tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21220198771669263542024-03-05T04:09:58.072-05:00AbZurditiesTV recaps, publishing chatter, and other nonsense I feel like sharing.Abbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18307375316946083851noreply@blogger.comBlogger85125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2122019877166926354.post-66609581528012796462012-09-18T22:02:00.002-04:002012-09-18T22:05:34.453-04:00Last Dance - SYTYCD FinaleThis is it, dance fans! Time for this season's finale--can Cyrus possibly be unseated? Will Tiffany ride her underdog status all the way to the winner's circle? Wait and see. All we know for sure is that Carly Rae Jepsen will be singing "Call Me Maybe." Aww, they've invited back the top 20! They all get introductions, more or less in the order they got dumped, I think? There are a couple of dancers I don't remember being on the show, actually.<br />
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Of course, since the votes are based on last week's show, none of tonight's dancing will affect the outcome. I don't really love how that worked this season--makes the votes feel arbitrary or unfair, even if at the time they made sense. Our judges tonight are all of the show alums--Tyce, Adam Shankman, Lil' C, and Debbie Allan. Cat is already milking introductions, and methinks someone has been told to stretch--our dancers are doing a quick change backstage. There's a bit of back-patting about Emmys (they won an Emmy for lighting, and Cat and the show are both nominated).<br />
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Turns out tonight's show will be "The Best of Season 9." Man, we just saw most of these dances! How can I miss them if they won't go away? But first, we have to have "the best group dance Nigel has ever seen," choreographed by both Sonya and Christopher Scott, for all 20 dancers. Let me guess, it'll look like the Matrix? No, this looks like Titanic. There's a wind machine, and girls in vaguely period-y dresses, and everyone is doing their best mimed "walking into the wind."Guys are in gray Hammer pants and hoodies that look like they're the "Cozy Weekend Wraparound Cardigan" from Eileen Fisher. Not so butch. Cyrus gets a little slo-mo solo across the front of the stage, and then the dance is obscured by the spotlights shining right into camera. Way to earn that Emmy, guys. Overall, it was a nice dance, but to be honest, I don't really see why it was so amazing--it was definitely longer, at least.<br />
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Our first rerun dance is Travis's dance with the chaise longue, featuring Matthew and Audrey. All I remember about it is the leap, but Nigel praises it specifically for its use of the furniture as more than just window dressing--it's practically gymnastic equipment here. Audrey leaps gamely once again, but it doesn't have the same stirring quality when you know to expect it. All the judges are on their feet, but this is obviously going to be a softball night--there are no comments afterward, just applause for the eliminated dancers as they're ushered offstage.<br />
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Cat moves right on to Lil' C, who launches into a full-length Lil' C monologue, full of questionable neologisms and giddy enthusiasm. At the end of it all he asks to see Witney and Twitch dance the Luther Brown hip hop piece about the bus stop. Heh--Witney is bringing it harder than she did the first time...I think not competing is really freeing her as a dancer. Also, her blond hair is in this big blowout and she looks like a model--if she weren't so tiny, Tyra would be snatching her up for ANTM! There is quite a bit of hairography, in fact. Gotta hand it to her--I wasn't really even watching Twitch, and that's hard to achieve.<br />
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There is a Revlon commercial with Emma Stone that makes her look like the most beautiful woman in the world. She is shockingly good looking and yet relatable. I want just a drop of whatever she has. [This Non-Dance Interlude brought to you by Envy.]<br />
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It's Debbie Allan's turn to pick a dance, and she chooses a Sonya piece called "Turning the Page," danced by Tiffany and George. I don't really remember this one, but if possible George has gotten even more ripped since he was on the show. Holy cow. I will say that Tiffany has really come into her own--she's acting this dance well, if not at Allison Holker levels. But I think she's learned a lot this season, and I bet the tour will help, too. The song ends and she's tearing up, clutching George's head. Aww.<br />
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Time for a review of the Top 5 audition moments for the non-chosen dancers! They'll be parceling them out, so this is #5: Leroy, the heavy dancer who surprised them all by actually being a decent dancer, and wanted to start after-school programs to keep kids out of trouble. Adam Shankman cried, and Nigel was nearly forced to confront his sizeism. Cat tells us, by the way, that Leroy's was the last audition of the entire tour.<br />
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Now Cat comes to Adam, who picks one of the earliest routines, a Jason Gilkinson ballroom number. Adam laughs at himself because every year he picks a ballroom piece, but I agree with him on this one--it's Lindsay and Cole's paso doble. They begin, as you may recall, with Lindsay wrapped around shirtless Cole like a donut, holding herself there while Cole stands tall, before he swings her around his body and upside down. Ooh, Lindsay's bringing serious face here (as is Cole, but he always does). This time she feels like a better match for him. She's rocking her bondage-meets-superhero costume, anyway. Well done! That feels like it's going to be a tour number.<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
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audience doesn't even need the judges to tell them what's next, because there's
a dumpster onstage. I don't really like this dance, but it's the best way to
feature Amelia and Will. To be honest, this pair is one of the ones I've missed the least--I was never the biggest Amelia fan when she wasn't dancing her own solos, and Will was jolly but a little immature. They're definitely having fun with this one, though, and I think are more playful this time around. Cat has to come scold them in the dumpster for messing around.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times;">Top Moment #4: The Dallas mother of toddlers, Bree, who was just getting back into dance. She did very well, although watching now you can see that she's not at the level of a Tiffany or Eliana. However, her kids were very cute. (I think that was the one when her little girl of...18 months or so? danced onstage, but they didn't show that part.)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times;">Mary's next, and chooses the relatively recent dance about the Holocaust refugees, done by Tyce for Chehon and Kathryn. Jeez, they're both already bringing it hard in closeup--they already look broken and tearful. We're reminded again of how amazingly strong Chehon is, especially for someone relatively slender--he lifts Kathryn up in an arabesque right over his head, and she's not bracing on him at all. Watching this it's hard to imagine that for half the season Chehon couldn't connect with the camera!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times;">That's all the judges, but we still have over an hour of show. To fill it up, they added a twist this year: each of the four finalists also got to choose a favorite to dance again! OK, that's cute. Eliana picks her "Bang Bang" ballet piece with Alex--which of course she did. That's what made her the front-runner, and it was amazing. It's even more ferocious this time, even though I think Alex kind of ran her into their prop tree on one lift. Their connection is much better this time around, and the dance still feels way too short! Really lovely, and choreographer Stacey Tookey beams. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times;">Eliana gets a little audience with Cat while the audience screams. She's on the verge of tears as she waits to hear comments from the judges. Nigel begins by reiterating that Eliana is his favorite girl this year, which seems a little rude on non-judged finale night, even if it's true. He also tells her that she was at the top of every choreographer's "keep" list after Vegas, <i>and</i> that Desmond Richardson (formerly of Alvin Ailey and ABT, now running Complexions) called Nigel and told him, "The minute she gets voted off the show, I want her for my company." Eliana looks staggered at that news, and Nigel continues, "The trouble is, you never got voted off the show!" It's a total tongue-bath, but well-deserved. And good for Eliana--I hope she calls Desmond :).</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times;">Top Audition Moment #3: The Ninja Twins--the sassy gay dancing twins who do everything synchronized. They made the judges laugh, but weren't keepers. Lucky for them they weren't dancing ballroom, or Nigel would have scorned them.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times;">Time now for a Doriana Sanchez disco number, performed by Tiffany and Brandon. I notice that no one seems to have <i>requested</i> this dance, but we're getting it anyway. They are extremely sparkly. I don't think the peekaboo jumpsuit is doing lovely Tiffany any favors, though. Ew! OK, now I remember this dance--it's the one where Tiff lifts her leg over her head and Brandon pulls her into an upside-down split by her ankle. I'm convinced a tendon is about to tear every time he does it. Fortunately, Tiffany emerges unscathed, and with both legs still attached. They did a good job, though it still looked like work. No disco has ever approached the first season's Kamilah and Nick, I think.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times;">It's time for Chehon's personal choice, and he talks about learning to tap into his emotions and lose the icy ballet facade he's been trained in. He tells us that the one that was a defining moment for him was the Argentine tango with Anya. I actually think it was probably his Holocaust dance, but since that's already been picked, and this brings back the delightful Anya, I'm good. I love how the dance opens with some ballet leaps, just to show off his height. He's selling the connection so much harder now! I actually believe they're going to walk offstage and make out. (And who could blame them?) They end with Anya held upside down against his leg, and Chehon keeps her there for ages before turning her upright like a gentleman.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times;">Mary leads off our praise, unsurprisingly, and loves it. She tells us that they always loved him, even though they were hard on him, but that he absolutely broke through on the night his mom came to the show. I think this all speaks to The Power of Mom. Wait, that's it? I would have liked more gushing or ranking details, to match Nigel's speech to Eliana. We love you anyway, Chehon!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times;">It's time for a hip hop routine, apparently, and we get a montage of all the hip hop on the show this season. (There were a lot of routines!) But instead of a re-run, Twitch, Comfort and Cyrus are dancing a new Christopher Scott routine. I'm typing this without looking at the screen, and when I look up, I see four dancers, not three...turns out they meant that Chris Scott was also <i>in</i> the routine! Fun! They're dressed in 40's style vests and armbanded shirts, and seem to be playing poker. (However, I don't think Chris is following a regulation deal--he turned over the flop, the turn and the river all at once.) And then there's some camera trickery--they half-overturn the table and chairs, but freeze that way while the cameraman rotates around them. <i>Here's </i>the Matrix! Heh. Cyrus is getting shaken down in slow motion. There's suspender play (which sounds dirtier than it is) and plenty of animating from Cyrus and Chris. They do a fun bit where they make a box with their arms and then tut a bit, and the contrast of their black & white skin is striking. You'll be happy to know Cyrus gets away at the end of the dance :).</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times;">It's time for Tiffany to pick her favorite dance, and she chooses her Mandy Moore piece danced with Ade (although she also talks about what an honor it was to work with Sonya). Tiffany's dressed in a purple genie costume, basically. She does a lovely job, and Ade hauls her all over the floor, but I don't really think this is such a remarkable dance. If you asked me to list them, I wouldn't have remembered this one--but Mary agrees with Tiff's choice and says it was the moment when they saw her as a mature dancer, and not just a cute little high schooler. </span></span></div>
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Top Audition Moment #2: It's the guy doing "Exorcist Style" dancing--sort of bonecracking but scary and musical. Mary wept. At the end he rips his heart out and sinks to the floor. I wish they'd shown more of it, actually! (Wait, did they ever give us his name?)<br />
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And then Cat runs right into Top Audition Moment #1, which is the Dragon House crew (i.e. Cyrus's roomies). But instead of showing us their clip, they've invited them to perform live! She introduces them as "featuring our old friend Brian Gaynor," and I don't know who that is until he emerges in gold suit and Jabberwock mask--he's the amazing robot guy with the spinal disease. This routine is terrific, and really shows off how impressive multiple animators can be together. It's reminiscent of Christopher Scott's style, actually, and I wonder if it was all their own choreography? Guess so, because Cat doesn't intro another choreo. That was fun to watch, though I'm a little surprised Cyrus didn't do a guest solo.<br />
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And now it's time for Carly Rae Jepsen...but she's not doing "Call Me Maybe"! She's plugging her new hit, Don't Care. Sorry, Carly, it's not magic--although I like your hot pink Docs. Here, just listen to this instead:<br />
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Then we have a Broken Hearts montage--people getting cut from Vegas, from the show, etc....and then more favorite moments. I muted it and am playing SongPop on Facebook. (Have you played this? It's basically Name that Tune, and it's awesome.)<br />
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Time for our last routine, and it's Cyrus's choice. Man, did they <i>ever</i> not give him a plum ending spot in the rotation? Unsurprisingly, he chooses the duet with Twitch--or "Twitch and Glitch," as it were. This was a good routine. Guess they had to buy more breakaway glass--and man, that stuff flies far! The stage is covered in it. Good think they're animating and not breaking, or they'd be cut to ribbons. It's still a great routine, and I think Twitch may have actually improved his animation skills since the week we saw him!<br />
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Nigel says that if Cyrus hadn't chosen that routine, he would have--and that Cyrus didn't just steal the show, he stole the season. Nigel says "journey" a lot and then says that half of America reamed Nigel out for saying he wouldn't vote for him (as I'm sure Nigel intended). He then says, "If some product doesn't use you as the face of their company, they're stupid." Um, thanks? Best wishes on becoming a corporate shill, Cyrus? It's not exactly "Desmond Richardson wants to hire you."<br />
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This commercial for "Hotel Transylvania" makes clear that I don't know the difference between Selena Gomez and Demi Lovato. I can still live with myself.<br />
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We're here at last! Time for the results, right? Not so fast! We're getting a final group routine, in which the Top 10 face off against the All-Stars in something jungle-themed. There are rocks and it looks like the set of Lion King. Oh! It basically is--they're playing the "Circle of Life" music, but of course it's a--wait for it--District 78 remix. WHO THE HELL IS DISTRICT 78? HOW DID THEY GET ALL THE MUSIC? It's a conspiracy, I tell you. I always find these very literal African dances a bit racially problematic, but perhaps that's just white guilt talking. It's fun, but I have trouble picking out individual dancers unless the camera gets right in their faces. The dance ends with the four finalists rising over Pride Rock. Cat doesn't tell us who choreographed it (unless I missed it), but the camera cuts to Napoleon nodding with pride, so I'm guessing it was he?<br />
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OK, this time we're really getting the results. We start with the girls, but first we have the Journey Montage. They're excited, they're nervous, they're crying, they're ecstatic, they're dancing. We love them both. When we cut back to the girls (Eliana in black, Tiffany in white), they're both weeping. And the winner is...Eliana! She collapses to the floor, and Tiffany graciously applauds--I don't think she was surprised. Eliana is a wreck, laughing and crying and doing her version of the Taylor Swift "surprised face," which feels a tiny bit disingenuous. <br />
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At last, it's time for the guys. Same deal--montage, which ends with a final dance pose revealing that they both have serious 12-packs. It was a good season for abs, y'all. Cyrus is about to cry, but Chehon looks composed. But even as I'm typing, "Of course the winner is Cyrus," Cat announces that the winner is...Chehon! His head snaps up and he bursts into tears. The fellow dancers and the judges are looking equal parts shocked and delighted. Cyrus (in a regrettable pink blazer) is given flowers and escorted offstage, good-natured to the end. Chehon is undone, and as Eliana rejoins him onstage, they shoot off confetti cannons and the rest of the dancers and all-stars crowd around. Will bounds up to Cat and picks her up for a squeeze (the only dancer tall enough to lift Cat off her feet!).<br />
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Hooray! Good dancing was rewarded! A good time was had by all. See you next time...whatever show that may be :).<br />
<br />Abbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18307375316946083851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2122019877166926354.post-91665830444841639082012-09-11T22:09:00.003-04:002012-09-11T22:09:43.036-04:00SYTYCD Performance Finale - Ballet vs. Dubstep (and Tiffany)We're here already! Tonight's episode features our four finalists--Eliana, Chehon, Tiffany and Cyrus--performing for the last time. The intro makes it sound like we can still vote tonight...will they be announcing winners tomorrow? I'm confused. But really, all I care about is that we get to see a ballet dance with Eliana and Chehon.<br />
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Cat looks cute, even if her red lipstick is a little intense--she's in a flirty red dress that isn't crazy at all! (I'm a little disappointed, to be honest.) Our guest judge is Rob Marshall, who I persist in mistaking for the lead singer of Matchbox 20, but is in fact the director of <i>Chicago</i>. We'll be getting FIVE dances from each of the contestants, which just might kill me.<br />
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Jumping right into it, we have Eliana and Cyrus (t-shirt: "I Heart You but I've Chosen Dubstep") dancing a Jason Gilkinson paso doble. The twist? Eliana is the matador in this one. They're dancing to Daft Punk, and the piece begins with a shirtless Cyrus dragging himself across the floor on his belly. Eliana's in a long black dress with bright red ruffles. She still looks pretty cape-y to me. It's all very slow and stagey, and Cyrus isn't strong enough to let Eliana really push off him. You can see all the places where the lifts would have been better if Cyrus had more experience partnering. OK, not great, overall.<br />
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Nigel praises Eliana for her combination of performance and technique, and then quizzes Cyrus as a lead-in to ask "Did you ever think you'd be on national television wearing a big black dress?" (He's in that black pants/half-skirt combo that I think Cole wore for something martial earlier this season.) Now that it's the finale, and Nigel has no control anymore, he feels safe telling Cyrus that he still needs to lower his shoulders and straighten his legs. Mary loved him, though--felt that he was passionate and masterful, even if his technique wasn't there. And then she just devolves into screams for Eliana. Rob says that the best thing about Eliana is that she knows when to throw her technique away and just exist in the moment. OK, a little touchy-feely, but not a bad comment for a guest judge!<br />
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Tiffany and all-star Will are next for a Sonya piece that she says is intended to show how far Tiffany has come. That's actually kind of touching, and Tiffany, in a teary interview, reflects on how Sonya was her first choreographer on the show and helped push her to new heights. For those of you who remember Will as a clean-cut, earnest young man, think again--he's now got an amazing head of hair in thick dreads pulled back in a ponytail, and a carefully trimmed beard as well. The boy has become a man, for sure. There isn't a strong story, but just interesting shapes and lifts and angles. Also, Tiffany is wearing confusing garters. This is a great showcase for her, and Will is a generous partner, skillful without pulling focus. I think they had a little bobble on the final lift, but overall, it was very well done.<br />
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Mary tries to do a fakeout comment which is so transparent I won't bother transcribing it; suffice it to say, she liked it. Rob praises Sonya's choreography and Tiffany's fearlessness and extension. Nigel starts by praising Will's maturity as a dancer and then tells Tiffany that by pegging her as "the girl next door," he's undersold her. Really, Nigel? You don't think the problem was that you cast two girls so similar that we couldn't tell them apart for four weeks? Anyway, he loves her too.<br />
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Time for Eliana and Chehon, dancing a ballet piece with an adorable grandpa-ish choreographer with an accent so thick they subtitle it. He looks more like a pro bowler than a ballet star. Chehon explains in rehearsal that although he and Eliana are both trained, to maintain it you need to be in regular classes, and they're both a little rusty. I have every confidence this will be awesome, though. Plus, the advantage of Heavily-Accented Choreographer is that we don't get a bullshit explanation of story. It's just dance.<br />
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Oh, it's the Nutcracker pas de deux! And they've gone full ballerina on Eliana--she's in a stiff pink tutu, and Chehon's in white tights and a prince jacket. It's great; they're partnering beautifully, and they're both so light and graceful throughout. It doesn't show off Chehon's skills at all, though--he lifts and catches Eliana just right, but there's really not much for him to do here. I wish they'd gone a little more avant-garde so he could show off.<br />
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Rob Marshall has Chehon's back, though, emphasizing to the audience that what he did was incredibly hard, because it looked so easy. He also praises Eliana's ability to fill out a musical phrase to its very edges. Nigel takes a moment to tell us that the choreographer is Barak Something, a principal dancer with the Kirov Ballet! OK, that's pretty cool. I'm sorry I don't have his last name--I suspect the chyron writers didn't know how to spell it. He also raves about Eliana and delights in having ballet onstage, and then also explains that the dance didn't show off Chehon's range. He does this by slightly throwing Will under the bus (saying that his lift was a struggle, where Chehon made his look easy), but if it makes up for the low-energy dance, I'm happy. Mary loved it too, but they cut her off quickly to go to commercial. Yay, everybody!<br />
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Tiffany and Cyrus are next up, dancing a lyrical hip hop from Tessandra Chavez. It's about young love, and Cyrus has broken Tiffany's heart. Now she's moving on, and he wants her back. Cyrus has his "blue steel" look on as the Beyonce starts playing. Tiffany's in an unfortunate denim shirt, but she's dancing feisty. I love that this "lyrical" hip hop looks stronger and cleaner than any of NappyTabs' stuff. It's mostly Cyrus begging and crawling and Tiffany beating him up (there's a nice kick to the shins that's fun). They did a good job, especially Tiffany.<br />
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Nigel tells them that they're both great at emotional routines, and reminds us that neither of them have ever been in the bottom. Aww, Cyrus's family is in the audience, looking proud and nervous. Mary loves Cyrus's strength and the way he picks up the choreography, and calls Tiffany "a little beast." Which is good :). Rob loves their "abandon" and said it looked almost like they could fall at any moment--says it was his favorite of the evening. Easy there, pal--this blog is rooting for Eliana and Chehon!<br />
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Ooh, the next dance is a foursome--all four finalists are dancing together in a Tyce routine to the District 78 remix of "Eine Kleine Nachtmusik." OK, what is District 78? Why do we have so much music from them this year? The dancers are dressed in "Ramalama" light--black and white, vaguely Victorian/steampunk/Clockwork Orange. Ah, it's a mock symphony, complete with music stand and conductor's baton. Eliana's in toe shoes! OK, it's cute--they're all moving in their own styles, sort of, but with just enough unison and consistency to make things flow. You know I have no love for Tyce, but this is very charming. Ah, and now there's a little electronica bit so we can enjoy some of Cyrus's home style. I hate to admit it, but I really liked that one!<br />
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And without a break, we go right into Eliana's solo--how is she even breathing? I guess she gets to rest during her 30 second video clip. She comes out in a black tutu and is dancing to "Passacaglia." It's lovely, but slow and dreamy. There's one amazing move where she's on one knee, and then pushes herself up on her toe point and into a walkover. She's great.<br />
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Still no commercial? You're killing me, show. We're watching Chehon and Allison dance a Stacey Tookey contemporary routine about (wait for it) a couple in love, who are forced to part. Stacey tells us that she loves watching Chehon do his thing, and in fact shouts out, "Whoa!" in the middle of rehearsal. When he stops, she giggles and says, "Sorry. Just got really excited!" They're dancing to "Leave" from the musical <i>Once</i>, based on the movie <i>Once</i>, which I still haven't seen despite the fact that a borrowed DVD is sitting on my counter as we speak.<br />
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Allison is acting the piece from the word go, and Chehon finally seems in touch with the emotion of his dancing as well. There's a lift where he just hoists Allison up with one hand--daaaaayum, Chehon! This piece is practically violent in the struggle between the two--the jumps are leaps, the leaps are full-on flings into each others' arms, and it ends with a passionate kiss. The judges are all on their feet, and we start with Mary, who just screams. She tells Stacey that this piece is sure to be Emmy-nominated, and tells Chehon his freedom was incredible. "Free at last!" she shouts. Rob is amazed by the height he gets, and tells Allison she was fierce (as she always is). Nigel says to Rob, "Allison should be an actress, shouldn't she?" and thinks that she really drew Chehon out. "Wow," he ends. Wow, indeed. <br />
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Now it's time to watch Eliana and Tiffany dance together in a Ray Leeper burlesque routine...including a pole. Eliana's psyched, because among her previous dance gigs is a stint as a pole dancer (I presume that doesn't necessarily include stripping?). They're dancing to "When You're Good to Mama" from <i>Chicago</i> (sucking up to our guest judge?). Not <i>Cabaret?</i> The big finish has Eliana climb 10 feet up the pole and then spin around it held only by one hand and her hip, as her other hand reaches back to hold her bent leg. I think she won that round, Tiff.<br />
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Cat says, "I know I'm going to regret this, but Nigel, I'm coming to you first." Heh. Even Cat knows he's a dirty old man. Indeed, he's wiping his brow with a handkerchief and says, "Go on, just come back to me!" We cut to Rob, who says, "I'm just trying to imagine Queen Latifah doing that." OK, I laughed. The panel is just giddy and completely blown away by Eliana's last pole move. They have nothing intelligent to say, but they loved it.<br />
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Time for Cyrus's solo, to something called "Holy Ghost," by Messinian. It's the robot again, but in the way only Cyrus can do it. It's getting a little same-old same-old, but I do love that he never rushes through the solos. There are pauses, and he's not afraid of stillness.<br />
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Tiffany's solo is next, and I actually really like her video package, because she gives us some behind the scenes about her journey. She recalls having to fight her way to Vegas (she was sent to choreography first) and then not being noticed in the first couple of Vegas rounds. Only when they got to ballroom did a judge even say anything to her (Jason Gilkinson loved her)...but she was sure, when the shows aired, that she would be heavily featured in the audition episodes, because she saw the cameras all the time--and then she was barely in it. And in the Top 20 selection, she knew all the people she was seeing had been heavily featured, so she was sure she hadn't made it. I like the idea that she understands how the TV component of this show works. I have newfound respect for Tiffany now. Alas, she's still a mediocre choreographer, and thus I'm less moved by her solo. It's fine, but lacked that hint of desperation that Chehon had in his "my mom's here" solo of a few weeks ago.<br />
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Boys' turn! Cyrus and Chehon are dancing a Sonya piece, and again she's done a sort of meta-story, about their struggle to stay on SYTYCD. There are a ton of lifts, and Cyrus is really struggling in rehearsal. I hope no one gets dropped. And once again, we have a District 78 remix (no, seriously, what is it?) of "Fangs," by Little Red Lung. Are we just using up all the leftover words in the bottom of the chyron box? The two of them are shirtless, and in black skirt-pants. It's like the Warriors have come out to play. There are some cool lifts, but Sonya was also careful to choreograph some good individual stuff for each of them. It's very arty and engaging, though not the most amazing moment of the evening. (Judges are still seated.)<br />
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Nigel praises Cyrus for his improvement over the course of the show (and then pats himself on the back for supporting him) and calls him an inspiration, and his favorite <i>person</i> on the show. He turns to Chehon and says that he didn't need to grow as a dancer because he came in amazing, but he's grown as a person. (That feels a little presumptive, Nige.) He tells Chehon he's Nigel's favorite <i>dancer</i> on the show. (I thought Eliana was your favorite!) I'm waiting for him to tell Cat that she's his favorite hostess, and Mary's his favorite screamer, and Bob is his favorite camera operator...but instead he points out Jennifer Beals in the audience. (WTF, show? She couldn't judge?) Mary basically says the same thing and is proud of both of them. I'm tired of typing. Rob agrees. Let's move on.<br />
