Project Runway

Project Runway

The television show Project Runway is a reality based show where fashion designers of all different skill levels and styles are given the same opportunity to win the grand prize of 100,000 dollars, to start their own fashion line. To show case their winning collection in a runway show at Bryant Park during fashion week. A magazine spread in Elle. And in recent seasons a brand new car, provided by Saturn.
To win the grand prize the designers must go through multiple levels of challenges. Some of the challenges are very conventional. Some of the challenges can be very forward thinking and even a little out there, and some are completely ridiculous.
They are mentored through the progression of the show by Tim Gunn he is the chief officer Liz Claiborne Inc. and formerly an instructor at Parsons “The new school for design”. Parsons is where the designers do their work for each challenge. The challenges are show cased weekly in a 60 minute episode. The show is based in New York city. Where they are provided apartments they share with the other designers.
There are some basic rules they follow in the time they spend during the taping of the show. A few of the rules are they are not allowed to leave the apartments without permission. They are not allowed unauthorized communication with family and friends. And the big rules are NO Internet research and NO pattern books or portfolios. Tim Gunn and sometimes Heidi Klum announce the weekly challenges. Tim Escorts the designers to buy fabrics and supplies for each project. They are given a budget and a time limit. That differs with each new challenge. Each episode gets harder.
But nonetheless the designers must design, execute, and show their garment in professional runway setting. They have models they must create a look to go along with their garment. To impress a panel of judges that range from professional model Heidi Klum to High fashion designer Michael Kors. Also on the panel is Elle magazine editor at large Nina Garcia. Every week they bring in a guest judge also. These judges range from fashion icons to other successful designers, and even actors or actresses that just seem to know what looks like Couture , and what looks like trash.
This program starts with 12 or more designers and every week someone wins the challenge and someone is out. Heidi Klum puts it Either you are in… or you are out! Heidi congratulates the challenge winners and either gives them immunity on the next challenge or a much more coveted prize, like their garment worn by a star on a red carpet or featuring their garment in a magazine are just two examples of a prize one designer could win . If you are out Heidi gives you the dreaded “double cheek auf wiedersehen air kiss” and out you go. This no mercy judging technique keeps the designers on the edge, pushing themselves and constantly evolving their skill level and testing their creativity.
After all but four contestants remain they do the final challenge, which can often lead to more than one elimination, depending on how many designers are left. The 3 or 4 remaining designers are flown back to their homes with 12 weeks to design 12 garments.
These garments need to have a common flow and work together as a collection. The designers have a 8,000 dollar budget. And be ready to come back to New York to showcase the collections during fashion week at the famous Bryant Park show. After The show a winner is picked by the panel and they receive the Grand prize!

I personally have been watching this show for at least two seasons. I enjoy Project Runway because of the never ending challenges it presents to the designers skill and creativity. It also shows a lot about different kinds of people being thrown into the same situation and how they handle the problems or don’t handle the problems that the challenges present. I also as a fashion consumer enjoy watching the process from beginning to end.
I am always looking for the winning designs on the rack.

Boy Meets World

Boy Meets World was a T.V. show that started in the early nineties and ran for seven seasons on ABC. It was a show that portrayed the lives of three adolescent kids. There was Cory who was the good boy who grew up in a perfect home who basically was your normal Beaver Cleaver TV show family. Then there was his best friend Shawn who was the good looking kid that all the girls liked. But he was also the rebel and the bad kid. He would always get into some kind of trouble and then go running to Cory to seek his advice. Cory and Shawn are not the most popular kids in school and the show really tries to show their struggles throughout this time. Finally there was Cory’s girlfriend Topanga. When the show first aired Shawn and Cory both thought that Topanga was the weird girl and she was.
When the show first aired the three were in middle school. Where the show displayed what normal kids in middle school go through. You know getting invited to your first party trying to not get beaten up by the school bully, your first kiss and trying to survive your next door neighbor who was also the gang’s teacher. As the show progresses and the group of three get older the show brings them into High School. There is a scene that takes place on the first day of High School and Cory and Shawn are ready to make a change to be the cool kids, to start fresh. Check out this video here.



