The 2013 Emmys: The Winners

So... that was a weird Emmy ceremony, wasn't it? I mean we all know how fantastic Neil Patrick Harris is as awards host, but he never really got it going after a lackluster opening that relied more on other people (especially consummate awards show saviors Tina Fey and Amy Poehler) to make entertaining. Yes, he did a fun song-and-dance number in the middle of the ceremony about singing and dancing in the middle of the ceremony and the skit he had with his How I Met Your Mother cast was pretty good, but this was one of his lesser hosting turns I think.

Harris certainly wasn't helped by the (unintentional?) depressing theme of the night: dead people. They were everywhere. The idea behind the separate In Memoriam tributes for a few choice people was ill-conceived from the start, but the execution (them being spread out throughout the show and featuring no clips) left much to be desired and really brought a solemn mood to the ceremony. Though I'd be remiss if I didn't mention how affective Edie Falco's tribute was for the late James Gandolfini. We even had a 1963 tribute that began with Dr. King's death and ended with Carrie Underwood murdering a Beatles song. And if that weren't enough, we had someone's spouse accepting an award on behalf of her late husband and Claire Danes dedicating her award to a writer on her show who had also died. Oh and there was also the most random Liberace tribute in the middle of the show even though the man died more than two decades ago.

The awards themselves were fairly unpredictable in a night that saw quite a lot of first-time winners and upsets in key categories. Modern Family took home the Comedy Series award again (as well as Directing), but for the first time since they've been eligible, they were shut out from the acting awards with first-time winners Tony Hale and Merritt Wever taking the Supporting categories. Wever was the night's first winner and memorably left the stage without really making an acceptance speech while Hale came back on stage to hilariously assist his co-star Julia Louis-Dreyfus during her acceptance speech for Actress. Jim Parsons took home Actor while the Emmys gave some love to 30 Rock in the form of a Writing award for Tina Fey.

There were plenty of drama in the Drama categories with all six of its acting awards going to six different shows. Danes was the only repeat winner for Actress while Jeff Daniels, Anna Gunn, and Bobby Cannavale all upset (though Gunn's win actually made me happy while Daniels' just caused me to shake my head). Last year's powerhouse Homeland picked up a second prize tonight for its Writing while Netflix picks up its first ever Primetime Emmy win for David Fincher's Direction for House of Cards. The night ended on a high note with Breaking Bad winning Best Drama Series and from the looks of it, it should be seen as the favorite for next year as well.

The top winner of the night is Behind the Candelabra picking up kudos for Actor, Directing, and Miniseries. Oddly enough I predicted all of the acting winners in Miniseries putting my tally at 10 of 19 which is a personal best. If we're counting alternates, I'm at 12 of 19. Other award highlights include The Colbert Report finally winning over The Daily Show and the surreal/visually fun Choreography performances, which I really hope they do every year.

Here is a complete list of winners from tonight...

DRAMA
SERIES: Breaking Bad (AMC)
ACTOR: Jeff Daniels, The Newsroom (HBO)
ACTRESS: Claire Danes, Homeland (SHO)
SUPP. ACTOR: Bobby Cannavale, Boardwalk Empire (HBO)
SUPP. ACTRESS: Anna Gunn, Breaking Bad (AMC)
DIRECTING: David Fincher, House of Cards (Netflix)
WRITING: Henry Bromell, Homeland (SHO)
GUEST ACTOR: Dan Bucatinsky, Scandal (ABC)
GUEST ACTRESS: Carrie Preston, The Good Wife (CBS)

COMEDY
SERIES: Modern Family (ABC)
ACTOR: Jim Parsons, Big Bang Theory (CBS)
ACTRESS: Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep (HBO)
SUPP. ACTOR: Tony Hale, Veep (HBO)
SUPP. ACTRESS: Merritt Wever, Nurse Jackie (SHO)
DIRECTING: Gail Mancuso, Modern Family (ABC)
WRITING: Tina Fey and Tracey Wigfield, 30 Rock (NBC)
GUEST ACTOR: Bob Newhart, Big Bang Theory (CBS)
GUEST ACTRESS: Melissa Leo, Louie (FX)

