Project Runway - Fine... give him an excuse to cry

I swear there is some giant conspiracy going on over at Bravo to see how many times they can make Ricky cry on national television. Week after week there is always some reason for our boy to shed a few tears, and last night he actually won a challenge.

Let the tears begin.... Sure, I'll give him the win because he did do some nice work, and managed to catch the vibe that Levi's © was looking for.... but I am getting a little tired of all the product placement. (On a little side note - I do think it's very cool that Levi's © plays the gay version of the 501 commercial during Project Runway.) Yes it is a cool product and iconic and yada yada but enough is enough people.... I don't want an infomercial with my reality show.

Anyways... the Challenge is to make something out of Levi's © 501 Jeans (my faves) and the designers go in various directions. Nerves seem to be getting more frayed than the jeans at this point, and after a major bitch fest between Chris and Christian, our little Rooster boy gets very pissy and whiny about doing a challenge that feels amateur to him. All too much drama and I myself am getting quite tired of Christian's arrogance. His track record isn't that good and I really get the impression that he is just one of those bitchy queens who really thinks he is all that - snap- snap- snap right back at ya honey.

After all the drama and an incident with a sewing machine that made Jillian seem slightly animated (just for a few moments), this episode is still putting me to sleep. Even Tim sounds non-thrilled with it all and just repeating " Carry on" and "Make it work" to all of the designers. I am not sure if I can handle another monotone "Designer moment" with Bland (Jillian) and of course, Blander (Victorya, who's name is probably the most interesting thing about her) and will just skip ahead to the Runway and end results.

Rami being " fashion forward", hit it out of the park with a nice number with some nice zipper piping. Too much for Levi's © it seems.... but he seemed back in fine form (very fine...) and I have almost forgiven him for being such a knob last week.

Christian did a very nice take on jeans and a jean jacket, deconstructing (how design school...) and using the opposites for fabric (jacket became jeans and vice versa) and it looks smart... nice detailing on the jeans but not what Levi's © is feeling.

Sweet P did a nice dress, I just felt sorry for her after being treated like crap last week and then this week Victorya kept calling her Kit... I am happy she is still hanging around.

Chris was not as with it this week and his attempt to recreate the typical " little black dress" was off the mark, but not so bad to make him go home (again).

Jillian had me thinking the whole time : What was she thinking? Jesus Christ woman, that flashback to the 80's was hideous and you were damn lucky that Victorya was worse.

Which of course brings us to the disaster that was Victorya's Trench coat. Not only did she not have any original ideas (made a Coat last week, remember?), but it was so fricking ugly it deserved not only to lose but to get burned as well. Yikes.

So yes Ricky did win... and cry.... and I still think that he is like a one hit wonder and will be aufed soon, but congrats none the less. At least this week you had something to cry about.

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles - The Turk

Here we are at Episode 3 and things are progressing nicely in the storyline and the development of the characters. I absolutely LOVE Lena Heady as Sarah... and her dream sequences have been "most awesome" so far. The whole sequence with the creators of the atomic bomb (the Manhattan Project) and the questions of whether or not to kill the scientists to prevent the creation of the bomb was definitely hot topic... but unfortunately we all know that this will not turn out good as the Terminators are still around. The time travel/conundrum stuff is hard to keep track of and can be a complete mind frack if you try to figure things out too much...

I love the bad Terminator (red eyes = bad) and his kidnapping of the scientist and the chemical formula from the future to make artificial skin... weird but effective stuff and I can hardly wait until he looks like his original self (this is the one that came through time after our gang). I wonder if this formula will grow hair also or if our Terminators have wigs they wear... things always appear so organic with the Terminators and it's interesting to see some of the back story behind them.

Our good Terminator (blue eyes = good) Cameron is still confusing me a bit as she seemed very human in her first appearance in the pilot, but seems less adapted since that point. She still acts like a huge freak at times, but I was laughing my ass off at her exchange with the girls in the bathroom at school. I love the character and can hardly wait for her to get all bad ass again.

I love our side story of our FBI friend who is still after Sarah and John... and the whole finding the bodies of the other resistance fighters from the future (who were found dead last week) and discovering that one of them has the same finger prints as a 4 year old boy that is living right now is pretty nifty.... I wonder if dear Agent Ellsion will become a believer eventually once he sees all these impossible things happening.