But as you see in the clip nothing has changed for the two since middle school. They are still running from the school bully and trying to survive.
Throughout the rest of the seasons Cory and Topanga’s relationship grows into something a little more serious. Until they throw us for a loop and Topanga tells Cory that she is moving away. Cory feels like this is the end and his heart is broken for the first time. After a couple a day or two since Topanga and her family left. Topanga runs away from her new home and back to Cory. The two are back together and they feel like nothing can tear them apart. Topanga’s parents aren’t two happy but in the end they decide to let her live with her aunt so the two can be together. By the end of the series Cory and Topanga are in college and married. But new issues arrive for these two and they have new hurdles to jump. Like buying a house, getting a job, going to school and all the other things that normal people have to do.

Analysis
I really enjoy this show. I grew up with it and for the most part I believe that it really helps kids connect with the characters to a certain extent. On the other hand this show has some of the biggest cases of puppy love I have ever seen!! For example when Topanga ran away from home and back to Cory they were freshmen in High School. At that age I think it is hard for most kids to even know what love is. And I do not know about other people’s parents but I know mine for sure would not let me run away from home just so I could be with my “girlfriend”. But I understand that its drama and that is what drives the audiences in week in and week out. But I think there needs to be a little something that keeps kids grounded and not think that since Cory and Topanga did this that its right.

"The Bernie Mac show"

“The Bernie Mac show” is a half hour comedy act on fox channel, inspired by the real life comedian Bernie Mac and his distinctive views and unique outlook on parenting. The show paints a hilarious picture and presents an entertaining image of Bernie’s evolution and his unique take on parenthood. The show is set on number of episodes, slightly related and interconnected to each other, progressing Bernie and the family as a whole in real life related situation. The show intends to present a lesson in parenting, where Bernie Mac is put in a family related crisis, taking you through the process of dealing with it by commenting on it in a comic way.
DISCREPTION
The show is in somehow based on his stand up comedy act. Similar to the standup act, Mac’s character on the show starts with him being married to Wanda with no children of his own. In the first episode, in a clear, bold and straight up approach, Mac and his wife mention their intentions of never having to raise kids. Since he is a busy, successful standup comedian and a movie star and Wanda is a vice president of a major advertising corporation, they never had the time to raise a family of their own. But as fate interferes, Mac and his wife are left with the responsibility of his sister’s kids. The first episode sets the basis of the show; Bernie Mac takes in his sister three children after she enters rehab. Three kids create the supporting cast in the show. Vanessa being the old one, a young typical teenager, rebellious at times, finds it hard to adapt to the new rules and systems that her uncle Bernie enforces. As the show goes on, Vanessa starts to accept her new family and grown-up to be the older sister that her uncle wants her to be. Jordan, the second child ten years old, takes on the fun brother part that doesn’t care for the situation his family in. he is portrayed as the girly kid that act below his age, often, annoying his sisters and pissing off his uncle. As for the third child Bryana the youngest kid, the show goes over her growing stage from an innocent child, Uncle Bernie’s favorite, to mature young “evil” teenager.
The show is laid out in format, in which emotional scenes and analysis processes are set in segments called “America”. In these segments Mac, while still in character, breaks the TV barrier and talks to his audience addressing them as a whole nation, America. The lighting in these segments appears to be yellowish in color. Mac uses this segment to impose his opinion regarding the situation of the episode. He often describes in these shots his old school ideas of discipline and child rearing, which collide with society’s correct philosophy of how children should be raised. His famous quote “bust the children heads until the white meat shows” reflects the values and ideology that Mac tries to preach to parents of his generation. Referring to kids today as too sassy and talk back too much, Mac believes that children should learn to respect their elders. Therefore he insists in these acts that the right school to follow in raising kids is the school of tough love.
Since the show is based on real life characters, the setting is set in lavish house suitable for such successful celebrity as Bernie Mac. The Scenes are mostly shot inside or around the house, with exception in couple episodes where the story needs to be moved to a certain location.
ANALYSIS
There are two main things that stand out in this show. The first is the hilarious and comic theme that the show addresses and plays upon. The show presents us with a common social problem that faces parents in modern era. It demonstrates the conflict between following the old pilgrims and the new system of raising a child. Bernie’s Mac solution by going back to the old days, where children were discipline by force and touch love, sounds appealing to parents fed up with their children rebellious manner. On the other hand, the show touches on the flaws that children nowadays sustain from been to free and responsible at a young age.
Second is the idea of using the concept of standup comedy and applied in a sitcom. Mac uses the address America scenes to present to the audience an actual act to relate to his views and thoughts. Unlike standup comedy were words are used to set a descriptive picture of what is happening, Mac takes advantage of having other actors to accurately paint a situation in which he preaches his thoughts on parenthood.