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Everybody gets a rest while we enjoy a guest performance: "international B-boy sensation <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgWLw0nY8r0" target="_blank">Jean Sok</a>." He comes out on crutches, and I can't see if he's missing a leg, or if this is a character. Nope, actually missing a leg. He uses his crutches as legs, doing handstands and flares with them. It's pretty cool. He's dancing to something instrumental and lyrical, and this isn't as fast or frantic as a lot of b-boy stuff, but it's clever and elegant. <br />
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Time for Chehon's solo--I look forward to him bringing it hard. In fact, they show that "Mom" solo again because it was just that incredible. He's crying in his video now. Aww, we love you, Chehon! He starts his dance crouched on the ground, holding an airline ticket, and I think this is his own "how far I've come" routine? It's too short! He did some good leaps, but let it be a little too slow and building, and got cut off too soon. He's still great, though.<br />
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How are we still dancing? I'm exhausted and we still have half an hour to go. Eliana is now dancing a Travis Wall piece with Alex Wong. It's interesting that they've paired her with Alex again--I hope it'll be even better than last time. They're dancing to "Without You" by Harry Nilsson. It's very clutchy, actory, lots of collapse-into-arms moments. Eliana is lovely, while Alex is more of a workhorse this time, but that's appropriate at this stage. I'm finding the choreography a little repetitive, though. Feels like Travis kind of phoned this one in. Aww, the two of them are clinging to each other and weeping and maybe kissing? Is there a relationship starting between these two? SYTYCD slash fic!<br />
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Rob stops and remains astounded by Eliana's lines and hyperflexibility, but was most moved by their acting, since they both got so emotional. Nigel loved it, and then says that Eliana is his "favorite of all time on this series." Um, you just said Chehon was your favorite. How fickle! Mary begins with love for Alex, telling him how many people would ask her about him during his recovery from injury, and she loves his dancing now. And she loves the way Eliana's passion oozes from her body, and she dances all the way through her ankles and feet. Mary's crying, Eliana's crying, it's all good. <br />
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Two duets left--this one is Chehon and Tiffany dancing a Dimitry Chaplin rumba. They're sort of goofy and awkward in rehearsals, but I feel confident that the magic of Pretty People in Little Clothing will win out come performance time. They're dancing to a Norah Jones cover of "Love Me Tender." Chehon feels a little big and stage-y here, not as sensual or intimate as it should be, but I'm also having some trouble because my stupid cable just decided to act up. Tiffany's very lovely and fluid, and I don't really understand how her backless dress is staying up. Overall, it didn't really look like a traditional rumba, but it seemed well done.<br />
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Mary thought it was beautiful and loved Dimitry's routine, and says that Chehon might struggle with the Latin dances, but the rumba movement is best suited to him. She didn't quite believe their chemistry (true), but his moves were great (something about a sliding door?). Tiffany's spiral action and rumba walk was excellent and she was a fox. Rob thought the dance was sexy and they had a beautiful connection that wasn't oversold. Nigel tells Tiffany, "The pole dance was fun, but this was so much sexier." It's OK, Nigel, she's not going to start working at Scores tomorrow. He makes a predictable joke about them finally finding a shirt for Chehon, but not having enough money for buttons. Mary tops him, however, by pointing out that their choreographer was Dimitry (famous in his season for his own open shirts). Point, Mary.<br />
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Now it's time for our last routine, and the big finish (which has been plugged all night) is Cyrus and Twitch in "our first-ever animation routine." I'm sure it'll be great, but I hope it doesn't erase all the Chehon goodwill. [Interlude: just saw an ad for the new Glee season, and although I was ready to give up on the show, I'm embarrassed to say that the promise of a "Call Me Maybe" routine will probably draw me back in. Also, that's a sign that "Call Me Maybe" is officially over.]<br />
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Christopher Scott choreographed the robot-off, and he invited a robot expert to come help. Cyrus loses his mind endearingly. The premise is that Twitch & Cyrus are genetically engineered lab specimens (ID'd in rehearsal as "Twitch & Glitch.") They're dancing to the now ubiquitous District 78. The dance starts and they're in glass boxes, which they punch through at the appropriate time. It was actually breakaway glass, so it's very impressive! They're both great, and their synchronizations are incredible. I think Cyrus is actually a tiny bit better than Twitch at this stuff--his isolations are so precise and minute, it's like he's a horse shaking a fly off his flank. This was the perfect demonstration of what "animation" is. The judges, Chris Scott, and the audience are all going nuts. I think this may be Cyrus's to lose.<br />
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Rob says it was crazy, and they were both superstars. Mary loved it and is just shrieking. She eventually forms words enough to say that they stole the show. Nigel also loved it, of course, and praises Twitch for keeping up since he's not an animator by trade. Then calls them both world class, and says that it was Christopher Scott who said so. And then he goes into this weird speech: he apologizes to Cyrus and says he's not going to vote for him tonight, only because he "knows what it means to work all your life to get to this point. You have still got a life in dance to enjoy." Cut to Cyrus, looking stony faced. Nigel goes on to say that he's voting for Chehon for personal reasons, but fully understands why people will vote for the inspirational Cyrus. I think this speech was inappropriate on many levels, particularly because IT'S NOT UP TO THE JUDGES. No one would ever know how you voted, Nigel, except that you chose to basically dis Cyrus to his face. What's up with that?<br />
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Guess we'll see if that rallied the troops, or kept them away. My picks are Eliana and Chehon, but I suspect Cyrus will take it for the men. Tune in next Tuesday to find out if we're right!Abbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18307375316946083851noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2122019877166926354.post-58787459504732145172012-09-05T23:33:00.003-04:002012-09-05T23:33:32.400-04:00SYTYCD Top 6Wow, we're getting down to the end! And for real this week, I have to make this a quickie, because I'm leaving town in the morning and still have to clean the house and pack. You all get Abby Lite tonight, sorry!<br />
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We open with a Sonya-looking piece--girls in black tutus, boys in cargo pants, everyone in masks. (Do I think everything looks like a Sonya piece? I feel like I say that a lot.) They're dancing to Kelis, and the movement is very balletic (favoring Eliana?) for the first half--but then the disco lights start flashing and the funky galloping strides start up. It's sort of poor man's Gaga, but appealing enough. Everyone feels a little low-energy tonight, even on the intros--Cat, are you feeling OK? (Cat is wearing a dress in shades of orange and gold that looks like <a href="http://www.photoxpress.com/stock-photos/wallpaper/squares/texture/20247251" target="_blank">60's wallpaper</a>. She also confirms that the group number was, in fact, choreographed by Sonya. I am vindicated.)<br />
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Oof, each of our six dancers are performing THREE times tonight--with each other, with an all-star, and a solo. I think I'll have to skimp on descriptions tonight. We meet our judges, including returning guest star Christina Applegate! I hope she toughens up from last time--I like her as a judge when she gets specific. Let's get into it!<br />
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We start off with Tiffany, who's drawn Jean-Marc Genereux as her choreographer for a jive number with Benji. He was so much fun in his season--it's nice to see him back! I cannot, however, get behind his sideways baseball cap in rehearsal. For the actual performance, he's dressed as a soda jerk behind a counter while Tiffany's in a magenta bodysuit with frilly miniskirt. They're dancing to the Lillix cover of "What I Like About You." Hrrrrm. Wow--Benji can still move his feet. We'll actually see what a jive is supposed to look like, a rarity on this show. (Lillix can bite me, however. This cover is terrible.) Tiffany's doing OK, I think, but there are a lot of spots where she appears to just stand there while Benji dances around her. They manage a triple cartwheel, though!<br />
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And all three judges are on their feet. Standing ovations already, people? You've all gotten soft. Come on. Nigel loved the energy (cut to Jean-Marc in the audience, dressed like your eighth-grade science teacher) and praises Benji as the best swing dancer the show has ever had. He loves that Tiffany kept up with him, loved her flick kicks (?), and generally thought it was the bee's knees. Mary also loved the kicks and the bounce and thinks Tiffany could be a swing champion tomorrow if she wanted. Christina tells us that she and Benji take dance class together! There's a little tongue-bath and flirtiness, but Christina also agrees that Tiffany's flicks were fabulous, and she managed not to be eclipsed by him. Good job, Tiff!<br />
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The video packages this week are video messages from the dancers' families. In the interests of time, I'm not going to recap them unless someone says something awesome. Until then, assume that everyone's family loves them and is very proud of them.<br />
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Witney's solo is next, to a Spanish guitar piece--it's a paso doble, which is pose-y and flashy but has little footwork. Lots of sex appeal, though. The judges applaud soberly.<br />
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Our next pairing is Cole and Melanie, dancing a Sonya jazz number. Cole observes that he's played nothing but dark, evil characters, but today Sonya wants him to show a softer, more uplifting side. He's seeking freedom from a relationship, but Melanie doesn't want to let him go. He is shirtless and wearing leather pants, FYI, and they're dancing to that "Too Close" song that's in the Microsoft commercial. Interestingly, because Melanie's a rather sturdy dancer, they can do some transitions where she supports Cole and lets him push off her. However, without a really clear character to play, he's not bringing the intensity as fiercely as he has in the past. (There were also a couple of moves that seemed like he might have dropped Melanie? But could have been deliberate.)<br />
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Mary starts, and loved the choreography (especially when Melanie was lifting Cole). She felt that Cole drew her eye and he commanded attention. Christina gives Melanie a little worship, but moves quickly to Cole and praises his characterization as "beautifully androgynous." She does tell him that his foot was terrible in a pirouette, but she doesn't give a [really long bleep]. Heh. She says we'll see him next week. Nigel also "loves the fact that Sonya breaks the gender rules of dance." Nigel, what are you talking about--you are the most gender-invested person within 50 miles of this show. He loved Cole's vulnerability and his adaptability. I didn't think it was all that, but he was still good.<br />
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I think the show is pulling for Chehon now, because they give us a glimpse of his reunion with his mom backstage last week. Edith Tschopp is Chehon's secret weapon. (And they replay part of his amazing solo while his mom speaks in German--this feels like stacking the deck a little, TBH, but I like Chehon so I'll ignore it.) His solo this week is to "Way Back Home" by District 78 (a group I think we've heard before on this show?) and he's dressed sort of Mad Max-y. Another beautiful strong solo--he's the best choreographer of the bunch--but it didn't have quite the poignancy of last week.<br />
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Eliana's turn for her all-star dance--she and Twitch will be dancing a Christopher Scott hip-hop that he describes as "the most true-life routine I've ever created." It's about a hot ballet dancer with a love letter for a hot postman. There's a mailbox onstage, and they're dancing to the District 78 remix of the Marvellette's "Please Mr. Postman." Eliana's in super-tight red pants and a sheer white blouse, kind of "West Side Story," and Twitch is in a postal uniform, right down to the hat. It starts out not even looking like hip hop, which is sort of fun, and then there's a unison section that looks pretty great. Also, I think Eliana's butt might have earned its own line in the show's ending credits. The routine was very playful and charming, but I wish there had been a bigger "moment" to showcase her.<br />
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Christina gives the now-requisite praise to the all-star, but quickly turns to Eliana. She says, "Would Jay-Z hire you to be next to him in the video? Probably not, but who cares." She searches for the dance equivalent of "I'd listen to her sing the phone book" and settles for "dancing YMCA for hours." Also praises her leap in 2nd position that practically goes inverted. So basically, it wasn't particularly great hip hop, but it was great dancing. Nigel reiterates that Eliana's still his favorite girl, but felt that the routine depended overmuch on the story and the comedy, and lacked dance substance. I am forced to agree--and Nigel reminds everyone that the last time she did a "fun" routine (also a Christopher Scott number, yes? I get the feeling he's just not right for this show) they had to save her from the bottom. Mary thought it was a fun number, and entertaining, and showed the viewers that she's a chameleon, and memorable no matter what style she dances.<br />
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Coming up is Tiffany's solo (gold bikini) and Chehon's all-star dance (with Kathryn, styled to look like a cancer patient). Tiffany dances to a cover of Bruno Mars' "Just The Way You Are." Really? That's getting covered already? Her solo's a little flaily and boob-grabby for my taste, but it's fine. She's never a great soloist.<br />
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Chehon and Kathryn are dancing a Tyce piece. (It seems strange to me that we've seen both Tiffany and Chehon twice now, and no Cyrus yet.) Sure enough, this is about "tragic events"--he doesn't specify, but it seems to be about refugees? Basically, all their stuff is in a suitcase. Feels a little exploitative. They begin on a blue stage, with Chehon's hand over his mouth in shock--he's practically crying already. (The song is "Eli, Eli" by Sophie Millman, and sounds kind of Old World Pogrom.) The dance is super-flaily, and I think Chehon's overacting in the face. There's one weird moment where Chehon bends over so Kathryn can stand on his back, and another where she picks the suitcase up with her feet while he lifts her. They're both terrific, but I hate this piece. It's weird and awkward and feels insincere to me--just like Tyce!<br />
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The judges, however, are on their feet again. Kathryn looks genuinely ill (I guess because they didn't let her wear makeup for this one). Nigel pats the show on the head for doing something so relevant and emotional, but at least then goes on to praise the technique and the emotion. (And Chehon's "pressage." Which is not like Romney's dressage.) Mary sounds choked up and loves that Chehon is still "moved by his own movement." She felt it was magical and powerful. Oy, she's crying. Says it was "an honor." Christina says she likes Tyce's Broadway, but feels he's masterful in this kind of lyrical choreography. Especially liked Kathryn's leap off the suitcase. She loves Chehon's growth from a technician to a viscerally emotional dancer. My cold black heart will just shuffle offstage, I guess.<br />
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Cole's solo is next; he's dancing to something called "Night of the Wolf" by Nox Arcana. He's in black shirt, tights and sarong, but he keeps it butch. Lots of his usual martial arts posing, but he does have one cool moment where he sinks to the floor and then seems to just float back to his feet.<br />
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Now Witney is going to do a Ray Leeper lyrical jazz routine with...an all-star I don't recognize. Who is that? Oh, it's Marko! He shaved his head and now looks like a completely different person. Also 10 years older. They're playing a couple on their wedding day, but the bride is having cold feet. They've done a cute stained-glass effect on the back wall, and Witney's costume is pink and wedding-dress-esque. (Reminds me of Nora's wedding dress from the first season of Project Runway!) Tons of lifts and flips and "go away/come here." It manages to stay on the right side of rapey, but mostly because she does end up leaving him at the end.<br />
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Mary loved it, thought they were beautiful and elegant. (I got distracted trying to find an image of Nora's wedding dress with the roses, so I stopped paying attention to Mary. You get the idea.) Christina blows the lid off the whole premise of the show by saying "We know you're not just a ballroom dancer. No ballroom dancer does a double pirouette attitude turn [something something, errors are mine--AZ]. You're just a dancer-dancer." Aha! Cross-training exists! She thought she was beautiful, but points out that Witney sometimes gets a little too dependent on the hairography, which obscures her face. Nigel reminds us that they've saved Witney several times, but it's easy to do because all the judges think she's a star. He thought she was beautiful. It'll be interesting to see how Witney fares now that Lindsay isn't there to split the vote.<br />
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Time for Eliana's solo, danced to Death Cab for Cutie. She's dancing barefoot tonight, but can still do some astounding...arabesques?...where she just stands in perfect stillness on one toe. She's adorable. Give her the prize already!<br />
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Oh, Cyrus! Are you still on this show? Indeed he is, and he got the wheelhouse of all wheelhouses: dancing a Christopher Scott dubstep routine with Comfort. I didn't realize that dubstep is Cyrus's particular favorite, but his t-shirts have been trying to tell me for weeks. This week's is particularly amusing: "How much dub could dubstep step if dubstep could step dub?"<br />
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They're dancing to a Skrillex remix of something called "Cinema," and the strobe lights make it look like Comfort's actually up on screen at first. I'm not clear if Cyrus is the director or viewer, but they look cool, anyway. There's an awesome flip into a tutting sequence, and Comfort is rocking white elbow-length gloves. It winds up with Cyrus "onscreen" doing his animations while Comfort sits back and eats popcorn. I don't know how to describe it all, but it was cool.<br />
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Sure enough, all the judges are on their feet. On the one hand, it's fair--he was excellent. On the other, they love Cyrus no matter how he dances, so this feels a little cheapened. Christina can't even talk over the audience's screaming, but makes gentle fun of herself for not exactly being a dubstep connoisseur. Praise for Chris Scott, and we cut to him--where we can see Mia Michaels behind him looking absolutely chock-full of facial fillers! Honestly, it's like she had a bad reaction to shellfish. Anyway, she loved it, and notes that it was tailor-made for Cyrus. Nigel finds the whole style astounding and loved all the little angles and details. He also responds to the detractors (like me) who've grumbled about keeping Cyrus by pointing out that he's never been in the bottom, so obviously America loves him. Mary picks up the torch and reiterates that Cyrus just connects magically with viewers, and was a perfect match with Comfort tonight.<br />
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After the break, we're back with our first competitor-on-competitor dance. First up is Witney with Chehon, dancing a Jean-Marc cha cha. If Chehon can find his hips, it'll be great--but I can see there's another "stare at the butt" move in rehearsal. It's been done, Jean-Marc! Chehon observes that Witney's in her comfort zone and he'll have to fight not to be erased by her. They're dancing to Rihanna's "Where Have You Been." Witney's in sparkly silver, Chehon's in a black tank top. He's smiling, at least! But he messes up the first two lifts in a big way, and comes to a complete halt. They power through it, though, and get back in the groove. He's too stiff through his core, but it still looks fun.<br />
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Mary starts, and you can tell that it wasn't great. She says that it was a big improvement over Chehon's samba, but the Latin dances still don't suit him. It's sort of cute; she says "you're so cute and we so want you to get this!" She then points out the bad lift and says that the problems meant that Witney couldn't show herself off to best advantage. (She also screws up and calls her Lindsay, but Chehon corrects her.) Christina praises the sexiness of their first plie and says it was so great she can't remember anything after that. Wimp! Nigel calls her out, but genially. Basically, we all know it was a wreck, so why belabor it. He calls out the lift, but praises his strength in not just dropping her. However, in general he found it disappointing. Sorry, kids.<br />
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Cyrus gets his solo next, and he's dancing to "Harem," by Sarah Brightman (Andrew Lloyd Webber's ex-wife). That's hilarious! I love that after all the "Yay, dubstep!" he's choosing this. His solo, as always, is musical and tells a story. I also like that he always puts a clear ending on his dances, so they seem polished. Appeals to my sense of order.<br />
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Eliana and Cole are dancing the next routine, a Mia Michaels contemporary. She looks much less collagen-ed in the rehearsal footage. Mia tells us the piece is about "hatred," and that she was inspired by the way rams fight. (At first I thought she said "crabs," which would have been a very different experience.) Eliana's worried about one amazing leap where she just flings herself at Cole and has to hope that he catches her. (Essentially, it's the Melanie leap from last season's dance with...Marko? Neil? Can't remember.) They're dancing to "Adagio for Strings," and dressed in all black as the dance begins. There's a lot of head-butting, literally. Eliana survives the leap, you'll be happy to know. She's such a beautiful dancer, but I'm impressed at how well Cole is partnering her, actually. The dance ends with a silent scream in each other's faces, which I find a little over the top, but they commit to it. I actually really liked this piece.<br />
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The judges are once again on their feet, but this time feels more deserved. Nigel begins with a joke, claiming that in fact, the routine was about his relationship with Mia. He loved it, and felt it was a much better showcase for Eliana's dancing. He also thought Cole was brilliant. The whole routine was captivating. Mary also found it "mesmerizing" and loved the strength and power that they each displayed, as well as the way they used the whole stage. Christina says, "Mia, whatever, I can't, there's no words for her." Heh. She adores Eliana and calls her a perfect dancer with "light coming out of her feet." She calls out a certain moment when Eliana points her feet and then curls her toes--she dances all the way through. Cole gets a pat on the head as well, but this was really Eliana's to lose. <br />
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Cyrus and Tiffany are the only pair left, and they're doing a Broadway routine with Spencer Liff. Love his choreography, but it'll be interesting to see if Cyrus's characterization can gloss over some of his training deficits. It's basically about a teenage couple making out on the couch. Lots of grabbing and groping. The song is something called "Treat Me Rough (Girl Crazy)" by Debbie Gravitte, but it doesn't tell me what musical it's from. They're dressed in 50's clothes. Bye Bye Birdie? Hairspray? OK, I looked it up--it's a Gershwin standard currently in "Nice Work If You Can Get It." Tiffany is really selling the sexpot, and Cyrus keeps up well. He's mostly a forklift, but it's a fun routine.<br />
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Cat calls them over and tells them they're both grounded. Christina calls them "dirty little birds" and loved the personality and sass. She praises Cyrus for keeping up with Tiffany, who is "one of the best." She also wants to toss pens through Cyrus's ear holes. Nigel thought it was a terrific routine, but is thankful he has two sons, because he would never let a daughter on this show. He loved Tiffany and says that watching the video of her dancing with her older sister last week makes him think he should do a Junior SYTYCD. No, Nigel, you're too skeevy. He says Cyrus was good too. Mary is screeching, loved it, thinks Tiffany's adorable and Cyrus is a dream. Yay everybody, I guess.<br />
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Our guest dancers are from Oakland Axis Dance Company, and one of the dancers (both men) is in a wheelchair! They start out side-by side, with the mobile dancer seated in a regular chair, and there's this fantastic slow-mo shove where Wheelchair Dancer pushes him over. They synchronizations are astounding, and the wheeled dancer can "hop" his chair so that it matches the traditional dancer's leaps. I love all the plays on chairs, and then there's a moment where Foot Dancer lifts Wheel Dancer in his chair, and then does a leap over his back while they're rolling! There was clearly a story here, involving some papers, or a note, or something. Is it the stock market? I didn't get whatever the story was, but it was stunning regardless. I can't find a video of this particular dance, but check out their channel <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/AXISDanceComp" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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All our dancers have left it on the stage, and it's time for judging. Who'll make it to the finale? We start with a review of the women, and Cat tells us that the first girl safe is...Tiffany. (Really? I would have thought Eliana. Was last week's quickstep too stuffy to overcome?) The judges no longer choose, so it's just votes...and indeed, the second girl is Eliana. Whew! Witney is gracious as we get the recap--she had a good run.<br />
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How about our men? The first guy into the finale is...Chehon. Yay! Good for him. The crowd goes absolutely nuts, and the judges are on their feet as well. Cole looks tense and sad, presumably because he figures he's going home. Is he right? Yes, he is--Cyrus goes through, and Cole goes home. He puts a brave face on it as well, and of course, he's still on the tour.<br />
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I'm pulling for Eliana and Chehon as the overall winners, but can anything stop the Cyrus juggernaut? Tune in next Tuesday (Tuesday!) to find out.<br />
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<br />Abbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18307375316946083851noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2122019877166926354.post-25197290440329256862012-08-29T22:25:00.001-04:002012-08-29T22:25:06.035-04:00SYTYCD: Top 8 PerformEvery week I swear I'm going to write a shorter recap, and every week I natter on for pages and pages...but I really would like to a) eat dinner and b) get to sleep on time, so we'll give it another go. At least with only eight contestants left it might get a little easier!<br />
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The show opens with a group number to "Run Boy Run" by Woodkid. The four guys are dressed in black pants and rather sheer black turtlenecks, while the women are in black-and-red cheongsams, holding fans. There are lots of angular poses, lifts and a sort of battle-y feeling. There's one rather amusing move where one of the women (can't tell in this light--maybe Eliana?) is doing a classic <a href="http://forums.televisionwithoutpity.com/index.php?showtopic=3190866&st=30&p=12389288&#entry12389288" target="_blank">HMV</a> to the audience, and Witney (I think) reaches over and touches her thigh like a concerned parent saying, "Close your legs, dear." I don't think that was the choreographer's intent. I'm guessing it's Sonya who did this one, but it feels too smooth for Sonya?<br />
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Cat is positively sedate this evening, in a pretty black dress with a v-neck. What, did wardrobe take the week off? Anyway, she thanks our new choreographer, Peter Chu, who was actually the person who did this week's group number. Nice to have some fresh blood on the show, even if I wasn't blown away by the routine. Cat reminds us that we're losing two more tonight, another man and woman. Think Witney and Chehon will be in the bottom again? If so, think it's because no one can spell their names? Cat goes on to introduce our judges, including "one of the favorite judges I've ever ever ever ever everrrrrrr had on the show," Jesse Tyler Ferguson. While it's true he's a total fanboy and therefore can reference anything that happened on previous seasons, I don't remember JTF being a terrific judge the last time he was on. (Or am I misremembering, and it was Neil Patrick Harris who was a disappointment?) Anyway, tonight everyone gets two dances--one solo and one dance with an All-Star. (There go my dreams of a short recap.)<br />
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Tiffany starts us off tonight, telling us that she started dancing because as a toddler (4-ish?), she watched her older sister dancing and wanted to do it too. They went on to dance together a lot--OK, it's cute. She begins her solo (to "I Was Here" by Lea Michele and the <i>Glee</i> cast) dressed in a pink gauzy bra & skirt. Tiffany is super-flexible, but I think not a great choreographer...her solos are never especially moving, even though they seem well-done.<br />
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Witney is up next, dancing a hip hop with Twitch. She's in an <i>enormous</i> black jacket and looks like a child next to him. This number's also done by a new choreographer, Luther Brown--are all the new folks because NappyTabs is on maternity leave? Luther tells us that they will be doing East Coast hip hop, and I look forward to a lively debate in the comments over the merits of East vs. West. He tells Witney she will be "ratchet." (Ratchit? Radgid?) Witney is as baffled as I am, and asks, "Is that like 'buck'?" Luther doesn't answer, and we must all remain in the dark.<br />
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They're dancing to "My Homies Still" by Lil' Wayne (feat. Big Sean--for balance?), and there doesn't really seem to be a story, just a battle. Maybe a little Uptown Girl? Witney's bringing plenty of strut, and her movements are quick enough, but she feels a little prim. Also, I think Luther toned down the footwork for her a bit--it didn't seem that complex. (Also, Witney is wearing the stupid dropped-crotch pants from Chehon's number last week. They do her no more favors than they did him.)<br />
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Nigel is delighted and wants to know if all tiny little Mormon girls can dance like that--he loves Witney's attitude and thinks she was amazing. I think he's being a little too easy on her, but she was good. Mary also loved it, and thought that Witney was totally down. Cut to Witney's parents in the audience, smiling kind of wanly. Not sure you like your ballroom baby doing hip hop, dad? JTF loves it, loves Wit's swag, thinks she's a dream--but also hates "the diaper-pants."<br />
