Many worthy contenders this year, and let's start with the new folks:
- I had high hopes for Jason Newsted and Gilby Clarke this year on RockStar:SuperNova, and when Newsted was allowed to talk later in the season he seemed smart, but he was increasingly drowned out by editors interested only in letting us know what a horndog Tommy Lee was.
- Stan Lee brought the grouchiness to Who Wants To Be A Superhero?, but I wish I could have seen more of him in person, and less video.
- Dr. Jacque Bailly and the National Spelling Bee Judges get an honorable mention for resolving the "hechsher" thing properly.
- He's more "jury and executioner" than "judge", but ever since the South Park episode on him Jen and I have been digging Dog, the Bounty Hunter. Just saying.
- Were a single episode enough to win this, Anthony Bourdain would have won this for Top Chef. And while Tom Colicchio is solid in the "I'm not Tim Gunn" role on the show, he's still only a second-tier guy.
- And if it could come down to a single line, it would be that of Elle fashion news director Anne Slowey, on PR2 Emmett's design for Sasha Cohen: ''There's entirely too much tootie being exposed.''
We are left with two finalists. Could they both please step forward. I have two judges left in this post, but I will only conclude with one name, and that one name represents the person who is ALOTT5MA's best reality tv judge/host of 2006.
First, we have the man who may be the Albert Pujols of reality tv, Tim Gunn, for seasons two and three of Project Runway. When you think about all the fun stuff with Santino and Andrae in which he acknowledged his growing cult and his classy handling of the Keith and Jeffrey Sebelia situations in season three, this is a judge with enormous insight, as well as true caring about both the designers and the integrity of the competition.
And then we have Tyra Banks. I know what you're thinking: that silly model show? Who cares? But as with Tim Gunn and fashion, Tyra makes you care about modeling, forces the viewer (and the contestants) to see modeling as industry, and one which requires hard work and versatility. She is over-the-top and overly serious, for sure, but it makes for good television. Ritual is a good thing on these shows, as much in her set-ups at the end of each episode as Probst's "you all want to know what you're playing for, right?" (and five other set phrases) or Phil Keoghan's "I'm sorry to tell you you have been eliminated from the Race." What could have been a dumb show about looking at pretty girls instead forces you to really think about who is a successful model and why.
No actual top models have emerged from the show, but nor are any Runway finalists currently dominating their industry. You just have to consider the shows on their own, regardless of what comes after.
In the end, it comes down to one bit from each show -- Tim Gunn's What Happened to Andrae? versus Tyra's rousing gospel number, She Don't Want To Be Here, Send Her Home. So who will it be -- the one who everyone already adores, or the famous, hard-working Inglewood native who just turned 33 but who doesn't have the respect that perhaps she deserves . . .
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