MINISERIES, MOVIE OR DRAMATIC SPECIALS
MINISERIES OR MOVIE: Behind the Candelabra (HBO)
ACTOR: Michael Douglas, Behind the Candelabra (HBO)
ACTRESS: Laura Linney, The Big C: Hereafter (HBO)
SUPP. ACTOR: James Cromwell, American Horror Story: Asylum (FX)
SUPP. ACTRESS: Ellen Burstyn, Political Animals (USA)
DIRECTING: Steven Soderbergh, Behind the Candelabra (HBO)
WRITING: Abi Morgan, The Hour (BBC America)

VARIETY, MUSIC OR COMEDY PROGRAM
SERIES: The Colbert Report (Comedy Central)
SPECIAL: Louis C.K.: Oh My God (HBO)
DIRECTING: Saturday Night Live (NBC)
WRITING: The Colbert Report (Comedy Central)

REALITY
COMPETITION PROGRAM: The Voice (NBC)
PROGRAM: Undercover Boss (CBS)
HOST: Heidi Klum and Tim Gunn, Project Runway (Lifetime)

Creative Arts Emmy Winners

Over the weekend, the first Emmy awards were given out at the Creative Arts Emmy ceremony including those for guest performances, which is as good a place to start.

My predictions were pretty off, but I did get one right with TV legend Bob Newhart winning his first Emmy Award after being nominated and losing 6 times prior in his five-decade long career. for his role as Professor Proton in Big Bang Theory garnering that show's first acting win other than Jim Parsons. The other categories were slightly more surprising with first-time Emmy nominees winning over more popular, veteran names such as Jane Fonda, Michael J. Fox, Nathan Lane, and Elaine Stritch. Probably the least surprise among the shockers is the win for Oscar winner Melissa Leo (Louie), because they do love their Hollywood movie stars (is that what Leo is now?). I'm tickled pink to see Lisa Kudrow BFF and fellow Vassar College alum Dan Bucatinsky (Scandal) win as well and even more happy to see Carrie Preston continue the fab streak of a kick-ass actress from The Good Wife winning an Emmy every year. Seriously, Preston's win is the single highlight of the Emmy Awards so far for me this year.

People do use these early awards to predict what will happen during the Primetime Emmys and if that's the case, then it's going to be very difficult for anything to beat Behind the Candelabra in the TV Movie/Mini-Series categories. It picked up 8 wins out of the 9 it was gunning for and really should be seen as the favorite. Its wins gave HBO its usual early lead with 20 awards which also includes 4 wins for Boardwalk Empire. The 66th Annual Tony Awards also picked up 4 wins including one for Special Class Program and Music/Lyrics for Neil Patrick Harris' performance of "If I Had Time." I would have to think that those two will repeat again next year. Emmy network CBS was second place overall with 15 wins while NBC took third with 8.

Among its wins, Behind the Candelabra picked up awards for Casting and Editing. 30 Rock and House of Cards won for their casting as well giving 30 Rock its first Emmy win since 2009 and Netflix its first Emmy ever. Netflix picked up its second Emmy when House of Cards also won for its Cinematography. Breaking Bad, the final season of The Office, and How I Met Your Mother picked up the other series Editing awards. Finally, just a couple of other noteworthy results with Heidi Klum and Tim Gunn jointly winning Best Reality Host for the first time and Bear McCreary (composer of Battlestar Galactica, The Walking Dead, and new series Agents of SHIELD) picking up his first Emmy win for his Main Title Theme Music work for Da Vinci's Demons.

Bring on the big night!

Predicting Guest Acting at Creative Arts Emmy Awards

The Emmy Awards are next week, but since there are approximately over 100 awards to be given out, most of the awards will actually be handed out tonight at the Creative Arts Emmys including the four Guest Acting categories. So before that takes place, a few of my thoughts and predictions of the nominees:

BEST DRAMA GUEST ACTOR
Dan Bucatinsky, Scandal
Rupert Friend, Homeland
Michael J. Fox, The Good Wife
Harry Hamlin, Mad Men
Nathan Lane, The Good Wife
Robert Morse, Mad Men

It's no surprise for Mad Men and The Good Wife to take up the majority of nominations, but it's also a good sign for Scandal and Homeland since the two actors cited from those two shows are newcomers showing solid love among the industry. Looking at the nominees, this should be Fox's category to lose, but I said the exact same thing last year and he lost. Lane is probably his closest competition (and Lane is also nominated in Comedy). And all respect to Morse, but I'd have easily traded him for Eddie Izzard's turn in Hannibal.