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Will's solo is next, but first we learn about how he got his start. He was the class clown (shocker) and would get suspended every year, so his mom stuck him in dance. Aww, lots of cute Will pics, including him riding in a convertible as Homecoming King. Hold me closer, Giant Dancer! Will's dancing to James Morrison's "Better Man," and he looks skinnier than ever. He's so tall, and there are just legs for miles--he's also super-expressive in his solo. I just wish his transitions were a little more fluid or filled-out--sometimes he stops a big move and then kind of "resets" to move to the next phrase. (Says the woman who only dances with the Wii.)<br />
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Our next couple is Cole and Allison, dancing a Sonya piece. Cole is made for Sonya's type of movement, but we're told he's playing "a soulless, sadistic man," which feels too close to everything else he's done. He's getting typecast, a bit. However, he's the best actor of the contestants, and Allison sells the hell out of everything she does, so if Cole doesn't ham it up, it could be good. <br />
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They're dancing to "Possibly Maybe" by Bjork, and not 10 seconds into the dance I'm entranced by a move of Allison's: she leaps into Cole's embrace and holds her body out horizontally, freezing still. Then he pushes on the top of her head and shoves her down into a split on the floor. If I stopped to describe every incredible hold we'd never finish, but this one is worth YouTubing. However, I barely notice Cole. This is the Allison show. He's holding her firmly through all the lifts, but it's all posturing. He didn't seem to <i>do</i> very much.<br />
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JTF starts us off and tells Sonya that he's not fooled by her softer look this season: "You're a sick, demented woman and I love it." He immediately praises Allison for her acting, and tells Cole he matched her perfectly. (He also says, "I'm shaking right now. I'm shaking, and I need a cocktail." Don't we all, Jesse. Don't we all.) Anyway, he loved it. (Heh. Cat tells him they can sort out a cocktail for him.) Mary also loved it, and says that it was Cole's best performance to date. Really? I thought his paso was better. I mean, not that he wasn't good, but it wasn't a showpiece for Cole so much as Allison. Nigel (who incidentally is wearing a terrible red blazer tonight) agrees that it was quirky, scary and unique, and reflected Cole's natural style. He does acknowledge that any of Allison's partners have a challenge holding their own with her, but tells us Sonya said he did the best.<br />
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Lindsay is the next to solo. We learn that her mom owns a dance studio in Utah, and while I thought that was why she started dancing, Lindsay makes it sound like her mom started the studio <i>because</i> Lindsay was dancing. That is some serious commitment right there. We also learn that Lindsay has been taught by "Dancing with the Stars"'s Mark Ballas. Ringer? Anyway, she's dancing to "Senorita," by Bond, and doing a paso-ish solo. Hard to do samba rolls solo. Anyway, she's wearing tiny shorts that show off her infinite legs, but her solo lacks pizzazz. She doesn't have the knack of choreographing solo ballroom the way Heidi did in her year.<br />
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Time for Eliana to dance the (gasp) quickstep with All-Star Ryan. (I had a "Who?" moment, but he's the one who was married to a ballroomer (Ashley?) and they both made it well into their season.) Their choreographer is someone named Jonathan Roberts, who I guess isn't new, but is unfamiliar to me. The premise of the dance is that Eliana's a bored housewife who wants her husband's attention when he gets home--they're styled like a flapper-era couple, I guess to avoid the somewhat sticky gender politics.<br />
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They're off, and immediately I think that Eliana might be the best hope for a non-ballroom quickstepper that we've ever seen on this show. They trot across the stage and do this unison split jump in which her legs practically split <i>past</i> 180 degrees. Ryan's height is a great match for her, but sadly, he seems to have developed terrible rat-face since his season. There's not a lot of cheering from the crowd, but they perk up for some interesting tricks near the end. This looks pretty darn good to me, and Eliana's selling the hell out of it--Mary will have to tell us if it's actually right or not.<br />
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Is it, Mary? She starts by welcoming back Roberts--so he's not new--and tells him she loved the routine. And then she tells us that she interviewed with Entertainment Weekly last week and said she thought the only think that might be a challenge for Eliana was quickstep...but no! She loved it, thought Eliana was spectacular! Yay! I do too. JTF reminds us that he was at Eliana's audition in L.A., and is astounded by her range and her skill. He praises her emotive dancing "for her age," which makes me think he's got the wrong girl--I think of Eliana as one of the older contestants. Then I look her up and discover she's 21...and yet is still older than all of the other girls. Anyway, JTF loves her too. Nigel praised her technical work especially, because she held a lovely ballroom topline, and thinks her versatility this season has been remarkable.<br />
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Chehon's solo is next, but first we hear about his childhood. He was adopted, along with his two brothers, by a couple who lived in Chicago. His mom and dad seem older, and wear the same European-architect glasses. Their names are Beat Wespi and Edith Tschopp, and I am ridiculously smitten with them for reasons I cannot explain. But I instantly feel like they must be wonderful parents. They let Chehon go off to ballet school when he was 14, Beat tells us, even though "they were sad every day." Sneef! Chehon hasn't seen much of them, and hopes they'll be able to come see him dance on the show. His solo is to Max Richter's "On the Nature of Daylight," which sounds classical. Looks like we'll be getting everything in Chehon's ballet bag of tricks. The leaping! Crazy. And look, there's mom Edith in the audience! The judges are standing, Mom's clapping, and Chehon's crying. Awwwww. You can't send him home now, America!<br />
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Poor Lindsay and Alex are the next couple, and must surely be thinking, "You want us to follow <i>that</i>?" They're dancing a Sonya jazz piece that doesn't have a story--it's just two people with sultry tension between them. They are dancing to my favorite song of the year (even though it's been played to death), "Somebody that I Used to Know," by Gotye. I am officially predisposed to like this, no matter how they dance. The lighting's all red and it's a little hard to see them at first. Classic Sonya angles and thrusts, interspersed with swaying and bending. Their bodies are beautiful and well-matched, but I wish Lindsay was a better actress. Maybe she just needs age--she can't quite bring the intensity of face that she needs.<br />
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Nigel starts out and says he loves the routine, loves the song, loves their technique...but didn't feel the sexual tension. Wow, Nigel and I agree? A chill just ran down my spine. The audience dutifully boos, but their hearts aren't in it. Nigel tells her to go watch Allison's performances and learn to bring that element, because that's what's missing. Mary agrees--no chemistry, but remarkable dancing. I think Alex is a beautiful dancer, but he doesn't have the most expressive face either, which I think kept the judges a bit cool. JTF cheerfully pronounces Lindsay "ding dong dorable," which feels a little too prepared, but she needs a pick-me-up, so I'll allow it. He is nicer about his comments, but feels the same way as the others. Lindsay's so smiley, it's hard to imagine that she can act "pain" yet. (Also, I've just realized she reminds me of one of the assistants in my office.)<br />
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Will joins us now for a Christopher Scott hip hop with Lauren (eh). Scott's stories are always elaborate, and tonight Will is a guy with a lot of problems who must dance his pain away. Lauren represents the part of his mind that gets him through the pain. Because the set is a big office couch, I had a momentary panic that this would be a <i>50 Shades of Grey</i> dance. Thankfully, no vampires (sorry, shmampires) are in sight, so we're safe to begin.<br />
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They're dancing to "Dance My Pain Away" by Wye Oak, which seems a bit on the nose, no? Will's in a blue button down, a color that looks great on him (just sayin' Will!). Lauren's in a white/blue/gold superhero costume, basically. Will's hip hop is kind of gangly and wavy, as one would expect, and weirdly reminds me of his Bollywood a bit. The number is over really fast, it seems--or I missed it struggling to describe Lauren's outfit. I found it a bit ordinary, but whatevs.<br />
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Mary disagrees, because she loved the routine. She found Will's movement precise and articulate, and reminds him to believe in himself. We cut to his folks, sitting in the audience in matching "Will Power" t-shirts. They seem nice, but they're no Beat and Edith. JTF tells us, "Ironically, this is the same way I break in <i>my</i> living room furniture." He thinks Will's an adorable puppy covered in adorable puppies, but notes that sometimes he plays that up and it was nice to see him be a bit more serious. Nigel felt the routine was tough because he was never really dancing with his partner--because the premise of the dance was that he doesn't <i>see</i> Lauren, he didn't get to interact with her as much. I'm confused about whether this is meant as critique or praise, and then Nigel makes a joke to Lauren about her coming over to cheer him up (which Lauren deflects ably, I must say--stop being gross, Nigel). At least he puts a cap on it by telling Will he did a really good job.<br />
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And without further ado, it's on to Witney's solo. Her mom put her in dance classes early, because Witney had too much energy, and it stuck. Her dad finds the sexy stuff a bit hard to take, and is not at all interested in his little girl riding the Hot Tamale Train. Cut to...Witney beginning her solo in a backless costume, dancing to Rihanna's "Where Have You Been" (which, as you may recall, is about searching for a man to love her all night long). I must say, I think of the two ballroomers, Lindsay is probably the better dancer, technically, but Witney is both a better soloist and a better actress. Her solo is sassy and very seductive--her dad must be flipping out.<br />
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Cole's solo is next, and we learn that he was a very shy kid growing up in Hawaii. He was bullied a lot (which we learn over a particularly sweet shot of him cradling a little white rabbit), and so his parents put him in martial arts classes. He wants to be an actor, and so began dance classes to bolster his skills. His solo is to "Arise" by someone called E.S. Posthumus, which seems like...not his given name, at any rate. (Don't know if the misspelling is deliberate or not.) As Cole's dancing always is, he's strong and expressive, but to be honest, this is beginning to feel a little same old-same old. Sorry, Cole!<br />
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Our next pairing has many Ms! It's a Mandy Moore routine, featuring Cyrus with Melanie Moore! The routine is jazz, and the rehearsal looks very Fosse-ish. It's about "two cool people strutting their way through town." I love Melanie, but "cool" she ain't. They'll be dancing to "Badder Badder Schwing" by Freddy Fresh (feat. Fatboy Slim, late of Olympics fame). Cyrus does manage to make his hipster-retro checked pants and polo sweater look swag, but thankfully they just put Melanie in a sassy red dress. The music sounds kind of 60s Mod (can music be Mod?), and the moves should really lend themselves to Cyrus's animator skills. To be honest, the dance feels slow, though. It has the look of a DTWS piece in which the female pro does all the work and just dances around the male star. Cyrus had great attitude, as he always does, but that was definitely the <i>least</i> challenging piece we've seen tonight. It's time to make him work a little more, choreographers!<br />
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JTF loves Cyrus's charisma and says that no matter where he winds up, he'll become an iconic part of the show. No talk of his dancing, mind you. Nigel points out that America obviously adores him, as he has yet to be in the bottom three--he says that although at the end of the show, Cyrus will probably not be America's best dancer, he could very well be America's <i>favorite</i> dancer. He then asks if Cyrus knew that the movement was very Fosse-esque, and while Cyrus has no clue what that means, I award myself a gold star. Once again, Nigel says nothing about his actual dancing. I am getting annoyed, even though I like Cyrus. Mary says that Melanie's still "The Beast" and reminds us that Cyrus will never get "his" style because they don't have anyone else who can animate like he can. "Was everything completely perfect? No, it wasn't...but what you do is extraordinary" and then <i>praises him for remembering the choreography</i>. OK, that's enough. Seriously, show, if you liked him enough to bring him to the finals, MAKE HIM ACTUALLY DANCE AND CRITIQUE HIM WHEN HE DOES. I have nothing against Cyrus, but he's getting <i>such</i> a free ride.<br />
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Ooh, Eliana's solo is next. She tells us that she's one of six siblings, but when her parents got divorced (when she was 11), it wound up being just her and her mom on their own. She doesn't tell us why the siblings didn't stay, but it brought her and her mom really close. At 16, she moved to NYC to attend Joffrey Ballet School, and as she says, "I think it worked out, because I'm here now!" She doesn't tell us something I learned from her online bio, which is that she joined Cirque de Soleil in 2009. Cool. Eliana's also dancing to a Max Richter piece (is he like the go-to composer for pop ballet?), this one called "Infra 8." We actually get to see her in toe shoes doing a little "real" ballet--it's nicely composed, but I think she could have used another trick or two to juice the phone-in votes, especially given that her partner dance was the quickstep.<br />
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We stick with the ballet theme, dancer-wise, as Chehon and Anya prepare a tango, choreographed by Miriam and Leonardo (who never seem to get last names). Chehon tells us that he was really confident when he walked into rehearsal, but promptly discovered that he had no clue how to tango. (Heh.) Apparently, even walking is difficult when it's tango-walking.<br />
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They are dancing to Jesse Cook's "Breathing Below Surface," and the dance brings Chehon onstage with a series of awesome leaps, which pleases me. I think you can definitely feel the chemistry between him and Anya, but the music is so understated that I worry the crowd will go to sleep. The moves are all graceful and smooth, but there wasn't a ton of footwork, it appeared. However, the judges are all on their feet, which seems to be a good sign. Cat tells us that you could hear a pin drop, and everyone was spellbound. Let it be so, Cat! Also, as Chehon blows a kiss to his mom, she says, "I think Edith should come back every week." See? The power of Edith Tschopp cannot be denied!<br />
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Mary says the hair on her arms is standing up and tells us that it was a compelling Argentine tango...and that it was her favorite number tonight! Of course, he is on "the train." JTF is getting labored and clowny and I refuse to indulge him, so suffice it to say, he loved it too. Nigel gets his pompous on as he explain how the choreographers used Chehon's innate skills--his port de bras, his lines, etc.--to enhance their amazing connection...but he applauds Chehon's performance (and is impressed that he was able to smolder like that in front of his mom!).<br />
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Time for Cyrus's solo--I'm looking forward to it because it'll remind me what Cyrus does so well. He loves his mom, by the way. She was his inspiration for dance, and life. I will say that I am amused by the t-shirt Cyrus is wearing for his solo, which reads: "Dirty & Filthy & Grimey [sic] & Dubstep." He's dancing to "Existence (VIP)" by Excision & Downlink. Oh, that old tune? Anyway, it's amazing, as always, and reminds me of the thing that lifts Cyrus above other popper & lockers we've seen--his musicality is remarkable.<br />
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Our final routine is another Mandy Moore joint, this one for Tiffany and Ade. It's classic Mandy Moore cheese, because the music is Celine Dion's "The Power of Love." Oof. Tiffany's so childlike that she's running into a similar problem to Lindsay--I don't fully believe the emotion of the dance, even when the technique is strong. Too damn smiley, girls! Her unison with Ade is great, and the lifts all look strong and fluid, but it leaves me cold. Ooh, look, there's an actual disco ball!<br />
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The judges disagree, it seems, because they're all standing again. I wonder if the first two couples are pissed. JTF opens with a song: "That was amazing/Those lifts were insane" and praises the power lifts. We rush on to Mary (show's running long), who found Tiffany extraordinary and thought that was her best performance of the season. Really? I guess. Cat chimes in and says, "She doesn't know she's beautiful, to quote One Direction." Can we all agree to stop quoting One Direction? Nigel praises Ade, and then moves on to laud Tiffany. "To quote One Direction, you don't know you're beautiful." Um, WTF? Did Nigel just jack Cat's line? He found her dancing focused and beautifully done. Cat does not call him out on his plagiarism.<br />
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Now it's time to call all of the dancers back onstage. I've no clue who'll be in the bottom at this point--all of them are great. They were judged on last week's performances, of course, not tonight, which may shake things up. Cat reviews all the girls' dances, and then calls forward Lindsay and Witney. They are the bottom two, and Eliana and Tiffany are dismissed. It seems more obvious than ever that they are basically the same dancer, and have been splitting the vote. Great casting, Nige. Cat reviews the boys' routines next, and then calls forward Cyrus and Chehon. Surely they're not the bottom? In fact, they're not--they're safe. Chehon is staggered, but gratefully leaves the stage. How will the judges pick?<br />
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We return from commercial to find Lindsay and Witney clinging to each other on a red-lit stage, observing that they've come full circle from the auditions. Nigel says they're both great, and is delighted that they'll both be on the tour, but the one they're keeping tonight is...Witney. Fair enough--she has more charisma than Lindsay, even though Lindsay's probably the better cross-trained dancer. We watch the Lindsay montage while she cries. Goodbye, Lindsay's legs!<br />
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Time for the guys. I'm guessing they'll dump Will, but Nigel acknowledges that it's a very difficult decision. Unlike the near-identical girls, here the problem is one of opposites. After conferring with the choreographers, they've decided to keep Cole. Yeah, that seems about right--he was the better actor, and Nigel prefers his dancers manly. But I think Will has a pretty great audition reel for every musical comedy on Broadway for the next ten years. He's smiling, and Cole, safe offstage, looks like someone just shot his dog. It'll be OK, y'all.<br />
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We're getting down to it! Next week will determine our finale participants, and then it's just time to crown the winners! I'm thinking Cyrus and Eliana. What about you?Abbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18307375316946083851noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2122019877166926354.post-44469679925112063092012-08-22T22:13:00.000-04:002012-08-23T08:33:47.398-04:00SYTYCD: All-Star Night!Tonight might be a little short--I forgot it was Wednesday! But I couldn't miss SYTYCD, because tonight we're going to meet this year's all stars! Yes, now that we have our top 10 contestants, it's time to bring out all our old favorites. But first we have a group dance from our young hopefuls...<br />
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It's a Gene Kelly theme, to big band music, and the director (Cole's) clapper board says "Nikki Parsons" on it, which confused me because I thought that was Nikki from The Glee Project, and all my reality shows ran together. While watching the dancing, there was one brunet man I couldn't identify--I kept thinking, "It's gotta be Cole, right? But it doesn't look like Cole--it looks more like Broadway Jess from last season." Well, at the end of the dance Cole comes walking out--he was the "director"--and it turns out the mystery man was...Tyce! Cole is "slightly injured" per Cat, so Tyce stepped in. (Cat, incidentally, is wearing a relatively sedate silver minidress.)<br />
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The Gene Kelly theme is because it's Kelly's 100th birthday tomorrow (well, if he were still alive), and his widow is in the audience tonight. His widow must have been MUCH younger than he was when they married, because she looks like Annie Lennox and can't be more than late 40s--or she's had <i>excellent</i> work done. Moving on to our guest judge for the evening, we are getting very fancy indeed! It's Mr. Natalie Portman, Benjamin Millepied, esteemed ballet choreographer of <i>Black Swan</i> fame. Cat is adorably giddy about her success at pronouncing his name.<br />
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<a name='more'></a>Time's a-wastin', people! Let's get dancing! We begin with Tiffany, who's been paired with all-star Brandon. (I assume that the all-stars will mix and match all season, but they don't tell us now.) The two of them will be dancing a Doriana Sanchez disco routine, which could be deadly--if I recall, her routines often end with someone getting hurt. I think Audrey might have been slightly better in this, only because she's perma-perky, but since I can barely tell Tiffany and Audrey apart, it's probably fine.<br />
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I am amused that their music (by someone or something called Cobra Starship?) is identified as a "disco fries remix." These cut, skinny dancers have probably never ingested a disco fry in their lives, but I salute them anyway. Tiffany's in a jumpsuit that makes her look like Shakira, and Brandon is partnering well but fading into the background a bit. Oof! There's a lift/pose in the middle where Tiffany is standing in front of Brandon, then lifts one leg straight up to her head (as one does). Brandon then holds that leg, leans back, and HOLDS TIFFANY UP by that ankle while she does a split. Ow ow ow ow ow. It's all done well, I think, but the "fun" feels a little forced.<br />
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Nigel disagrees with me. After greeting Doriana and Brandon, he tells Tiffany she was fantastic. Loved her energy and the lifts. Mary, too--she says Tiffany "set the dance floor on fire!" She praises Brandon for lifting her through all the lifts, but reminds us that Tiffany has to control her own body weight through them all as well. Benjamin agrees as well, but does it with a charming French accent. (Well done, Natalie.) He thinks they make a great pair and Tiffany was fearless, and her face reads really well onstage. (An interesting, but valid observation! Guess that comes of having judges who work in film.)<br />
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Interesting! Our next couple is Witney and Nick, the very first SYTYCD winner. It'll be good to see how he's progressed over the years. Looks like Travis Wall will be their jazz choreographer tonight (is Nick one of the guys on Travis's new show?) The concept is two ghosts in an abandoned lounge, and Travis urges Witney to be as sexy as possible. They're dancing to a song called "Sing It Back," by Moloko. Witney's in traditional flapperwear, and Nick's in a long underwear-type top and suspenders.<br />
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They both have great legs, but the music and the jazz movements are more jerky than sensual. It's all rather aggressive, and I think they could use a little more connection. Their lines are beautiful, though, and both are light on their feet. I don't think Nick has quite the presence of some of the other all-stars, but they've also put him in so much whiteface that it's practically clown makeup. I didn't love this dance overall, but it wasn't anyone's fault.<br />
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Benjamin starts us off and explains that the routine is difficult because of the many transitions between release and tension, so as to make us feel like time is stopping. I confess that went over my head when they were dancing, but I can see his point. He is already 100 times smarter than any other judge we've had on this show. Nigel says that the challenge is living up to the skill of the all-stars (and calls Nick brilliant), and that Witney surely did. Mary agrees: "Lord have Murphy, you were smoldering out there!" Wow, I am apparently not watching the same show tonight.<br />
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But now we should have some fireworks! (Or a fiery wreck.) Cole is dancing a cha-cha with the beloved Anya! Dmitry is their choreographer, and tells us the dance is "about two people who met at a club." Um, that's not so much a story as just "how dancing happens," no? But never mind. Cole is worried because there are a ton of tricks and it's not his specialty. Even Anya says it's hard. That could be because she's got bad housewife hair, though--kind of stringy and blond and a bit too long. Anya! You looked adorable that year you had brown hair! What is up with the bad dye job? OK, I'll stop.<br />
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They're dancing to "Glad You Came" by The Wanted. (I think we heard them in the Olympics, right?) Cole is working the male dancer equivalent of hairography: chestography. His shirt's completely open, a Dmitry trademark, and he's working his abs like crazy. 20 seconds in and we can already see that he's sweating through the shirt, so it's just as well. Anya could knock down walls with every hip thrust. She's crisper than Cole is, and I think he could be a little stronger, but he acted a ton in the face so it seems like a party. (There's also a little shout-out to the "Butt Dance" where he bends over and stares at Anya's ass.) All in all, he held his own.<br />
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Do the judges agree? Mary starts us off and says it was amazing, and reminds us that Anya was the originator and first passenger on the Hot Tamale Train. She tells Cole he was clean and did a great job, but tells him to apply more pressure to the balls of his feet during a swivel section. She also said that the chemistry was not quite believable--I'd agree. He overacts and can make the emotion feel false sometimes--so no HTT for Cole tonight, but she promises that "his bags are packed and he's on the platform." Benjamin thought Cole partnered very well, but urges Cole to think more about contrast, so people can appreciate the difference in weight or length of step. More good advice? Benjamin, be careful or they'll replace you with Lindsay Lohan or someone. Nigel complains about the connection with Anya, because he felt Cole was performing too much to the audience and not enough to his lovely partner. Fair enough--and easily fixable, if he can remember it.<br />
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Lindsay's up next (after being saved from elimination last week) and has been paired with Jacob (utterly gorgeous dancer who also has insanely long legs--their lines should be amazing) for a Spencer Liff Broadway routine. Y'all, this could be goooood. They're dancing in unison, but Jacob will be behind a screen so that Lindsay's basically dancing with her silhouette. They're dancing to "Me and My Shadow," unsurprisingly--but I didn't know this was from <i>Fosse</i>. <br />
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Wha? After all that lead-up, they spend about 10 seconds separated before they both come out from behind the screen. Better for the audience, but kind of kills the concept, no? Sure enough, this is LegFest 2012, and they look great together...except that they don't <i>feel</i> together. It's more like two dancers performing side by side, but I didn't feel the relationship between them. Well-performed, but not the most memorable of dances. And in keeping with my night, Nigel loved the dance--I apparently have SurlyVision tonight. He tells Lindsay that she was tremendous, and will learn a ton from Jacob about extension. Mary agrees that Jacob is "from another dance planet" and frankly, the judges seem more excited about him than her. Oops, spoke too soon--Mary tells Lindsay she has first class tickets on the HTT. (Cole, backstage, puts arsenic in Lindsay's coffee.) Benjamin loves Lindsay's musicality as well as the "crescendo" to the whole performance...and he ignores Jacob completely, which is nice for Lindsay.<br />
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Ooh, our next pair is Will and Kathryn (who was stunning on her last All-Star season), dancing Bollywood. I wonder if Will's height will make this harder? He towers over Kathryn, so he'll have to do all those fast moves that much quicker, won't he? Nakul is choreographing, of course, and Will will play a snake charmer playing to Kathryn's "snake." There's a giant basket. Even in rehearsal, she looks sweaty and sexy.<br />
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I think Will's facials are hurting him here a bit--he looks like such a goof! Sweet, and funny, but too boyish. And his arms are big and crisp with every movement, but I feel like he's not finishing all his footwork. Weirdly, Kathryn kind of faded away for me a bit--it was more bouncy than sexy in practice. Mary thought the routine was very entertaining, and is delighted to see Kathryn ("the star of Step Up: Revolution") again. She calls Will an Energizer bunny and loved his control in the middle of all the bouncing. She still finds him incredibly likeable, and apparently that's good enough. Benjamin says that he's been watching Will (really? is he a fan of the show?) and praises his ability to convey different expressions in every section of the dance. (All looked pretty much like the same expression to me--his perennial "Wow!") Nigel thanks Kathryn for coming back, now that she's "a Hollywood star." Um, let's not gild the lily overmuch, Nige. Kathryn tries to respond graciously, but Nigel talks right over her, because the moment was about his speech and not actually about genuine thanks. Shocker. Nigel agrees with everyone that Will is personality plus, and although sometimes he feels like Will should tone it down, he's forced to admit that this is Will's unique strength. Overall, we are apparently not going to comment on any of the dancing, because none of these judges know a damn thing about Bollywood. Still.<br />
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No time for a commercial, we have to move right on to Cyrus and Jaimie (I am annoyed at the spelling of her name, and that I <i>remembered</i> the spelling of her name), dancing a postapocalyptic contemporary from Travis. (Literally--the story is "the world has just ended, and we're the two sole survivors.") Cyrus's ear gauges look even bigger than usual this week. They still give me the willies. Do not want. Cyrus continues to get the "we are amazed at the primitive self-taught dancer who's never done any of this" edit, this week because he's having to do some serious partnering. <br />
