I will stand by you forever

The rumor mill tells me that Tim Gunn, the fabulous co-host of Project Runway on Bravo, does not have a contract to appear in the next season, which, I must say, is quelle tragic for the show if they do decide to go forward. What would that show be without his classy, sardonic, dare I say it? intelligently witty repartee and the air of respectability he gives a show that might (certainly?) otherwise be like its trashy, pseudo-urban-hip copycat, Tommy Hilfiger's absolutely stunningly bad fashion reality show whose name escapes me, so far out of my mind have I put it...oh yes, it was ill-fatedly named The Cut. (If you watch the show and don't read Tim's blog, you are missing even more of his irresistible commentary.) I must, however, comment on his reasons for not having a contract, which are admirable, at least to my academic mindset: he has stated that his duties as chair of the department at Parsons are his first priority because "Parsons pays my bills." I adore this stance: he is putting the what must by now be considerable money and what already is considerable fame of working on the show behind his responsibilities to head department meetings, organize budgets, hire faculty, evaluate instructors, and generally do all the thankless tasks relegated to the chair of an academic department (even at a school like Parsons, where people head to find co-hosts for new TV shows in the first place). While he already had a high place in my esteem, Mr. Gunn has now skyrocketed to the top of my "real, endearing, actually ethical people" in the entertainment industry list, an unfortunately very small group. BRAVO, Tim, Bravo!

In other news, I am suffering from a serious case of Heroes worship! The season finale last week (don't worry, no spoilers here, just considered adulation) was a perfect mix of answers and more questions, but, taking a page from the don't-make-the-same-mistakes-as-infuriating-Lost handbook, more answers than questions, leaving me to grant them all sorts of goodwill about the remaining questions. There was, admittedly, just a hint of cheesiness in some of the storylines, but I was willing to forgive them that as well, because they have just done so gosh darn fabulously so far in keeping this admittedly high concept realistically afloat. I do see some chinks in the conceptual armor they will need to address in the future (ie is Nickie suffering from multiple personality disorder and, if so, does that really make her a super hero? or is it really possible that all but say, two characters on the show have super powers, because percentage-wise, that's pushing the willing suspension of disbelief envelope just a bit, no?) but overall the show continues to deliver some of the best television out there, and if you are in any position to watch it on a weekly basis, you absolutely should!