Prediction: Michael J. Fox
Alternate: Nathan Lane
Should Win: Michael J. Fox
Should've Been Nominated: Eddie Izzard, Dallas Roberts

BEST DRAMA GUEST ACTRESS
Linda Cardellini, Mad Men
Joan Cusack, Shameless
Jane Fonda, The Newsroom
Margo Martindale, The Americans
Carrie Preston, The Good Wife
Diana Rigg, Game of Thrones

Last year, Martha Plimpton won this category and I'm rooting so hard for fellow Good Wife guest star Preston to repeat. But man this nomination was a long time coming, wasn't it? This is a pretty solid list though and I don't think there's an actual frontrunner. Perhaps Fonda since she's a beloved movie star. But I can honestly see any of these women win. Why not give it to recent Emmy winner Martindale especially with the show's sole acting nomination? A couple of Alison (Brie and Wright) should've been nominated for their memorable roles on Mad Men and The Americans respectively.

Prediction: Jane Fonda
Alternate: Margo Martindale
Should Win: Carrie Preston
Should've Been Nominated: Alison Brie, Alison Wright

BEST COMEDY GUEST ACTOR
Louis C.K., Saturday Night Live
Bobby Cannavale, Nurse Jackie
Will Forte, 30 Rock
Nathan Lane, Modern Family
Bob Newhart, Big Bang Theory
Justin Timberlake, Saturday Night Live

It would be very difficult to see a way legendary Newhart wouldn't win his first Emmy Award (out of seven nominations!) especially for a show that Emmy seems to love. His biggest competition are the two Saturday Night Live hosts that Emmys definitely love (C.K. has NINE nominations this year alone and Timberlake has won FOUR). The rest should just be lucky to be nominated, but I wished Patton Oswalt and Andrew Rannells were nominated from Parks and Rec and Girls respectively.

Prediction: Bob Newhart
Alternate: Justin Timberlake
Should Win: Justin Timberlake
Should've Been Nominated: Patton Oswalt, Andrew Rannells

BEST COMEDY GUEST ACTRESS
Dot-Marie Jones, Glee
Melissa Leo, Louis C.K.
Melissa McCarthy, Saturday Night Live
Molly Shannon, Enlightened
Elaine Stritch, 30 Rock
Kristen Wiig, Saturday Night Live

Even when I was making my own ballot for this category, I was left mostly uninspired so I don't have much to say about the nominees here. I wouldn't even know who is the frontrunner here. Maybe Oscar winner Leo or 3-time Emmy winner Stritch? Everyone still loves McCarthy and/or Wiig right? Your guess is as good (or better) as mine.

Prediction: Kristen Wiig
Alternate: Elaine Stritch
Should Win: Kristen Wiig
Should've Been Nominated: Kate Hudson, Octavia Spencer

So there are my guest acting predictions. And below are three more categories that will be decided tonight that I'm randomly going to say a few words on, just because.

BEST REALITY TV HOST
Tom Bergeron, Dancing With the Stars
Anthony Bourdain, The Taste
Cat Deeley, So You Think You Can Dance
Heidi Klum & Tim Gunn, Project Runway
Ryan Seacrest, American Idol
Betty White, Betty White's Off Their Rockers

I don't understand how Phil Keoghan was left off this list, but I'm rooting for Cat Deeley or Heidi Klum/Tim Gunn. I still don't get how Bergeron won last year.

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
"Nothing In This World Will Ever Break My Heart Again," Nashville
"More Or Less The Kind Of Thing You May Or May Not Possibly See On Broadway," The Neighbors
"Hang The Moon," Smash
"I Hear Your Voice In A Dream," Smash
"Rural Juror," 30 Rock
"If I Had Time," 66th Annual Tony Awards

Other than the song from The Neighbors, I've heard and like all of the other songs so I'll be fine if any of them wins. I'm rooting for "Rural Juror" (for the hilarity) and "I Hear Your Voice In A Dream" (only song I've listened to more than 5x). I would root for Neil Patrick's Tony Awards song from last year, but I'd rather he win NEXT year for his epic opening song from the Tony Awards this year.