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The dance opens like it's the Walking Dead--a single yellow light shines out from the back of the stage, and Cyrus is carrying a seemingly unconscious Jaimie in his arms. (They're dancing to someothing called "Outro," from M83. It sounds like Peter Gabriel a bit.) Ladies, beware: after the apocalypse, all the clothing available to us will be torn jeans and baby doll negligees. Pack a sports bra. Travis has worked in a few isolations to remind us that it's Cyrus, but he's doing well enough on his own. Once again, they've mostly let him carry the girl around and pose--when he has to actually dance, he's clearly less skilled than the rest of the men. Jaimie's a little smiley for me, considering that the world has ended. It's already over? This dance felt really short! I'd say a good, not a great, job.<br />
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Benjamin loves Cyrus's "raw energy" and praised his partnering as well, but mostly loves Cyrus's charisma. Fair enough--that's why they picked him. Nigel takes a moment to toot his own horn again by saying that when they picked Cyrus, he got "a lot of letters" complaining that they shouldn't have chosen a dancer who can do only one thing. Nige says he was "disgusted," because he thinks it means people don't know what dancing's about--Cyrus is someone who <i>has </i>to dance, even if his toes aren't pointed enough, yada yada. Two things: first, I don't believe that the viewers of this show send snail-mail. Second, no one was complaining about Cyrus's charisma, but about his training. Nigel's pride seems misplaced, a bit. But anyway, he does observe that they paired him with Jaimie in part because she's good at partnering hip hop boys, having danced with Hok in her original season (the famous and beautiful "Hummingbird" dance). The tongue-bath goes on a bit more, but you get the idea. Mary praises Travis for not holding back and making Cyrus work, which seems a little generous, but whatever. She also notes that his feet and legs aren't the best, but his passion and connection overwhelms that. Guys, I don't think Cyrus is in any danger, you can give it a rest. (Or is he? Do you think all this praise is because he lands in the bottom tonight, and the judges are already shoring up their case for keeping him?) Cat wraps up by asking for applause for Jaimie, who didn't get near the praise all the other all-stars have received tonight.<br />
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Uh-oh...time for Chehon to have his first hip hop routine, partnered by Lauren "Misha Chan" and choreographed by Dave Scott. I hated Lauren in her own season, continued to dislike her on her first all-star outing, but I think I've held my grudge long enough. Lauren, I welcome you with an open mind! Amaze me! The conceit is that Lauren is the girl Chehon can always lean on...in this case, literally. There's an amusing moment in rehearsal because Chehon is baffled by Dave Scott's use of random sounds instead of numbers to count off the beats. Dave says "oon, no, ah, uh" and Chehon stops, asking, "No?" as Lauren falls over laughing. Hopefully they'll get it worked out.<br />
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Onstage, Chehon is in some confusing dropped-crotch pants and Lauren looks like she wandered out of Doriana's disco studio in an all-white pants-and-bra ensemble covered with two flowing...sheets? Tarps? Whatever. Chehon, unsurprisingly, is great at the crisp isolations, but he's not getting low enough and he's too tight in the upper body. Boyfriend got no swag, yo. He kind of looks like he's about to laugh through the whole thing, like "Can you believe I'm dancing this stuff?"<br />
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Nigel thanks Dave for taking the stick out of Chehon's ass (he stops before saying "ass," of course--this is still a family show) and loves the smile, basically loves everything I didn't. The one point I will agree with is that the whole thing was much warmer than Chehon's usual performances, and will probably help him connect with the audience. Mary is a little stricter and says she felt his tension, because he wasn't sitting "in the pocket" enough, but it was still a big stretch for him. Benjamin acknowledges the challenge of shedding his ballet training to achieve more looseness, but thought the performance looked very spontaneous. Lauren got a few kind words, but not a lot of praise--she did a good job, though. (I admit grudgingly.)<br />
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Wow, the judges gave George a bit of help this week: they've paired him with Allison. Not too much, mind you--they're dancing a Tyce jazz routine. The premise is that George is a wealthy man rushing to catch a train...until Allison catches his eye instead. Allison already has an amazing glimmer in her eye, but terrible ombre hair. (I hate the ombre effect. No matter how expensive the dye job, it always just looks like someone letting their color grow out!) Basically, they go off to have a one-night stand, so it's raunchy.<br />
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The music is "Bahamut," by Hazmat Modine, and now I'm beginning to think that the chyron typist is just making stuff up. I am truly An Old. It's sort of like Caribbean tango? Mixed with Blues Traveler? There's a cane prop getting quite a workout, and there's lots of stomping and clutching and posing. They're both excellent dancers, but to be honest, I didn't feel the chemistry as much as I'd like. Mary starts us off and tells George how lucky he is to be dancing with Allison, and says it looked like he had fun. Wha? That's it? There's no shrieking, no real excitement. I think they might be dumping him tonight. Benjamin says he's an amazing mover (heh, that's how we'd talk about a nice horse, as well) and he believed the connection all the way through--exceptional. Nigel starts out with a weird creepy wheeze, and then actually agrees with me for the first time when he says he didn't feel that the characterization was there. It wasn't down and dirty enough for his taste. The audience sits silent at that criticism until Mary coaches them to boo the bad review. (In general, this audience can't be bothered to react to the judges' criticisms much. I find it kind of refreshing.) I think it doesn't look good for poor George, people.<br />
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Eliana's turn! I hope we get to see her really show her stuff this week. She's paired with Alex--wait, Alex? Alex Freaking Wong? He's back! Yay! I'm so pleased to see him. But now I wish they were doing actual ballet! Instead, they're doing a Stacey Tookey contemporary routine about an on again, off again relationship in which the partners can't quite call it quits. They'll be dancing to Nancy Sinatra's "Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)," the first artist I've recognized all night.<br />
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Why, hello, Shirtless Alex! And hello, Eliana's Legs! There are some amazing postures right off the bat, but it feels like I'm at BAM, not SYTYCD. Will it be too intellectual for this audience? Even the music is low key...it better be building to an explosion. Um...it didn't. Wha? Ooh, I hope the presence of Alex will help her out here--this was not a "fireworks" routine, even though it was beautifully danced and elegant. It all felt like it was on one level for me. Judges?<br />
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Judges are all standing, so I guess we're OK. Nigel begins and says, "If anyone's unsure what I mean by 'maturity of movement,' you have just showed it." That's true--I really felt like we were watching a professional dance performance (which makes sense, since both these dancers already had professional careers). He goes on to tell Eliana that she's his favorite girl (didn't he tell another girl tonight that she was the one to beat?), and he was annoyed that Stacey's routine was so short, because he wanted even more. Mary says she has goosebumps, and this was her favorite routine. Eliana's crying. (Also, her boobs look very impressive in her rich red dress.) I think Mary just called her a tiramisu? Benjamin says it was great, beautifully danced, but driven by palpable passion. I hope it's enough for TV voters to get behind even if it was subtle.<br />
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I was about to write that it was Tiffany's turn, but in fact it's Audrey. See, I really can't tell them apart. But Audrey's getting Twitch, in a Dave Scott routine about "a 400-year-old couple who love and hate each other." So, he's dancing to the Will Smith movie <i>Hancock</i>? Twitch says that Audrey's good at hip hop when she lets go, and Audrey's just hoping to keep up.<br />
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They start by emerging from a coffin onstage, and Twitch does that cool thing where you roll up from one knee to standing without moving, so it looks like you've reversed the film. (They're dancing to "Sincerely, Jane" by Janelle Monae, FYI.) They have kind of hip hop "Bride of Frankenstein" styling, with high collars and black boots. Audrey is acting the story very well, but I think she could get down a little lower and maybe loosen up a bit. She seems a little tight, even though she's keeping up with Twitch well. Man, this was another short routine! Back into the coffin we go.<br />
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Benjamin says that Audrey did very well, but Twitch's personality kind of blew her off the stage. He wanted more outrageousness from her. Mary loved the number and the humor Dave Scott worked into it--and Mary says she was watching Audrey, not just Twitch. Mary felt that she got down in a way I didn't. She also gives her props for being closed into a casket :). Nigel agrees with Benjamin, in that he wanted a little more characterization from Audrey--a little more Helena Bonham Carter. Then it's time for Nigel's love note to Twitch, and more to the point, to himself for having the wisdom to cast Twitch. So overall, mild praise for Audrey. I think the routine, plus Twitch, is probably enough to keep her afloat.<br />
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And that's it! We're ready for our bottoms...with only five of each sex, will we still be getting a bottom three? Cat calls Witney and Audrey forward, and then without further ado tells them that they're in the bottom two. Interesting...they got the bench/sunflower dance and the "dead daddy" dance, respectively. Think the iconic nature of those two dances were their undoing? We'll have to wait and see, because Cat moves right on to the guys. Chehon and George are called forward, and there are no tricks--these are the bottom two. Chehon was Witney's partner in Bench, and George did the "assisted run" dance. Who will the judges save?<br />
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Cat asks Nigel if "he needs to see any solos," which is sort of stupid, because we still have 25 minutes left. Obviously, from now on they're going to let everyone do solos regardless. Sure enough, Nigel asks the audience if they'd like to see the solos, and of course they would. This cements my conviction that they knew before the night began that they'd be dumping George. I'm not as sure on the girls' side, but I think they'll boot Witney. I like Wit's solo better, but Audrey dances to "I'm Telling You I'm Not Going," so she wins on subliminal messaging. Chehon has wisely put on cool pants and no shirt, and then does a jete that has to be 12 feet high. Boyfriend is not going home without a fight. George also took his shirt off, but he's in more bad shorts! And his solo is the best thing we've seen out of him in weeks--I think it's too late for our boy. (But that should work as a job interview for Benjamin Millepied!)<br />
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While the judges "confer", we're getting a dance choreographed by our guest judge! It's his new company, L.A. Dance Project, performing "Trio." It's interesting and balletic and deliberate. A little slow, but still nice to see working dancers in action. Ooh, hello, handsome and well-muscled male dancer who's standing next to Cat! You are an excellent advertisement for your company. Find out who goes home...after the break.<br />
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Fortunately, I have Tivo. There is no break. There is no spoon. We're dismissing our girl first, although Nigel tells us the judges aren't unanimous tonight. He reminds us that both girls are terrific, but without much fuss says that they're saving Witney, and Audrey will be going home. Now at least I won't have to guess whether I'm looking at her or Tiffany every week. And she'll be on the tour, so she has that, anyway.<br />
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How about the men? Surely Chehon is staying, no? George has been in the bottom for weeks. Nigel does say that George's solo was the best dancing he's done on the program, which is true. And sure enough, although Nigel has a bit of a warning for Chehon about finding ways to connect with the audience the way he does with the judges, he'll be staying and George will be leaving. I hope Millepied or some other dance company hires George, because that solo was truly gorgeous.<br />
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Another night down! Only three weeks left, believe it or not--this was such a whirlwind season! Glad you're watching with me :).Abbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18307375316946083851noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2122019877166926354.post-78559519704760133562012-08-15T22:05:00.001-04:002012-08-15T22:05:55.588-04:00Back at last!I love the Olympics, and watched everything from archery to synchro diving to the modern pentathlon (and of course, all the equestrian events!), but it's great to have Cat Deeley and her crew back on my TV screen! Cat seems happy to be back too, if we can judge from her Heidi-braid and dress that seems to be made out of leftover New Year's Eve confetti.<br />
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Tonight we're down to 14 dancers, and will be kicking off four more! That seems like a lot, but I guess it's to make up for the missing Olympic weeks? How long is this season? Anyway, we're (re-)introduced to the dancers in pairs, starting with Eliana & Cyrus, Tiffany & George, Janelle & Dareian, Amelia & Will, Lindsay & Cole, Witney & Chehon, and Audrey & Matthew. Last time we lost Brandon and...who? I'll check. Cat comes out through her usual gauntlet of dancers, and in the background I can see that Eliana is in THE most unflattering outfit ever. Seriously, ever. Sleeveless plaid flannel shirt over high-waisted granny panties.<br />
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Hmm, tonight's theme is: Mia Michaels. That is, the dancers will be performing "classic Mia routines from previous seasons." I know Mia's had some of the most talked-about dances in the show's history, but to be honest, I've always thought her choreography (on this show, at least) was overpraised. And I kind of suspect that a whole show of Mia-dances will all look the same. Prove me wrong, Nigel!<br />
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<a name='more'></a>Joining Nigel and Mary tonight are two shiny guest judges whom I don't recognize: OMG, they're actual dancers! They are "the Ballet Boys," two acutal, trained, British ballet dancers. (Michael Nunn and Billy Trevitt, FYI. This will confuse me as I'll want to call them both "Trevor Nunn," which is the wrong fine art entirely.) Oh, and while we were away, NappyTabs had their baby! We get a picture of the happy family with London Riley--or as Cat IDs her, "Season 27's future winner."<br />
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We're getting one new dance tonight, and it's the opening number, featuring dancers hanging from ropes and a blond in frizzed-out hair and a Gaultier-like crinoline frame. Guys are in tuxes, women are swinging across the stage. This is what I imagine a Cirque de Soleil funeral would look like. And now they're all making out while the guys hang from the ropes? Is it an homage to Spiderman? Aww, two of the dancers are holidng roses and lying flat onstage--I guess it <i>was</i> a funeral. I didn't understand that AT ALL, but Mia tells me it was amazing and I don't want us to fight so soon after reuniting.<br />
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The dancers' interviews are about what SYTYCD moment has inspired them most over the last 8 seasons. Cyrus starts us off by reminding us about Brian, the amazing robot-guy who had...CP? Something where he could hardly move. Cyrus is tickled that now they're roommates. Eliana's moment is the Wade Robson "Waiting on the World" solos, where all ten dancers had to do the same dance. I remember that--it didn't work on TV. Eliana claims she was impressed by the differences in interpretation, but all I remember is the stupid move where they had to make their arms be the hands of the clock.<br />
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Cyrus & Eliana are doing the "door routine" that Katee and Twitch made iconic. There's lots of giggling in rehearsal while Eliana tries to summon her inner badass. Cyrus seems to have no problem with that...and holy smokes, they go right to the making out. Eliana's leaps and kicks are <i>astounding</i>. She's not as fierce as Katee, but she moves like a rubber ball! Cyrus isn't as attention-getting, but he has some little moments where he gets to send a shiver all through his body in his animatronic fashion. I felt the athletics more than the emotion, but they were good.<br />
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The crowd won't shut up and it's hard to hear Nigel at first, but he makes a good point--the judges have to try to forget the previous dancers who made these pieces so famous (to use the term loosely), but the dancers also have to rise to the challenge and re-interpret the dances themselves. He admires Cyrus's animation, but tells him to lower his shoulders and loosen up. He says that Eliana seemed stronger than Cyrus, and kept her characterization along with her amazing technique. Mary agrees--thought it was great and loves them as a couple. Mary looks a bit pink and puffy tonight--I'm thinking new botox? She tries to coin a new term involving "swag" but then fails to successfully pronounce "mischievous," so whatever. Michael points out that he and Billy have never seen any of these dances, so they aren't comparing it to anything. He loved it, loved the use of the door prop, and had nothing specific to say. Billy is similarly excited, and likes the hip hop/ballet combo. Ballet Boys, you'd better bring some real criticism soon, or I will be sorely disappointed!<br />
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Our next couple is--well, we don't know yet, because we have to watch a recap of the National Dance Day festivities. Apparently people danced. A lot. In high places and low places, wet places and dry places. One woman dances standing on the backs of two horses (strangely, she's alone at night in the middle of an arena). I don't care about this, so let's move on. <br />
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OK, our next couple is George and Tiffany. (I suspect this evening's intro order was deliberate!) George picks "Ramalama" as his inspirational moment, and he is right! That was an awesome routine. Tiffany claims that her moment was when, in Season 7, Twitch was recreating his hip hop dance (the one that broke lovely Alex Wong!) and open the door to reveal that Ellen DeGeneres was his partner. Tiffany, that is wrong. The inspirational moment of that dance was when they showed us the rehearsal footage of Alex <i>killing it</i>. As Nina Garcia would say, I question your taste levels. G&T (maybe I'll start calling them gin & tonic) are dancing the "Hometown Glory" routine danced by Katee and Joshua. Hey, I'm beginning to think that what made these dances great was not the choreography, but Katee. George says that "to redo that assisted run is an honor." Which seems a little strong to me.<br />
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George doesn't have Joshua's bulk compared to Tiffany, so I imagine these lifts will all look different. (I also just realized that this isn't the routine I was thinking of--I thought this was the "Joshua goes off to war" dance to "No Air".) This stage is too dark, and the pair is dressed in black, so it's hard to appreciate all their lines and angles. I think they just did the assisted run, but I can't say they truly honored it. Damn, it's over? That seemed fast--the routine didn't breathe at all. Mia looks proud and delighted, so I guess it was good, but I didn't care for it so much.<br />
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Mary tells us to call 911, because G&T murdered the routine. She praises George's transitions and Tiffany's dancing more generally, but warns her against overperforming. Doesn't say anything about the assisted run. (More like a sprint this time.) Michael felt that Tiffany was working so hard that she kind of lost her partnership with George, but it was still beautiful. Nigel was thrilled to see George working in his own style and showing off his potential, but agrees that they were overacting a little in the face. Billy apparently doesn't get to talk this time? Guess not, because we're moving on. Maybe he gets the next one? Or perhaps the Ballet Boys are like Penn & Teller, and one of them never speaks.<br />
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Time for Will and Amelia. Trivial aside: Amelia has some New Jersey connections, because on my drive home from the barn last week, I saw a storefront with a huge VOTE FOR AMELIA sign on it! Will tells us that his favorite moment was when Nigel was kidnapped in a Season 4 group number. I disagree--no one remembers that moment. I call shenanigans! But not on Amelia--her moment is just from last year, in Melanie's "Total Eclipse of the Heart" dance, where she flings herself halfway across the stage and into Neil's arms. Watching it again, I half-expect her to miss and smash her head open. Good pick, Amelia! She's not as enthusiastic about the routine she'll be doing with Will--it's "the butt dance," from Season 5, where Evan the tapper is mesmerized by his partner's saucy derriere. It actually makes sense for this couple, but Amelia's worried that her butt won't measure up. Will has the butt-staring DOWN in rehearsal.<br />
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They start out waggling and wiggling, and the scene is set like a street with lampposts even though they're both in jammies. I think Will is selling the ogling a little too hard--it could be sprightlier and subtler, but Amelia seems to really get the musical rhythms and this movement. Mia's applauding, but doesn't seem ecstatic.<br />
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Nigel leads us off and says that it's one of the toughest to critique because he remembers the original so vividly. "Nothing against your butt," he tells Amelia, and I'm already cringing at how he's going to end this sentence, "...but I've sort of had Randy's butt on my mind." Eccch. He goes on to praise Mia's diversity (and I'm forced to admit he's right--I think of her as being all "Dead Daddy" dances, but she does a lot), and says that he felt the dancers didn't bring a lot of characterization to the roles or make it their own. He particularly was let down because Amelia already plays a character in her everyday life, so where did it go? Mary says she liked it, but thought Will was too over-the-top. She tells Amelia that she's exquisite, but needs to remember to play to the audience when she's playing coy with her partner. Billy gets to talk! Because he's not comparing it to anyone, he found it strong and endearing, although there were "moments where a little subtlety wouldn't have gone amiss." Fair enough!<br />
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We're back, and our next pair is Janelle and Dareian. Janelle's favorite moment is Mark and Chelsie's "Bleeding Love" dance. Yes, I love that one too, even though poor Chelsie was styled like a background player in a Garanimals catalog. Darieian chooses the dance between Kent and Neil during Kent's season, where Neil tosses him in the air and then shoves his foot in Kent's face at the end. (Is Dareian foot-obsessed because of his own tarsal inadequacies? I sense a deeper story here.) How do contemporary dancers keep their feet clean at moments such as this? I mean, that stage can't be spotless, can it? And Neil really stepped on Kent's face. Ick.<br />
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Anyway, J&D (Jack & Daniels?) will be doing Mia's famous "Bed Dance," which I've never really cared for. This was originally done for Twitch and Kherington (a dancer I hated in her own season, mostly because she was the Generic Blonde Nigel Swears is a Genius), and Janelle observes that both of those dancers were much taller, and thus she and Dareian will struggle to replicate their length. Maybe they should just make it a twin bed?<br />
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Wow, how did I not realize that Dareian had such a six-pack? We get a good, long, lascivious look at those abs as the music starts. There's something strange about either the choreography or the positioning of the bed, though, because the bulk of this dance seems to be done with the dancers facing away from the audience. I think they're going to get dinged for connection. It was very bouncy, but I still don't love this dance.<br />
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Michael gets to start this time, and says that while he's heard about it, he's never seen it before. He loves the concept, but first thing he does is call out Dareian's feet, which are "a real shame, because everything's there." He also calls out Janelle for hairography a bit, which is fair--and then Billy jumps in to say that in her defense, this piece is really about the guy's movement, and it can be hard for the woman to claim focus. Nigel thinks this was the first time he started to feel Dareian's personality, and his technique was stronger than Twitch's. He tells Janelle that she didn't really stand out, and that it's her eyes and smile (and hip-wiggling) that pops off the stage, so when she doesn't use those, she fades. (I hate to agree with Nigel in Creepy Uncle mode, but he's right.) Mary agrees with Nigel that she couldn't even see Janelle's face, and it killed the passion and emotion--and urges Dareian to "fix those tootsies!"<br />
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Audrey and Matthew are ready to tell us about their favorite moments, and Audrey's is from Season 1! Nick and Melody's disco. I'm happy to see something from that season, which this show often pretends doesn't exist, and I agree that it's one of the best discos they've had. Nick loved a Mandy Moore piece with Ade and LoFro that involved an interesting assisted lift. And DING DING DING! This is the couple that drew the lucky (or perhaps loaded?) straw and are doing "Dead Daddy." I didn't like this dance when it first happened, and thought it was grossly overpraised because Mia's father had just died. (Also because I didn't like Neil.) So I'm skeptical that it will be reinvigorated now.<br />
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In rehearsal Mia's already weeping, and the flowers are out. Onstage, it's deja vu--white clothes, flowers, babydoll dress--but why is Matthew in a lavender bowtie? Not appealing. And yet...could it be that I actually like this dance, and just <i>really</i> hated Neil? I think Audrey acts the "little girl" part far more effectively than Lacey did, and overall, while this was very leapy and flaily, I think it was very pretty.<br />
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Mary starts and she's already crying, but she talks about how her own father was diagnosed with lung cancer and basically acknowledges that this is the power of a Cancer Dance rather than the performance in front of them. She actually tells Matthew that he was beautiful, but not convincing or passionate, but calls Audrey a "shining star." That's fair--my eye kept going to her, not him. Billy again? Anyway, he praises Audrey, particularly an opening pirouette, but warns Matthew that he's dropping his performance quality when he prepares to catch his partner. I see our Real Dancers are warmed up and prepared to actually critique now! Yay! Nigel begins by trying to explicate the dance, but unfortunately the children in front of him, while beautiful dancers, are not catching his snap. He asks Audrey, "How old was Mia when her father died?" and you can tell Audrey has no clue, nor any idea why she should know. Nigel turns to Matthew and asks, "What did Mia's dad do?" and Matthew, confused, says, "He was the Marlboro Man." Nigel's all, um, and...? Matthew gamely continues, "He was a model?" Finally Nigel jumps in and says "He was a song and dance man." Nigel, these kids don't even know what that means. This is all a long-winded way of saying that Matthew didn't convey the hint of fun in a dad playing in the meadow with his daughter. Whatevs, dude. Cat sweetly covers and warms the audience back up again so they can cheer for the dancers and their numbers.<br />
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Next up: Witney and Chehon do the Park Bench dance! She has her sunflower ready. Chehon's inspirational moment was actually Melanie's audition from last year--he praises her moments of stillness. I am reminded again of her awesomeness. Also, striking a blow for ladies with short haircuts! Witney's moment is of Travis Wall auditioning in drag in season 4? Um, I don't remember that, but hey, he/she did a good job. Went a little heavy on the blusher, though. Chehon tells us that this dance is the first SYTYCD he ever saw...and Witney tells us she saw this at 12 years old, which makes me develop sympathetic arthritis. And then Witney pulls Chehon off the back of the bench and smashes him to the floor. Heh.<br />
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Our old friend the bench is back. Will it help their acting skills? Wow, Chehon's pirouettes are lovely. His center is so straight and strong! They have a lovely leap, and I'm feeling passionate movement from Chehon, but he's not giving much face. Witney looks suitably beautiful, but I wasn't really watching her. Mia looks teary and pleased, though. I certainly like this choreography better than some of the others.<br />
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Nigel starts off and says that their technique shone through as well as the story, and then asks if Mia told them the story. The dancers look a little confused (probably worried about another pop quiz), so Nigel tells them (and us) that it's about Mia's love for a gay man. This feels weirdly personal and inappropriate coming from Nigel. Shut up, Nigel! Mia would have told them in rehearsal if she wanted them to know! In the end, he does tell C&M (Creme de Menthe?) that they brought it. Mary wants Chehon to let go just a bit more--he's so controlled that it can be rigid. She loved Witney, especially the killer leap. Michael praises Salt Lake City as a hotbed of dance, and tells Witney (an SLC girl herself) that she was great. And then he tells Chehon, "If you ever want a job with Ballet Boys, you've got one." Handy! You can quit now, Chehon! (I wonder if he thought, "I do <i>real</i> ballet, dudes, not this pop ballet fusion bullshit.")<br />
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Lindsay and Cole are our final pair (so soon?), and I love Cole's favorite moment, because it's when Mark Kanemura made it to the top 20! I love him. Apparently Cole and Mark are from the same dance studio in Hawaii, and I am not surprised that he would admire Mark's somewhat unorthodox movement style. I just wish we'd gotten a better clip of Mark's dancing. Lindsay's favorite moment is Travis and Benji's Season 2 hip hop routine. C&L (sorry, can't think of another cocktail!) will be dancing Kayla and Kupono's "Addiction" routine from Season 5. That was an excellent routine, it's true, and I think Cole's style will be well-suited to this piece. Mia tells us in rehearsal that Lindsay must strive to be less of a pretty dancer. Can she do it?<br />
