Jamie Broker

Howdy, folks! I’m back and I’ll try to be more consistent with posting. End of summer is a busy time at work, though, so my apologies in advance if my intentions don’t turn into reality.

I’ve got a new background show to watch: “The Great British Sewing Bee.” I’ve watched all the cooking shows I can (in the sense of “the ones that are left don’t interest me”) and the crime shows are starting to get depressing, so when I found GBSB, I was delighted.

I love watching people make things. I’m not particularly fashionable, so seeing folks envision and make material such beautiful works is especially fascinating and inspiring. I adore the runway shows of “Next in Fashion” and “Project Runway” (I’m managing to keep current with the latest season of the latter). What I really hate, though, is the toxicity and the pettiness and the drama. I know it’s part of the appeal and the fun for some viewers, and the footage is edited all to hell and scored to make everything more dramatic. For me, though, it’s hard to watch, to the point of being painful sometimes (is that a Therapist Question? Whatever, I can’t afford a good therapist at the moment). I much prefer how things roll on “The Great British Baking Show,” “The American Barbeque Showdown,” “Blown Away,” and now GBSB.

No reality T.V. is 100% drama-free — it’s baked into the genre — but can the drama be about the highs and lows and inherent risks of creation, and then the same things about showing that creation to the public, as represented by a pair or a panel of judges? So far, GBSB has mostly been that, and it’s been a near-perfect background/comfort watch.