PROJECT RUNWAY: THE COMPLETE 2ND SEASON - DVD review

The problem with reality TV is that it's hardly ever real. You get the feeling that the wannabe actors or have-been celebrities who participate in them are just as aware of the cameras as a runway model. As a result, their behavior couldn't look or feel more staged. That's why I was skeptical when I popped in the first episode of "Project Runway: The Complete Second Season." Never having seen the program before, I'm not sure what I expected. But what I got was a surprisingly intelligent and addictive reality show that combines the best of what "Survivor" and "Trading Spaces" have to offer. Yes, the participants know the cameras are running, but they're also too busy working on their creations to care a whole lot. And that lends an air of legitimacy to the whole thing. They want to be successful designers, not celebrities, and it shows.

Like "Survivor," "Project Runway" begins with 16 contestants and offers weekly challenges, after which one of the competitors is eliminated—though two bite the dust in one special episode, and in another the winner is given "Survivor"-like immunity. But while the challenges in "Survivor" are all contrivances that have nothing to do with real life, "Project Runway" has everything to do with the contestants' lives. The 16 participants are all fashion designers or recent fashion school graduates hoping to make it big, and this show promises three finalists the chance to show their work at the Bryant Park tents at the famous Olympus Fashion Week in New York. The winner gets a career and instant notoriety: a fashion spread in Elle magazine, a mentorship with the design team from Banana Republic, a 2007 Saturn Sky Roadster (hey, they have to get from place to place), and $100,000, courtesy of Saturn, to launch their own line of clothing.

Like "Trading Spaces," the show is all about design—fashion, not interior—and the contestants have a budget, a deadline, and someone from the show checking up on them from time to time. Since the contestants work in space provided by Parsons, The New School for Design, that person is Tim Gunn, the likable chair of the school's fashion department. As in "Survivor," the competitors are forced to live and sometimes work together, and as in "Trading Spaces" we see them shop for materials and sketch out their designs. While we get some on-camera interviews of the contestants talking smack about each other and also see footage of them getting on each other's nerves, the Jerry Springer element is really downplayed. It's refreshing that 80 percent of the focus is squarely on their designs and the work itself. Tensions aren't tweaked for the sake of ratings, the way you sense that they are in "Survivor" or "Fear Factor" or any number of shows. These are people with talent and a dream, and the show recognizes and respects that.

Lingerie model Heidi Klum is the host—a step up, certainly, from "Survivor"'s Jeff Probst. At the risk of sounding sexist, Klum looks "hot" on the DVD cover, and though she's pregnant throughout this season she also looks hot on camera. Her outfits are surprisingly chic, and pregnant women who watch this show are going to rethink how they look and feel. The way Klum struts her stuff makes you realize that she's just as comfortable with her pregnant body as she is her slender one, and she oozes charm and sweetness, even when she has to bid one loser each week her trademark "Auf wiedersehen." That's accompanied, of course, by the fashion world double-cheek fake kiss kiss where no skin actually seems to touch.

At the start of each episode Klum struts onto the stage-set runway and addresses the contestants: "As you know, in fashion, one day you're in . . . and the next day you might be out." Then she proceeds to tell them about the design challenge they face, and the cameras cover all the fashion-world survivors throughout the process. When contestants return with their models, who walk the runway while real-life fashion industry icons (not B-list celebrities, as happens with other reality-show judging) determine who's in and who's out, it can get pretty interesting. I didn't see the first season, but apparently this second-season group is quite willing to get into verbal jousts with the judges. And there's a nice cross-section of people included here:

Diana Eng, a painfully shy 22-year-old Asian nerd from New York whose parents are into math and science and wish she'd join them.

Zulema Griffin, a 28-year-old African-American woman from New York who qualifies to wear an "I heart NY—You got a problem with that?" t-shirt.

Chloe Dao, a 33-year-old fashion designer from Houston who already has her own shop and is as wholesome as can be.

Heidi Standridge, a 25-year-old granola eater from Atlanta who's full of childlike naiveté.

Nick Verreos, a 38-year-old fashion design instructor from L.A. who endears himself to other contestants by his willingness to help whenever he can.

Raymundo Baltazar, a 24-year-old recent fashion school grad who's already started his own line of irreverent clothing, "Young Balls."

Santino Rice, 30, an arrogant freelance fashion designer who emerges as the contestant you love to hate, or hate to love, as he annoys, talks major smack, but also entertains the troops with his impressions and songs.

Daniel Franco, a hyper-sensitive retread from Season One who was the first one cut and made it this time because apparently he was still among the best out of thousands of applicants.

Guadalupe Vidal, a 29-year-old freelance designer who has a multi-cultural background, a Bruce Lee haircut, and a flakey personality.

Kirsten Ehrig, a 37-year-old lawyer by day and swimsuit designer by night.

Andrae Gonzalo, a 32-year-old designer who has a "Forget it Jake" line and wears his emotions on his sleeve.