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Cole's made his part more robot-infused, with lots of isolations, and there's one bit where he lifts Lindsay's leg up and runs his lips along it that looks incredibly intense. I don't think Lindsay's quite holding her own--there's just not the same power in her moves, not enough resistance. I didn't see her really battling him and being an equal match.<br />
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Billy disagrees with me, though--he thought it was very impressive, and couldn't tell what specialty either of them was, they were so well-matched with the choreography. Mia loves the routine, and thinks that Cole and Lindsay were the best of the night. She notes that Kupono was more sinister while Cole was a little quirkier, but still great. And she thinks that Lindsay was great. Nigel says that he's been a little disappointed this evening because he didn't feel that the dancers were taking over the pieces and making them their own--which is fair, I guess, but of course the only reason we're seeing these routines again is that they were already the best of the best, and made that way by the dancers for whom they were choreographed. It's like asking someone to dance a classic Barishnikov role--they can still be beautiful, but would you really not compare them to Misha? But despite these complaints, Nigel loved these two and thought they were terrific.<br />
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And that's all the dancing! Time to boot some sweet young things. We'll have a bottom 3 men and bottom 3 women, and 4 of the 6 will go home. Cat jumps right into it and reminds us of Cyrus and Eliana's robot routine from weeks ago. Eliana is...safe! Cyrus is...safe! Tiffany and George did a "kid friendly hip hop" that looks appalling in the recap. Tiffany is...safe! George is...in danger. Why does no one like George? Amelia and Will did a black and white jazz routine from Mandy Moore. Will is...safe! Amelia is...in danger. Janelle and Dareian did a cha cha that looks very flirty. Janelle is...not safe. Dareian is...also in danger. C'mon, people, what's wrong with Janelle? She's adorbs!<br />
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Because we know four of the six in jeopardy now, Cat changes the pattern and is going to remind us of all three past dances first. Audrey and Matthew did a salsa that required Matthew to wear a bright red jumpsuit. That's a lot to overcome. Witney and Chehon did a contemporary Stacey Tookey piece. Lindsay and Cole danced a Mandy Moore contemporary routine that didn't appear to be 80s-inspired. Rather than running through the couples again, Cat does the unthinkable and just tells us that the two remaining bottom dwellers are Matthew and Lindsay. Interestingly, this may shake up some partnerships. Hugging, cheering and weeping ensue.<br />
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Cat asks the judges if they want to see anyone's solos, and Nigel says they want to see everybody. I don't actually think they're confused about who's going home--it's just an opportunity to let them all have one more solo. I suppose maybe the fresh blood of Michael and Billy could influence things, but I doubt it. I fear after tonight's lackluster dance they'll give Janelle the boot, and probably...Matthew? Solos are nice to see, but unexceptional, even from my favorites. Costuming is scanty, however, especially for Lindsay, whose legs now appear to be about eight feet long before vanishing into a cloud of pink fringe. Man, that alone should get more people learning to ballroom dance. George, on the other hand, needs a more flattering pair of dancing shorts to wear. He looks like he just came in from cutting the grass. I hope his solo gets the Ballet Boys to hire him. While I haven't been the biggest Dareian fan, his solo (to "This is a Man's World") made me want to have sex with him. Well played, sir. Matthew has a tough act to follow. He's also quite good, but there's something wan and spindly about him that I just can't get behind.<br />
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You know who I miss? Jacob and Ellenore. I loved them on their season, and am surprised they didn't get any favorite moments called out. Nor did Kathryn and Legacy, now that I think of it. Those were kind of the lost SYTYCD seasons, I guess. <br />
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Results! Nigel emphasizes that it's based also on tonight's routines, and saves Lindsay. Both Amelia and Janelle are leaving us tonight. They are straining to keep their brave faces on, but are both fighting back tears as we watch their montage. Back to Nigel, who whines about the format a little before telling us that he's saving George. Matthew's lack of connection, and Dareian's stupid feet, were their undoing. I guess Matthew wasn't the one to beat after all. More crying! Oh, sneef. I can't bear it. Cat chastises any grieving Americans who didn't vote for our fallen heroes, and recaps the night's dances. Goodbye, sweet dance children!<br />
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And goodbye, sweet recap-readers! See you next week for our Top 10!Abbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18307375316946083851noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2122019877166926354.post-40575614533760791872012-07-26T00:08:00.001-04:002012-07-26T00:08:05.956-04:00Hold That Thought!I'm away at RWA this week, dear readers, but I will do a recap of SYTYCD when I return! (I'm watching some of it in my hotel room now, but am beyond jet-lagged and have no Tivo with which to pause, so Funny will have to wait.) Till then, keep tapping those toes!Abbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18307375316946083851noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2122019877166926354.post-62608932674964399502012-07-18T22:44:00.000-04:002012-07-18T22:45:12.251-04:00SYTYCD: Four Go Home<br />
I'm still so happy to have this show back. Even when it frustrates me, I love seeing all this dance on TV. Gordon, shockingly, has been making noises about us taking a dance class together, so maybe soon I'll be ready to bust a Sonya Tayeh move or two! Tonight's episode still features all 20 contestants dancing, but the die (and the votes) have been cast, so two will leave us tonight. The dancers are introduced in their couples, which is probably a good idea at this stage to help us remember them all. Case in point, the first couple is Tiffany & George, and while I know who George is, I'm shocked to have a Tiffany on this show at all.<br />
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The opening dance starts with Cyrus doing his best "Freaky Day of the Dead Dude" in a close-up, as the strains of a Marilyn Manson song start up. The dance feels Sonya-ish, with lots of right angles, a voodoo mood, and I believe a kind of guys'-hands-through-girls'-legs that seems a little questionable. However, when Cat emerges, I'm shocked to learn that this was a NappyTabs joint! Huh, who knew? Didn't think they had it in 'em. Anyway, Cat reminds us that America voted last week, and our bottom three guys and three girls will be revealed. At the end of the show, the judges will save one man and one woman, sending home the unlucky remaining four. Joining Nigel and Mary tonight is "Mr. Step Up Himself," Adam Shankman. Step Up 4--excuse me, "Step Up: Revolution"--is coming out next week, hence his appearance. (I prefer to call it "Occupy Step Up." Viva la Dancelution!)<br />
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There's a tedious plug from Nigel for National Dance Day, about which I could care less, even if they are including Zumba this year. We're then promised a preview of the aforementioned OSU, featuring SYTYCD alums Twitch, Kathryn, Philip and...someone that sounds like Tony? I don't remember a Tony. That comes later, though. right now, it's time for Cole and Lindsay's Christopher Scott routine.<br />
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Heh: refreshingly, it's not a love story! In fact, Cole is a fearful patient going to the dentist, played by Lindsay. Judging by the size of the forceps she holds up, I think Cole is right to be fearful. Also, we get virtually no rehearsal footage because we have to squeeze ten couples into tonight's show. Ha--they're dancing to a Lady Gaga deep cut that I really like, called "Teeth." Cole is dressed like a nerd for reasons unclear to me, while Lindsay has whipped off her lab coat and is wearing a little black dress. (She still has ugly white Keds on, alas.) At one point, she loses a big prop toothbrush, but it doesn't seem to be a problem. She's very sexy, and it's certainly the best use of a dentist's chair in a dance performance that I've ever seen...but I don't think there was very much connection between the two of them. For me, it lacked the power of last week's paso doble, and Cole in particular faded into the background. Lindsay chewed him up & spit him out.<br />
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Nigel's not blown away either, opening with his arms crossed. He thought it was a fun routine and praises Cole's characterization, but he's not raving about the dancing. Says Lindsay felt a little immature and was playing to the audience more than Cole. Mary seems a bit more positive, although she agrees that Lindsay wasn't acting as strongly as she could. She loved Cole, though. (Cole, by the way, has stayed in character throughout the judging, and methinks someone wants to be on SNL, not SYTYCD.) Adam reiterates the critique that Lindsay hasn't fully attacked the hip hop or the acting, and then says, "It's Jennifer Aniston in <i>Horrible Bosses</i>." Thankfully he doesn't wait for any kind of applause, because no one saw that movie. Anyway, the overall take is that Cole was awesome at acting, Lindsay needed more commitment...I couldn't tell you what anyone thought about the dancing, because NONE OF THE JUDGES TALKED ABOUT IT.<br />
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Non-dance interlude! Wally came home from the vet's today without his collar on (it was clipped on his cat carrier door). What kind of crazy bacchanals are they having back there, to end up with so much cat nudity? Shocking, I tell you. Also, without his collar, Wally looks even more like a penguin than usual.<br />
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Next up are Amelia and Will, doing a Sonya dance about "two souls searching for the light at the end of the tunnel." Lots of Amelia leaping on Will (which, as you'll recall, is a pretty high leap, seeing as he's a giant). They're dancing to a song called "3326" by Olafur Arnalds. That sounds to me like someone who comes from the land of Bjork. They're in vaguely period-ish feeling clothes that don't look like anything in particular, but Amelia's olive green dress makes her look even whiter than usual. She's practically blue. Lots of leaps into stretchy poses where Will is holding Amelia by one ankle as she arabesques, that sort of thing. Feels very modern-dance in a smart but slightly medicinal way (possibly because "3326" turned out to be an instrumental piece for strings, so we lacked our usual pop music contrast). This was one of those dances that wasn't the flashiest in the world, but probably was very difficult. Sonya's eyes are bugging out of her head with joy as they complete it.<br />
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Cat goes to Mary first, who answers her "What did you think?" by shrieking. Oof, it's early in the show for that volume. The crowd is also cheering like mad, though--apparently it's only I who's the philistine. (There's a flash of Melanie the redheaded ballroom coach behind Sonya, giving a standing O.) After the shrieking, though, Mary gets down to business and says that they did wonderful, daring partner work because of all the points where Amelia had to be off balance and Will had to hold her. And then there's an extended set up for a weak metaphor about elevators, because the theatre's elevator broke down today, apparently. Cat goes to Adam next, who is just standing and shaking his head and applauding fiercely. He loves how Amelia danced the piece perfectly, but also lost herself in its emotion. He tells Will he totally stepped it up and then says, "Yes, that was a movie plug." I am annoyed at myself for finding that funny. Tells them both they were brilliant. Nigel? First he has to throw some rather patronizing props Sonya's way, comparing her growth to Travis's as a choreographer. He then does a kind of labored series of "you're lucky"--because they were contempos dancing contempo, because they have good partners, because Sonya--but it ends with "you're lucky because you're both brilliant dancers." I will say that it's amazing to me how powerful Will can appear when dancing, because when he's just standing there, he has the face of a Muppet.<br />
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Our next couple is Amber and Nick (and I think I might have called Amber Martha last week? will have to go and check), and they're dancing a tango from two glamorous choreographers I will call Miriam and Leonardo, because there's no way in hell I'm going to spell their last names right. In rehearsal it becomes clear that Amber has quite the booty. Mad props, ma'am. The music is typical tango music, and Amber's in a spicy red and black dress. I don't like Nick's costuming--he's in a suit and frock coat, and the coat really hides his lines from behind. Looks too big for him. He brings the smolder, though! This is the first time I haven't thought "who's that teenaged boy?" when watching him. Amber's legs seem impressively bendy, and she does all her flips, but I felt like it could be a little...snappier? Maybe like her feet need to be just a little faster.<br />
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Adam gets to go first this time, and he's giggling about how hot it was. Says the routine was great and Amber was spectacular, especially her ganchas. (Adam, you dirty bird!) Tells Nick that he was a brilliant partner, but the bad news is that being brilliant in this case meant that he was supporting Amber and putting her fully on display, possibly to his own detriment. More to his detriment, as we see in closeup, is the terrible unblended bronzer they've smeared all over his face. He looks like he's been digging Georgia clay. Nigel says, "I can't agree with Adam, I don't think Nick made Amber look good, I think <i>Amber</i> made Amber look good." He then tells her to remember to keep characterization strong in future dances, and throws Nick a bone and tells him he was good too. Mary agrees that it was a great routine, and tells us that it was an extremely difficult routine, but they made it look easy. Well, that's true. And Mary praises Nick specifically for doing "7 reverse pivots with Amber on your hip." Yes, I was going to mention the reverse pivots. Actually, I'm just glad they gave him some praise for being talented in his own right, and not just "We couldn't see you behind Amber's awesomeness!"<br />
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Non-dance Interlude! This is my latest internet delight, even though it's hit HuffPo, so I'm probably the last to hear it--a mashup of two summer pop confections (both of which I love and I don't care if it's not cool so nyah nyah), Gotye's "Somebody that I used to know" and Carly Rae Jepsen's "Call Me Maybe." The band is Pomplamoose, and they were previously the annoying musicians in a series of Christmas Hyundai commercials. But here I love the weirdly dark video that goes along with the perky songs. Press play if you dare...<br />
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And we're back! Audrey and Matt will be dancing a Sonya piece, about "a robotic power struggle between a man and a woman." They're dancing to a song called "Hear Me Now" by...Steed Loro? I feel like we're just making up words now. Audrey's in a black bikini with gold studs, and Matt is shirtless and in skinny dance jeans w/matching belt. The music's very electronica (I think--or "industrial"? I'm a square, I don't know) and the dance seems largely to be about how very well Audrey can do splits. (You know how some people call it doing "the" splits? Where does that come from?) I am left mostly with the impression that Audrey has an amazing body.<br />
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Nigel starts and annoys me instantly by saying "this is what we call 'tufer' choreography--2 for 2, Sonya!" Um, whatever, dude. But he loves it, and then annoys me again by gyrating and using the word "stank." I do not approve. He compliments them on showing such a change from last week's beautiful Travis routine, and predicts that they will be one of America's favorite couples. Mary says they're one of her favorites, for sure. Everything went to the max, especially with little Audrey, and she loves it. Adam says that the night belongs to Sonya, and then tells Audrey that although he doubted the decision to cast her, she's wiped away all doubt. To Matthew, he says, "If you keep it up like that, it's yours to lose." I swear, I think there must be something wrong with my television that I'm not being blown away by any of these routines! Have I become too cynical for SYTYCD <br />
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No I have not, as the next routine will quickly show. We're on to Janelle and Darien, dancing a Chris Scott routine to the Temptations' "My Girl." It's about a guy proposing to his girl, and she's in a 50s-ish dress and crinoline while he's in the requisite Chris Scott suit-with-skinny-tie. I LOVED this routine. Part of this is because I think Janelle is an infectiously charming performer, but the choreography itself was delightful--part swing, part hip-hop, flirty and strong all at once. They did a beautiful job of feeling both period and modern. There's a sticky bit with a reversible jacket, but the storytelling was cute, the dancing was sprightly, and in the end, she says yes with a kiss. What's not to like? (Well, Darien's brick-feet in one otherwise impressive flip, but that's a minor quibble.) Judges, don't let me down!<br />
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Adam starts off with a lecture, which is making me nervous. He talks about how this was a routine all about character, and that Darien was more successful at it than Janelle. Said it was adorable, and suited Darien perfectly. Nigel is sounding similarly blech--he didn't like the choreography that much and felt that the dancers were capable of doing more. Are you nuts? This was the most nuanced thing we've seen all night! What is wrong with you, Nigel? Ugh, he's completely wrong. Mary agrees and then makes a jokey reference to last year's judging kisses, which prompts Adam to lunge over Mary and kiss Nigel (while carefully putting a hand over his lips first--c'mon, Adam, if you're going to do it, commit!). Mary goes on to say the routine was sweet and airy, and "she thought they did it OK." Ugh, I just can't with these judges. I'm angry on Janelle and Darien's behalf. (Not angry enough to spell his name right, as it happens. His vowels are all out of order.)<br />
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Sean Cheesman is doing our next routine, set at a bus stop, where Janaya is reading "a hot romance book and gets crazy frisky" while Brandon tries to fend her off. Oh no you didn't--if this is a <i>50 Shades of Grey</i> dance, I'm not recapping it. That book makes my blood boil. [PSA: if you want to read erotica, please make it good erotica.] Fortunately, no one appears onstage in bondage wear, so I shall continue. It's cute, actually--Janaya's dressed like the Cherry Blossom Princess of Jackson County, West Virginia, and Brandon is peering over the top of his own book with trepidation. She twists and twirls around him so that she's hanging on his shoulders or his head is in her lap, and then they're on the floor wrestling. It's all very athletic and fast and playful, and ends with Brandon on the bench with Janaya under his feet. (I'll ignore the gender politics.)<br />
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Adam says it was a very successful character piece and he loved Sean's choreo--also says it was a great step up for Brandon, and that Janaya was excellent at playing the comedy. Nigel also lauds Sean for switching from Afro-jazz last week to Broadway this week, and then says that Janaya brought a level of performance she didn't have last week. Mary found it one of the most entertaining numbers of the night, and then throws another stupid Step Up plug in for Nigel. She thought the two of them would be in danger after last week, but tonight they rose to the occasion. (Too bad it might be too late for them.)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOl3MxAwEcRWojw6jVHTQrBO-XdtsDQhzLRKNSy0_R7Ka_ZP0uQEoZ7ZLTiTN1EL2kMTm6pgJ6nOvqzSN3cKjuyvXRk3T22D0WOz7jvZ8z_SiJOLaLouM5Whu0Rtj34aFDQPzP3rZ7l9KW/s1600/Kristin" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOl3MxAwEcRWojw6jVHTQrBO-XdtsDQhzLRKNSy0_R7Ka_ZP0uQEoZ7ZLTiTN1EL2kMTm6pgJ6nOvqzSN3cKjuyvXRk3T22D0WOz7jvZ8z_SiJOLaLouM5Whu0Rtj34aFDQPzP3rZ7l9KW/s1600/Kristin" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNuntCeGIbqLTmLc_cub5mFCEwkHf6i_YCHoBVSgb3B91jVFb7yXxhaCG30mAPfthvVHr-jlWpd3LxAqaHCRSNco8yafRxomyuDbg8EgL63s_MPXooS-HOQ_6LuZ8VvYVZ82mca87w9Dnm/s1600/Molly" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNuntCeGIbqLTmLc_cub5mFCEwkHf6i_YCHoBVSgb3B91jVFb7yXxhaCG30mAPfthvVHr-jlWpd3LxAqaHCRSNco8yafRxomyuDbg8EgL63s_MPXooS-HOQ_6LuZ8VvYVZ82mca87w9Dnm/s1600/Molly" /></a>Non-Dance Interlude! OK, if Adam gets to plug his stuff all night, I'm plugging mine, too. I have two delightful books coming out in August that I adore. The first is <a href="http://books.simonandschuster.com/Care-and-Feeding-of-Stray-Vampires/Molly-Harper/9781451641837" target="_blank"><i>The Care & Feeding of Stray Vampires</i></a>, by Molly Harper. This is a funny, witty paranormal romance about a "vampire concierge" who runs daytime errands for the vamps in her small Kentucky town. When someone tries to do away with her newest undead client, Iris gets more than she bargained for. The second is <i>T<a href="http://books.simonandschuster.com/Sweetness-of-Forgetting/Kristin-Harmel/9781451644296" target="_blank">he Sweetness of Forgetting</a></i>, by Kristin Harmel. This one's women's fiction, and has something for everybody--it's the story of a woman living on Cape Cod, running her family bakery and dealing with her grandmother's advancing Alzheimer's disease. When Hope's grandmother gives her a list of names and tells her she must go to Paris to find them, it upends everything she thought she knew about her family. Plus, there are recipes! These are great books from wonderful people--please go buy them and make me proud.<br />
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Halfway through! It's time to watch Eliana and Cyrus, who have the jive (ah, this is why Melanie was here this week--she and her partner Tony choreographed). Oof. The jive has taken down many a team where both had some training, but to give it to the "animator" and the ballerina? This could get ugly. Also, for some reason in rehearsal Eliana is dancing in socks and slipping everywhere, which seems counterproductive. But then, she's on SYTYCD and I'm on my couch. Cyrus just looks shell shocked.<br />
When they get onstage (dancing to Jack White's "I'm Shakin'"), I will say that they both look hot. Eliana's in a little red two-piece spangly number, and Cyrus is in all-black with his shirt unbuttoned all the way to his belt. They're both game all the way through, but you can feel the "game-ness," I think. They aren't as bouncy as I think they're supposed to be, and even Eliana, who should have quick ballet feet, seems to be a little slow to transition from one move to the next. That said, they act the heck out of it, there are some tough-looking flips that Cyrus pulls off, and for the pair with the least trained dancer on the show, they did pretty well. Given my track record tonight, I predict a string of "best routine of the night!"s from the judges.<br />
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Even Cat seems a little skeptical. She goes to Mary first, who is giggling. She starts with Cyrus and lists a bunch of flaws--bad feet, rough transitions, etc.--but acknowledges that he partnered really well and managed to convey that he was having a good time. She praises Eliana's footwork and carriage and says that she's "cooking." Adam tells Cyrus that he guessed his head must have exploded in rehearsal, and says it was a victory just for him to have gotten through it. He then tells Eliana she's the "hardest working woman in show biz" tonight, because she compensated for all of Cyrus's weaknesses and made them both look good. Nigel explains the dance assignments this season, which work slightly differently--and it's kind of interesting! The couples don't pick a dance out of the hat, they pick a number...though it's not clear to me whether dances have already been assigned to those numbers, or if the person with #1 gets to choose which dance they want to do. But Cyrus tells us that by the time they drew (#7), the choices left were the jive, foxtrot, Argentine tango or Bollywood. Oof. As with the other judges, Nigel acknowledges that Cyrus was in over his head, and praises the choreography for covering for him. He also praises Eliana for being the strong member of the team, and hopes that she'll be able to show America how good a dancer she really is.<br />
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We get a peek at Daniel and Alexa before the commercial break, and judging by their skimpy blue costumes, I'm guessing it's a "Blue Lagoon" themed dance? We know it's not Bollywood, at any rate. Ah, it's a contemporary piece from Dee Kaspary that's sort of about drowning? Or words? Talking and not talking for hours? There's a bathtub prop, and they're dancing to Yanni, which makes me nervous. Wow, that tub is surprisingly capacious. Between them, they have about 15 feet of legs, and yet they manage to fold them up and swing them around and not whack their ankles on the side of the tub even once! (So why can I barely get out of our bathtub without falling?) I don't like this music, but the movement is beautiful, and the choreography at the end will make people imagine having sex with Daniel in a bathtub, which can only help them. The whistling from the ladies in the crowd proves me right.<br />
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Adam praises Dee, and echoes my feelings about the tub--and then says, "After that bath, I should have wanted to take a shower." But he didn't! He found it very beautiful, but "chilly" and was conscious of the technical elements. Overall, he didn't really find their connection strong enough. (Maybe he didn't see the part where she laid on top of him in the tub and then he laid on top of her?) But I kind of know what he means--these two don't really seem to have clicked as partners. Mary warns us not to try bathtub dancing at home--far too dangerous--and acknowledges that the chemistry is a little lacking between the two of them. She says their technique, their physique, everything is great...but there's no spark. Nigel loved the choreography but agrees that the connection wasn't there. Alexa's blank stare isn't helping matters, though I'm sure it's exhaustion mostly. I feel bad, because I think Alexa was already on the edge just from being overhyped in auditions--but neither of her dances has helped her that much.<br />
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On to Tiffany and George, who also have Tony & Melanie...ah, they got the foxtrot. Poor bastards. Neither of them are trained in ballroom, and it seems to be counter to all their jazz/contempo training. They're dancing to a big-band rendition of "I Want to Be Loved by You" by...Sinead O'Connor? Wow, who knew? Tiffany looks very pretty in her purple dress, but very young. I feel like I'm watching two kids at prom. They spin and twirl and seem like they did a great job, but it's tough to overcome the fact that the foxtrot is boring. But they're both cute.<br />
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Mary starts, and acknowledges the issue with drawing foxtrot on this show, but she loves the routine and loved them both! George's pivots were excellent, apparently, and the dance was a "perfect fit" for Tiffany. Adam says he was "madly in love" with it and thought it was totally Fred & Ginger. Nigel says he's just happy that "you've been given a chance to dance," and says it like he's making a reference to something, but I don't get it. But anyway, he says they've schooled all the other couples in how to connect with a partner. So go, them. That's nice! I like George. I hope all the praise will be enough to counter the Curse of the Foxtrot in this week's voting.<br />
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OK, people, I've been promised Bollywood. Where's the Bollywood? Here it is! Nakul, the choreographer, tells us that this number has no storyline, and is all about speed and stamina--and getting the hands right. Good luck to Witney and Chehon! (While I understand that in real Bollywood dancing, it's important to have the hands right because the wrong way can be offensive, on this show, I always find that emphasis a bit silly, since no one can actually see the dancers' hands clearly enough.) Ooh, these two look pretty fabulous in Bolly-wear, though! The music is driving and has a really fast beat of chanting voices. Right off the bat, there's a moment where Chehon has to kick out one leg and hold it at right angles to his other one, just balancing; he doesn't even quiver, and it's a testament to the incredible strength of his ballet-trained core. There's a ton of hand work in this routine, possibly more than footwork even. They have some nice moments of synchronization, and their energy is good. Starts to ebb a bit at the very end, but overall, a pretty good Bollywood routine. Also, it should be noted that Nakul is wearing a very handsome tunic in the audience.<br />
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Adam says they did a great job and it's hard to critique them, but reminds Witney to elongate her neck. (Tyra would never stand for that neck, girl!) He tells Chehon it's "the first time I saw joy" in his performance. It's true, he had a more playful expression this time. Mary loved it too, and thought it was miles better than last week's samba. She shrieks with delight and praises their chemistry and enthusiasm throughout. Nigel loves that Witney did "knee turns" and "cataque" (sp?) and tries to play the "untrained" card by saying, "I don't think you've even done any work in plie, have you?" but Witney misses his snap and says, "I have, I have." C'mon, hon, you're a dancer, you're supposed to follow his lead. And then Adam makes a risque joke that falls flat, I think because everyone else remembers that Witney is like 16 years old or something. Anyway, they were cuties.<br />
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And as soon as we get Chehon and Witney's numbers, Cat calls everyone back onstage! It's funny to see which dancers have changed back into street clothes already. (Will, I'm looking at you. That yellow striped tee has got to go, dude.) Who are our bottom three girls? Janaya, Alexa, and Witney. (Wow, she paid for that samba last week, huh? I didn't think she'd be in the bottom.) And our bottom three guys? Nick, Daniel, and Chehon. Yikes! So we're going to lose one of our ballet boys tonight--almost seems like there was no point in saving them both at auditions! I predict that the judges will save Witney and Daniel...<br />
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Cat asks Nigel, "Do you need to see any more before making your decision?" This confuses me a little--there's no more "dance for your life" component, right? The judges knew who was in the bottom already, so they've already decided. Anyway, Nigel says that "after speaking to the choreographers last week and this week, we do not need to see anybody re-dance." So they would...redance last week's number? I'm confused. But never mind that, we're cutting away from this somber moment for commercials and the Occupy Step Up plug! Bad timing, show--shouldn't you have put the happy dance plug BEFORE you pulled out six nice kids and announced you were crushing the dreams of four of them?<br />
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Non-Dance Interlude! Since we should all be self-publishing erotic novels in order to make our fortune, we're going to need pen names. Fortunately, there's a handy "Romance Novel Name Generator" available for you! Try it <a href="https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151025702597156&set=a.121024787155.99823.104593392155&type=1&theater" target="_blank">here</a>, courtesy of author Susan Mallery (an Abby alum, thankyouverymuch). My pen name is Zoe Ample-Royale...watch for the first in my series of erotic Amish romances, coming soon!<br />
