It’s a force virtually inescapable if you turn on your television during an afternoon of feeling under the weather. Project Runway. It’s a reality show that’s just ‘usually on’ the Bravo network and it is utterly captivating. Would-be fashion designers are given the directive to design this week’s runway-worthy outfit under strange circumstances (one week the design had to be made out of trash, one week they could only use materials found in their apartments). Then comes the actual runway show, and face-to-face judging. Host Heidi Klum then says “aufwiedersehen” to the designer who is judged out.

This is Project Runway’s third season and the Pop Tart admits, she was slow to pick up the phenomenon. The cast of characters is absolute genius. They don’t just have “the bitch” and “the villain” and “the nice girl”. This season of Project Runway has Jeffrey the former-drug addict who designs clothes with an edge and feels he is better than everyone else on the show. They have Angela the sort of air-head girl who designs clothes that NO ONE would wear but who is manipulative and manages to cry at the right times. She got lucky a couple of times on designs and was the 7^th designer to get “auf’d”. Vincent is the creepy guy who lives down the street that parents warn their kids to stay away from. Vincent is vocal about how his dresses “get him off.” He makes lecherous comments (which really could be coming out of context thanks to editing).

He talks constantly about how he quit his job and cashed in his 401k to be on the show. There was Alison, a seemingly gifted designer who talked as though she lived in a fairy land and slept on a bed of sugarplums. Laura, the wealthy socialite who found out she was pregnant with her sixth child while on the show, designs dresses that look like they’re for older women who enjoy having their boobs hanging out most of the time. Then, there are the clearly talented folks Michael and Uli. Uli tends to make the same dress every show, but it’s a cute dress and there are some forms of it I would wear. Michael knows how to make someone look good. If I’m ever wealthy and can hire a stylist, I’m calling Michael.

Unlike a few of the other “reality TV” shows I’ve sampled over the years, this one seems to offer contestants excellent exposure and a good chance of being “discovered.” Many former contestants now have jobs at prestigious design houses. The show doesn’t really humiliate contestants. The objective is clear. What I am most impressed with is that now, down to the final four designers, it is clear the judges have sorted through the original cast of 13 and have determined which of those are the best four. It doesn’t matter which of the remaining four designers is crowned the winner. I predict each of them will become a rising star in the fashion world.

We’re in the final weeks of the show but Bravo tends to run each and every episode on Wednesdays… with the new show airing at 10pm EST. It’s certainly worth your television time.