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Old 04-15-2013, 10:15 AM   #1
Talon87
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The Great British Sewing Bee

The Great British Sewing Bee is this cute, quaint little reality TV series about tailoring. (Says it's about sewing but so far everything's been clothes. No needlepoint artwork, no quilting, just pure clothesmaking.) Six women and two men were invited to compete for the title of Britain's best amateur sewer. Each round spans two days: on the first day, the contestants participate in two shorter competitions; while on the second day, they partake in a single challenge that lasts the entire day. After each round, two people are eliminated. That's the way it's been thus far, anyway, so the series looks like it's only going to be four episodes long if it keeps up that pace whereas it'll be six episodes long if it slows down now to single eliminations.

I don't really buy into the whole "Britain's best amateur sewer" angle, but that hasn't prevented me from enjoying this quaint reality TV series for what it is. Sewing one's own clothes and other cloth-based items (drapes, quilts, etc.) really is a lost art in much of the developed world, so it's quite fun to watch these contestants show what they can do. It's akin to watching competitive sports that've also fallen out of common practice (like horseback riding or archery) blended with other domestic reality TV programs (like those to do with cooking or home renovation).

I never thought I'd watch two hours of people sewing skirts, dresses, and blouses, but here I am. So give her a look and see for yourself if you like it.
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Old 04-15-2013, 12:49 PM   #2
Mercutio
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Bit of an anglophile, Talon?
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Old 04-15-2013, 12:56 PM   #3
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A, no, there's plenty about England or English culture that I don't particularly care for. (For starters, Doctor Who, even the reboot, was so boring and silly to me I put it on indefinite hold in the midst of Season 2 whatever number David Tennant's first season is. )

B, lest you forget, I'm half English.

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Old 04-15-2013, 06:27 PM   #4
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Your opinion on Doctor Who is noted and burned in the hellfires which it belongs in. Half English? Cool.
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Old 04-15-2013, 06:50 PM   #5
Talon87
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This looks a lot worse than it really is (I swear ;_; ) :

Spoiler: show


These candy wrappers could be a) evidence of a "Britaboo" who imported tons of British chocolate not sold in America from the UK ... or it could be what it is, which is b) evidence of someone who had a family member or friend recently visit England and bring back gifts. Which did happen. Just this March. (Mother and father.)

Either way, they're evidence of a slob. But I swear, it looks much worse than it really is! ;_; *OM NOM NOM chocolate ice cream bucket to drown away my sobs*

Not pictured here is my preferred chocolate of choice, which is orange-flavored chocolate, particularly orange-flavored chocolate-coated biscuits or wafers. I have to ration that stuff like a prisoner at an internment camp (one little ASDA bar a week ;_; ) because I'll run out otherwise and they don't sell it over here. Except for made-in-the-USA versions of Terry's chocolate oranges. Which are okay but are probably my least preferred way to eat orange chocolate. I really do prefer the coated biscuits or wafers best. But seriously, WTH, America. How do you do chocolate and peanuts, chocolate and almonds, chocolate and caramel, but NOT orange-flavored chocolate!? >_<

Anyway, we're horribly off topic.

Back on topic, the show really is cute as it's sort of like "the competitive sport of tailoring", if such a thing could be done with tailoring. That's what this series seems to have tried to go and do: make sewing something which viewers at home can find engaging even though sewing is ordinarily one of those things that is infinitely more boring to watch someone else do than to be doing yourself. I really have to praise them for managing to defy that property of sewing.

Given who the judges are, though, I get the impression that the remainder of the series is going to be a) all clothes or else b) clothes for all except one which will be a token quilt/drapes/something perfectly ordinary. Where are the plush dolls? Where are the needlepoint pictures? Where are the tapestries? I realize that tapestries and chemises are like the apples and aardvarks of the art-with-cloth world , but still. I would've liked to have seen more than attire being crafted here. Fingers crossed that they'll surprise me in one of the remaining two episodes.
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Old 04-28-2013, 03:30 PM   #6
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Just finished Episode 03 of this. Will watch Episode 04 later. Pleased with the judges' decision on who to send home this round:

Spoiler: show
I feel like Stuart kind of skirted elimination every single time. Round 1 (Days 1 & 2), he was 6th of 8, with the only two people beneath him being 8th place's auto-DQ and 7th place's bold experiment gone terribly awry. Round 2 (Days 3 & 4), he was tied for 5th of 6 with Tilly, and I feel he only averted being sent home that time because there was someone in the competition still with even worse technical capabilities than his own (Brian) plus once again someone did something a bit bold and it backfired on them (Tilly). So of the final four contestants -- Ann, Lauren, Sandra, and Stuart -- I would've been least dissatisfied to see Stuart sent home and, courtesy of those sneaky sneak peeks , was most worried that poor Lauren was going to be sent home before Stuart even though I think she's far more capable, both technically and aesthetically.

Sandra really kind of self-destructed this episode, saying "Fuck this shit " to several of the rules in Round 3 and throwing far too much caution to the wind in other areas, like minding the fraying of her fabric for her jacket. Honestly, the entire episode had suggested that Lauren might not finish yet she did. So when I saw that Sandra hadn't finished, it was like "Well you totally should be dinged for that!" The fact that she hadn't secured better than 3rd place for the first Round 3 competition and didn't strike me as faring much better in the unranked second competition led me to believe that with a score of say 3-3-3 or 3-3-4 she'd be going home. But, again, I was pleased to see that she got to remain, if only because I do feel that Stuart isn't really up to snuff with these three ladies' technical capabilities and, unlike Patrick and May, I haven't been impressed by Stuart's aesthetic decisions either.

If I had to guess who I think will win it all in the end, it would probably be:

Spoiler: show
Lauren. Ann was definitely the front runner for 1st place throughout most of the competition, but even by Round 2 it became clear that Patrick (and later May) were disappointed in Ann's conservative aesthetic. Lauren is nearly just as technically capable as Ann and is a fair deal fresher or bolder, so I'd guess that she wins it all. Especially after we've seen her do so strongly in Round 3. I think it's only up, up, up for her.

Ann would be a sensible 1st place though, so if she ends up winning it I won't be too surprised -- nor, I dare say, would any of the other contestants.

Sandra is certainly the dark horse of the three remaining contestants. Ann's technical inferior and Lauren's aesthetic inferior, she'll have to perform truly spectacularly to pull off a win here. That doesn't mean she's bad, though. In fact, should Sandra end up winning this tournament, it will only be because she will have given us quite a show -- and so I almost find myself rooting for her to win if for no other reason than that.

But yeah, I think if I had to pick right now, I'd pick Lauren.
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