Continuing with our storyline of trying to stop the future from happening, Sarah has a lead on someone from Cyberdyne courtesy of another appearance of Tarissa, Miles Dyson's widow. No sign of their kid (he would be an adult at this point) but it was fascinating to see the character again (a couple of decades added) and her non shock as to Sarah looking exactly the same as the last time they saw each other. Sarah tracks down the guy (Andy, an ex-intern) who is a poor excuse of Cellphone salesman and who ultimately ends up hitting on Sarah and asking her out. It turns out the Andy is not such a bad guy, he is just an uber-geek and has built a computer that he calls the Turk. The Turk plays Chess, and can learn from his mistakes it appears and Andy swears that Turk is even kind of moody.

Sarah has her huge quandry to deal with.... kill Andy to make sure he doesn't create anymore Artificial Intelligence or destroy what has been created and hope this stops some of the events that are leading to the end of mankind? John takes center stage for awhile, and you really see his future leader potential as he tries to get more information from Mom (who is completely technologically challenged it seems) and explains about the Singularity. The Singularity is the time when a computer becomes self aware and is able to build better versions of its self with out any human assistance. It's the big Terminator Judgement day scenario, where if that happens you better just kiss your ass good bye because there is nothing you can really do at that point. Sarah decides to torch Andy's house and destroy his work.

This makes me wonder why Sarah didn't kill Andy...? Was she following her instincts or did I miss something in the story? I know she was mulling around the destroy the creator or the creation since her dream, and it seems the Andy is not really involved with Cyberdyne so is it her humanity that she is trying to assert so they are not like the machines in the future that destroy what they can't control or understand? It certainly left some food for thought this episode.... and I am looking forward to seeing what happens next.

Amazing Race Season Finale - TK & Rachel Win

As predicated last week ( and at least it didn't go all reverse karma on me) TK & Rachel won this round of the Race in a nail biting finale that zipped by at such speed I was almost happy it wasn't a 2 hour event. Still... this show deserves a big Finale night to get the respect it deserves.

Now on with that Finale... all of our teams go from Tapei to Anchorage Alaska and find out it's our final destination city. I feel slightly miffed as I think this is the first year the Race hasn't stopped in Canada and I wonder why? Just wondering...

Anyways... our final 3 teams arrive, and are off to a local Outdoor store for supplies and a clue. Here we have the first Challenge of the evening: The teams have a choice of searching for a tiny clue in huge Cod that they have to butcher, or search for a live crab with a label on it in a vat of not so happy crabs.

Daddy Dearest & Christina go for the cod and finish quickly. TK & Rachel go for the crabs, and Gramps & Nicholas realize that they forgot to get their gear at the Outdoor store and have to go back and get it.... this, of course, pisses Don off ( which I can understand but give the kid a break, I always assumed both members of the team would look at the clue) and they end up losing some time. Before you know it TK & Rachel have found their clue and are off and catching up to Ron & Christina who have gotten to the next challenge. Gramps & Nick are bring up the rear and pretty much stay there from that point.

The next Challenge is climbing a glacier... after this very fast boat ride that might not be too environmentally friendly but looked fun as anything both team members have climb to the top. It's pretty vertical and looks like a challenge in crampons and using these huge ice picks. It looks dangerous as hell and I would not be behind my partner (or anyone else) in case they slipped cause those boots are damn scary -- yikes!

Ron & Christina get through with TK & Rachel right behind them. Both teams are looking pretty strong and our final team starts to catch up. Don did very well on the glacier, and I thought Nick was a little worried about keeping up with gramps.

When we get to the final Roadblock, it's a doozy. It's one of the those complex logic puzzles that makes the competitor have to choose 10 items from a very complicated list of criteria, and you have items from all the different legs of the Race. It is very complicated, you can't write anything down and all of the teams are exhausted from doing all of the previous activities.

Christina, Rachel and Nick are our final 3, and Rachel is definitively the most impressive. She is so calm and logical about the whole situation and doesn't get caught up in the anxiety of the moment. She finishes first while Christina and Nick are banging their heads in frustration, and she and TK are off to the finish line.

There is some more clever editing to make us think that there is more tension for the final sprint (which wasn't really needed, I was already exhausted from everything that they had already done) and in the end, TK & Rachel win, they are followed by Ron & Christina (and Daddy Dearest tried to redeem himself and just fell flat with his " this is the first time I can say I love you and really mean it" remark to Christina, you are a dirty bastard-- and I am glad you didn't win) and then Don & Nick who ran a good race and should be proud of themselves. Yes .. you did come in 3rd but in the final round it means you came in last..... but congrats on being the oldest guy to go to the end.