BEST MAIN TITLE DESIGN
American Horror Story: Asylum
Da Vinci's Demons
Elementary
Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn
The Newsroom
Vikings

Rooting for Elementary just because I just love their Rube-Goldberg-esque main title, but I also like the dark and pretty one for The Vikings. Haven't seen any of the others!

There's way more awards than these to be given out tonight, but I can't cover them all! Though after tonight, it should tells us which shows the Emmy voters are loving. Though last year the results where mixed with Homeland and Game Change translating their early wins with dominating on the big night while Girls and Game of Thrones didn't.

Reality Show Rundown

It's coming to the end of April which means lots of shows are winding down. This also means that for most reality shows, it's getting down to the wire and final contestants. This week there were a lot of great eliminations that I just wanted to highlight.

Even though I do not watch Dancing With the Stars, it's hard to avoid Kate Gosselin's reign of terror both in the tabloids/media and in the show itself. From what I hear, she was just a pain in the ass and couldn't dance to save herself, but kept getting through despite the judges scoring her low. So it was a bit joyous to hear she finally got the boot Tuesday night. Hope she stays home and, oh I don't know, be a mom.

Wednesday night brought another much needed elimination to another highly-rated reality show. This time it was the ouster of the much maligned Tim Urban on American Idol. Vote For the Worst's horse in the race finally came in last. It's a wonder he lasted this long with barely making it in the top 24 and getting awful reviews from the judges early on.

We move on to Thursday night when Seth Aaron was rightfully declared the winner of this season's Project Runway. I was exactly rooting for him, but I was definitely rooting against his competitors who were probably my two least favorite designers this season. In fact I didn't like them so much I didn't even feel the need to watch the finale so god knows what kind of crap they sent down the runway.

Speaking of not watching, I don't pay attention to Survivor. I have a few friends who watch it and I know this season it's all about Heroes vs. Villains. Apparently this week was the merge and some people really started playing. I heard some player made some big and risky moves during tribal council and yadda yadda. Wish I could appreciate it more.

Finally, tonight we get the Amazing Race. I guess I should've been paying more attention, but if I was I would've probably guessed that this week was a non-elimination leg. Too bad because I would've given anything to have those two cops Philiminated. My favorite team, the Cowboys, ended up in first place. Here's hoping to two more first place finishes for them! It's insane that Caite is the last female left in the race. Some things are just too mind boggling. And of course there's the other brother, Dan/Jordan, who are so sweet to one another. I do hope they make it to the final three along with Jet/Cord. Two more episodes left! I think...

Stupidity Rules on Idol, Runway, and Race

Right now I'm only watching three reality shows and while I know better than to expect anything other than stupidity reigning, I had hopes. These three shows, however, has given me an opportunity to rant about the audience, the judges, and the contestants. Here I go...

I already posted my thoughts on this year's American Idol Top 12 and it's not an awful bunch. Plus with Paula Abdul gone, the caliber of the actual judging have gone up. The stupidity comes solely in the form of the voters who thought that Paige Miles, Katie Stevens, Tim Urban, and Aaron Kelly were actually worthy of being included in the top 12. It wouldn't have been so bad if there weren't great singers who could've taken their place, but alas there were. Now I've never had high hopes for this season especially after the trifecta of awesome that was Kris Allen, Adam Lambert, and Alison Iraheta last season, but with Crystal Bowersox, I at least have found for myself someone to root for. Don't be stupid now, America.


The judges on Project Runway must be seeing something I'm not, because I thought they got rid of the wrong designer two times in a row now. To those who know me, I am far from a fashion expert, but I also know a major wreck when I see it. Last week, Jesse was sent home for a poofy and uncomfortable dress, but his dress was a masterpiece especially in comparison to Emilio's washer-inspired swimsuit which was as classy as a three-dollar whore. Eventually, I was okay with it, but then the judges did it again this week. Ben's suit was not well-made and bordered on the cheesy, but Amy's black leotard-inspired outside complete with hairy tits burned the retinas. So of course, she made it through. Of course. If I see Amy and Emilio in the final three, I'll probably throw something. I don't have anyone I'm rooting for yet. Maybe Jay.

