Rene Fris

I surprised myself last year by really coming to love Shear Genius, Bravo's Project Runway knockoff about hair stylists. I'd been expecting to find the competition just more of the same, but all it took was one haircut with hedge clippers and one contestant named Dr. Boogie to get me hooked.

Tonight, the show is back for a second season, and I'm curious to see if Bravo's managed to recapture the offbeat magic of season one. Unlike the network's Top Design, which is getting a total makeover for its second season, Shear Genius has brought its principal people back for another round, including host Jaclyn Smith and mentor Rene Fris. It remains to be seen if any of the new contestants can top the antics of the scrubs-wearing Dr. Boogie, but Oshun (who's styled hair for NBC's ridiculous soap Passions) and Paulo (whose salon's name is Ego Mechanix) seem like early favorites to bring some drama.

Will Shear Genius make the cut (yuk yuk) for your viewing schedule? To watch a clip from the first episode, just read more

Everyone on "Shear Genius" is pretty Grade-A crazy, huh? This week really brought out the nuttiest in the seven remaining stylists, including Tyson conjuring visions of Queen Elizabeth's hairdresser. Wow. Just — wow.

For the short cut challenge, the contestants were told to report to a barber shop, which convinced Tabatha they'd have to cut dogs' hair. Yup, that makes sense. Instead, the stylists get to cut men's hair — but not just any men, oh no. These were men who hadn't seen the inside of a barber shop for a very long time, resulting in 'dos ranging from "casual headbanger" to "that guy from Silverchair circa 1995." Tabatha won by giving her guy a haircut that made him look like a 14-year-old skater boy instead of a 12-year-old skater boy. She also introduced us to the most fabulous expression ever, calling Tyson "Fig Jam" — or, as she explained, "F--- I'm Good, Just Ask Me." She later called him "weasel boy," but that's not nearly as catchy.

For the elimination challenge, the stylists had to design a hairstyle emblematic of a certain era. Tabatha got to pick her era first, plus dole out eras to the rest of the stylists. She gave Tyson the Elizabethan era in an effort to trip him up, but the most confused folks seemed to be Danna, who couldn't get her mind around '40s glamour, and Boogie, who spent a portion of his time "researching" the Medieval era by rubbing Tabatha's rear.

By the way, why has Rene Fris made his catchphrase "let's shake it"? What does that even mean? To see whose "hair era" was a disaster and talk about what Boogie wore, read more