Everybody on TV knows their place and what's expected of them, so the "women's pride battle" on the variety show "London Hearts" (TV Asahi, Tues., 9 p.m.) needs to be qualified. What kind of women? Pride in what?
The subtitle of this week's contest is, "What does it mean to have no taste in street clothes?" Unmarried female celebrities whose main sales point is their lack of fashion sense compete with one another, but not to find out who among them has the best taste, but rather who has the worst. Famous spinsters such as Yasuko Mitsuura and Kayoko Okubo haul out their personal wardrobes and are asked by a panel of celebrity judges to create outfits for specific situations, and then are evaluated accordingly. It pays to dress like a bum.
A somewhat different take on feminine appeal is the subject of the talk show "Nakai no Mado" ("Nakai's Window"; Nippon TV, Wed., 11:58 p.m.), wherein SMAP leader Masahiro Nakai moderates "psychological discussions" between a team of professional counselors called kokorogists and guests, which this week comprise celebrities who are or once were identified as male but have since undergone gender-reassignment treatment or simply identify more with their female side.