I am just happy that the nice team who played nice and were so mellow and supportive of each other did so well. But I bet ya Nate & Jen were pissed silly over this....

Stargate Atlantis - Quarantine

Talk about a non-episode for the most part. Nothing really happened... sure the city was in lock down mode due to system glitches, but except for some sexual tension between Ronan and Doctor What's-her-face (the one that used to be the Engineer on Firefly), not much of significance really happened... or did it?

Here is what I got out of this episode :
Teyla is suddenly so pregnant she looks like she is ready to burst and we get the cutesy moment with baby kicking. At this rate she'll be ready to pop within a couple of episodes so we probably won't see her around for a bit.

The whole lock down sequence and everyone being in pairs was a tad cheap, and then adding the repeating dialogue between our various duos just seemed lazy.

Sexual tension between Ronan and Dr.Keller = good.
Zelenka getting all worked up over Carter = creepy.

Atlantis has really crappy windows that break surprisingly easy considering the city is adapted for being underwater and in outer space.

WTF? - The whole storyline with Rodney wanting to propose and the fake flu and all the drama was far from making the character more endearing.... just shoot him now and get it over with. Don't get me started on that cheap ass ring ... no big rock there Rodney and that probably won't impress the Botanist.

I know... I was happy for a couple of episodes this season but this one left me feeling all empty inside again... hopefully things improve in the next couple of weeks....

Project Runway - It takes 2

This week's challenge was all about making Haute Couture, the judges want something Avant Garde, which if properly interpreted means make something big and fabulous and completely unwearable, after all it's the look and big reaction that they want and they want it fabulous. Here's the kicker, the outfits need to be inspired by the model's hairstyle... and surprise, the designers get to team up. It is a team challenge yes but we are told only one designer will be going home.

Names are drawn out of a bag (velvet of course) and we have: Rami & Sweet P, Ricky & Kit, Victorya & Jillian and Chris & Christian. Team leaders are decided (painfully it seemed and with much trepidation), models are chosen, designs are sketched and we are off to get our fabric and then back to the studio to get down to it.

Of course there is always more to the challenge than it seems, and at the 11th hour Tim throws more grease on the fire and tells the teams to make a ready to wear (ie: off the rack) version that is inspired by their design that the other model will wear. Thankfully there is time to get more fabric because some of these teams are going to town with their big over the top design.

Most of the teams didn't get the challenge, and instead we got a bunch of boring crap that either repeated looks that we have seen before and before (I am talking to you my former favorite Rami), or they completely missed the boat (and that of course would be Kit and Ricky)... anyways....

Team Fierce (the over confident Christian with the fun & games Chris) hit all the right notes with layer after layer of organza (45 yards) that is an astounding work of art. The framing that Chris put together is phenomenal and you know that his experience in making over the top drag costumes really helped out. Their ready to wear part of the equation draws enough of the elements to make it work, although the skirt is very simple it's still fierce enough to win. The guys did a great job, but I find I am pulling way more for Chris to win now as Christian is really starting to get on my nerves.

Team Victorya & Jillian (or Team the bland leading the bland) did a great jacket (killer, inspired by the mohawk hairstyle) but their ready to wear dress was so second thought (and came out of no where) that they were good enough to stay in the competition but didn't win. Jillian is so monotone that I struggle to stay awake when she talks. It's. like. she. takes. a. breath. between.every.word. and she is driving me fricking crazy.

I was so disappointed with Rami this episode. In the space of one hour he went from being my favorite hunky designer to being an overbearing control freak that brought his partner to tears.Yes we know you can drape fabric Rami, but please do something different (was it me or even the color looked the same as last week?) and he treated Sweet P like crap. At least she got some nice feedback from the judges for her work (the ready to wear) and they are still in the competition.

Which brings us to the disaster that we call Ricky and poor Kit. Bad design choices, I mean a hoop dress with layers and layers of aprons is not Haute Couture....I have never heard the word cheap used to much in the judging of a garment... and I think that Kit got the boot because she was team leader. Ricky dodges another bullet, but surely he must be running out of lives eventually.

Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency - The Oily Skin Episode

This week was all about oily skin, with our group of *ahem* straight guys getting all greased up for their extremely provocative photo shoot for Rufskin denim. I don't exactly see the denim, but watching the guys get all greased up, pumped up and put into such compromising positions makes it all worth while. Poor Danny is getting all worried that he is starting to get typecast as gay with all the racy photos he keeps doing, but I am sure he will find some way to live with it. Janice certainly knows her audience and the photo shoot is pretty close to the most homoerotic thing I have seen on TV since a Queer as Folk episode. As Janice keeps saying... I haven't see this much butt cleavage in years (not to mention all the touch ups and ass shots) but I don't think anyone is really complaining.....

