It’s almost time to make it work again, Project Runway aficionados. The long-running fashion reality series kicks off its eighth season tonight, July 29, at 9pm ET with the premiere “And Sew It Begins,” a fresh crop of aspiring designers, and a new 90-minute running length. However, despite the expected changes, viewers will still have the advantage of knowledgeable insight from resident guru Tim Gunn, as always.

The Lifetime show’s signature mentor recently devoted some time to answering questions about what Project Runway has in store for fans this summer. Continue reading to learn a bit about the latest contestants, their relationship with Gunn, and a few other interesting tidbits, including the origin of his trademark phrase “make it work,” which has become synonymous with the Emmy-winning series.

What can we expect to see more of in Project Runway‘s new 90-minute format?

TIM GUNN: I haven’t seen a cut of the show yet. I honestly don’t know how the additional time is being filled. I will say this, though: based on seven seasons of experience, we have so much content that never ever reaches the air that it should not be an issue for the editors and the producers in general to fill that time.

When I reflect upon season seven, we barely see the Q&A between the judges and the designers.We barely hear anything out of the deliberation. You get a sound bite, when in fact the Q&A and the deliberation go on anywhere from four to six hours. So, you think about it — if you just want to be a fly on the wall, it’s very easy to fill in that time.

Frankly, I’ll say, somewhat egotistically, I feel the same way about my critiques in the work room. You would think that I check in with four designers, sometimes only three, when, in fact, I’m giving equal time to everybody. So, there’s a lot of material that never reaches the air that now our 90-minute format conceivably can.

Season Eight now has 17 designers, the most in the series’ history. Have you seen a significant difference in working with more contestants? Are there certain challenges that come along with this increase?

TIM GUNN: For me, yes. Even when it’s 16 people and it’s so many designers and just making the rounds of the work room takes forever. And I have to tell you, I end up being, in some ways, spent and just exhausted physically and mentally because it’s a lot of work for me to really understand what each individual designer is attempting to achieve and then how to speak to them about my view of how successful this is or not and what I believe would benefit them. It requires a lot of brain searching and conjuring up former experiences.

How does having 17 designers change the dynamic of the show? Will it just be one extra elimination or does it change the whole thing?

TIM GUNN: Well, we’re so close to the show, maybe I’m giving something away, but that’s alright. What Heidi and I say is that our intention was to have 16 designers for Season Eight. We couldn’t make up our mind once we got it down to 17 about who should go, so we’re using the first challenge to determine that. So, in a way, the first episode is the last stage of the audition process.

How would you describe the Season Eight cast dynamic and how they relate to each other?

TIM GUNN: They are very respectful of each other and disarmingly willing to help each other. We have a couple of speed demons who are sewing prodigies who offer up their services to other designers, and I kept thinking, “Well, this dynamic’s going to change.” I mean the fewer designers there are, the more competitive they’re going to feel with each other, and, in fact, if anything, they’ve become closer.

From where I sit as the mentor, it’s very sweet and touching. I hope our audience doesn’t want a lot of blood-spill because, with a couple of exceptions, they’re not going to see very much of that. Though there is a group, a team challenge, when we have more team members than we’ve ever had in the history of Project Runway, I mean in terms of number of people on the teams.

There is someone who reveals him- or herself — again, I don’t want to give away gender — as being this big bossy boots, and it will be interesting to see how people respond to that episode because there was not to be a team leader among the team members. It was to be a collaborative democracy. In the case of one of the teams, it was not.

So, that was an aspect of that individual’s character that I can’t say that I was totally surprised by because I knew certain things about that individual that had been revealed earlier in the season. But I was floored that there wasn’t a giant retaliation from the team. So, later in the challenge, I retaliate. I couldn’t stand it any longer.

Are there any breakout personalities in the season? Are there are any who stand out to you as larger-than-life personalities, like Season One contestant Austin Scarlett and Season Two contestant Santino Rice?

TIM GUNN: Oh, yes. Well, there’s only one Santino, and I say the same about each individual designer. They have their own DNA. I will tell you this, too, because I reacted this way at the very beginning of the season. There are some people about whom the audience will think, “Oh, they just put them on there for television.”

In fact, they really are who they are. That individual is that individual, and the work that they do is exceptional. So, even I, at the very beginning, was a little jaded and a little cynical, like, “Oh, come on.” Though I saw everyone at the auditions, I don’t know who will actually end up on the show and I stand corrected. Their talent is unimpugnable.

How do you feel this season’s group compares to the previous ones?

