First off, I was super excited when the contestants were borough to the New York Botanical Gardens for the challenge. I always love seeing the Bronx represented well in popular shows!
I never expected I would have turned on Kenley so fast as I have after the last two weeks. While I was able to overlook some of the combativeness earlier in the show, she has reached new lows in her refusal to accept criticism. She had MAJOR attitude during the runway show. What I also found weird was that she took a floral-based challenge and got a vision of scales of a fish. And the best part was that when Tim Gunn mentioned it, she said that was exactly was she was looking for!
Overall, I didn’t find any of the designs last night too appealing although I believe Jerell rightfully won. I think they are bringing back all 4 for the finale because, as Heidi said, they were interested to see what Kenley could do but I dont think they wanted to eliminate Korto based on this one performance after being so string throughout the show so I think it was the right thing to do.
I have been a Kenley fan all season so far but I must admit that she should have been knocked out this week. That outfit was horrible although I am not sure LeAnn did much to help the presentation of the outfit with her mean look and weird arm gestures that I guess were supposed to be hip hop.
New PR Power Rankings
1. Jerell – On a roll!
2. LeAnn – She got Country and didn’t make it look tacky!
3. Korto – Solid every week
4. Kenley – Attitude and apparent lack of flexibility probably lead to her departure before Fashion Week.
Was at the Swell Season show at Central Park on Wednesday night so I did not get to see Project Runway until Saturday so here are some quick thoughts as I flip between the Emmy’s, the last Yankee Stadium game, and watching NFL highlights of my kick ass fantasy football week.
Jerrel is on a roll now. Coupled with Joe’s elimination, I put him in third place now in the Power Rankings. I am kind of happy that the mothers of the girls the designers had to design for were not around at the fitting as well as the preparation for the runway show. They were just being disruptive to the designers.
Next week’s highlights indicate that Kenley’s combative nature will be the focus of the episode. While I still consider her my favorite, I am most concern with her disrespectful comments towards Tim Gunn, who is super nice to them and is clearly looking out for the designers with his advice. I dont mind her debating the judges at the runway show but she should be nice to Tim Gunn.
Anyway, here are the Phil Power Rankings for the week.
1. Kenley – Was very close to winning again so despite all the criticisms from the other designers as well other viewers of the show, until she is in the bottom pair, she will remain at or near the top of this list.
2. LeAnn – Judges seemed a little disappointed in this week’s dress but she has been strong.
3. Jerell – Gaining momentum after a slow start to the show. He may end up being the most versatile of the designers so right now I think he has a spot at Bryant Park.
Today’s episode was one of those which I had not much to say about the clothes since they were so out there in terms of imagination and design tht it was way beyond my comprehension of what is fashionable. The designers were teamed up with already eliminated contestants and they had to create a design based on the horoscope signs of one of the team members. As I was watching it, I immediately got concerned that Kenley, my favorite so far, would be knocked as her design, which consisted of some plaid shirt unde a boustier (spelling?) with a zebra print belt and floral shirt looked like a big insect. However, I became confident she would stay when the judges did not destroy it but said they had seen designs like that in the past.
I was not surprised Blayne was knocked out. It was obvious the writing was on the wall for him when Michael Kors said the outfit looked like it was “pooping fabric”. I was surprised however, that Terry was knocked out. I expected better from her but her animosity towards Keith, her partner in the challenge, took control of her.
Since it is Football Season and many sites have their Power Rankings for NFL teams, I will create the Phil Top 5 Project Runway Power Rankings. These will be changed weekly based on each episode. This week’s ranking:
1. LeAnn – Another strong performance combined with Kenley’s disastrous insect like costume puts her in the top spot.
2. Kenley – Still think she is headed to Bryant Park but needs to bounce back strongly. Her combative personality makes for good TV.
4. Jerell – This week’s winner has been on a LeAnn like run of week to week improvement.
5. Korto – like Joe she is progressing under the radar.
Next week, I will have to rely on the DVR as I will be attending the Swell Season (Glen Hansard from the Frames and Market Irglova’s project for the movie Once) show at Central Park Summerstage on Wednesday night so the review will probably come on Thursday or Friday.
I have wanted to keep weekly thoughts on Project Runway on this blog as I tried to do with Hell’s Kitchen and Top Chef earlier in the summer but I usually either am putting my son to sleep at that time or I myself fall asleep while watching it at it’s original airing, forcing me to catch up with the shows later in the week.
Anyway, I am caught up so here we go.
This week’s episode was my favorite of the season so far as they got a major league designer, Diane Von Furstenberg to be a judge and give the challenge. I was getting a little worried that the show was having too many former Project Runway contestants or celebrities such as Natalie Portman, Apollo Ono, and Brooke Shields as judges and that they were unable to get higher profile judges such as Roberto Cavalli last season anymore. I was proven wrong (as usual).