I will have to say that I was impressed (to a certain degree) with Janice's son Nathan and the double date that he set up. Nathan wants to go out on a date with Traci (one of the models, the one that Janice called fat and got her try on her skirt) and invites her and gets JP to chaperon, and even sets up JP with fellow model Rodrigo. Pretty non homophobic I'll say.... and I have officially decided that Janice's show is probably the most gay friendly thing on TV right now next to Project Runway. Of course the whole thing about dating a model at mom's agency is not a good thing as Janice will not tolerate business and pleasure mixing (and we know how professional Janice is), so they whole thing is nipped in the bud (as they say) and Janice makes sure to get in several catty comments and lay down the law (Traci was peeing in her pants she was so terrified) before getting to our other oily part of the episode.

Sensiclear needs a new face for their product, and boss guy asks Janice for her models with the worst skin so he can put them on a one month regime of his product and then choose his next spokes model for infomercials and ads. Janice sees lots of little dollar signs in such a lucrative contract, and does a very specific casting call for models with bad skin. I guess she will have her high fashion division, her Latino division and now her bad skin division of models to work with. Some of her "regular" models get to try out as well,, and we get treated to lots of CC (mini Janice) who goes on and on and on and on and on and on (get the picture?) about her skin problems and how she has tried everything and nothing works and cries lots of crocodile tears. It was just too much... and too over the top and yes so much like Janice. Anyways CC gets chosen for the tryout (meaning she follows the regime for 28 days and then they choose their model) as well as some other models that look like they really need the chance to use the product. CC doesn't outwardly seem to have such bad skin.... but knows how to work it.

There is a bonding moment later with Janice where we hear CC say that she knows all about Janice and wants to be just like her... sort of the " I am your number one fan" routine and I wonder if she is a stalker and will try to kill Janice and take over for her.... just weird vibes that I get from CC and she seems off... but then again so does Janice.....

There was also some drama with one of the new girls at a photo shoot and it seems that Janice is getting more and more tired of her partner... I think he's out the door soon. Hopefully next week more stuff will hit the fan or maybe some underwear company is hunting for new models.. one can dream...

American Gladiators - Hellga ! Hellga! Hellga!

After only 3 episodes I am completely addicted to the latest incarnation of American Gladiators, and my fave absolutely has to be Hellga. How can you not love this hulking (6'1" 205 lbs) Valykrie that can crush your puny head and is just a hoot to watch. If you haven't seen it yet, check out the video for a Gladiator first. I have been really impressed with the competitors, and our Soccer mom from last night impressed the hell out of me, pulling in the fastest time to date and kicking some Gladiator butt. The new challenges are fun, the competition has been pretty fierce (already 2 competitors eliminated due to injuries) and the show is finding it's beat. They have already been picked up for a second season and this looks like a remake that worked for NBC. Now if we could just get some of the Gladiators to shut up it would be even better... somethings are better seen and not heard.

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles - About time

In a world of re-runs and bad remakes, this series finally breaks out of that trap (thank the gods of Kobal) and we get a good series, with great stories and some pretty damn fine acting. Lena Headey channels the Sarah Connor character so well that she picks up and expands on the original version played by Linda Hamilton, and although it took me a few minutes to adjust to several "No, this isn't Heroes or Firefly " moments with having Thomas Dekker and Summer Glau in the cast, I really enjoyed the characters and their interaction. The new Terminatrix is not only young and hauntingly beautiful (like every character Summer plays) but a different model, with some new abilities that we are beginning to see and I am sure has tons of surprises up her robotic sleeve.

You have to love the Fox network and their big over the top 2 night events. I loved the pilot on Sunday night and the whole time travel sequence (very cool) and then we get treated with a brand new episode the next night. The new opening credits are just too fracking cool (and killer in HD) and I love the feel of the series and the convenient way they have bypassed the disaster of a 3rd movie. This is way better Terminator stories, and from the way things have started it will be an exciting ride. I look forward to riding this one as long as possible... let's hope its not one of those Fox shows that gets cancelled after a season or 2 or sometimes less ... like.... Dark Angel, Titus, Action, Wonderfalls, Andy Richter Controls the Universe, Firefly, Harsh Realm, The Tick or Greg the Bunny.... but you never know these days.... only the future will tell. Quick! Someone send a robot back in time and make sure this show is a hit.