The 4400

The 4400 was a one-hour television series that aired on the USA network for 4 seasons. The show is primarily a character-driven drama with science fiction elements. The 4400 takes place in modern day Seattle, although it was primarily filmed in Vancouver. The plot is as follows: Over the past 50 years, exactly 4400 people have gone missing, vanished into thin air with no clue as to their whereabouts. These 4400 abductees are of various ages and ethnicities, from different places and time periods. In the present day, a large comet is on a collision course with Earth, projected to crash in the Pacific Northwest. Just as the comet is about to land, it slows down and explodes into a ball of light. As the light dissipates, the comet is gone and in its place are thousands of people- 4400 to be exact. The returnees to Earth have not aged a day since their abductions and they have no memory of what happened while they were gone.

It is soon discovered that some of the 4400 returnees have special abilities, each of them unique and manifesting themselves in different ways. The first season introduces the main characters and their relationships with each other, while setting up the overall plot for the second season and beyond. The two primary protagonists are Tom Baldwin and Diana Skouris, partners and special agents of NTAC (National Threat Assessment Command), a division of the Department of Homeland Security. The role of NTAC is to deal with the return of the 4400. Agents Baldwin and Skouris are tasked with tracking down returnees, now commonly known as “4400s” and solving cases involving them. Most of the other main characters are the returnees themselves. Shawn Farrell, nephew of Tom Baldwin, returned with the ability to heal another person from whatever ailment they suffer, simply by placing his hands on them for a few moments. The very first of The 4400 to be abducted, a nine year-old named Maia, returns with the ability to predict the future. As Maia was abducted back in the 1940’s, she has no living family members to take her in when she returns and is later adopted by Agent Skouris, who has no children of her own. Jordan Collier, a wealthy real estate mogul, returns with no apparent special powers yet he becomes a leader and visionary of the 4400. Using his wealth and influence, he creates The 4400 Center, a place where 4400s could take sanctuary and learn to harness their abilities, and where non-4400s (normal people) could seek out the "inner" 4400 in themselves.

Each episode introduces the viewer to at least one new member of the 4400 and their special ability, usually from the perspective of Agents Baldwin and Skouris. Tom and Diana usually have to track down these 4400s and resolve whatever conflict may have arisen because of their special powers. Some of the 4400 use their abilities for good, while others use theirs for crime or personal gain. Others may be unintentionally harming people or wreaking havoc on society because they cannot control their abilities. Even though each episode deals with a specific conflict, there is an over-arching plot line to the series that changes in each of the four seasons of the show. In the first season, the main motives of NTAC are to re-integrate the 4400 into society and find out who abducted them and gave them the special abilities.

It is later revealed that the 4400 were not abducted by aliens, but by humans from the future. They were given special abilities and returned to present-day Seattle not at random, but with a very important purpose. The 4400 were returned to Earth to take actions in the present that will have positive effects on the future of mankind. Apparently in the future, there is an impending disaster that can only be prevented by making changes in the past. Most of the major conflicts on the show arise between NTAC and the 4400, with Agents Baldwin and Skouris caught in the middle due to their personal ties to members of the 4400. Other reoccurring conflicts involve Baldwin and Skouris disagreeing with their bosses at NTAC and having to defy direct orders, getting relieved of duty and later re-instated several times throughout the series. NTAC’s stance toward the 4400 changes during the series, sometimes in response to the current threat being faced. The general public also has a rocky relationship with the 4400, mostly due to paranoia and fear of those with special abilities.