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Time for our live Step Up dance! The fourth alum is "Tony Bellissimo." Seriously, who is that? I've watched every season of this show and that name is unfamiliar to me. In addition to our 4 alums, there are four other dancers onstage, but they do not have names, apparently. This is fine, but to be honest, it's not amazing. Maybe if Channing Tatum were stripping during it...<br />
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Let's get to our results! Who is safe and who goes home? The audience is silent, and Cat sounds like someone is going to be executed. Nigel has to stall by explaining how voting works. Basically, no one gets voted off, just saved. So, y'know, don't blame the judges. Without further ado, he tells us that they'll be saving Witney. I'm 1 for 2! And poor Alexa was dragged through all that audition torture for almost nothing. No tour, no nothing. Janaya is very sweet and gracious, and we've already forgotten who she is. Sorry, nice girls. Thanks for coming.<br />
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The boys come down, and you know Nick's going home. Nigel says that it's "much easier" because they've talked to the choreographers, but doesn't explain what they contribute or why that makes it easier. He just tells us that they've decided to save Chehon. Aww, I think of the two ballet boys I would have kept Daniel--I'd have liked to see him with a different partner. But Chehon is no slouch either, and he seemed to warm up the crowd better.<br />
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Do you agree with the judges' saves? Wish we'd kept someone else? See you next week!Abbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18307375316946083851noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2122019877166926354.post-61549562641972169342012-07-11T22:21:00.000-04:002012-07-11T22:21:31.202-04:00SYTYCD: Top 20 Compete!Hello, long-forgotten visitors! I have sorely neglected this blog, and was just too exhausted to recap, but now it's SYTYCD season again, and I feel the need to snark! I hope you'll join me.<br />
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We've already finished our auditions and named our top 20, none of whom I can remember since we took a week off for the All-Star Game. We open tonight with a group dance that seems to be about the enervating boredom of working in an office, set to an instrumental string piece. The only part I especially noticed were Chehon's pirouettes (although I forgot his name and called him Stefon). The intro seems to go on forever and yet I probably need to redo it just to figure out who all the contestants are. (Janaya? Did we let in a Janaya?) But nonetheless, I'm glad to be back!<br />
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Wally has joined us this evening, and is re-enacting "Tokyo Drift" as he gallops from kitchen to living room. He would like you all to know that he is a badass.<br />
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This is our first night of actual judging, after meeting all of the contestants. Cat looks super-tan--must have had a good time at her 4th of July BBQ this year! Our judges are Mary, Nigel, and Kenny Ortega. In the past, Kenny has been a little soft-hearted, so I don't expect a lot this time. Tonight we're getting a little 9-second squib for each dancer to talk about themselves, conveniently bullet-pointed for the home viewer.<br />
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Whitney the ballroom twin is first, and we learn that she can make a "flower" with her tongue. Looks more like a W, but still, more than I can do. She is partnered with ballet dancer Chehon, who impressively gets through more than his hypenated name in the 9 seconds...but not much more. He thinks in 2 languages, but speaks in neither, alas. The two of them are doing a samba from Louis van Amstel, who wants them to "shake that money maker." This includes a hilarious demonstration from Louis of how the Brazilians basically just shake their hips and don't move their upper bodies. Chehon is concerned because his training is the exact opposite of what one needs for samba. At least he looks the part!<br />
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They begin, and Whitney is dressed in a pink scrap of nothing while the drums begin and a voice on the tape says, "Hey, nino, escuchame." Oh, I'm escuching, believe you me. Whitney is sassy and working the camera like a pro, but Chehon still looks a bit stiff. No swivel in those hips yet. Halfway through, even Whitney looks a bit flat, like she's run out of energy. Maybe she's not getting enough push from Chehon? Or maybe she's not in full SYTYCD shape yet. Either way, it lacked some of the verve I expect to see from Latin dance.<br />
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Nigel welcomes Louis back and agrees that Whitney is a star and a "firecracker," but observes that Chehon is a beautiful dancer, but not quite right for samba. He praises Chehon's ballet-trained core and tells him to loosen up. It was pretty cordial for Nigel, though. Mary also loved Louis's choreography, but was concerned about Chehon's feet--he's overcompensating by turning in and becoming bowlegged. Then Mary goes to the HTT (Hot Tamale Train) right away for Whitney, and I have to mute her. Nigel is concerned that if she's already shrieking, he'll be deaf by the end of the night. I share his concerns. Kenny calls Whitney "Marilyn Monroe, but hotter," and reiterates the need for Chehon to surrender to the choreography a bit more. All in all, generous critiques for opening night.<br />
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Our next couple is Tiffany and George, and they will be doing a Sonya Tayeh routine. I have already forgotten who Tiffany is--one of the jazz girls? She's basically wearing lingerie, FWIW. She seems kind of Jersey in her interview, and tells us she once had a pet duck. George was invisible during the audition rounds, but stunning last week, so I'm excited to see more of him. He's a George, Jr. actually, and he loves crab legs and hates camping. Fair enough!<br />
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Sonya's dance is about--wait for it--a love story. Two people finally see who they are, and discover their connection. She wants it to be very melty and flowing, which is actually unusual for Sonya. Guess she got tired of choreographing the same bird-dance she always does. There are some cool lifts and lots of interesting angles, but it's definitely more traditional than some of Sonya's stuff. Man, Tiffany is bendy! She can basically curl her spin back over itself, which is both impressive and disturbing. George is an able partner, but less eye-catching in this routine. <br />
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Mary begins, and is "breathless." She loved the choreography and how intensely they surrendered to it. She calls George one of the best dancers in the competition and tells Tiffany she made it look effortless. Kenny agrees--he also praises Sonya and loves the dancers' generosity with each other. Nigel observes that Sonya seems to be going through a romantic period, what with growing her hair out and all (ew, Nigel, stop). He loves how committed the dancers were, "right to their fingertips." He loved it. Wally agrees--he's cozied up to my laptop pretending to be a student of the dance. (Really, he wants a bite of my egg roll. Not gonna happen, fuzzface.)<br />
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We now go to Janaya, who appears to be a contemporary dancer (or jazz--I don't know the difference). She tells us that she hates eating orange candy, and the bullet point says, "Then don't." Fair enough! Brandon is her partner, and I think he's contempo? Or is he hip-hop? I don't remember. He loves "pizzookies," which the bullets claim are "pizza plus cookie." I still don't understand. Anyway, they're dancing a NappyTabs "hip-hop" routine about "an alcoholic who must choose between his addiction and his love." Feels like someone is hungry for an Emmy nom, and decided addiction dances were the way to go. Tabitha is super-pregnant, FYI. <br />
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They start out passing a bottle (in a brown paper bag, which feels a little sketch) back and forth, and it's the typical NappyTabs version of hip-hop--not very hard, kind of a hip hop/ contempo blend. Both of them seem decent at it, but the crowd seems unmoved. You'll be happy to know that at the end of the dance, Brandon chooses Janaya instead of the bottle.<br />
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Kenny begins, and tells NappyTabs that he loves the way hip hop is developing "a deeper language" of storytelling, which feels a little culturally elitist to me somehow, like it's only becoming an art form because it's speaking a traditional language? He tells the dancers he felt that they were conveying the story, but it wasn't as effusive as the praise for the previous two couples. Nigel also praises NT for choosing a softer style, because it didn't "expose" the dancers' weaknesses. He then makes a joke about Mary and a vodka, but I can't be bothered. Mary liked both of them, but really thought Brandon was good while Janaya wasn't quite gritty enough. Nigel jumps in to basically warn them that they weren't that great and need to get better if they want the votes. Well then!<br />
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After the break, we'll be seeing Alexa and Daniel, who are clad all in red satin. They look like a bad high school play, and I'm guessing this is a crappy Tyce Broadway number. Shall we guess if I'm right? Alexa tells us that she loves red lipstick, and the bullet says "Duh." Hee! Daniel tells us that he's an Aussie and then reels off a list of stereotypes involving boomerangs, kangaroos and shrimps on the barbie.<br />
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They're doing a jazz routine choreographed by Sean Cheesman, which means I lose my bet, but makes sense because Sean's taste level has been hit or miss in the past. There are a ton of complicated lifts and poor Alexa keeps getting dropped on her head with an audible thump. Oof! They begin atop a scaffold, and twist and turn themselves around its pipes before descending to the floor. To be honest, the whole thing feels a little...insincere? Like they're acting too much, and overthinking the lifts. Plus, Daniel is in a full-on red satin 3 piece suit and looks like an ass, which isn't helping. Somehow Alexa's red catsuit is less objectionable. Overall, didn't love it, but it wasn't the dancers' fault. We'll see what the judges think.<br />
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Nigel observes that the choreography was incredibly demanding and intricate, but he felt there were no moments of pause for the audience to process how hard it was. He felt that they were too smiley, though, and not honest. Much as it pains me to agree with Nigel, I must--that was the insincerity I felt. Mary agrees with Nigel and enjoyed it, but felt like it was so rushed that she couldn't really get to know them. Overall, exciting, though. Kenny does not buck the trend, telling us that it was extremely demanding and that he "appreciated the exercise" but didn't feel that they were as invested as they could be. He's right--they weren't emotional enough, really. Uh-oh...will Alexa fall victim to Ryan's fate from last year?<br />
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Now it's time for Amber and Nick. Amber has the Rihanna hair and loves bunny. Nick is a Latin dancer and a nerd who took too many credits last season--dude, way to connect with the audience. These two are in trouble, because they're stuck with the Viennese Waltz. Neither of them were featured standouts during the audition rounds, and even though this waltz is from Jason Gilkinson, it's all too often the kiss of death, especially on opening night. Poor guys. Nick seems to be having particular trouble, ironically because he's a ballroom dancer, but not this kind of ballroom, so Jason is being extra-hard on him.<br />
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They're dancing to a cover of "Nights in White Satin," which makes me smile and feel old at the same time. Amber's dress is very pretty and flowy with lots of chiffony layers. Nick's all in black. Between the modern-sounding cover and the very flaily choreography, this looks more like contemporary dance than a waltz. Very modern. I think there was a missed hold somewhere and Amber had to scramble for a step, but nothing major. Lots of dramatic lifts, but not much connection between them, I thought.<br />
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Mary starts us off and says the dance was "dreamy." She loved the flow, the transitions, and praises Amber for surviving in her strappy high heels, which she never dances in. She just calls Nick phenomenal. Kenny loved the fluidity, loved the choreography and interestingly, praises the Steadicam operator! I like that--it reminds us that it must look a little odd to the audience, because there's a dude strapped to a camera circling the dancers all the time. But where? Now I really want a "behind the scenes" ep to explain it all. Nigel calls out Jason for being mean and calls him an "Abby Lee Miller" from "Dance Moms." (Mrrow!) Then he tells Nick they expect him to be brilliant in his own style, and warns him not to make such worried faces on TV. Amber was good because of her lyrical training, but tended to lose her core. Nigel says they both deserve to go through, but observes that the waltz routine was a tough one because there were no big moments to get the audience going.<br />
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Wally has his head stuffed in my empty won ton soup container. He's going to lick up a scallion and really surprise himself in a minute.<br />
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Time for Amelia and Will. Amelia's dad is a tattoo artist, and she's named after Amelia Earhart. Will loves the color orange, says something about the Lion King, and then just says "Um" over and over until time runs out. He panicked. The two of them are getting a NappyTabs routine that Napoleon calls "a character pop." A wha? I refuse to believe that's an actual term. Amelia is playing a "sophisticated housecat" while Will is "a back alley cat daddy." So they're dancing the Aristocats? Will is very smiley and giggly, to the point where it's getting annoying.<br />
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Wow, they have an actual dumpster onstage! Amelia's in a leopard leotard and hot pants, while Will's in the traditional hoodie and jeans (although his sleeves are leopard print). I would like this better if it wasn't supposedly "hip hop." Because I don't think it is--but I do think they're doing a good job at...whatever it is. Lots of ass-dancing from Amelia. The whole thing ends with them in the dumpster. The audience cheers, but I wasn't that impressed. NappyTabs seems happy, though.<br />
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Kenny starts us off with a rather questionable line about playing with Amelia's kitty, and I'm not gonna touch it. He liked the pairing with Will, and he liked the stylistic mashup that NappyTabs created. Nigel's joke isn't much better, but does add to it by observing that they're standing with Cat. I give him a mild "heh" for that. He also says the routine was full of personality, even though he's not sure it was hip-hop. Mary goes for the requisite "purr-fect" joke and says the routine made her happy. She calls Amelia a "quirky little vixen" and Will "crazy" and loves them both. I wasn't as blown away, but it was cute. I will like Amelia if they stop trying to ram her down my throat.<br />
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It's time for our belly dancer, Janelle! She loves cooking and roller coasters (presumably not simultaneously). She's paired with Dareian, the charming Hawaiian with bricks for feet. Dareian left home to join the circus and can talk like Donald Duck. (Was that his circus act?) They have a Sean Cheesman African jazz routine. I assume this will not be done in a satin suit. I hope it won't be in loincloths. Janelle looks like she gets bent the wrong way in rehearsal at one point, but it doesn't appear to be fatal.<br />
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Uh-oh. Not loincloths, exactly, but fringe and bathing suits, with body paint. Also in red--I guess Sean has a signature color. There are some fun flips, but I don't feel like this routine is really showing them off that well. A lot of it just looks like enthusiastic club dancing. Sean, don't you dare get my lovely Janelle sent home prematurely!<br />
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Nigel begins by thanking heaven that Janelle's even here, given her string of injuries. If you saw her in the final auditions, you saw her whack her head on the door when she returned victorious--turns out she needed five stitches after that! And then she was injured again on the intro night. Nigel tells her she could do very well on this show if she survives rehearsals. He then praises Dareian, and points out something I got wrong at the top of this recap--it wasn't Chehon doing the pirouettes in the opening "Mad Men" group dance--that was Dareian! Well done, dude. Mary agrees, and found it very exciting--she thinks they both came out as winners. Kenny tells Sean that he loved the piece's cross-culture nature, and found it "primitive and universal." He says nothing about the dancers. Focus, Kenny!<br />
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Now we take a break to plug "National Dance Day," which is on July 28. I will be at the Romance Writers of America convention in Anaheim, so I'm unlikely to be dancing. How will you be celebrating?<br />
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Ready for more dancing? It's time for Eliana, our saucy ballerina. She hates raisins and loves "True Blood." (The bullet asks, "The show or the drink?") She's paired with Cyrus, our home-taught "animator." I guess that's what we call "dude who does the robot" now? His nickname is "Glitch" and he's addicted to shoes. They're the ones who get stuck with Tyce, and they're doing a number from "Hairspray." Shouldn't this be an Adam Shankman number, then? <br />
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There's a blackboard, and they're dancing to "Run & Tell That." Eliana has polka dot knee pads. Heh. They're dressed all '50s-cute, but the opening to this dance is dull. It perks up at the chorus a bit, when they bust out a little running man and some fun flips. The whole thing feels a little too slow, or a little low energy? Something about the number isn't showing off either of their skills as much as I'd like. Tyce is grinning and drooling like a Samoyed, though, so I guess they did well.<br />
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The crowd is going nuts as Mary starts off, and she just says, "There's no need to be worried here, is there?" But I think that's about the crowd love for these two personalities rather than the dance. She then says that "people are just gonna Google you up." Er...OK? But she says they loved the joy and the life they brought to the routine. Guess I just missed it, then. Kenny says to Tyce that "I could imagine an entire number staged around that routine." Um, isn't there one? I thought the point was that this was a routine from Hairspray? Kenny also loved the dancers, and says they "kicked it all the way to the back wall." Nigel admires Cyrus's bow tie, and loves his commitment to the dance, which overcomes his training limitations. He tells Eliana that it didn't show off what a brilliant dancer she is, but says that she's the benchmark all the other girls must meet. That was nice, anyway.<br />
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Now we're up to Audrey (neck-fart girl) and Matthew. Audrey collects elephants and reminds us of the neck farting. Matthew has six tattoos and is afraid of sharks. Ironically, they're dancing a Travis Wall piece set on the Titanic. Travis has his own TV show coming up on Oxygen, so I wonder if we'll get overlapping cameras at any point.<br />
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They're dancing to "Unchained Melody" (yawn) and referencing the "naked sketch" scene from the movie. But with a little less nudity--c'mon, people, this isn't cable! There's lots of stretching and flailing and some very dramatic LEAPS!, but it's also sexy. I think they do a good job with the connection, and this is the first time that Matt's seemed like a man instead of a boy. Plus, the enormous chaise longue looks luxurious. Well done, prop master!<br />
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The judges give us our first standing O of the season, and Kenny says, "Exquisitely choreographed, beautifully danced." Nigel says he enjoyed it "more than anything this evening." He praises the connection between the music's crescendos and the rise and fall of the dance. It's true, that was very well timed--and Nigel also says that the dancers were brilliant, and thus made Travis look good. Mary says Travis must have felt like he "won the lottery" when he got these two, and she loved them both. I wasn't as over the moon as the judges, but it was pretty.<br />
<br />At last, we're down to our final couple--Lindsey and Cole. Lindsey doesn't like tomatoes, and looks just like Maureen McCormick. Cole calls himself a "walking cliche" because he's "an Asian male who's ninja." They'll be doing a Jason Gilkinson paso doble, but instead of Lindsey being the cape, she's a poison that's trying to conquer Cole. There are lots of tumbles in rehearsal, but they seem enthusiastic.<br />
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They open in this awesome hold, where Cole is standing onstage with Lindsey wrapped around him like a belt, perfectly still. I can't even imagine how strong you have to be to hold that pose. They're both in black, and she's in these killer knee boots. I really like this routine! It's one of the few ballroom "story" routines that I think is genuinely telling that story, but still preserves the core of the dance's style. They finish, and Cat calls them "Blue Steel," which is pretty apt.<br />
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We go right to Kenny, who doesn't mince words: "Mesmerizing...electrifying...two of the most fantastic performances I've ever seen on this show." Yeah, it was pretty awesome! Mary is shrieking and gibbering like a crazy person, but love-love-loves it. Nigel agrees--he asks Cole what training he's had, and then says it's the best paso doble he's ever seen a guy do on the show. He also tells Lindsey that she absolutely rose to the challenge, matched Cole, and is no longer being overshadowed by Whitney. They really were sexy and well-matched. That was a good routine.<br />
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Whew! I need to get my recapping muscles back. That was a long one. But it was good to see everything...and we'll find out who's going home at the beginning of next week!Abbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18307375316946083851noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2122019877166926354.post-48969153999038071322012-03-22T22:33:00.001-04:002012-03-23T08:10:10.753-04:00Sew Long, PR All-Stars!Wally and I are ensconced on the couch, eagerly awaiting part 2 of the Project Runway finale. As you'll recall, Mondo's collection is about therapy, and is varying black & white patterns, inkblots, and red blood spatters. Austin's is inspired by Fragonard and Hasidim. Michael's is safari resort wear. Who will reign supreme? (Sorry, wrong show.)<br />
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The designers are nervous, dressed in their Sunday best, and ready to go. ("Does Liza Minelli know you went through her wardrobe, girl?" Mondo asks of Austin's sequined black blazer.) Each of them feels they deserve the win. Since there's no Fashion Week going on, the show had to find a different venue for the runway show--they've chosen <a href="http://www.gothamhallevents.com/" target="_blank">Gotham Hall</a>, whose atrium is set up already for the show. The designers are stunned and pleased. (It <i>is</i> very nice.) With a final hug among our top three, they head backstage to unpack and set up.<br />
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They each have a little roomlet with an accessories cubby (Neiman Marcus branded, of course), ironing board, steamer and sewing machine. Austin is still sewing. Michael had so much time he could have sewn a whole new collection--and perhaps he should have, because the fit of his garments doesn't seem to be great, and he's having to redo seams. Mondo is debating whether to make a model in a sheer tunic walk bare-assed down the runway or not. Mondo! Don't make that poor girl be naked on TV! Joanna walks around to fret maternally at all of them, including de-linting Mondo's shirt. Mondo finds it "a little uncomfortable--like your aunt rolling you down." Um, I would have no problem with that.<br />
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Showtime! Among the luminaries in attendance are the dude from Neiman Marcus (Ken something? I forgot his name), Tommy Hilfiger, and of course our esteemed judges. (Ah, it appears that Neiman's dude is our guest judge tonight, which is fitting, since they're a big part of the prize this year.) Angela is introducing everyone very sloooowly and e-NUN-ci-a-ting allll offff her worrrrrds as though she's never spoken in public before. Somewhere, Heidi idly files a nail and snorts, "Amateur." Angela's hair looks very pretty, at least. Georgina is wearing a dress that looks like she skinned an ostrich. Or a Muppet. And then a TWIST! We have two guest judges--not only Neiman's dude (who is indeed named Ken), but also Tommy Hilfiger. (I just saw Hilfiger on American Idol last night, "styling" the contestants. Based on their looks, I am inclined to auf him as a judge right now.)<br />
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Oh, there's Nina! Guess she had time to pop in and see who she'll wind up "working" with as the Marie Claire guest editor.<br />
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Austin slinks out to introduce his collection first. He tells us it's called "Austin Scarlett"--wonder where he got that name? It's ostensibly the story of an 18th century vampire who now lives in Williamsburg "and occasionally borrows clothes from her Hasidic dandy friends." Of course it is. Cut to Nina's compatriot, already rolling eyes at that description.<br />
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First on the runway is a model in the crazy pink pants (actually a knee-length short) we saw last week--they have some sort of pleats and folds at the hips so that they stick out an extra foot on either side. I suppose they're meant to evoke the panniers of 18th c. dresses, but no woman would wear those, surely? The pants are paired with a bustier, also in pink, and a black sequined not-quite-bolero jacket that evokes Austin's own. Joanna, backstage, hugs Austin and says "It's great, it's really great." If you say so, Joanna. Guess that leaves me out of the running for Marie Claire guest editor.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">18th c. women didn't do a lot of Zumba in panniers.</span></i></span></div>
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Next is a cute dress with another sort of odd big pleat-fold detail in the skirt. The dress at first looks like black lace, but up close you can see it's very shiny--is this leather? Gives it kind of a cool edge. It has a low V back that's cute as well (though flunks Joanna's bra test!). This is followed by a sort of ordinary-looking high-waisted skirt, also in the black shiny fabric, and a surplice top in the pink of the pants. The shoulders have bow details on them and are perhaps a "tulip sleeve"? There's a tiny bit of pink tulle poking out of the skirt's kick pleat that is supposed to be flirty, but kind of looks like the model had an accident. (I'm sure models poop pink tulle, aren't you?)<br />
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Now we see that extravagant gown in the black with the rose pattern on it. It actually looks more rose lamé than black here, and is very luxe and <i>very</i> Austin. Kind of multi layers of folds, like a ruffle over a peplum over a mermaid hem. The proportions don't seem quite right to me. And here's a look that I don't think we ever saw in the workroom--a black halter and skinny pant, both done in the pleather/vinyl/whatever. The model has a scarf of purple tulle tied around her neck to tie the outfit into the rest--it's cute, but not terrific (though fitted very well). I think this might have been his 6th look.<br />
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And finally, it's the wedding gown! It's pretty great, as one would expect from a designer who'd worked for a top wedding salon (Austin worked for Amsale right after his first season of PR). It's a strapless white ball gown with a skirt of gauzy white fabric (organza?), but the bodice is made of something with a bit more sheen, pleated into ruffles and folds that look like gardenia petals. They cover the bodice and tumble into an overskirt, and the model has a little black belt and elbow length black gloves. Gotta say, I think it's pretty terrific.<br />
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The whole collection marches out, though Austin doesn't come out for his curtain call. He's choked up, of course. I must say, I don't see "Hasidic dandy" in the collection.<br />
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On the commercial, we get an ad for the next season and get to see TIMMMMMMM! He does the ad, as though to reassure us all that he hasn't changed.<br />
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Now it's time for Mondo's collection. (Really? They buried him in the middle?) He reminds us that his collection is called "Therapy," and explains that he was feeling a little nutso himself, hence the inspiration. And we're off! We begin with a model in a black blouse with white polka dots, a short little silver skirt with a black swirly detail on one hip, and black tights. Oh--skirt is longer than I thought because the skirt actually has a wide black hem. I like the skirt, could take or leave the blouse.<br />
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Then we see a cute dress in a black pattern with white Tic-tac dots on it. The collar could be vinyl, and it has little front pockets that are fronted with exaggerated black-trimmed circles. On to an outfit that we glimpsed last week--it's a tunic, mostly in the white and black zigzag silk he got from Nanette Lapore, topped with a little bit of sheer zebra/tiger/palm front pattern, also in black and white. She's wearing skinny black pants and looks very cool and downtown.<br />
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Next is the inkblot tee, or one of them, paired with a high-waisted wide black pant in a narrow pinstripe, and a little jacket made out of the Tic Tac fabric. Mondo continues to be pretty genius with patterns. I also notice that the model has one black and one red 3/4 length sleeve peeking out from the jacket. It's like the fashion equivalent of a secret cutter. It's worth mentioning that throughout this, Joanna is being encouraging, but nowhere near as gushy as she was with Austin. It's all, "That was well done. Oh, look, Tommy Hilfiger is looking inscrutable." I take this as a "we are trying to pretend Mondo doesn't have this in the bag" edit.<br />
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Next is an inkblot dress--this is basically the same dress Mondo has done a bunch of times--super-fitted black jersey, high neck, colorblocked. Basically the white fabric with the inkblot makes an hourglass down the front, and again, the 3/4 sleeves have a pop of red on one of them, but not the other. The dress is very slinky and would look great if you were 5'10 and weighed 105 pounds.<br />
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Then pow!--we get a flowy dress in a silver/black/red shiny fabric (not exactly polka dots, more pointillist). It moves beautifully, and Mondo finally feels pleased. "You're cured," says Joanna. The collection looked very cohesive, beautifully tailored, and modern. He did a good job.<br />
