At its worst, reality television celebrates the trashy and superficial, and does so in as imitative and unoriginal manner possible. At its best, nonfiction shows reveal worlds we’ve never seen, cultures and subcultures beyond our imagination. “Hair Battle Spectacular” (10 p.m., Oxygen) offers a little bit of both, a rehash of “Project Runway” set in the world of extreme fantasy-hair design.
Popularized by Lady Gaga, this brand of coiffure combines traditional hair cutting with something resembling architecture and cake decoration. Gravity defying verticality seems to be the chief goal, but we soon learn that every design has to have a strong narrative and tell a simple, coherent story, look polished and well constructed and not fall apart in front of the judges.
Derek J. serves as the supreme judge of the series. He has been featured in the movie “Good Hair” and has been seen on “Real Housewives of Atlanta,” again demonstrating that once you make it on reality television, you can always fall back on more reality television.
The contestants arrive with plenty of sass, and silly and concocted names like Minista, Fingaz and Cajmonet (or “Cash Money,” as she has to explain), totally appropriate to the situation. Despite such memorable monikers, the hairdressers are often more about business than entertainment, and the first hour transpires without memorable outbursts or “drama.”
I don’t pretend to know just what host Brooke Burns has to do with the fantasy-hair scene. She often seems as if she was dragged in while on her way to audition for another show and forced to act like an expert. Derek J. easily emerges as the most colorful and quotable character.