TIM GUNN: It’s a very interesting group, and in terms of the chemistry among them, one that I’ve never really experienced in a prior season. It’s for this reason, they’re very fragile. They’re fragile in terms of their emotional well-being. They’re fragile in terms of their ego. So, I always felt as though I was tiptoeing around glass that I didn’t want to break while still delivering what I’m responsible for delivering and what’s good for them, [namely] a truth-telling session in the work room and an opportunity for them to look anew critically and analytically at their work.

And I will also say I don’t know of a prior season when I have felt such profound fondness for everyone, even one designer with whom I have a serious antipathy at the beginning of the season. It dissipates, and we become pals later. It was very hard. We just wrapped this week, and it was very hard to say goodbye to them.

If you could just use three different words to describe this season, what would they be?

TIM GUNN: Oh dear. “Hot” because New York has never been hotter, and we’ve spent a lot of time outdoors. I’m trying to search for something that doesn’t sound banal.

Well, I’ll use another word: “Emotional.” I’m probably more emotional this season than I’ve ever been. It has to do with how hard everyone’s working and how — I’m welling up right now — how lovely everyone is. They’re a great group. Oh, I know. Let me use another word. So, we have hot and emotional.

“Frustrating,” and it goes back to the judging. I’ve always had my blog both to talk about the outcomes, because people don’t hear me talk about the final looks, but also to vent a bit. In a way I’m glad to have this on-camera time in this beat of the show to just say how I feel about what happened.

In fact, the producers had wanted me to step into the judges’ circle, and I refused to do that. It’s “No. I’m not going to.” I don’t want to do anything to either undermine them or to potentially influence their decision making in a future challenge. They need to do what they do, and I respect what they do. I believe in the separation of church and state, so I do not engage with them.

Do you still keep in touch with past designers from previous seasons?

TIM GUNN: I do. I mean, as much as they want to keep in touch with me. I’m very careful not to force myself upon anyone, but the designers do get back in touch with me either about professional advice or they just want to have a cup of coffee or a glass of wine, and I’m thrilled to see them.

It’s frustrating when people don’t take your advice or your suggestions, but you always seem to remain pretty cool. How do you do that?

TIM GUNN: Well, it comes through 29 years of teaching and knowing that with some degree of frequency, I’ll leave the classroom just to give the students a little bit of breathing space and I figure that they’re probably trash talking about me. My refrain during these 30 minutes is going to be I haven’t seen it, so I don’t know how it’s going to play out.

There’s a designer this season who takes it upon him- or herself — I don’t want to reveal a gender — to walk around to the designers after I’ve done my critique to add comments about this designer’s viewpoint of whether I gave each designer good advice or bad advice and what this particular designer would advise them to do. And I reached a point where I will say I became rather frustrated by it because I thought I don’t want this individual to be undermining what I say.

So, at one point when I’m leaving the work room, I declare it to the entire room: “Listen to your own voice. You may have someone coming up to you suggesting that that individual knows better than you what you should be doing with your work, but that individual’s not responsible for your presentation of your work on the runway. So, in fact, if you’re recalibrating your thinking based on what this person’s telling you, I would advise against it.”

Where did your catch phrase “make it work” come from? Is that something that you started saying while teaching?

TIM GUNN: Oh, absolutely. It came from my classrooms and, in fact, I even remember the first time I used it. This was the senior year class and the course I was teaching was Concept Development, and it works in tandem with a course in which the students actually execute their collection. I had a student who— It was March [and] she was going to throw the entire collection away, literally and metaphorically, and start a new one.

I said, “We are presenting these collections in four weeks. You’re looking at five months of work, and you’re saying you’re going to get rid of it and start all over again?” I said, “You’re not. You’re going to look at the situation at hand, offer up a diagnosis for what’s wrong, a prescription, and then a prescription for how to make it work. You’ve got to make this work. You’re not going to start all over again. Period.”

This was many years ago this happened. I find that with students that they then end up having this incredible resource within themselves for how to problem-solve as they move forward as opposed to just starting all over again. And, okay, it works, but do you know why? So, it’s a very useful lesson.

On Project Runway it’s nothing if not “make it work,” because as I’m always saying to the designers, once we leave mood, that’s it. Whatever you have is what you have, and you’re not going shopping again. You’re not retooling this. It’s “make it work” time.

I know, I know. I can’t believe I’m going to watch A&E’s new MC Hammer reality series Hammertime when it premieres tonight, either. But, I’ve seen a few promos and the viral YouTube video Hammer Pants Dance, and I simply can’t resist the good vibes those super shiny parachute pants always manage to inspire.