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Finally, it's Michael's turn, and he tells us that he was inspired by the Serengeti. First out is a khaki jumpsuit with olive accents--oh, sorry, that's the pattern. There's no back on the jumpsuit, per usual, and once again Michael is doing his warmed-over Halston thing. Joanna says it looks very comfortable. Next comes a black and white fitted dress in a fairly ordinary but attractive shape, with a silver vest over it. And--oh, look!--it's backless. Michael, why do you hate our breasts? Why won't you give them bras? Joanna praises the usefulness of layering pieces as "a designer's bread and butter," which I thought was interesting. Makes sense--few can afford the couture gown, but more could drop a few hundred bucks on a smaller item. (I am not among those people willing to pay $500 for a silver vest, however.)<br />
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Another dress now, in an interesting black and grey tiger print. The skirt's a little jodhpur-y at the hips, but I'm not sure how much of that is deliberate and how much is the fabric riding up. Then there's a flowy romper, or maybe it's a blousy tunic and shorts, in a bronze/gold/cheetah-ish print. Very resort, very comfy, very "I'm lounging by the pool in $300 sunglasses." Joanna likes. Now we're back to the black and white print, which is vaguely giraffe-y without being too referential, for another jumpsuit. Michael says this is his favorite piece. Oh, my mistake--it's actually separates, a bustier and a flowy pant. I don't love it all together, but I would like the pants with a black tank top.<br />
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Michael's closing piece is a flowy goddess gown (in fact, done in the white fabric from his flag challenge) with a plunging V neck and a little black vestlet (which the model takes off and carries down the runway as soon as she steps on the runway). Basically, the Michael Dress. Very pretty, less so with the vest on. The show ends, and Michael is grinning from ear to ear. Joanna advises him to savor the moment, and he seems to be doing so.<br />
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Now it's time for chalk talk! Nina enjoyed seeing all her old designer kiddies, and liked where they wound up. Coco Rocha was very impressed with what they accomplished in four days. Eric (the bored-looking guy I thought was a Nina underling, but in fact is the former guest judge and Gossip Girl costumer) loved Mondo's striped pant and inkblot-tee outfit. Nanette says she's nervous, because she's rooting for one in particular. Who will it be?<br />
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All three designers are gleeful...and Michael is weeping, of course. On to judging!<br />
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The designers are being critiqued one at a time, surrounded by all their models. Austin is first. All of the judges begin with praise--they're amazed at what he accomplished, there are special pieces, they liked it. But Isaac is the first to naysay, politely; he felt that it didn't look like a collection, but rather a "best of" assembly. Tommy H. liked the rock and roll quality of some of the pieces, but felt the wedding dress and the ball gown didn't fit in. Angela and Georgina speak up for the wedding gown, though, saying they think a million women would want to get married in that. Georgina didn't love the red carpet gown, though--she also felt the length and volume weren't perfect. Ken-from-Neiman loves the lacquered lace dress (and thus finally explains what it was made of!) and so does Tommy. Overall, they loved the femininity of Austin's collection, and the way he managed to keep his glamour youthful. Austin feels confident and pleased.<br />
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Mondo's turn! Georgina begins and congratulates him on his masterful use of prints and graphics, while Isaac tells him his was the most cohesive collection. Tommy loved the opening outfit (with the silver and black skirt) but not the Tic Tac dress, which felt overworked. Ken adores the Rorshach dress, and is amazed that Mondo created the print himself. Tommy loves the pants, but thinks the big round pockets are too big. Isaac loves the flowy red/silver dress, but Angela didn't because she doesn't think it fits with the rest of the collection. Georgina couldn't even tell which was the leftover-fabric dress, which I think is probably good. In general, they seemed less effusive than they were with Austin, but I think that's editing. I also think that Mondo did have the best collection, edging Austin by a nose.<br />
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Michael's turn. Wonder if he'll be able to stop crying on the runway. Georgina seems blown away, and says the collection was "Exceptional." She praises his tailoring and Tommy feels that they are instantly commercial and saleable. Ken felt that the prints were both varied and cohesive, but Georgina warns him that buying a print can look <i>too</i> commercial. I don't understand why. Because he didn't make it himself? Isaac likes that Michael took the viewers on a fantasy adventure, but didn't find the print mixing as interesting as it could have been. Ken likes the black and white giraffe-y dress a lot, and Tommy loves the sixth look, the goddess dress. Isaac says that he loves Michael's work because "you always feel the flesh in the clothes" but then says that he has to be careful, because that can seem inexpensive. So basically, Michael drifts back and forth over the line between sexy and vulgar, but in this collection he stayed on the right side. And that's it--Michael heads backstage to share a well-earned drink with Austin and Mondo.<br />
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Austin is said to be the most artistic and dreamy of the group, with a great eye, but his collection was not fully cohesive. The judges all think he could pull off the Neiman Marcus boutique, and Isaac thinks that with a really good stylist, Austin could go far.<br />
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Mondo has impeccable workmanship, brilliant pattern-matching, and a modern, young, cohesive collection. Isaac finds him witty, and Ken loves him when he exercises a little restraint, but can drift into cartoon. Angela claims that the collection fell a little short for her, but Georgina says he's set the bar high and they expect a great deal from him.<br />
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Michael's collection was also cohesive, and more commercial than the other two. Ken thinks his flowy soft shapes stood out against the harder tailoring of the other two, but Isaac felt that the clothes "did not come together in a sophisticated way." Too many prints for him. Georgina points out his skillful draping, and Tommy concurs. The clothes don't look like samples, they look incredibly finished. We don't get as much of a recap for Michael.<br />
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It's time to decide who wins, and the judges need to decide if they care about creative ideas, cohesion, commercial potential or what. Tommy says that Michael should win because he was the most commercial. Georgina says she didn't see ideas from Michael, but Tommy's fighting hard to say that you could picture the "Michael Costello" section in the store already. Austin, backstage, is going on about how he's satisfied no matter what. (Dude, you're not going to win. The edit decrees it.) Back to the judges, we're already at "we've all made our decision." So soon?<br />
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I'll be happy with either Mondo or Austin. I just don't want Michael to win, because I think he's boring. Before we find out who wins, we're told that "there are no losers on PR All-Stars"--aww, and it turns out the two runners-up will receive trips to Paris! That's nice--I'm glad they got something. Ugh, Angela has her slooooow announcing voice on again--get to it, woman!<br />
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And she does--Michael is called out first, and told that he didn't win. She hands him the tickets to Paris right then :). Michael is sad, but not crying! Well done, Michael. As Angela does the run-up to revealing the winner, we get cuts among the designers and judges, and I realize that almost everyone on screen has insane hair, whether it's Mondo's pompadour or Ken-from-Neiman's side swoop or Tommy's lacquered-down helmet. But that's not the point right now. The winner of Project Runway All-Stars is...<br />
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MONDO! (Like we thought it was going to be anyone else.) Austin has kind of a bitchy pill look on his face, and will have to practice his "it's an honor just to be nominated" face before he does any more of these. However, he accepts his Paris tickets graciously and has a nice follow-up talking head. Mondo sounds like he's crying, but there are no actual tears. At least he's finally in a good mood! Isaac basically tells him to lighten up and enjoy himself, because it's a long road ahead...and here are all the former designers with champagne!<br />
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It's a happy ending for all, and for us as well. Mondo made a lovely collection, and I'm sure kooky skinny women everywhere will enjoy wearing his clothes. And to close us out...Michael is crying.<br />
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Thanks for reading, everyone! You are all fashion-forward in my eyes.<br />
<br />Abbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18307375316946083851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2122019877166926354.post-9327458312189619492012-03-15T22:32:00.000-04:002012-03-15T22:33:26.035-04:00PR All-Stars: Final CutSo this is it, PR fans! We're down to the bitter end. It looks like we begin right after last week's runway show, with Austin, Michael and Mondo sitting in the chairs waiting for Angela. And halle-effing-lujah, Austin has shaved his pornstache! He looks so so so so SO much better! Great styling, Austin. Mondo disagrees, however, saying he went from Errol Flynn to Kermit the Frog. Meow.<br />
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Angela introduces the challenge by asking them to welcome "some familiar faces." The designers are nervous, but it turns out to be just Georgina and Isaac. They're instructed to design a mini-collection of 5 looks in only four days, after which they'll put together a runway show. (For whom? Angela says "VIP guests" will be invited, and it's at a very special location. I'm going to guess...the Intrepid.) Because we won't have home visits with this abbreviated finale, the three finalists have been invited to the <i>Marie Claire</i> offices to meet Joanna there.<br />
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The three of them arrive at the building, where Michael seems impressed with the very concept of an office building. He likes the escalator. (Well, fair enough--it's the Hearst building.) A minion of some sort escorts them to a conference room with an amazing view of the park, but I'm distracted by said minion's sloppy presentation and mumbling escort. That can't be Joanna's assistant, surely?<br />
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Joanna joins them and asks how they're feeling (points if you said "nervous"!), and then gives the most cogent explanation I've ever heard of what fashion editors look for when reviewing collections. 1) A shift from the previous season. 2) An overall theme for the season--determined by watching a gazillion collections at Fashion Week, basically. 3) Someone who executes that shift & theme very well. That actually makes so much sense to me!<br />
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Mondo asks about the importance of theatrics in a runway show--Joanna thinks they're fine if they seem intrinsic to the designer's overall vision, but they aren't necessary. Michael asks what the "guest editor" portion of the prize entails, and Joanna basically says that they'll be shadowing Nina Garcia and her team, evaluating the fashion that will appear in the magazine. Sounds like "Big Fancy Intern" to me.<br />
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They leave Marie Claire and go off to Central Park to sketch--a chyron tells us they have only one hour. Michael is inspired by the greenery. Austin tells us he's going to make a wedding dress (which makes sense, as he was the designer for Amsale for years). Mondo's determined to remain true to himself. Everybody wants it more than everybody else. Everyone is there to win. "I want to win," says Mondo. Our "next on PR" bumper immediately shows Mondo saying, "I want to quit." For a contestant who is clearly the anointed one this season, Mondo's being kind of a pill.<br />
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Mood time! They have one hour to shop, and a budget of $3000--with only 5 outfits, that's a pretty generous budget, I think. Everything better look expensive, boys! Michael's thinking "African safari," which feels a little random for him. But honestly, I still don't really know what Michael's aesthetic is, other than draping. Mondo's at sea, and isn't feeling it. Austin's model woman is "someone who stepped out of a Fragonard painting but she is a modern rock star...meets...Hasidic gentleman." Oh, of course, one of those. I think Austin's been sniffing his hot glue gun.<br />
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The designers return to their workroom, only to discover that it's been turned into some kind of lounge! The tables are gone, replaced with a carpet and couches. Basically, they set up the side rooms so that each designer gets their own little room with a table, sewing machine, etc., so they don't have to deal with each other. (Incidentally, this is the same setup that they use on "Ink Master," the reality TV competition for tattoo artists. Can you imagine being a volunteer subject for a tattoo competition?) Mondo is whining about hating his fabrics and not being inspired, and I am quickly becoming Over Him. Austin and Michael each try to reach out to him a little bit, but Mondo shuts them down, rather rudely. Mondo shuts himself into his room, which is the signal for Austin and Michael to start bitching about his behavior. Then there are shots of the two of them draping, draping, draping, and Mondo doing...nothing.<br />
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Georgina arrives for a check in (and obligatory plug--apparently Neiman Marcus is a very "nurturing" company). They're chatting a bit, and then Georgina observes Mondo's sullen demeanor and asks him what's up. He says that he doesn't like everyone telling him what he's capable of, and expecting so much of him. Georgina graciously doesn't smack the crap out of him, but instead acknowledges that she also shares this anxiety, and the twin anxiety that her process <i>requires</i> the breakdown and resurrection. The guys break for dinner in the restaurant of the Flatotel, and I can tell you that Austin is drinking a dirty martini. Yum! Mondo is STILL pissy, and leaves dinner early. Come on, show, this is getting tedious. Let's move on.<br />
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The next day, everyone is hard at work, and predictably, Mondo has turned the corner. Because the whole PR experience has made him crazy, he says, he needs therapy, and has named his collection "Therapy." Looks like he has some sketches, and is going to be ready for model casting. The three of them sit at a table and watch models walk, and seem to be enjoying themselves until Austin asks one of the models to wait while he gets a skirt for her to try on. Mondo seems infuriated by this, as though it is the height of rudeness, and maintains that Austin has been selfish and inconsiderate the whole season. I think Mondo's still being a pill--it seriously couldn't have taken that long for Austin to run to his room and grab a skirt, could it? And if it did, so what? Why not bring in the next model in the meantime? Basically, I don't know what Mondo's problem is. There are some battles over models that are solved with a flip of the coin, but somehow Mondo still seems to think Austin's getting everything (even when Mondo wins the coin toss!).<br />
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By day 3, Mondo's on a roll, and is making inkblot patterns on white fabric to form Rorshach-style imagery. He finally seems in a better mood, so he's happy when Isaac drops by the workroom to drop off CDs of the runway music. (There are 3 tracks, so here's another opportunity for them to fight with one another.) Isaac's really there to explain how to arrange a runway show, and it's much like writing a 5-paragraph essay: put your newest thing first and your grandest thing last. Michael says he's staying quiet and listening, because "you can't get this advice just on the street." I am swept away in a reverie of little would-be designers picking up all sorts of fashion misconceptions because they learned it on the street, and not from their parents. Heh.<br />
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Sure enough, there's a bit of bitching over the music choices, but it seems that Austin can't be bothered to get really het up about it. Then it's time for ragging on each other's collections! Mondo tells us that Austin's collection is "really...Austin." But I'm not sure that's a compliment. Austin tells Michael his pants are cool, but then tells us that Michael's clothes are impossible to wear if you're not a supermodel. This is true. We skip Michael bitching about Mondo's collection, but I'm going to assume it happened.<br />
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Next day (or later that night?) Angela arrives to deliver the now-traditional twist...which is halfway blown by the bumper to the next commercial, in which we see all the aufed designers back. So let me guess: the finalists will have to create a sixth garment with the change they find in the couch cushions, and they'll get to pick someone to help them.<br />
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Sure enough, they need one more look, and the fabric will come from the remnants of all their other challenges. OK, that's kind of fun. Michael's concerned because he hasn't used anything safari before this. And here come the past contestants! Mondo finds it uncomfortable, even though he gets first pick. He chooses Mila because he thinks her technical skill and work ethic are great. Austin goes next, and chooses "Her Serene Highness, the Princess Antoinetta." That's Anthony, for those of you following along at home--Austin feels they share a couture sensibility. Really? Michael is last to pick, and chooses "silver fox" April, who seems happy to "be his bitch for 24 hours." Why did no one pick Rami? That seems crazy.<br />
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Work montage! Talk of seams, cuts, darts and patterns. The room is quiet, and everyone bustles like little bees. Austin's sixth look is going to be a "leather tuxedo jumper" made with leftovers from the streetwear challenge. Michael's is from the flag challenge because he had lots of leftover white toga fabric. Mondo is using stuff from like four different challenges. Anthony feels pleased because Austin seems to be taking his advice. I love Anthony's personality, but I think his taste level is often suspect, so this concerns me.<br />
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Work, work, work. Fret, fret, fret. Tick, tick, tick goes the clock. There is pressure. Everything hinges on their looks. Each man wants to win. Time's up!<br />
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As I fast forward, my Tivo shows me that we only have seven minutes to go...there's no way this show is over at 10. Is the finale a two-parter?<br />
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Joanna comes in to usher out the 24-hour helpers and get a last check-in with our designers. She seems to be OK with Austin's, but not blown away. She likes the wit of Mondo's inkblots. She thinks Michael's work is clearly his, and clearly a unified collection. Joanna has kind of a terrifying smile (or perhaps some not-great side teeth?)...it's reminiscent of that moment in LOTR when Bilbo wants his ring back. Then it's on to the L'Oreal yada yada.<br />
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More inter-collection bitchery that I can't be bothered to recap, and then it's time for bed! They go back to their suite for wine and reflection. We get clips of all their good comments on the season's garments--Michael has fewer than the other two, but everybody gets some. And that's it! I guess we have to wait till next week to see the winner. Who will it be?Abbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18307375316946083851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2122019877166926354.post-60019797709993164322012-03-10T17:35:00.002-05:002012-03-10T17:35:47.688-05:00PR All-Stars: The Lost EpisodeOK, the episode isn't lost, so much as un-blogged, because my poor laptop expired after I accidentally doused it in Diet Coke. Frustrating, not only because I wrecked my computer, but because the challenge was actually GOOD this week! Designers had to work in Nanette Lapore's showroom to design a piece that would fit in her line, and that they could <i>sell</i>. Plus, they were held to real-world restrictions about the cost of making their garment, which was determined with the help of Nanette's "coster." Who knew that was a real job?<br />
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I wish we'd seen even more of that...right now, the coster would look at the designer's sketch, consider things like seams & arm holes in estimating the cost of labor, decide what they could sell the piece for, and then tell the designers things like, "We would charge $350 for this. You have $48 for fabric." Astounding! And much like making a book, the raw materials (whether fabric or paper & ink) are one of the more minor costs of production.<br />
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Anyway, short version is that everyone is exhausted, Mondo was having some sort of depressive episode, Michael and Austin talked smack about all the other designs, and Kenley was the president of the Kenley Fan Club, as always. In the end, Mondo's <a href="http://racked.com/archives/2012/03/09/project-runway-viewing-party-with-nanette-lepore.php" target="_blank">boxy patchwork shiftdress</a> won the day, Austin's lovely swing coat came in second, and when faced with Michael's unwearable-except-by-a-model jersey caftan vs. Kenley's awkwardly-sewn print and bad attitude, they decided to give Bettie Page the old heave-ho.<br />
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So we're off to the finals with Mondo, Austin and Michael. No word on what that will look like--presumably they're not showing at Fashion Week, so does that mean no home visit craziness? Guess we'll have to tune in to find out!<br />
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<br />Abbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18307375316946083851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2122019877166926354.post-52546981368869281562012-03-04T19:47:00.003-05:002012-03-04T19:48:12.230-05:00PR All Stars: Your Name in Lights!I'm back from sunny Florida, which was 90 degrees this weekend--alas, I didn't even have time to get in the hotel pool. But thanks to any Sleuthfest readers! You were gracious hosts.<br />
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Since my elite cadre of readers (hi, Mom!) have probably already watched & forgotten the show, I'm going to try to make this a quickie. (And we saw how well I did last week.) Anyway, the challenge this week is to make an avant-garde design incorporating lighting effects, for display on a blacklit (blacklighted? lit with blacklight?) runway. So basically, it'll be like a skinny Blue Man Group. Pharrell Williams will be the guest judge, and the winning designer's look will appear in a video.<br />
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Off they go to the lighting shop, which has all sorts of twisty, bendy light sticks in various colors and sizes. Michael's drawn to a string of white lights that look like mini-vanity lights, while Jerell likes magnetic LEDs and the fiber optic glowstrings you used to see at Spencer Gifts. (I used to love Spencer Gifts! So much glow! I don't think I fully understood the raunchier elements of their stock.) After some haggling, the designers bring their haul straight to Mood. (No light-up bow tie for Swatch? A missed opportunity.)<br />
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Michael bought pink taffeta for a coat, and also some stiff red felt, but he's nervous about working with that fabric. Mondo, wisely, is trying to test his fabric choices against the lights to see how the colors will work. Austin keeps talking about his "vision" for the challenge, which is a "Stardust" ballgown. He's getting so much coverage that I'm worried this is Austin's swan song. Jerell's picking out prints with bright white backgrounds, so the prints will pop under the blacklight. And that's it! Back to work.<br />
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At Parsons, the producers created a dark room so that the designers can check their glow work. OK, that's cool! Everyone starts pulling out their various light items to see them under the blacklight. Jerell is doing something "exaggerated and tribal"--are you surprised? Austin is trying to evoke the midnight sky. Kenley is making plaid out of neon tape on black fabric. Mondo is staring into space; apparently his fabric is not speaking to him today. Ooh, Kenley whines, "Do you like my plaid, Mondo?" Mondo walks by without looking and says, "I'm not the right person to ask." Bitchy!<br />
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Michael has doubts about his pink coat, and decides he needs to do something different...but then we see him wheel the pink coat (or dress? can't tell from this angle) into the darkroom. Mondo says, "Michael's playing '7 Minutes in Heaven'...by himself." Heh.<br />
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Non-PR Interlude: Wally just casually sidled up and tried to help himself to my shrimp fried rice. But Mama don't play that. Now he's sulking under the coffee table.<br />
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We're back. Michael now has a completely different dress on his form--it's black, fitted, and he's adding stripes of neon tape. Seems awfully close to Kenley, and I don't even like her! Isn't this the third week in a row where Michael has bailed on his first idea and just whipped up something that seems <i>very</i> close to the work of another designer? I hope they call him on this.<br />
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Critique time! Joanna has arrived, and I notice that she is clad all in black today. Someone was determined <i>not</i> to look goofy in the darkroom, I see. She starts with Kenley and tells her, "I am...excited about Pharrell Williams being the guest judge." I have never heard anything sound more insincere than that sentence uttered in that accent. Anyway, Kenley shows off the beginnings of her plaid, which uses pink and yellow glow tape as well as white fabric that she's cut squares out of so it looks like a very fat criss-cross overlay. Mondo is still in bitch mode, apparently, because in a talking head he says that he likes her plaid very much, but, "I mean...it's glow tape."<br />
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Jarell has nothing on his dress form yet except for a Lady Gaga-ish exaggerated peplum frame. Joanna seems optimistic, but doesn't have a ton to say. On to Austin--she seems to get his concept, but thinks it's not going to be edgy enough for Pharrell to put in a video. Austin acknowledges that his look is romantic, but points out that the look still needs to reflect his own aesthetic. Joanna tells him just to make sure that his look stands out, and Austin seems nonplussed. (As would I--you've just told him his look doesn't have the edgy feel of the rest of the room, Joanna, so it's already standing out, no?)<br />
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Joanna then pops her head into the darkroom to see Michael communing with his pink whatever-it-is. Looks like a dress to me, sleeveless with a deep V neck, but either the center seam's not done or he's designed it with a vertical peekaboo slit at belly height. Ah--as he shows Joanna his look (there's a hat with a hole in it for a ponytail), we see that the pink is a sleeveless maxicoat over the little black dress with the glowtape. But his glowtape is curving, and so it's all wrinkled and bunchy. (And it turns out that the blacklight emphasizes every little wrinkle.)<br />
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Finally, she stops in to see Mondo, who is thinking of a little jacket, but really has nothing to show yet except a couple of panels. Joanna urges him to "bring his Mondo-like focus" to the challenge. He does indeed seem to be shifting from "panicked" to "fashion laser." In a talking head, he revisits Kenley's design, which he thinks is cute, but is the same dress she always makes. (Since we saw Isaac warning Kenley about that in the previouslies, I assume it's going to come up again.)<br />
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Then there's a weird little aside right before the break: Austin takes a moment to Skype with his mom on camera, and she tells him that her house has gone into foreclosure. She's still cheering him on, but he's crying at the idea that his mother is essentially homeless. (I'm wondering why he couldn't help her out--this is his third Bravo show! He didn't send home any of that money?) We cut to commercial without resolution, and when we return, it's like it never happened. That did not feel like the right emotional note to hit there.<br />
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Kenley is weaving fairy lights in and out of her big structured white jacket-thing. Michael's dress has changed shape yet again, and now has exaggerated structure, shoulder loops, and "piping" in yellow tape. (It looks good, actually.) Mondo seems to still be flailing--it's a red, black and yellow fitted dress with a pronounced forward-poking bodice. Also, he's freaking out because his lights aren't working.<br />
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Heh. Michael's model looks like a ninja--his headdress covers her face, and she now has sleeves (well, arm coverings--long gloves?). Kenley's girl looks like Nicki Minaj. Austin's looks like Black Swan, but the lights don't work well--it's like he spiraled them around a Christmas tree. I thought he was going to stud the skirt with them! Bad call, Austin. I blame that distressing Skype call.<br />
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Time for the runway! First up is Mondo's look. Basically, his model looks like an extra from <i>Tron</i>. Short strapless dress, sweetheart neckline that juts out from the bust, and "Mississippi pearls" (that mini-vanity lighting) as piping on the sides. She also has a little hat with veil (eyescreen?) that looks like she has a glowing parrot on her head. As one does. It does have whimsy, but doesn't look all that challenging.<br />
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Jerell's look actually does read more "tribal" than I thought it would--the feathers and fiber optics look like the day-glow version of natural grasses. At the end of the runway, the model opens her mouth, and somehow it's glowing inside? I can't tell what that is. Her teeth? Did she have something in her mouth? The whole effect is a little Ke$ha, actually.<br />
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Kenley's plaid appears, and all the designers ooh and ahh. The dress is fabulous--the plaid stripes are beautiful, perfectly even, and they pop. The big white overcoat holds its structure, you see bits of pink fairy light, and the model has a pink neon Louise Brooks wig to top it off. The dress is definitely her same old A-line, though. But I like it.<br />
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Austin's "Starry Night" model is up next, and the cage skirt in black tulle holds its shape nicely. However, his lights are fluffy blue things (or nestled in tulle?) and begin at the model's chin, winding around her head and snaking down the dress in a way that isn't as appealing as it sounds. The overall effect is a little craft-y and amateur, but Austin loves it.<br />
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And dammit, I think Michael's look is pretty great, too. He calls it "ninja turtle," and he's not wrong! The exaggerated samurai shoulders have blue blinking lights inside them, and the model's wearing a balaclava with a neon blue high ponytail poking out the top. The dress is "seamed" in yellow glowtape to emphasize the lines, including stripes down the front of her tall boots. I think there's an obi-style bow at the back. She looks pretty badass, but Isaac is squinting as though in distaste.<br />
