Dear Tim,
We all love you.
In fact, no one doesn’t love you. It’s a rare feat, you know, to have such universal admiration in the world of reality TV. You bring dignity to a genre that is defined by its gluttonous excess and we love you for it.
That said, your new show, Tim Gunn’s Guide to Style, is totally boring.
Let’s break it down.
Let’s try to think about what makes shows in the makeover genre work by taking a look at two shows who get it right: Queer Eye and What Not to Wear. Queer Eye works (or worked) because of its chaotic pace. It started out with the big gay ambush (which the Guide to Style does in a sort of forced, calculated way) and then the hapless straight dude gets bounced around from salon to boutique to fancy restaurant like frightened, hirsute pinball in a fabulous, color-coordinated pinball machine. The show focused on the variety of ways the poor schlub was deficient, so there was more to pay attention than just fashion.
What Not to Wear works because of its big personalities and sheer watchability. Clinton and Stacy are bouncing off the walls with chatty excitement. Their jokes don’t always land, but they feel like friends when you watch the show. It’s total comfort viewing — you know the format (the victim is IDed and we watch as he/she is uncomfortably betrayed be his/her friends, he/she goes to New York, Clinton and Stacy make fun of him/her, shopping day one, shopping day two, hair, makeup, reveal) and there really aren’t any surprises. It all lends itself to some very enjoyable, lazy Sunday afternoon viewing.
What goes wrong with the Guide to Style?
First of all, Tim, you need a foil. You’re the quintessential straight man (and I was totally trying to phrase that in a way that wouldn’t be all ‘he’s the straight man but he’s gay, isn’t that a crazy play on words.’ Looks like I failed on that.) and operate best when you are contrasted with your Austin Scarletts, your Santino Rices, your Jefferey Sebelias. And frankly, Veronica Webb isn’t cutting it. She’s beautiful, don’t get me wrong, but she’s lacking is the outgoing charisma and eccentricity that the role requires. You would work best with someone who is functional and knowledgeable, yet slightly mentally ill. I’m thinking Stacy London meets Lucille Bluth. Veronica seems to merely be a slightly sassy dame who knows clothes.
Then there’s the sluggish pace, which plods along from fashion destination to fashion destination. It’s unhurried, thoughtful and, therefore, not that engaging. For some reason, the most successful makeover shows are always racing against some sort of artificial, imaginary clock. Think of the Queer Eye guys running for no reason from Brooks Brothers to Crate and Barrel. It’s strange, but there’s something to it.
The commentary, Tim, is always spot on, but good taste doesn’t necessarily translate into interesting viewing. This show could work, but it’d need a major overhaul. Different co-host, no more hokey “oh my God, Tim Gunn is coming” intros, more formulaic structure. You can keep the post-makeover interviews that you interject in the middle of the episode and the part in the beginning where you force them to create a sample outfit. Those parts are good.
Otherwise, I don’t know. The elements are there. Make it work. (Get it?! Because that’s what you say on Proje–… I’m sorry about that.)
Love,
DAN