In support of the series, A&E has rolled out all kinds of interactive tech goodies and extras to help fans get into the action. The online and mobile features for the latest gig of so-called “digital media evangelist” MC Hammer include Hammertime‘s official network website, as well as:

• Twittertime, MC Hammer’s Twitter updates
• Hammer It Home Game, a board-game style online game featuring Hammer’s experiences
• Short-form Hammertime Videos, including sneak peaks at upcoming episodes and interviews with family members
• Hammertime Widget and other opportunities for fans, such as online contests and discussion forums

Hammertime follows 1990s star rapper Stanley “MC Hammer” Burrell, his wife of 23 years named Stephanie, and their six children: A’Keiba (21), Jamaris (18), Sarah (15), Stanley Jr. (13), Jeremiah (11), and Samuel (4). The family is based in sunny Oakland, California.

In case anyone needs a reason why a network might have given Hammer his own TV show, I can offer two: he not only has sold more than 50 million albums around the world — definitely not a number to snicker at — but he also has three Grammy awards to his name. Heck, I’d be happy with just one nomination.

Catch the new half-hour A&E series on Sundays at 10pm ET, starting tonight, June 14, with the first two of ten Season One episodes, “Shaping Up!” and “Moving Forward.” The Hammer Pants Dance video follows to get you in the proper mood.

Watch what happens when dozens of shiny pants-wearing strangers of all ages storm a “trendy” clothing store and proceed to get down. Cute, and I think the stunned customer reactions are really unscripted. Wish I could have been there for that.

Tonight, June 10, at 10pm ET, basic cable’s Bravo will roll out its latest, greatest culinary competition masterpiece: the one and only Top Chef Masters, which is a spinoff of that other Top Chef and sure to be a comparably buzzed-about hit. Somebody’s feeling hungry already! (That would be me.)

I’m in a rush at the moment, so instead of wasting time trying to rephrase the network’s description in order to hold onto my Google juice (whatever that is, it sounds nasty), keep reading to get the official details about the show. The premiere episode up tonight is called “Masters Get Schooled,” and I’m liking it already, sight unseen.

In the premiere episode of “Top Chef Masters,” airing Wednesday, June 10 at 10 p.m. ET/PT, Hubert Keller (Fleur de Lys), Christopher Lee (Aureole), Michael Schlow (Radius Restaurant), and Tim Love (The Lonesome Dove Western Bistro) are the first four chefs to draw knives and kick off a whole new level of culinary competition. The Master chefs are tasked with cooking dessert for a tough crowd of judges, Girl Scouts, and in the elimination challenge the acclaimed chefs must cook a three course meal in a college dorm room.

“Top Chef Masters,” the spin-off series of the Emmy and James Beard Award-winning No. 1 food show on cable, “Top Chef,” flips the judges’ table to find out who can handle the heat. “Top Chef Masters” will pit 24 world-renowned chefs against each other to win $100,000 for the charity of their choice. Each episode will re-create a classic “Top Chef” quickfire challenge the first being to create the most creative and delicious dessert they can (as seen on season four). At the end, one chef moves on to the Champions Round.

And if that’s not enough excitement for one series, how about having Kelly Choi as the host and Gael Green, James Oseland, and Jay Rayner as the judges? Sounds like must-see TV to me.

Tonight, basic-cable network A&E presents a new reality series with a twist for viewers who love body art. Called Tattoo Highway, the show follows tattoo artist Thomas Pendleton and various family members and associates as they travel the United States in a rolling tattoo parlor bus to ink willing clients. The tag line: Some stories don’t make it to the shop, so I bring my shop to them.

Like many people, I think tattoos are really cool, just like piercings and other forms of body art are. Yours truly not only has a pierced nose, but I did the job myself (very steadily and sterilely, I assure you). Still, I’ve never been into the tight-knit culture surrounding such practices, which is probably why I had no idea who Pendleton was or that he’s considered a master in the tattoo industry before checking out the series.

Apparently, that is the case, though, and I imagine fans of his work and tattoos in general will appreciate getting an inside look at his craft and the people who help him practice it, which includes his wife and business partner Monica. The mobile home setting certainly adds enough up-close atmosphere to make you almost feel like you’re on the road with the team.

During the series premiere at 10pm ET called “Vegas Babies,” Thomas gives the first client of the show a phoenix tattoo in the middle of her back, before visiting Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E. members at their tattoo shop for another medium-scale inking session. The following half-hour episode, “Breakdown Lane,” features a foot tattoo — which I’ve heard are really painful, even if the customer on the show doesn’t flinch — before taking what some might consider a morbid turn for a client in a sentimental situation.