After four successful seasons, The 4400 was cancelled in late 2007. Reasons given by writer and co-creator Scott Peters included budgetary problems and lower than anticipated ratings, along with the then-currently-ongoing strike by the Writer’s Guild of America. This was especially upsetting to fans, because the 4th season had ended in a cliffhanger, likely to be resolved in the upcoming 5th season. Fans of the show mounted an unsuccessful campaign to resurrect the series, sending petitions, letters, and sunflower seeds to USA Network president Bonnie Hammer. The sunflower seeds were sent as a reference to the show- they were the favorite snack of a recurring character, Dr. Burkhoff. Creator Scott Peters left this message for the fans, “We've had a great time bringing you this story and submersing you in the lives of all these incredible characters. Let me raise my metaphorical glass to you all and thank you for being so loyal and so dedicated. I wish we could go on forever, but the party has come to an end.”

Analysis
The 4400 is a compelling series with complex and well-developed relationships between the central characters. Each episode is very structured in the way that it introduces, explores, and resolves the central conflict. The over-arching storyline is fairly cohesive and doesn’t meander too much, which serves the show well since there are only 13 one-hour episodes per season. I came up with a few ideas that could be explored in further depth: the relationship between this show and other current sci-fi influenced serial dramas (e.g. Lost and Heroes) and influences taken from earlier sci-fi television (X-Files, 90’s Star Trek). Also I found the fan campaign to save the show very interesting. This has happened quite frequently in the past few years. Other cancelled series such as Jericho, Veronica Mars, and Firefly have all had spirited campaigns to “save the show” after they were initially cancelled. Out of those examples, only Jericho was renewed for a brief seven-episode season, after which it was cancelled once again.

The Office

The Office

The Office is a successful comedy humoring the experiences of working in an office setting. The American version of the show is based on the BBC version which originally aired in 2001 in Great Britain. The show aired for two seasons before being pulled. In contrast to the BBC version, the American version is much less vulgar and much more successful. There have been over 6 spin-offs of the original BBC version, translating it into many different languages. In America, the show has been very successful and enters its fifth season this September.

The point of the show is to portray a failing paper company in the ever increasingly paperless world. Dunder Mifflin is a small, independently owned competitor of many big businesses such as Office Max and Staples. Much of the show takes place at the Scranton, Pennsylvania branch where you get to know many of the characters quite well. The other portion of the show that does not take place in the office is when the people from the office go on little adventures dreamed up by their moron of a boss Michael Scott.

The show tries to draw on the humor of office pranks and tries to relate the characters to people we might have had similar experiences with. If you follow the show from its beginning, you will get to know the characters very well and will be able to pick up on smaller jokes that the untrained eye might not catch. In the American version, there are four main characters.

Michael Scott (played by Steve Carrell) is the moronic regional manager of the Scranton branch. He is always looking to “boost troop moral” and make the office “more productive” by holding pointless meetings and joking around way too much. He never gets any work done and prevents others from doing their work. He is very oblivious to other people's feelings and does not know the difference between stereotypes and facts. In the end you get the feeling that he means well but you cannot help but laugh at some of his ideas or actions.

Dwight Schrute (played by Riann Wilson) is an authoritarian. He is always making sure that the laws and rules of the office are upheld and will always be willing to “discipline” those who disobey. Dwight sucks up to Michael and is always looking for more power and recognition. He is the top salesman in the company and desperately tries to be known as “The Assistant to the Regional Manager”. He acts quite childish at times and this causes him and Jim to get into many disputes.