Amazing Race - Happy Birthday Jen !

Here we are down to the last episode before the big finale... and if it isn't Jen's Birthday. You know, of course, that this means it will be a special day for our very special girl. If you read my comments last week you know that they are the team that I am rooting for this week.(sarcastic ok?)

Things start out rough for TK & Rachel, who are fighting back against a 3 hour handicap and know that they have to do the dreaded Speed Bump during this leg of the race. After finding the building with a hole in it and the garden in the sky, our teams bunch up a bit at the airport, where Ronald & Christina snag the first tickets to Taiwan, sending Nate & Jen into meltdown mode. Christina smiling smugly and asking the ticket agent to tell the other team that there are no more seats left left me with a huge smile on my face as it is so nice to see our bitchy team get their come uppance. The goofy grin on Christina's face was hilarious and showed me her sneaky dangerous side, which is not necessarily a bad thing.

Our teams arrive in Taipei, where they have to go to Taichung. Ronald & Christina have a lead since they left Osaka, and at this point all the other teams have caught up to each other, much to the chagrin of Nate & Jen. Except for a small freak out at the beginning, Tk & Rachel are calm, cool and collected and continue on their merry way, slowly making their way to the front of the pack until they get to the Roadblock. This week it was a ride in an acrobatic Jeep (freaky but fun looking) that everyone zips through, and then TK & Rachel are off to do their Speed Bump, which means running a course while being zapped with fireworks which they quickly do, and catch up with the bottom 3 teams at the high speed train terminal.

This is almost too much for our birthday girl, who can not, for the life of her, figure out how this other team can do so well when they are trying so hard and the other team doesn't even seem stressed. We, at home, are laughing our asses off watching the continued drama and freak outs as our calm, cool and collected team of TK & Rachel continue along and get to drink their tea and meet the clown that gives them the clue to the Detour.

This week it was a choice between earth and fire. The fire (lantern) Detour looks really cool, but no one chooses it and they all opt for the earth detour where they have to walk down and back a 220-foot path made of jagged stones. Ronald & Christina are always in the lead, and finish first and are off to the Pit Stop. TK & Rachel arrive just after Nick & Don yet manage to finish quickly and arrive in second place (yippee!) and our dysfunctional team fights all the way and end up last. No surprise really, they are so negative and have such a meltdown getting to the final Detour that you just want to slap them. I don't think that we have ever been this excited at home watching a team get eliminated, and shed no tears at their departure nor their apparent relationship problems.

I am not sure if I should use the same tactic for who I want to win (choosing the team I want to lose seems to work better), but out of the 3 remaining teams I see TK & Rachel first, Ronald & Christina second and Nick & Don arriving last. If there is any kind of major foot race at the end I see my groovy and relaxed team taking it all, but stranger things have happened in the race.

Stargate Atlantis - Spoils of War

After all of my whining last week about Atlantis not taking the ZPMs, I had to laugh when I saw this week's episode was all about the Wraith having taken the ZPMs and getting a Cloning Hive operational. So much for gaping plot holes that don't make sense.... I have to credit the writers with resolving an issue that irked the hell out of me.

It was trippy to see the last few minutes of the Replicator war again from the Wraith persepective before our smart and dangerous aliens escaped destruction and were off on their new mission.

There was some headway with the whole Teyla pregnancy story and Sheppard not wanting her to put her into danger, which to some alien cultures, might seem sexist. I have to agree on that one as Teyla was willing to work until ready to give birth it seems, and ultimately it should be her choice. Anyways the whole point becomes moot as they need Teyla and her Wraith genes to pilot a ship so they can investigate what happened to their former Wraith ally (who they decide to call Todd) and what is happening with some mysterious installation.We do get some interesting back history of the Atlanteans and the Wraiths.

It's quite the site the Cloning facility, and to see the Queen in action and how they can produce thousands of warriors quickly is pretty disturbing. Since this is all because of the ZPMs that power the facility, our team wants to get them back and shut the facility down before it's too late. After the gang is captured (as usual), Teyla makes psychic contact with the Queen, and is able to take control of her, releasing the prisoners and then there is a big battle inside Teyla's head between her and the Queen before Teyla breaks free. It appears her psychic abilities are augmented by being pregnant (wtf?) and in the end they end up crashing the Wraith ship into the facility to destroy everything and leave empty handed. So much for the ZPMs.... and Teyla now realizes (of course) that she should be more careful during her pregnancy so will probably be out of the picture for the next while.

I am still wondering where Weir is.....