Throughout all of the artistry and visits to mentors and others, viewers learn quite a bit about how and why Thomas pursues his current profession. If tattooing is your thing and you crave some insider insight, that information will probably make the show worth watching.

The entertainment Internets are abuzz with yesterday’s relatively big news that NBC has yanked its one and only cooking competition, The Chopping Block, from the network’s primetime schedule. The newbie aired three whole episodes, including the March 11 premiere, but happily to say, I never saw a single second of a single one of them.

Brought to us by the Peacock and Granada America, I suppose to inch in on Top Chef et al’s following, the series was hosted by United Kingdom-based chef Marco Pierre White, who looks a tad too unkempt to work anywhere near a kitchen or restaurant if you ask me.

According to Wikipedia, which we all know we can trust without reservation (*wink* *wink*), White “has been dubbed the first celebrity chef, enfant terrible of the UK restaurant scene and the Godfather of modern cooking” and he “is known as much for his quick temper as for his exceptional skills as a chef.”

Apparently, Americans disagree with at least a little of that grand characterization because only about 2.6 million of my compatriots ever bothered to tune in to “The Chopping Block.” I was one of the many turned off by the too-close resemblance to another over-dramatic, semi-realistic cooking competition on Fox. Interestingly enough, White was the 2007 head chef on the U.K. version of Hell’s Kitchen, which the Fox show is based on, of course.

The Chopping Block was airing Wednesdays at 8pm ET and will be replaced with Law & Order: Criminal Intent repeats beginning next week on April 1. The crime drama is far more my cup of tea, and when it comes to watching people demonstrating their culinary skills (or lack thereof) on television, Bravo’s Top Chef is all I need.

The folks over at The Peacock have been doing some serious spring cleaning when it comes to a half dozen reality series (formerly) on its slate. As a result, prepare to say goodbye to American Gladiators, The Baby Borrowers, Celebrity Circus, Celebrity Family Feud, Last Comic Standing, and Nashville Star if you’re a fan.

Following a press release on Thursday announcing the summer run of two new reality series and returning favorite America’s Got Talent, The Futon Critic reports today that network insiders have confirmed the demise of the previously mentioned six NBC reality shows and the eventual departure of two more, America’s Toughest Jobs and Momma’s Boys.

On the brighter side, in addition to the June 23 fourth-season premiere of Talent, NBC will debut I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! on June 1 (the series first aired on ABC in 2003) and Great American Road Trip on July 1.

Both newcomers are based on originals from across the pond, although only the second one sounds like something I would actually watch … if there were absolutely nothing else on TV. I don’t have anything against the specific shows themselves. Except for the rare gem — such as Top Chef, for instance — I’m just not a fan of the genre in general, as some readers probably know.

Also, to my dismay, NBC has cut the one-season horror anthology Fear Itself, too.

It’s time for more paranormal shenanigans when Sci Fi Channel’s popular reality staple Ghost Hunters returns tonight at 9pm EST for its fourth season, followed at 10pm by the relative newcomer Destination Truth, which launches its second season.

I had the opportunity to sneak a peek at the premieres for both series, and I’m happy to report that fans of each show can look forward to more of the familiar perplexing investigations audiences have grown to expect.

Ghost Hunters begins the night with a visit to Buffalo, New York’s Iron Island Museum. It looks just like a too-big house to me, but the structure is actually a converted church where the dead and departed seem determined to remain. Head investigators Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson arrive on the scene with their trusted TAP team and van-load of equipment for another one of those nighttime stakeout sessions. Afterwards, they give their client a thorough account of their intriguing discoveries, so get ready for some very disconcerting audio material.

Next, so-called truth-seeker Josh Gates does a similar routine with his own team of investigators and equipment, but with a much more exotic flair. They first travel to gorgeous Queensland, Australia — a vacation in itself — in search of Yowie, probably more familiar to many people as the one and only legendary Bigfoot. Just saying the name makes me laugh out loud and think, “Aw c’mon! Get real!” But investigate they do, with earnestness.

Then, Team Gates is off to even more exotic Malaysia to get the inside goods on an abandoned mosque that reportedly houses an evil spirit. How do we know the place is haunted? Well, the spirit has a penchant for doing eerie things like turning lights on, although the building has no electricity.

I admit that would freak me out a bit, too, and if nothing else, I’ll always envy people who get to visit places like Australia and Malaysia during their myth-busting adventures. How do I get a paying job like that?

Ghost Hunters‘ “Iron Island” premieres at 9pm, followed by Destination Truth‘s “Yowie/Haunted Mosque” at 10pm.

…Joshua Allen!