Daniel Vosovic, a 24-year-old recent fashion school grad who also recently came out of the closet to his parents, which gives him plenty to talk about with the other male contestants.

Kara Janx, a 29-year-old freelance designer who has a British accent and tends to come unglued under pressure.

Emmett McCarthy, a 42-year-old menswear designer who uses old-fashioned methods like watercolors instead of computers to do his sketching.

John Wade, a 24-year-old fashion nerd who's not exactly lacking in confidence.

Marla Duran, a 51-year-old fashion boutique owner from Allentown, Pennsylvania who hopes to prove something to herself.

Watching this show you're guaranteed to learn something bout fashion, and since the models are also in competition you get to see a lot of model-designer interaction. But what makes the show fresh are the challenges themselves. They're far from boring, and each challenge produces a winner, sometimes with a prize that's awfully darned good.

For the first challenge, contestants have to work with "the hillbilly of fabric," muslin. The second one, they're surprised when they're told at a party that their next outfit has to be constructed, literally, from the clothes they're wearing. Then there's perhaps the coolest challenge, where they have to design an outfit for Barbie (and the winner gets his/her design actually marketed in a limited edition by Mattel with their face on the box). Then it's design a lingerie line with three looks (and a team effort), design a party dress for socialite Nicky Hilton (which Hilton will actually purchase and wear), design an outfit for Banana Republic (which will be sold in their catalog and in selected stores), design a costume for skater Sasha Cohen, design a garment inspired by a photo they've taken in New York, design a garden party dress using natural plants and flowers, and design an evening gown. The concepts are challenging, and the appearances by celebrities and the real pay-off for each challenge really adds to the interest and frankly makes the show more "real" than most reality shows. By the time that three finalists work on a 12-piece collection for Fashion Week, chances are that you'll be pulling for one of them . . . and crossing

Bravo has made the DVD more interesting by adding footage to each of the 13 episodes, making each a "never-before-seen" episode. Also included is a reunion special, in which the competitors who were ousted rejoin the three finalists right before Fashion Week. Finally, a word about the judges. Though various guests and experts rotate in, the anchors are flamboyant designer Michael Kors and Nine Garcia, the fashion director at Elle magazine, and each of them is fun to watch as they find ways to tell the designers what works and what doesn't. Add the severe time limits (even when they're shopping for material, with Gunn riding herd on them) and you've got a pretty tight, colorful and fun series. Special guests include Debra Messing ("Will & Grace") and Diane von Fustenberg.

Video: "Project Runway" is presented in its original 1.33:1 aspect ratio, and the picture quality is very good. There's very little distortion or foxing around the edges when the image is stretched to fit today's widescreen TVs. While there's a slight graininess, it's not enough to complain about, and I probably wouldn't have even noticed it if I wasn't looking for imperfections.

Audio: The English Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo soundtrack is decent, with lively main speaker action that really separates the ambient noises in the work room from the conversation. It's a natural sound as well, presented with subtitles in English and Spanish—an achievement, given that often the contestants are filmed in the field and not studio conditions, while at other times they're "surprised" at their apartments.

Extras: Okay, fashionistas, is you like the show you get the chance to score a free "Project Runway" t-shirt. All consumers who follow directions on the DVD and use the code provided get a free t-shirt valued at $19.95, though of course you get nailed for shipping and taxes.

If you liked Tim Gunn (and what's not to like?), the professor kept a blog during the show that is reproduced here. It's a little more of a pain to read onscreen than online, but fun to have. I mean, here's a guy who has a flair for describing outfits both good and bad. My personal favorites? "Carrie Bradshaw visits Little House on the Prairie," "a quasi-Elizabethan collar that reminded me of a creature out of Jurrasic Park and an asymmetrical skirt that looked very Home on the Range," "S&M Disco," and "marzipan costumes for a Black Forest production of The Nutcracker."

If you watch the reunion show and see clips that you don't remember from the shows you watched, don't panic. Extended versions of the six most talked-about scenes are included here. I can't tell if they're unedited or not, but they're much longer, and fans will appreciate seeing the fuller versions. There's also a brief, edited "blooper" real that doesn't bloop a whole lot. It's just edited-out moments that didn't make the show flow.

A "Where Are They Now" feature on each of the three finalists will make fans wish that all 16 were represented, but you get a full taste of not just the contestants but also what it takes to draw the attention of reality show producers in an edited reel of audition tapes that the contestants mailed in. Rounding out the extras is a Season Three casting call feature that's edited using clips of all the wannabes standing in line and showing one of the Season Two cast sitting in the judges seat this time. All in all, a nice package of extras.

Bottom Line: You'd expect a show about fashion to have style, and this one does. It's well photographed, well edited, well conceived, and well populated with interesting people, whether it's the contestants, judges, or special guests. "Project Runway" is like the contestants themselves—energetic, quirky, goal-oriented, but having the kind of self-deprecating humor you need in a profession where "one day you're in, and the next day you might be out." As reality shows go, this one is fashionably fun.