Jim Halpert (played by John Krasinski) is a very nice and funny guy. His character is quiet yet funny. He gets into many disputes with Dwight do to the fact that their desks are right by each other’s. When Dwight gets annoying, Jim plays office pranks on him and this is a big part of where the humor of the show comes from. Jim is kind of like the class clown of the office but he cannot do it all on his own.

Pam Beesly (played by Jenna Fisher) is the sweet, attractive receptionist. She helps Jim prank Dwight and takes a lot of abuse from Michael. Throughout the show she is the victim of many inappropriate looks and remarks.

There are many other characters in this show such as Toby, Darrell, Angela, Andy, Karen, Stanley, Creed, Phyllis, Kelly, Ryan, Jan, David, Meredith, Oscar, Roy, and Kevin. These characters play a more supportive role and it seems like they rotate taking bigger turns in the episodes, depending on the plot and how it fits in with their character traits.

This show is highly successful and I feel there are many reasons why. First of all, you get to know the characters so well it’s as if you know them personally. You start to understand and witness different parts of their lives when they are not at the office and you can begin to predict how they will interact with each other, depending on who the two people are.

Secondly, there is a lot of drama. There are a couple love stories written into the script, playing off of the office romance idea. Also, because you know the characters so well, you are even more shocked when a twist is thrown in that you did not expect. The writing is so fantastic that as soon as the show ends, you are counting down the hours until the next week begins. It usually leaves each week with an unanswered question or some type of cliffhanger.

Lastly, I believe that this show is unique from all other on television because of the use of cameras. The Office started in Great Britain as I said earlier and for those of you who do not know this, actors look at the cameras over in Great Britain. In the US the camera takes on the role as an innocent bystander not noticed and pretty much non-existent to the show. In the office, they acknowledge the cameras and even talk to them at times. Some scenes show one of the characters in the conference room either lending their thoughts on what’s going on or answering questions the camera man apparently asked them. This lets you into the minds of the characters and helps you to get to know them on a more personal level. Also, it makes you feel like you are a part of the show. They way the camera moves as they are running and they way the characters talk looking into the camera gives the show a first person feeling.

The office is one of five shows I watch on T.V. I also watch How I Met Your Mother, Lost, 24 (when it was on), and Sports Center. I do believe that The Office is still my favorite. One thing that might be interesting to look into is how all of the different versions of the office compare. For example: the first episode of the American version has the same exact script as the British version’s first episode.

Did I Stutter? (Episode from season 4)

The Office Wikipedia Website

Best Office Moments

Blog Post # 1 "The View"

Republican presidential candidate John McCain defended two debunked television ads attacking Obama on Friday. He also claimed that running mate Sarah Palin never sought money for lawmakers pet project as Alaska governer. She sought $194 million
In so called “earmarks” for 2009.
McCain made comments on the ABC’s “The View,” the female host pressed him on Sarah Palin religious views. One of which was her views on abortion rights. McCain said that Palin had “ignited a spark” among a lot of voters but they also parted ways on certain issues. McCain started to back off a bit from his claim that Plain was the best vice presidntail pick in the U.S. history. He joked by saying “we politicians are never given yo exaggeration or hyoerbole.” John McCain Then tells us all on “The View” why he choose Palin. She would help reform Washington and specifically she will help with federal spending for earmarks.
McCain said if he get president he would maintain a clear separation of church and state. He also said he would want to keep bushes tax cuts and now calls for drilling of the U.S. coast for oil. He had been against caps on greenhouse gas but all of a sudden favors for them.

Analysis:
My analysis on all this campaigning and all these commercials that McCain and Obama have out there is just uncensored. There are so many he said she said out there that we are never going to know how they really are going to help our country until they are in action as our president.
Some Patterns are shown when John McCain talked on the ABC show “The View.” One pattern is that McCain made a lot of good points on his Vice President Sarah Palin on her religious views and how he is all for on keeping church and state separate. Another pattern is that McCain didn’t make a real good debate on saying that Obama said these things about her and his campaign. Like I said up there there are a lot of he said she said. Like he said in “The View” that obama said that Palin is pig but he really said something about McCain would be like “putting lipstick on a pig” which I don’t think is much better. One other Pattern that I saw was the end where McCain changed positions on significant issues. He said one thing one day and then the total opposite thing another day. He isn’t consent on his views on running our country which is a little scary on voting for him for president. Believing all this information that came from the show ABC’s “The View” can be your choice. There are so much ads and television shows out there on McCain and Obama its are to differ the deference from each one.

