place of broadcast was still being, uh, let's say debated. (that's what lawyers do, right? debate...)

So it looks very much the same as it did on Bravo. They're in LA instead of NYC, but since most of the action happens indoors (the sewing room, the runway set, their apartments), what's going on outside the window is not as noticeable as one might think. I keep forgetting they're in LA actually.

Project Runway episodes are fun to watch twice. The second time, it's interesting to watch the creative process, as they struggle with the design and execution, all the while knowing who ended up winning and losing. It does appear the judges this season are quickly disposing of the ... how shall I say... the more avant garde, more wacky designers rather quickly. These designers might not be as commercially viable on a broad basis if they were to eventually win, but they sure can be fun to watch.

I always counted on Bravo to rerun episodes so I could either catch up if I missed one, or catch it a second time. To be fair, on Bravo, I often accidentally found the repeats, was never quite sure when they would be on. Still not sure how Lifetime is handling their repeats, hopefully fans will be able to catch episodes that we miss or want to re-view.

The biggest change now, I think, is that both Project Runway and Top Chef have just started their new seasons. Bravo used to rotate them, so they were usually either airing one or the other. Now we're getting to know both the new chefs and the new designers at the same time, figuring out who we love and who we love to hate. Well, at least they're on different nights, so we don't have to choose a favorite. ... Wouldn't it be nice if these were the biggest problems we had to face in our daily life? It's true, they're just TV shows ... but they are fun to watch.

Top Chef Masters

As a fan of television, and having worked in the industry, I do enjoy watching TV. I worry that scripted dramas and comedies are becoming too scarce, and hope that we can achieve some kind of balance, so both scripted and reality-based shows have equal airtime opportunies.

That said, there are a few reality shows that I really enjoy. Top Chef and Top Chef Masters are both fun to watch, as skilled and talented chefs compete, using those unique skills.

Top Chef Masters has often been such a love-fest among all the chefs. It's nice to see experienced professionals, in a friendly competition, earning money for charity. They obviously respect each other and love what they do. Not as much conflict as on other shows, but, really, do we always need to see so much conflict? I realize it is the key to drama, but it seems like there's plenty of conflict in the world as it is.

As successful Chefs become more well-known through television, it must help their restaurant business. Personally, since Top Chef Masters, I want to go to San Francisco right now, and splurge on a meal at Fleur de Lys, Hubert Keller's restaurant. And I would love to have a meal by and/or with Art Smith, he has so much joy in what he does. And I want to try the Mexican cuisine so carefully prepared by Rick Bayless. It's interesting to see how people's personalities come across on television. Some people are so likable, you just want to sit down with them over a beer and chat. Others... not so much...

A recent episode had a bit more tension, as one of the Masters seemed to question if the regular Top Chefs from past shows were really qualified to assist him. It didn't show him in the best light, but it seemed to me that perhaps he had never watched Top Chef in the past, or he would have known that all the contestants had, at the very least, basic chef skills.

There is more conflict in the regular Top Chef. Those chefs aren't as established as the Masters, and they're competing to personally receive money and to advance their own careers. It's not usually quite as friendly, they all take it a bit more seriously, as they have a more personal stake in the outcome.

Bravo TV does a great job with this type of show. I enjoy quite a bit of Bravo's programming.

I'm also a fan of Project Runway, and most fans realize that Bravo lost that show to Lifetime in a somewhat strange and drawn out legal battle. I'm still not sure how that happened, but it does appear that Lifetime is trying to expand their programming beyond just replaying Movies of the Week. Project Runway also involves competition between people with a certain set of skills and talents (fashion design).

I think viewers enjoy playing along at home, let's see, what would I make, using only ingredients or materials from a grocery store or a vending machine? Then the pros come up with things that we would have never thought of, and we think, wow, what a great idea! Creativity and inventiveness at work.

Tonight the new season of Top Chef starts, as well as the final episode of Top Chef Masters. I will be watching, cheering for my favorite Masters, and getting my first impressions of the new chefs. Also this week the new season of Project Runway starts, first time on Lifetime. It will be interesting to see if a change in networks (and the change from NY to LA) will change the show.