Hasta La Ideas

More than a year ago, we first reported that everyone’s favorite looney-yet-prolific designer, Philippe Starck, was going to get his own reality TV show on the BBC. But then time went on and nothing. We heard that it would appear starting in March, but then that month came and went. We called out to the heavens, “Where is it?!” back in June, but apparently the heavens were out that day. But lo and behold, here we are and the first episode of Starck’s show finally aired last night. Originally called “Philippe Starck’s School of Design,” it’s now running under the title “Design for Life” and although we weren’t able to see it (the mediabistro jet was being used by those jerks over at GalleyCat), from the preview descriptions we’ve read make is sound exactly like “The Apprentice” (or like nearly every other reality program), with competitions, voting, etc., just with product design filling in the “What profession?” entry on the official reality TV form. Though in this case, the contestants are all students, which feels slightly refreshing, but we’ll have to see. In the pre-airing press, the Guardian asks why the UK needs a French designer to save British design and the Independent gives a nice overview of the program, with some explanations of what the challenges each week will be. If you happen to be a savvy UnBeige reader across the pond and can point us to any clips you put up from the show or happen to run across any on your various travels, please do let us know. We’re dying to see it.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.