Double Dose of Reality: The Amazing Race Episode 5 and Project Runway Episode 10

Didn't get around to expressing my thoughts about this week's Project Runway until just after The Amazing Race, so I thought I would combine them. Runway is pretty much the same as last week with Logan and Christopher getting saved from elimination while a not-as-pretty designer gets the axe. Nicholas's look was pretty lame, but so were Logan and Christopher's. Irina did deserve to win, it was the most tailored and imaginative of a sorry lot of dresses. But she's such a bitch. I predict either Christopher or Logan MUST go next unless Gordana really loses her confidence. This will be the first time all of the final three will be women.

I've noticed Tim's critiques are getting shorter and shorter, mainly consisting of "You have a lot of work to do." and "Go, go, go." Also did you notice that for Top Chef both Padma and Tom were nominated for a best reality host Emmy, but only Heidi is nominated and not Tim? He is the show for me. Heidi just comes out at the beginning and says same basically the same thing every week. Then makes the judgement and delivers the same lines at the end. I could recite her lines along with her. "As you know in fashion, one day you are in and the next day you're out..."

On Amazing Race, they stayed in same city (Dubai) two episodes in a row. That's annoying. The past few seasons they have been doing that, maybe to save money, but not this early in the race. Also they started out at 8:17 AM. But they finished the last leg much earlier than 8:17 PM. It was early in the afternoon. I guess the twelve-hour rest period rule is out the window or they only use it when it's convenient.

Team Malibu Barbie and Ken had a big advantage of 90 minutes since they won the fast forward last time. That's another thing I don't like about staying in the same city. If a couple has won the fast forward and there's no flight to another city to equalize everybody, chances are excellent they're going to win. Maghan and Cheyne stayed ahead the whole time without any signs of slipping (except for a brief moment at the hookah challenge).

Some of the dynamics have changed with the Annoying Poker Chicks now actually being honest and nice with the Gay Brothers (It's not clear if they still don't know if the boys are gay, evidence: the Baywatch comment with the Poker women drooling over the brothers' physiques). The two teams helped each other out at the gold-counting challenge by sharing information and a calculator.

Was I drunk or are there more commercials than before on this show. I was downloading the episode onto a DVD while I watching it and it seemed the breaks kept getting longer and longer. When we got to the final break, I thought, "Wait a minute, there's only two teams left and they're both at the last challenge. How are they going to stretch this out to fill up the time?" Just then the Chinese food arrived so I haven't reviewed the whole thing, but I got the jist. The last ten minutes was all about the Nashville girl having a breakdown because she was scared of going down the water slide. That was uncool of the Globetrotters to feed into her fears, but her partner didn't handle the situation properly. He should have encouraged her and let her know he loved her no matter what she did, but that she'd feel much better if she faced her fear and conquered it.

It looks like the next stop is in Holland--due to the little commercial about destinations. Hopefully, the rest will catch up with Meghan and Chayne.

Summary: Day 9--stay in Dubai, paddle to yacht, gold or glass, water slide, Meghan and Cheyne win for the second week in a row, win a watercraft each. Mika and Canan eliminated. Time for a non-elimination next week.

Project Runway Episode 2: Pregnant with Possibilities; with Diversions to Top Chef and Rachel Zoe

Mitchell has GOT to go. For the second week in a row, he had an interesting idea but executed it sloppily--is that a word? It's a good concept to do a fun maternity look, but he made the model look like a trailer-trash housewife on her way to the Walmart to pick up some beer and pretzels for the weekend tailgate party. And those shorts were ridiculously unflattering. He's very cute and that may be why he's still hanging around. Which leads us to Fatma's reaction on Models of the Runway when Mitchell picked her. It's was very funny and my favorite line of either the main show or the model show so far this season is when Mitchell did not get eliminated and one of the girls watching said "Oh no--he's a model-jumper!" A new phrase is invited. Model-jumper: a person who is not loyal to his or her model but will pick another one at the first opportunity. Mitchell was right to pick Fatma since he had the chance and she is the most striking looking of the models. But he's got to pick up his game. My bet is he'll be gone within two episodes. I think they keep some pretty bad designers just for the drama. I also think Heidi's stern warning to him was added for even more drama. Too bad she couldn't use that catchphrase from the Fashion Show--"You're hanging by a thread." But there was some agreement in the lawsuit with Bravo that they couldn't steal each other's catchphrases. It's in paragraph 27, clause 32.

Malvin did deserve to be eliminated, that chicken-egg thing just didn't work and that was more of a bowling-ball look than Ra'mon's. Shirin's winning design was elegance incarnate and it didn't accentuate the pregnancy, but artfully concealed it, especially with the jacket which was lined with a lovely print.

There are still too many designers to get them all differentiated in my mind and they don't have particularly strong personalities. I am eagerly awaiting Tim Gunn's apearance in the Models Inc. comic book--If I haven't missed it already. I bought the new Archie comic with the proposal to Veronica for my friend Lydia.

Meanwhile, I'm still on vacation till Labor Day so I have been able to watch Top Chef and The Rachel Zoe Project, the remaining interesting shows on Bravo. On Rachel Zoe--I am sick of Taylor. OK, I get it. You're not happy basically being a clerk to Rachel and so you bagged the Golden Globes viewing party. Rachel is not a good communicator and her problem is treating her staff like friends. She needs to be the boss and tell Taylor to shape up and drop the attitude. And also discuss why she needs them to be upstairs. My favorite line of the episode: Brad: "We have to be strategic in our planning, but we're not strategic people." It was fascinating to see how much work goes into putting together a red-carpet look and how the award shows are all about glamour and fashion rather than honoring excellent acting--at least for the whole industry that grown up around it and which Rachel exemplifies. Anne Hathway is an interesting example of an actress who straddles fashion and acting. She in all into the red carpet, but when it's appropriate, she can be a regular person. I saw her at the Obie Awards presenting an award for lifetime achievement to Earle Hyman and she was dresses very casually, sedately, yet tastefully. She was about to appear in Twelfth Night in Central Park and you could tell she was honored to be included in this non-glamour event celebrating a great actor. It wasn't on TV and there was no red carpet.

Have caught two Top Chefs episodes and it looks like Kevin is the force to be reckoned with. The two competing brothers are cute, but kinda lifeless.