Finally, we get to Amazing Race, which, in my not-so-humble opinion, is the best reality show out there right now. Nothing is inherently wrong this season and I'm enjoying the locales and challenges so far, but there are just some crazy stupid people in the race this year that makes me want to strangle them. I am shocked that Brent/Caite and Jordan/Jeff are still in the race. For the most part, they've gotten by with some luck and one of them definitely would've been eliminated this week if it weren't for Joe/Heidi's U-turn. Their strength as "young fit" couples are dampened by their inability to work together and figure out simple instructions. We, then, get to Louie/Michael who aren't stupid as they came in #1 for two times in a row now, but going after Joe/Heidi? How was that strategically wise? Why not go after the teams that could threaten them down the line like the affable Jet/Cord or the nasty Carol/Brandy? Sure, they succeeded in getting rid of Joe/Heidi, but it was still a waste.

My dream results next week: Miles, Stevens, Urban, or Kelly goes home on American Idol. Emilio gets the cut on Project Runway. Louie/Michael gets their comeuppance or one of the stupid teams go on Amazing Race. Though I probably just jinxed Bowersox, Jay, and Jet/Cord. We'll see.

Project Runway Finale

And then there were three.

The finale of the the sixth season of Project Runway was a bit anticlimactic. Yes, there were bits of drama such as Carol-Hannah still dealing with a nasty stomach virus and Irina thinking Althea is copying her yet again. But for the most part the designers just had to finish and present their lines.


Althea's collection was inspired by 70s sci-fi women and she wanted to have a collection that reflects those aesthetics as well as show us how a woman from today would dress for the future. High concept to be sure and I'm not entirely sure her collection delivered. She played to her strengths doing mostly separates and sportswear inspired clothes. There were a few knitwear as well.

Carol-Hannah's line featured a variety of colors and styles showcasing her penchant to play with volume and texture. The imagination was there and out of all the designer, her collection was the most fun to watch and analyze, but she lacked cohesion. Too bad since if Carol-Hannah just explained to the judges that she was going for that eclectic fairy-tale vibe, everyone would've seen that she did have some sort of vision.

Finally, Irina's collection was an ode to New York and shield-wear for protection. Of course this meant a lot of dark colors (i.e. black), but she softened it up with very intricate knitwear and custom-made tee shirts. Out of all the collections, hers was the most cohesive. If she had just punctuated her collection with a few colors, she would've amazed further.

In the end, Irina won and again it was a bit anti-climactic. I do think Irina deserved to win based on her performance for most of the season and her Bryant Park line. Upwards and onwards. I pray the next season is just a bit more exciting than this one. Here's a suggestion to the producers, move back to New York!

TV Roundup

Comedies Still Rule

It began with an insta-classic episode of How I Met Your Mother full of bagpiping and its usual affinity to play fun with how to tell a story. On the same night, Big Bang Theory had Sheldon teaching Leonard about the finer points of football and really that's all that needs to said.

Modern Family and Cougar Town shined this week taking advantage of Glee taking a week off due to the World Series. The former delivered another A+ episode about parents finding pride in what their children do while the latter had its first episode not entirely focused on how old Courtney Cox's character is.

Finally, this past Thursday chaos ruled as Jeff was thrown out of his posh condo in Community and Liz had to navigate a hectic audition for a new cast member in 30 Rock. The robot? Really? Can't wait to see how messed up that becomes.

Sci-Fi/Fantasy Shows Display Spark

Genre TV woke up this week a bit as not only did we get an above average episode of Heroes, but the much anticipated V premiered on ABC with blockbuster ratings. Talking about the latter first, headlined by veteran sci-fi/fantasy actors such as Morenna Baccarin and Alan Tudyk (Firefly), Elizabeth Mitchell (Lost), and Joel Grethsch (The 4400) the show became the second most watched premiere this fall and was the best 8pm drama to premiere on ABC since Lost. Reviews of the show was mixed with mostly negative from those who have seen the original and mostly positive from those who have not. With only three more episodes set to air, it will need to make a lasting impression if it hopes to not be forgotten by the time it comes back in March.

