Project Runway Season 12: Episodes 5 and 6: Ken as the New Diva?

Glamping in the woods

I've been on vacation in upstate NY and New England for the past two weeks, so I haven't been as obsessed with Project Runway, but I caught up with the last two episodes last night on my laptop and sad to say, I miss drama queens Timothy and Sandro. Yeah, I know, all I did for the first four episodes was bitch about them and now that they're gone, I complain about it. Ken almost took Sandro's place as combination bat-shit nutjob and attention-sucking diva in Episode 5, but he settled down in Episode 6. There's weepy treacle and bitchy catfights, a glamping trip (this is one of my new least favorite made-up words), and a pair of drop dead, drop-crotch pants, but nothing could match the climax of Sandro having a Russian fit and destroying camera equipment or pathetic Timothy clutching a stuffed unicorn while sobbing over his model's letter.

Project Runway 12: Episode 3: Dysfunction Junction

Alexandria and Dom's
super-cute sweater dress should have won IMHO.

I half-agreed with the Project Runway judges this week. They got rid of someone who should have been eliminated a while ago, but that person didn't make the worst dress this time. It all started when Heidi Klum burst into everyone's room at the fancy hotel (not the Atlas Apartments) and wakes all the designers up for their next challenge which involves a field trip. Ken is shocked out of his mind and pulls off his sleep mask like Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's to reveal a second mask of skin cream. So that's his beauty secret. Side note: there are far fewer pajama-party scenes with the contestants dishing each other over white wine this season. Much more time in the workroom and on the runway, perhaps this is to make room for the "upclose" segments after the the runway show.

Reality Update: Strippers on Project Runway, Fabulous Pamola Faith

Tim Gunn with Thunder Down Under on Project Runway

Yesterday I started jury duty and nothing is as exhausting as sitting around waiting for something to happen. I last did jury duty about eight years ago and a few things have changed. Now they show movies in the waiting room and let you keep your phones and laptops on. The film was The Day After Tomorrow--the one from 2004 with Dennis Quaid rescuing his son Jake Glyenhaal who is trapped in the NY Public Library while the city is first flooded and then buried in snow. Later while waiting again in another part of the building I was surrounded by TV monitors blaring first The Chew and then Katie Couric's show. It was maddening trying to read an old New Yorker article about homeless gay teens while Jessica Alba was blathering about nutrition. Why couldn't they have changed the channel to Judge Judy? That would have made sense at least.

Project Runway Season 10: Episode 1: The Deatherrage of Civility

Gunnar represents the Deatherrage of civility

We are back to the good old framework of Project Runway after that chintzy All-Stars of a few months ago. (I couldn't even watch it to the end, I was so bored with it. The same with Around the World in 80 Plates. Top Chef meets Amazing Race. Yawn) PR premiered on Thurs. and I finally got around to watching the Behind the Scenes "Road to the Runway" special and the 90-minute premiere on Sat. night and Sun. morning. This time there are 16 designers and I have already picked out the most hated one of the season and possibly of all time. Can you guess who it is?

It's the appropriately named Gunnar Deatherrage (because he represents the death of civility in our age.) This twink was one of the first 4 out of 20 designers eliminated at the very  beginning of the previous season.He may be overcompensating for that incident, but he is nasty and obnoxious in addition to possessing an annoying nasal voice. There's nothing wrong for being a larger-than-life personality, but Gunnar must be "the only star in the sky."

He has singled out Christopher for his venom, rebuffing the latter as friendship was offered. Gunnar admitted the reason for his dislike of Christopher is that they are too similar. He feels threatened by someone of the same age and temperament who is probably more talented than him. When Christopher won the first week's challenge, Gunnar told the confession camera "Christopher made a nice dress but now he's going to get a swelled head. He's so arrogant." Pot, meet kettle.

At the other end of my taste spectrum, I like Buffi for her British-Judy-Robinson-from-Lost-in-Space vibe and Andrea for her 58-year-old-I-don't-give-a-shit attitude.I'm almost as old as Andrea and I'm beginning to see what she means.

There are a lot of designers and it's always difficult to get them straight--as it were--on the first episode. But here are my impressions of the remaining ones I can remember. Kooan is like a little anime character whose clothes look like they belong on cartoon characters. I think I'll call him Pickachu. Lantie is now Bib Woman for her signature accessory and her defense of it in defiance of Michael Kors and Nina Garcia.Raul is the one who made the tissue-paper dress. Elanya is the futuristic goth one. All of her designs look like they belong on  the cover of a William Gibson cyberpunk novel. Ven is a master technician with an obsession for red roses, he will probably make it to the end.

This looks to be an exciting season. I read that two contestants have a meltdown and a psychiatrist has to be called to the set.