Even if he doesn’t receive the big prize tonight during the fourth-season finale, the 19-year-old hip-hop specialist will forever remain a SYTYCD standout in my mind.

Mr. Broken Record, better known as series co-creator and head judge Nigel Lythgoe, likes to go on and on about how Joshua has no training. That isn’t true since Joshua himself said in his interview last night that he used to do odd jobs around dance studios in lieu of paying cash for the classes he took.

Joshua does have less formal training than most of the other non-hip-hop finalists, however, which makes his skill performing on the dance floor that much more remarkable. Plus, he’s just a sweet, charming, respectful, dedicated, hardworking, and super talented doll. What more could America want?

Go, Joshua!

It’s almost time for the ultimate battle to begin. The final six competitors on the fourth season of Fox’s So You Think You Can Dance will be whittled down to just four on tonight’s elimination episode. Unbelievably, I can’t even begin to imagine which two dancers are going to get the big heave-ho.

The six remaining performers are the women Chelsie Hightower, Courtney Galiano, and Katee Shean, and the men Joshua Allen, Mark Kanemura, and Stephen “Twitch” Boss.

If I had to chose which male and female must leave the show right now, I would pick Twitch, simply because I believe Mark is a better overall performer at this point, and (calm my sobs!) Courtney, because I think Chelsie has the slightest edge over her after delivering more consistently good performances throughout the entire Top Twenty run.

My predictions aside, I can’t wait to see how America votes. Will viewers stun the world again like they did last week by eliminating Top Four favorite William Wingfield? The only way that could happen is if Joshua and/or Katee get the boot, and I’m just not jaded enough to see that happening.

Tune in to the “2 of 6 Voted Off” elimination episode tonight at 9pm EST on Fox. I know my eyes are going to be glued to the screen.

The fourth season of the reality culinary competition The Next Food Network Star ended on Sunday, July 27, with the announcement of the lucky participant chosen to receive their own cable cooking show. His name is Aaron McCargo, Jr., of course, and I was fortunate to have the chance to participate in a group interview with the aspiring celebrity chef just this past Monday.

Read on to learn all about McCargo’s foodie experiences on and off the show, including his aspirations for his brand-new Food Network series Big Daddy’s House, which premieres at 1:30pm EST this Sunday, August 3.

What was your original impetus to send in an audition tape for Next Food Network Star?
Aaron: I actually never sent anything in. My wife had my hands tied; she sent in my audition tape.

What was the best part of your experience on the show?
Aaron: Meeting the nine other finalists, building relationships, and getting good ideas from all of them.

When during the competition did you start to think that you could actually win?
Aaron: I walked in thinking I had a chance to win. Week to week, they took me on a roller-coaster ride, but I never gave up believing in my chance of winning.

Now that you have won, how do you plan to prepare for your new show?
Aaron: My plan is to just get people to tune into my show. With my show Big Daddy’s House there will be no competition. I can be myself, having fun and cooking.

Will your show be based on one theme or style of cooking? Or will you open the door to other options, say, different regions?
Aaron: My food presented on the show is going to be wide open in style and presentation. My main goal is teaching people to use what they have at home in preparing their meals.

How has your family’s food habits influenced what you want to present in your new show?
Aaron: We’re all about big portions. My mother always was into flavoring food a lot and that is what I plan to present to the audience in Big Daddy’s House.

How would you describe the style of your food?
Aaron: The history is very important. I call my food Soul Food, but I keep it with an ethnic twist. It’s about food that is flavorful and fun.

When did you first realize you were a serious eater? What do your family and friends think of your food obsessions?
Aaron: I became a serious eater at the age of four. I was served one piece of fried chicken and thought to myself, “When I get older, I’ll cook my own whole chicken so I can eat it.” My friends and family think I’m a food junkie. I go to work and cook, I come home and cook, I spend weekends cooking with my family. I just am obsessed with cooking, and I want to show the world what I can do, and I think Big Daddy’s House will be the place to do it.

Can you tell us about your favorite family food tradition?
Aaron: My favorite family food tradition had to be fish on Fridays. And because of my Italian background with a Roman Catholic upbringing, I would always prepare pasta on Wednesdays. So, on Fridays, I started to combine the two into a unique dish to serve to my family.

Guilty pleasures? Describe your perfect meal.
Aaron: I love Coors Light cold, but if I could eat anything, my perfect meal would be a 16- to 18-ounce New York steak, cooked medium, with asparagus and fried mushrooms. To start off, I would have one of my salad’s with a special dressing and one of my homemade soups.

What food won’t you eat?
Aaron: There’s not any foods I would not eat. I’m pretty open to eating anything. I love food.