Heroes hasn't been bad this season, but Hiro's time travelling adventure to save Charlie and "help" Sylar brought the really first good storyline for the character since season one. FlashForward meanwhile delivered a fairly uninteresting episode until the last 11 minutes or so when the episode quickly became a game-changer with a death of a main character. The repercussions will be fun to see next week.

Recapping Reality Results

Tonight's episode of Amazing Race sees the return of an infamous roadblock that will hopefully cause much turmoil to the remaining teams. It's already been a harsh season with teams being eliminated for other reasons than coming in last highlighted by last week's elimination of the Poker Girls who were physically unable to complete the roadblock.

Project Runway is heading into its final episodes this season after a double elimination this week giving us the final three designers: Irina, Althea, and Carol-Hannah. If you've been watching the past season, this result shouldn't be too much of a surprise especially considering how Gordana and Christopher has done all season. Talent-wise Irina should win, but the fact that she feels SO entitled has been a big turn-off and therefore I'm hoping for one of the other two designers to win it all. Moment of silence for Matar, my favorite model, who didn't make it into Bryant Park.

Finally, as both of those shows are winding down, So You Think You Can Dance is just ramping up. Due to the World Series, the public had been unable to vote for the dancers. Instead the judges picked the people to go and unfortunately one of my favorites, Bianca, was one of the casualties. As expected, I already have favorites namely Peter, Nathan, and Karen. I'm hoping they all reach the Top 10.

Quick Word About Everything Else

I've really been enjoying Grey's Anatomy the past few weeks which is a lot since I HATED last season. I don't know if it's solely because of Izzie not being there, but it can't be a coincidence.

It's good to see Tommy again in Brothers & Sisters. I can't believe Greek is done until January. I can't wait that long! And finally, I miss Dollhouse and Glee.

Thursday Night TV

Thursday was such a loaded night. In fact I have yet to watch Fringe and the season premiere of The Mentalist because I had to go to sleep! What I did get to see was the series premiere of FlashForward, the two-hour season premiere of Grey's Anatomy, Community, and Project Runway. Whew!

The big question of the night though is whether or not FlashForward is the new Lost or is it yet another high concept show that start out big only to fizzle out? After seeing the spectacular pilot I'm hoping it's not the latter, but I'm still worried. Matt Roush at TV Guide Magazine probably said it best in his review:

"It’s all very compelling, but obviously, embracing FlashForward will require quite a leap of faith. And therein lies another problem. Even critics and fans who are intrigued (as I am) by the often riveting pilot—which ends on a whopper of a cliffhanger twist—can’t help projecting a bit into our own future, one that’s informed by a past that’s littered with ambitious pilot episodes that ultimately didn’t measure up."

Then there's Grey's Anatomy. I have not been a fan of the show for awhile due to crummy plots and unlikable characters, but somehow I keep coming back. Having said that, I very much enjoyed the premiere. The death of George, especially the way it was eloquently handled by the writers, really grounded the episode and the usually manic characters within the hospital. I mean I was crying in the first five minutes already. The challenge is to keep it going though. I still remember earlier this year when Heroes delivered a very good spring premiere only for it to fall to its usual tangled mess of storylines. But I'm keeping an optimistic attitude for Seattle Grace and its doctors especially since it seems there is more dark times ahead.

Now can we talk about what happened on Project Runway last night? The talented Ra'mon bit off more than he could chew delivering a terrifying lizard/alien dress and was booted while "I'm all that and a bag of chips" Nicholas actually won a challenge. I'm not too pissed about Ra'mon leaving because his dress was THAT heinous, but I thought Epperson (or even Christopher) should've won over Nicholas. So lame.

Finally, I don't have much to say about Community except to say that I think this show can get better. With two episodes in, some of the characters are still not as fleshed out as I want them to be, and I'm especially talking about the main character played by Soup host Joel McHale.

Don't forget that the premiere of DOLLHOUSE is TONIGHT on FOX at 9PM. Watch it!!!

Reality Show Rundown

Design Star

With Nathan's departure last week my joy of watching this show diminished just a bit which probably explains my later-than-usual review of the episode. In any case, the remaining five contestants had to decorate a kids' room though the show's definition of "kid" includes two 17-year-olds.

