The Learning Channel tonight debuted a new series, ‘What Not To Wear’ – another rip off of a BBC program. (It debuted after a pointless live “reveal” on Trading Spaces – what the hell was the point of that? By the way, as usual, both rooms were awful, but the clueless contestants thought they were wonderful. But I digress.) Once again, a pale imitation. In the BBC original, a duo of style gurus lay it on the line for a clueless person who needs a makeover. Trinny and Susannah are blunt, but not mean.
On the U.S. version, the two stylists are joined by a pointless host who serves to depersonalize the victim of the style fascists. The duo on this show includes Wayne, a greasy, long stringy haired gay guy who in the first 10 minutes made a snide comment about the victim. The female of the duo, Stacy, is forgettable. My first instinct when watching this show was to insist that the gurus on THIS show be told what for by Trinny and Susannah from the OTHER show. I am not stylish by any stretch of the imagination. But I know enough that I would never take advice from these two rejects.
One other major problem with TLC’s BBC ripoffs: they are TOO LONG. The original shows are half hours, which make them entertaining. The hour long programs in the U.S. are simply looonngg and boooorrrriiinnng. 10 minutes into this show and I felt like I had been watching for hours. Ugh. I am not hopeful that the results of this show will be good – I often like the results of BBC’s Changing Rooms, Ground Force, and What Not To Wear, but never the U.S. ripoffs. (I might let Vern Yip redecorate my bedroom, but only so I could say that the cutie was IN my bedroom.)
I wonder what TLC is planning to do with this program – it doesn’t exist on their website, so they are obviously not promoting it to the hilt as they do with Trading Spaces…
Other great BBC shows that were ripped off in America with horrible results: Fawlty Towers (with Bea Arthur?!) and One Foot in the Grave (with Bill Cosby playing an unsympathetic character?).