Anyway, the challenge was to make an outfit based on Marlene Dietrich’s character in the 1948 film Foreign Affair that could also be part of Von Furstenberg’s fall collection. LeAnn won this challenge, her second in a row as the designers loved her blue dress with gray jacket (great verbal description, huh?). My favorite for this season, Kenley, seemed to have come in second. This results adds to my prediction that both will be at Bryant Park at the end (I think Terry or Joe will be the other). This is surprising because I thought LeAnn should have been eliminated in one of the first few episodes but she got by and seems to be in the zone now.
I think it was also time for Stella to go. She seemed to only be able to do leathery biker-like outfits and did not have the flexibility and creativity to go to the end. I think Blayne, Korto, and maybe Jerrell will be the next ones out.
Anyway, I ask you, my legions of reader(s) to let me know your thoughts on Project Runway this season. Who do you think will be going to Fashion Week based on what you have seen so far as well as any thoughts you may have on the show.
I was hoping to be a more frequent poster on this blog and I still hope to be but work has been very busy of late and I have been spending my time at home with my totally amazing 3 month old son so I haven’t had time (nor energy) to post. However, that does not mean nothing has happened. Here are my thoughts on the last few weeks.
After the two great REM shows I saw in June, I was lucky enough to have won a pair of tickets to see the free Coldplay show at MSG. Our tickets were back of the floor but I had a GREAT time at this show. This was my first time seeing Coldplay and I was totally blown away by Chris Martin’s energy onstage and the tightness of this great band. Thise who know me know that my favorite band is U2. They are also my favorite live band because you walk away froM their shows with a feeling of hope and uplifting that you don’t get from most bands. I walked away from this show with a little bit of that feeling. The NY Post had a very good review of the show. The Daily News had a not so good review but since my wife and I had a great time, I wont link the Daily News review. I am now really excited about seeing them in Hartford on August 2.
Spain wins Euro 2008. This is a rare time I think that football fans can clearly say that the best team of the tournament ended up winning. Well deserved.
As far as signings go, all the rumors we have heard so far (Ronaldo to Real Madrid, Kaka to Chelsea, Adebayor to Milan, Ronaldinho to Milan or LA or Man City) have NOT happened. I must admit that I LOVE Arsenal’s signing of Samir Nasri. He is young and while not a good fit for many other teams right now he will fit in perfectly with Wenger’s style at Arsenal.
The team I truly support, Panathinaikos, is on the verge of signing Arsenal’s Gilberto Silva (that is if you believe the more often than not unreliable Greek press). However, i think this will happen and it will be good. Panathinaikos have done everything right this summer. They locked up Austrian captain Andreas Ivanschitz and with Gilberto him, Giorgios Karagounis and Helder Postiga, Panathinaikos should be well placed to make a run for the title in the Greek league as well as advance to the group stages of the Champions League.
Finally, in reality TV world, my prediction of Petrozza winning Hell’s Kitchen did not come true. Chritina was the winner after what looked like an even final dinner service. Ramsay says he did it with an eye towards future potential. I don’t agree with this view as it seems to take away from the purpose of having a reality show now but it is his show and restaurant.
Project Runway starts this upcoming week so that will take up my reality show viewing slot. I’ll comment on this once the show begins.
Now that Top Chef is over and there is a month to go before Project Runway starts again, the only reality show I am watching is Hell’s Kitchen. Last night, the field of 4 was reduced to 3 when Gordon Ramsey sent Jen packing. And it was about time! In my opinion, she should have been knocked out weeks ago but I guess she made for good TV so she was kept in a little longer.
I now think Petrozza will win this. It seems Ramsey really likes him as he is always cracking jokes to him about his sloppiness even though he likes his cooking. I think Corey and Christina are a little erratic to not be one of the next to be knocked out (I’ll predict Corey out next, leving Petrozza vs Christina final).
Today one of my favorite shows, Top Chef, had its season finale. The winner was Stephanie, who was strong throughout the season especially the last few weeks. Throughout the season, I thought Richard Blaise was going to win as he seemed the best chef but he definitely “choked” in the finale. This kind of reminded me of Michael Knight on Project Runway two seasons ago, who was strong all through the season only to fall apart in the finale, giving the win to Jeffrey. If Richard did not win I thought Antonia would be the winner until she was surprisingly knocked out the competition last week.
i LOVE the Bravo reality shows. I am addicted to Top Chef, Project Runway, the Real Housewives of New York City and even am looking forward to Flipping Out even though that guy annoys me.
I also love watching Hell’s Kitchen on Fox Tuesday nights. This season has been interesting in that while there are only 4 chefs left, I have NO IDEA who Gordon Ramsay will select as the winner since there has been no clear favorite to emerge yet as Rock did last year. Some days I think it’s going to be either Chritina or Corey while other days I think Petrozza will sneak into the winner’s spot without any drama. I guess we’ll see in a few weeks.