Even though I don't like her, I thought Lonni was the only one who stepped up in this challenge and delivered a baseball-themed room that was very well-executed. Not only that, but she delivered in her presentation! The judges loved her, but they also loved Antonio who probably had the enviable (or is it unenviable) task of working with a 5-year-old client. He delivered, but I thought he could've done more. The judges thought his large sticky poster of the kid was ingenious. I thought it was borderline CREEPY.

The other three contestants floundered in various ways. Dan's room had clashing colors and his presentation was full of giggles (which I actually found adorable). Torie's design was Jekyll and Hyde. One side looked like a mini-artist's studio while the other side looked like a fabric store threw up on the wall. Finally Jason, who was eliminated, was tasked to create a room fit for a princess and one would think this would've been the perfect fit. Sadly apart from a sparkly chandelier and his smart decision to use black to temper all of the pink, he failed everywhere else. Bye bye Jason.

Hey, I miss Nathan. Sigh.

Project Runway

This week's episode revolved around the designers designing a dress for a very pregnant Rebecca Romijn. Shockingly enough no one really bombed the challenge.

I only say that because I didn't particular hate any one dress. Even the bottom three designs by Malvin, Mitchell, and Ra'mon weren't SO bad. In fact I actually thought Malvin's dress was the better one out of the three. His design was athletic, urban, and dare I say chic. On the other hand, Ra'mon's dress hurt my eyes and Mitchell was the closest contestant to me who churned out a hot mess. He should've gone rather than Malvin.

Weirdly enough the judges picked my favorite dress as the winner of the challenge. It was designed by Shirin and the color of the dress as well as the jacket she designed were to die to for. My two other favorite designs were by Johnny and Irina. The whole look of Johnny's dress was quite fetching even though I thought it could've been less skintight while the color of Irina's dress and its flowiness really won me over, but it could've been just a wee bit longer.

I still don't have anyone I'm passionately rooting for. I guess Logan, Christopher, Shirin, and Qristyl. But after only two episodes and two very straightforward challenges, I still need to see more.

Project Runway: Lifetime Premiere

Project Runway is back and it's in a different network! Not only that, they've also decided to move from the hustle and bustle of NYC to the sunnier star-filled Los Angeles. It's no wonder that the designer's first challenge was to come up with a red carpet look that showed innovation as well as their style.

The designers are as follows as well as my initial thoughts I had for them (if they made any impression on me at all that is):

[x] Althea Harper
[x] Ari Fish - I knew from the very beginning that she would probably be the first one to go if she really went crazy in this challenge. And she did and so she's gone.
[x] Carol Hannah Whitfield - She's quite bubbly and I think I like her. Her dress was very interesting to look at with all the folds and layers.
[x] Christopher Straub - He won the first challenge and while I quite loved his dress it really wasn't innovative and in fact I thought it was a bit safe.
[x] Epperson
[x] Gordana Gehlhausen
[x] Irina Shabayeva - I liked what she did with her dress, but I feel like I'm not going to like her much this season. I don't know why. She seems entitled to me or something.
[x] Johnny Sakalis - He used to be addicted to meth! He broke down on his first challenge! I mean inspiring story and all, but dude shouldn't be here if he freaked out over THIS pretty simple challenge.
[x] Logan Neitzel
[x] Louise Black - She remind me of Diablo Cody. I don't think that's a good thing. But I WANT to like her. I think I'm going to be looking forward to what she designs.
[x] Malvin Vien - I'm either going to love him or hate him. So far though I'm ambivalent. As was his design.
[x] Mitchell Hall - I initially latched onto him as SOMEONE TO WATCH. Too bad he kinda fizzled toward the end.
[x] Nicolas Putvinski
Qristyl Frazier - I think I love her. The judges didn't much care for her wild dress, but it was the ONE dress that made me say WOW. And really isn't that what you want in a red carpet dress?
[x] Ra'mon-Lawrence Coleman
[x] Shirin Askari

The challenge itself was pretty boring so I'm hoping that they revved it up in the upcoming episodes. At the very least I am not really hating on anyone right now which is good because I do not need another Santino Rice.

And before I forget, the guest celebrity judge was Lindsay Lohan. Insert joke here.