The Daily Show

Like many young people today, I am ashamed to say that my primary news source doesn’t actually come from a news source as all. My daily dose of current events is provided by The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, a “fake” news program touching on many of society’s most pressing issues through a Peabody and Emmy Award-winning satirical lens. Currently hosted by “anchorman” Jon Stewart, the Daily Show does a great job mocking the world’s politics, news media, current trends and social issues within a half-hour timeslot Monday through Friday. More or less, the show does a good job of making the world seem, really, really dumb.

The show premiered on Monday, July 22, 1996 with Craig Kilborn (of The Late Late Night Show with Craig Kilborn fame,) as the host. While the show had a good share of news coverage, it primarily focused on more of a more character-driven program. When Jon Stewart became the host in January 1999 after Kilborn went on to pursue supposedly bigger and better things, the show changed to a more news-driven focus around politics and media, and has since exploded with popularity.

A typical episode opens with the disembodied voice of Drew Birns announcing the date, followed by "From Comedy Central's World News Headquarters in New York, this is The Daily Show with Jon Stewart." Stewart will then open the show by delivering all the big headlines in the news that day like a typical anchorman would. Stewart then often speaks with the “senior correspondent” on the subject at hand, which more often than not is suspiciously specific. The correspondent is almost always reporting from a fake location in front of the green screen and delivers a wildly exaggerated take on the story at hand, more often than not as an attempt to play off of Stewart’s straight-man persona

The show then cuts to a commercial break and returns with a correspondent “field” story featuring a cast of characters has been self-proclaimed as the “best f’ing news team on the planet.” These stories feature the correspondents visiting and interviewing politicians or even random people in the street and asking them hard-hitting questions while in their absurdist character. While in the show’s early days these guests were often unwitting and left ignorant of the show’s true intent until it was too late, however, with the show’s recent burst of popularity, these guests are more often than not aware f what’s in for them and just play along with the cast. It can actually be pretty fun to try and figure out who’s in on it and who isn’t. Most of the time it’s pretty obvious (look at their recent RNC footage for example.)

Some shows will substitute a correspondent story with an often recurring segment, such as "Back in Black" with Lewis Black, where Lewis Black will rant about some social issue with standard Lewis Black rage, and "This Week in God" with Samantha Bee, where Bee will hit a button to simulate a random selection of a current religious story. Elections are also a large part of the show, so much that the second part of the show is cut out entirely in order to cover the current elections happenings. The show will even go on the road in order to cover political conventions in the towns that their being hosted in.

After a second commercial break, Stewart will conduct an interview with a guest ranging from actors promoting a new movie, musicians promoting a new album, authors promoting a new book and politicians often trying to pander some votes. During the show’s early years, it would often rely on celebrities and comedians for guests, since major publications such as the Rolling Stone described The Daily Show under Stewart as "the hot destination for anyone who wants to sell books or seem hip, from presidential candidates to military dictators," however, numerous high profile guests have made apperences, including former U.S. Presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, Bolivian President Evo Morales, Al Gore, Lynne Cheney, Hillary Clinton, John Edwards, John Kerry, Joe Biden, John McCain and Barack Obama,

The show will often close itself with a exchange between Stewart and former correspondant Stephen Colbert who hosts the Daily Show’s sister show and The Colbert Report, a parody of non-partisan pundit programs such as The O’Rielly Factor.

In a world where it can be painful to watch mainstream news due to all the back and forth spin, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart delivers entertaining news despite not even being a news source. Not to say that there isn’t some obvious bias behind the stories, but at least they don’t try to hide it like most other news networks do. The Daily Show to this day continues to fill my day of world ignorance with stories so spun that they become un-spun.