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Judging! Kenley is first, and tells Isaac she was working hard to push herself this week. Pharrell says it's one of his favorites, but he wishes she'd incorporated the fairy lights more fully than just weaving them on the coat. Isaac thinks it's "divine." He agrees that she changed her shape (because the big white coat/top alters her look). Georgina and Angela also love it.<br />
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Mondo points out that he made overlays for his lights, so that the fabric stripes seem to glow (a cool effect, but not something you could appreciate on my screen). Georgina calls it "Tron-esque," which means I was right! I am obviously a fashion genius. I kind of like the notion that the head of Marchesa went to see <i>Tron</i>. Isaac doesn't think the dress is avant-garde, although someone (Mondo? Pharrell?) says, "The boobs?" "The boobs are not avant-garde, do you think?" retorts Isaac. Apparently the boobs are reminiscent of Teletubbies? That's not explained for the non-Tubby fans among us.<br />
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Georgina loves the movement of Jerell's piece, but thinks it crosses the line from "avant-garde" to "tribal rave." They all like the fact that the model held one of the little lights in her mouth (which was what we saw at the end of the runway, mystery solved)--I'm glad I didn't know about that, because I would spent the runway show worried that she'd trip on one of her heels and choke to death. In general, they think Jerell had a good idea, but biffed it on the styling.<br />
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Austin explains his dress, and the judges get the idea quickly--they also like it more than I do, although Angela agrees with me that the lights could have been spread out over (and under) the skirt more. Isaac loves it, Georgina thinks it's romantic and enchanting, but wonders if it really pushed the challenge far enough. Even Pharrell likes it.<br />
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Michael's ninja look doesn't fare as well--Isaac loves the concept, but thinks it wasn't well-executed. The tape was sloppy, and he feels that the shoulder lights and belt, both of which blink, are too "noisy." (I assume he means busy, not actually loud.) He and Georgina both hate the bow at the back, because they feel it thickened the model's waist. Pharrell thinks it looks more Comicon than high fashion. (Wow, we're learning a lot this week--Georgina knows <i>Tron</i> and Pharrell knows Comicon!)<br />
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The designers are sent back to wait, and the judges confer--Austin/Kenley/Mondo are on top, Jerell/Michael on the bottom. Nothing comes up that we haven't heard already. When the designers come back, Mondo is quickly sent to safety. Then Pharrell tells Austin that he has won, and calls him a star! Aww, that's nice. I like the idea that he didn't have to be futuristic, even though I actually think that Kenley's design was better.<br />
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Angela tells Kenley that her design was "pretty incredible too" and sends her to safety. She doesn't look too disappointed to come in second. Time for Michael and Jerell to learn their final fate. And our eliminated designer is....Jerell! While I didn't hate this outfit, it's about time. He's way overstayed his welcome. Michael gets teary (as always) and scampers off the runway.<br />
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Jerell's more or less unfazed, saying that whatever happened, "I did Jerell." That you did, Jerell. That you did.<br />
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And that's the scoop! Just in time for me to watch The Amazing Race :). See you next week!<br />
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<br />Abbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18307375316946083851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2122019877166926354.post-30781664470463829692012-03-02T09:12:00.003-05:002012-03-02T09:12:45.967-05:00Failing the PR Time ChallengeI'm away at Sleuthfest, and thus missed last night's Project Runway! But my faithful Tivo has saved it, and I'll put up a belated blog on Sunday night. (For all six of you who were waiting with bated breath!)Abbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18307375316946083851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2122019877166926354.post-53976067667127253912012-02-23T22:39:00.003-05:002012-02-23T22:40:04.088-05:00PR All-Stars: O Say Can You Sew?Hello, PR fans! I am beat tonight, and still have to do a bunch of reading, so I'm going to try to keep things short and sweet. (Ha. Like I could stop running my mouth--er, fingers.) Here's a little blogging party game you can play at home: Gordon is currently sitting in the living room with me. How many minutes do you think he'll make it before he gives up on watching the show and runs away?<br />
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We start in the hotel, and Austin bitchily says that Kara deserved to stay more than Jerell or Mila (but not to their faces, of course). Nothing much comes of it, and soon the contestants are off to their next destination: the U.N.! We see the classic view of the black slab building ringed by the world flags, and then cut to what I think is the U.N. Peace Garden. Angela greets them, standing by a table of six flags chosen from each of the six major world regions: Chile, Greece, India, Jamaica, Papua New Guinea, and the Seychelles. Each designer must make a dress inspired by the colors of the flag, and the culture of the country.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLZ11f1Ap2jXOlmjgemfxkr7RhNqtRtXeE32QAqHPLSAXcthgu-4w5rYh_SWfkfIAUHokEjy3jNfkHn2PPJYicfwFGYlnUmaL_pUFgJKlxmp48VMe7D7Xp4iGy5BKk0DaTyIduKWaw4LZr/s1600/Greek+flag.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="138" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLZ11f1Ap2jXOlmjgemfxkr7RhNqtRtXeE32QAqHPLSAXcthgu-4w5rYh_SWfkfIAUHokEjy3jNfkHn2PPJYicfwFGYlnUmaL_pUFgJKlxmp48VMe7D7Xp4iGy5BKk0DaTyIduKWaw4LZr/s200/Greek+flag.gif" width="200" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQZQmX3piN8F1AchqAp7ErEOfxCNinB-ck5GYZpcuLx2ZI9TUvkVpVqRJYnrhZAYWNvcfJoA0i13AN4QLPJIWUkf6D_nrH_Vi9cW3zqir0Y0mxb8cMj6oW17cqrcdjwfpHSe49rjzcieMX/s1600/indiaflagbig.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="135" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQZQmX3piN8F1AchqAp7ErEOfxCNinB-ck5GYZpcuLx2ZI9TUvkVpVqRJYnrhZAYWNvcfJoA0i13AN4QLPJIWUkf6D_nrH_Vi9cW3zqir0Y0mxb8cMj6oW17cqrcdjwfpHSe49rjzcieMX/s200/indiaflagbig.gif" width="200" /></a> <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQa4ND2TJaPVSNh3PIhPL-pzXdmZj9Mioi-tqJQ1Z9NpbsaBc16Jly-MSfA_Ms2k-CcIcHARL0EZBIUje87p00cf4mGyrFuhUvPmcyqqUqKK6NW8c2o6tfRGixFOnGhps8_YqBDisQvt5U/s1600/papua-flag.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQa4ND2TJaPVSNh3PIhPL-pzXdmZj9Mioi-tqJQ1Z9NpbsaBc16Jly-MSfA_Ms2k-CcIcHARL0EZBIUje87p00cf4mGyrFuhUvPmcyqqUqKK6NW8c2o6tfRGixFOnGhps8_YqBDisQvt5U/s200/papua-flag.gif" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6jK-QYLj3UxEvucWpyXOyEat-nPmtbuQDR-xgrb_NO64m3IieN408cbYBKxWq_e_Hhv6Ru6jSw0quSP_LD7c8zH6wjjidf8z3Mip0o8WNW15-M7XhtKM87G4ItXkQ2_pkp3mPaAYe-AEF/s1600/seychelles-flag.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="135" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6jK-QYLj3UxEvucWpyXOyEat-nPmtbuQDR-xgrb_NO64m3IieN408cbYBKxWq_e_Hhv6Ru6jSw0quSP_LD7c8zH6wjjidf8z3Mip0o8WNW15-M7XhtKM87G4ItXkQ2_pkp3mPaAYe-AEF/s200/seychelles-flag.gif" width="200" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj38COzEoltH3mmcDqSxmLRjDUZP-U9knVAjHSci4pwaH86xQGkpRZyA_0qSAtgLoIFZIScd_4Mn-iOyx-CmPr7ZadV4v7Yu5J7heH3l1tW-b_gAZc0jorZx7fEe4gYWf6H32pNIsRJKaXU/s1600/chile-flag.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj38COzEoltH3mmcDqSxmLRjDUZP-U9knVAjHSci4pwaH86xQGkpRZyA_0qSAtgLoIFZIScd_4Mn-iOyx-CmPr7ZadV4v7Yu5J7heH3l1tW-b_gAZc0jorZx7fEe4gYWf6H32pNIsRJKaXU/s200/chile-flag.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp_MSyTtfbreh8xtUmjQXUts2N5cQdIlNoMgDK9qX1EewNgn_UmJMgtBHIIzFvpgqrDYdOEte5RwMpvpW7lbOzG16VnuHvqLsoLAewX7Q1PrjWL8na7qa5IbQ8cWrX6NUZyd8lH2Js7kwJ/s1600/jamaica-flag.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="135" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp_MSyTtfbreh8xtUmjQXUts2N5cQdIlNoMgDK9qX1EewNgn_UmJMgtBHIIzFvpgqrDYdOEte5RwMpvpW7lbOzG16VnuHvqLsoLAewX7Q1PrjWL8na7qa5IbQ8cWrX6NUZyd8lH2Js7kwJ/s200/jamaica-flag.gif" width="200" /></a>Mondo chooses Jamaica; Michael chooses Greece and shouts "Opa!"; Mila picks Papua New Guinea because of the colors; Jerell picks India for its embellished ethnic flair; Austin picks the Seychelles and makes a dumb lispy joke I won't transcribe; and Kenley is left with Chile, but says she's happy with it. Looks like the designers also get a binder with some information about their chosen country as well.<br />
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Mila says she'll be making a subtle nod to the Papuans' tribal dress, but keeping it runway. Michaels is designing a drapey one-shoulder toga-inspired dress. Austin is working with a lot of chiffon, and consulting with Kenley now that they're at Mood. Mila's all, "WTF?" since it's a competition. Austin gains a point in my estimation for describing Kenley's drive-by consult thusly: "Kenley flirts by and says, 'Yes, yes, yes!'" Heh. That's about right. And in case any of you were wondering, Kenley has found a polka-dot fabric. I know, you're shocked.<br />
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Mondo tells us that he must walk the line between ignoring the challenge and getting too costumey. Mila is once again insisting on her design's modernity and expressiveness, which leads me to believe the editors are setting her up to be axed tonight. Her design is typical Mila: asymmetrical hem, black/red colorblocking.<br />
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Time for the dinner break--the designers are stuffing their faces, and Kenley says through a mouthful of food that if she didn't get Austin "out of his zone," he'd still be in the workroom. Jerell (I think) mutters, "He <i>is</i> still in there." Cut to Austin, staring at his fabrics and having doubts about choosing the flag that looks like a parade float. Will he make it? Not until after the commercial break...<br />
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Jerell seems to have a black sheer base for his dress, with white and gold trim. The designers flip a little bit because they think Michael's done already. I must grudgingly admit that it's pretty--white pleated one-shoulder gown with silver trim that looks like a hammered metal belt, but used as a border at the neckline. Kenley says it's "very Marchesa," home of our esteemed judge Georgina--will that help or hurt at judging, I wonder?<br />
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Welcome, Joanna! In she pops to see what everyone's up to, and she starts with Mondo. He has nothing on his mannequin but some planning tape (whatever you call it), but describes his vision: a black jersey gown (sleeveless, I think) that looks plain in the front, but has colorblocked yellow and green chevrons going down the back like a fancy spinal column. (He doesn't say that last part.) Joanna asks him the question "that all designers hate: how do you wear a bra with that?" Great question, Joanna! Mondo smiles sheepishly and says, "You don't." Bad answer, Mondo! Joanna doesn't push him, though.<br />
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When Joanna gets to Jerell, she can see instantly that his inspiration is India, but tells him it looks like a national costume, not runway fashion. Jerell thinks that perhaps she just needs to hear his overall idea--but he doesn't tell us. Joanna seems unconvinced, but we don't get any further than that.<br />
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On to Michael--he tells Joanna that his mom's Greek, which is why he wanted this country. (For some reason I thought Michael was Roma? I've been reading the wrong message boards, I guess.) Joanna loves the simple, elegant fall of the front pleating, and then Michael spins the dress form around to show the back--which plunges to ass-cleavage levels. Joanna snips, "Another dress that you can't wear a bra with. You designers just like to torture us." But she's not too upset, because she knows that her magazine would never shoot a model who weighed enough to require a bra. However, she does warn Michael to make sure his look is ambitious enough for the judges.<br />
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On to Austin, who seems, for the moment, to have worked through his crisis of confidence. He also seems to have pared the dress colors back to blue, yellow and white. He's doing a skirt with layered panels of chiffon in a sunburst fashion--Mondo pooh-poohs this in a talking head--and Joanna is happy to hear that Austin's model <i>will</i> be wearing a bra.<br />
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Mila is basically making a half-and-half dress. You know those performers in the subway who dress in a tux on one side and a ballgown on the other, so they look like a dancing couple? That's what this is. One half is a short, fitted LBD with a white belt, the other is a long, flowy red caftan. Joanna's only comment is that finally, she's seeing a dress with which a woman could wear underwear. Um, yay?<br />
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Finally, Kenley. Her blouse is a white fabric with navy hearts on it (not polka dots, but close enough), and she shows Joanna the red-and-white striped fabric she plans for the bottom. Joanna doesn't think she's leaving her comfort zone, or that this will stand out enough. Mila thinks it's the same thing Kenley always does. I think it looks like something a square dancer would wear on the 4th of July. But Kenley doesn't give a crap what any of us think, says Mondo (and he's right). "Why is she still here? <i>Why</i> is she still here?" he asks, crying to the mountaintop. Why, indeed, Mondo. Why, indeed.<br />
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The models come in for a fitting, but we don't see much of it. Everyone seems content. No one is weeping. At the end of the day, however, there is still much work to be done. As always.<br />
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NPRI (Non-PR Interlude)! Does the commercial for <i>The Lorax</i> look as bad to you as it does to me? It's an abomination! Creepy animation, obnoxious voice acting, and none of the quiet charm of the book. I hope the director is carried off by Sneetches.<br />
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The next morning, the designers are varying degrees of scared and confident. Jerell longs for a yard of elastic; Mondo thinks he might not finish; Mila knows her fit must be impeccable. All of them say catty things about each others' designs: Michael hates Austin's, Mondo hates Michael's, Austin hates Jerell's. Jerell is psyched to have found a bindi-style headband on the accessory wall (run, don't walk to your nearest Neiman's, ladies!), but his model still looks costumey, I say.<br />
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As they head out to the runway, I give my initial ratings based on the glimpses we've seen: in the top, Mondo and Michael (I know, shocker). On the bottom, Austin and Jerell. Kenley's in the middle, and probably safe, but I never saw her skirt. My guess--Austin might actually go home for this. His dress isn't great.<br />
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Angela joins us for the runway show, and her hair and makeup are both overdone. Maybe she's going somewhere more exciting after? "As has been said, one day you're in, and the next you're out. And that's never been more true than on PR All-Stars." Um, really? Isn't it only exactly as true for All-Stars as it has been for every iteration of Project Runway? That line makes no sense. Go comb your hair, Angela.<br />
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The guest judge today is Secretary-General of the U.N., Ban-Ki Moon. ...No, of course not--but that would be awesome, wouldn't it? It's actually Catherine Malandrino. We've seen her on this show before, but she's here tonight because she's apparently best known for her take on the American flag. She is? OK.<br />
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Jerell goes first, and says of his model, "I can't believe how <i>Indian</i> she looks!" It's true--she's festooned like one of those decorated Indian trucks (which I learned about on <i>The Amazing Race</i>).<br />
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Anyway, she has a black-and-gold bustier with a short skirt also trimmed in gold (and red?); neckline and sleeves have sheer black fabric, and there's a white ribbon with gold edging running across the shoulders and down the sleeve. hung from one shoulder is a mass of draped green chiffon-ish fabrick, tucked into the bustier belt and flowing into a long overskirt. The line between "India" and "hot mess" has been sorely blurred here.<br />
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Kenley's up next, and her model's dress is primarily the heart-print fabric, but there's a diagonal swath of ruffled skirt done in the red and white stripes. The navy heart part is super-fitted, with a high neck and long sleeves, but the skirt just barely makes it past the model's butt. Also, when Kenley's model turns to walk back up the runway, you can see that the dress's collar is completely uneven in the back, like she set in the zipper wrong.<br />
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Oh, Austin. His model appears, and the dress looks both ordinary and a bit tacky. The line is nothing new--toga-ish gathers at both shoulders with a plunging V neck, flowy chiffon all the way to the floor--but the colors are aqua and canary yellow, and it just looks cheap. Even Austin admits that the draping's not great (he discovered in the workroom that the dress was a little too short), but insists that his model is gorgeous, like a "breath of sea air." I dunno, I'm smelling dead fish.<br />
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Mondo's turn--his model, from the front, is reminiscent of that navy dress Hilary Swank wore to the Oscars a few years ago. The black jersey is super-fitted, with long sleeves and only a small, high, V neck. (I think that was a mistake--he should have made it a crew neck.) As she approaches the end of the runway, you can see that the back is cutaway so much that it creeps round the side and gives a hint of naked ribs (eek!). But when she turns, the back really is striking. The dress is backless except for a broad stripe of those green and yellow chevrons with black edging--feels almost Mondrian. Very striking.<br />
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Our next dress is Mila's (you knew Michael was going to close the show, didn't you?), and I have to say...I don't get it. It really does look like two dress halves sewn together. The LBD ditched the white belt somewhere along the way, and the red caftan seems to be a trifle more fitted, and has acquired yellow piping. I guess it's well-fitted, but I...don't understand.<br />
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Finally, Michael's goddess gown. The white fabric moves beautifully when the model walks, but Michael's added a big blue and white bow to the shoulder, and I think it's overpowering. The real problem, however, starts when she turns around. It's clear the dress is a little too loose on the sides/lower back, and even Michael admits that the gown is cut too low. Let's just say there's no way that model is wearing underwear. Georgina looks balefully at it as it goes back up the runway. Half-nekkid models are Not Cool, yo!<br />
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No need for tops and bottoms this week, as there are only six people left. It does make me realize that in my early rankings, I completely forgot about Mila! I'd say that probably means she's in the bottom, huh?<br />
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Kenley is the first to introduce her garment, and Georgina likes its youthful energy. Catherine also enjoys it (I think--her accent is strong) and Isaac also finds its spirit charming. However, he warns Kenley not to do another dress like it, because "you do it again and again." Jerell tells us that he loves India's unabashed ethnic fashion, and Angela loves his model's white stripe. Isaac likes the concept, but thinks it was sloppily done, which is a problem. Catherine loves the bustier dress, but feels it's obscured by the so-so draping; Georgina tells Jerell he needed to edit, because there's too much going on. From your lips, Georgina, but I don't think "editing" is in Jerell's vocabulary.<br />
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Oh, snap! Michael presents his dress, and Georgina says that she's on the fence, because "it's screaming beauty pageant to me." Mondo made that same point two or three times in earlier interviews, so I'm sure he's smirking right now. Angela also hated the bow, and Isaac thinks it looks carelessly stuck on. (I think I'm 0 for 3 right now!)<br />
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Austin sounds kind of depressed and listless as he starts presenting his dress, like he expects them to hate it. Georgina says it's a pretty dress, and a pretty silhouette, but the colors aren't truly those of the flag. (Really? That seems petty, given that they were also told to be inspired by the culture, which in the Seychelles revolves around their crystal blue seas.) Isaac notes the sloppy finishing on the bodice, which Austin cops to. Georgina is hammering at the colors still, Catherine says nothing, and Angela damns it with faint praise: "It's not the worst dress I've seen on PR All Stars." Um, thanks?<br />
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On to Mondo--he wanted something slinky and sexy but also simple and relaxed, which was how the Jamaican people were described in his dossier. Catherine loves the dress, but finds the hair disturbing. She's right--I didn't mention it above, but the model is wearing fake dreads all bound up in a black head wrap. It's heavy and overpowering, and a little racially sketchy to boot. Isaac loved the jersey, but says his least favorite part was the green and yellow back. But that's the whole point of the dress! And if he hadn't included it, you'd have yelled at him for not using the colors in the flag! I reject you, Isaac.<br />
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Mila explains to the judges what the Papua New Guinea flag looks like, and Georgina likes how she could immediately tell the dress was Mila's. Isaac says it reads as Russian, Communist. Well, Mila in general tends to read that way, no? Angela doesn't like the disparity between the halves--Isaac agrees that it's disturbing to look at, but acknowledges that it's intentional. And now, away with you, designers!<br />
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I'm too tired to review judges' comments--you'll just have to be surprised at the reveal :). When the designers come back, they aren't split into top and bottom. right away. Michael is called first, and told that he's safe. Off he goes. Then Mondo and Kenley are called out, obviously the top two. The winner is...Mondo! Yay! Good for him; I think it was definitely the best dress out there. Kenley, obviously, is the runner-up, and thus safe, but she got nailed for doing the same shape over and over.<br />
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Austin is quickly released from his torture in the bottom three, and told that he is safe. He survived on his past body of work, though. So it's down to Jerell and Mila--surely we finally have to get rid of Jerell and his taste issues, no? NO! I can't believe it--they kept him <i>again</i> and poor Mila has been axed. I mean, the two of them were pretty clearly the next two to go, but still, over Jerell? Come on. Anyway, Mila's down but not out, and hopes to show at this year's fashion week.<br />
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And that's the show! We seem to have moved into the reunion special right away, hosted by Isaac and Joanna. Oh, it's "After the Runway," Lifetime's ripoff of "Watch What Happens Live." That's beyond my recapping skills, I fear, and I still have a manuscript to read. Goodnight, PR diehards! Stay fashionable!Abbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18307375316946083851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2122019877166926354.post-35530304585673268702012-02-16T22:48:00.001-05:002012-02-16T22:49:24.921-05:00PR All-Stars: Puttin' on the GlitzHello, PR fans! Don't know about you, but I'm still stinging from last week's results, and the generally disappointing judging over the last few episodes. Tonight's challenge is to create an outfit for the revival of <i>Godspell</i>. Now, I have a soft spot in my heart for this musical--along with <i>Joseph & the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat </i>and <i>Jesus Christ Superstar</i>, it pretty much comprised my religious education. But that said, is there anyone who hears "Godspell" and thinks "glamour"? I mostly just picture mimes.<br />
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We open on Columbus Circle's Flatotel, where Austin is doing Kenley's hair, and all the contestants are reeling from Rami's dismissal. Then off they dash to Times Square (ish--Circle in the Square Theatre on 50th) to get their challenge. I think I saw <i>The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee</i> here. Angela is waiting for them, and introduces their guest judge, the composer of <i>Godspell</i> (among many others), Stephen Schwartz. Now, that is definitely high-powered in the theatrical realm, but for fashion? I remain skeptical. But the contestants seem delighted, especially when they learn that the winner will have their look featured in the show, and they'll get a bio in the program. I wish to stop here and point out that Kenley's hair is apparently still up in rollers, because her head looks enormous and she's wrapped it in a giant scarf. Not the done thing, Kenley!<br />
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Ah, and here is the "glitz"--the actress they're designing for is playing a wealthy, ostentatious woman who has stolen her riches from others. (I'm scrambling to think of which song this goes with...maybe "All For the Best"?) Then I get confused because the director starts explaining that the whole cast should look as though they've assembled their own costumes from their own closets, or thrifting, or whatever. So...she's supposed to look like she's made her own costume of Rich Woman? Incidentally, the stills from the show indicate that a copious amount of confetti is involved in the production. Ah--the challenge is also that Rich Woman will have her costume assembled onstage by the other actors...so the designers must do separates, and they have $200 and one day.<br />
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Austin gets a little Kurt Hummel, swooning about the aura of the theater as the designers sit in the audience and sketch on their product-placed HP pads. Then they all traipse off to Mood. Where is Swatch? Does Swatch only come out for Tim? I don't blame him. Kara is doing something with fake fur, Mondo's mixing patterns, and no one seems to have money problems. (Guess no one uses the patented Anya BraWallet.)<br />
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Back at the workshop, Kenley tells us she's doing a fitted brocade jacket in a white and scarlet, which will tie all of her separates together. Jerell is doing a silver lame coat with a peplum, which sounds like it might be similar to Kenley's shape? Will we have JacketGate II? Kara hopes that the judges will appreciate her clean lines and simple, chic aesthetic. While I agree those are excellent things in real-world fashion, when they just told you that this challenge requires a look that is at once ostentatious and thrifted, I think someone wasn't paying attention.<br />
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Kenley and Kara are getting giddy and silly (Kenley's hair is now out of the rollers and super-bouffant, by the way), and Mila is rolling her eyes at their lovefest. Can't say that I blame her. And this week, the smart designers are snagging their Neiman-Marcus accessories pronto. Time for Joanna! She arrives and professes excitement (though none of her face moves to indicate that). Starting with Austin, she listens to his Marie Antoinette-inspired rococo vision and says, "I love it because it's something that could be hideous or could be fabulous." Austin is pleased that she gets it...until she continues: "Right now it's hideous, but you're going to turn it into something fabulous. Aren't you, Austin?" Gulp!<br />
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Kara shows Joanna her cute, simple v-neck blouse with "pussycat bow" and red high-waisted maxi skirt. Joanna is unimpressed and tells her she's not being ambitious enough for an All-Star. Kara gets that, "Oh, crap" look on her face and then cut to...a weeping Kara in confessional. But that's enough for Joanna, and on she goes to Mila.<br />
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Mila has a sheer, gold-striped fabric, and then shows Joanna some white fur and says she's doing "a little chubby." I don't have a clue what that is. A stole? A capelet? It sounds offensive. There's also a loud green-and-yellow fabric for the skirt--Joanna suggests that Mila scrap her plan for a dirndl-type skirt and do the traditional Mila pencil skirt to suggest the character's power. I thought at first that Mila was going to point out that a dirndl might be easier for the actress to put on onstage, but neither of them seem to care about that. Also, I have just learned that a dirndl is not a wrap skirt, as I had long thought, but a full skirt with a gathered waistband. Educational!<br />
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And then, shock of all shocks, Joanna confesses a secret to Mondo: she was once in <i>Godspell</i> herself! Not, she hastens to add, a professional production. She obviously can sense that Mondo is a "safe space" for such shameful revelations. Mondo has chosen an interesting pattern in a sort of copper/blue/black iridescent fabric, and Joanna loves it up close, but worries that from a distance it won't look as good. Here's another place where I wish they'd think more about the theatricality of the stage--will that fabric look amazing under stage lights, or completely washed out? I've no idea. Mondo has another gold fabric that he'll use for collar and sleeves, so he should be OK.<br />
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Jerell's silver lame fabric is also quilted--or ruched, or puckered, or something--it has a texture, basically. He's trimmed it in black lace and some sort of black pointy-looking stuff, and he shows Joanna that the fabric has stretch in it so the actress can move. Jerell seems to be hinging his whole look on the jacket, which seems a little risky to me, but Joanna seems unfazed.<br />
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As Joanna approaches Kenley, she says, "I'm shocked! Is this the first week we have not had polka dots?" Indeed it is. Kenley's red and white fabric seems to meet with Joanna's measured approval, and then we see some white feather trim, that look like she skinned a Westie and is wearing it as a scarf. Underneath is an aqua floral print that has some red in it to connect with the coat--I don't understand how it works together, but I think that must just be above my fashion pay grade. Kenley does explain that she really wanted it to feel over the top, as though someone had chosen "signature thrift store pieces," and it does give off that vibe.<br />
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So the only person we didn't see was Michael? I don't think we showed him, but everyone else got a full interview. Weird. Kara is losing her shit, and Michael comes over to shove her and say "Why are you crying?" before giving her a hug. I miss Zulema, who in her own season didn't hesitate to tell Kara, "You can cry, but just cut and cry."<br />
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Model time! We get a look at Michael's design, a backless halter with a pouffy green, almost tutu-like skirt. Definitely looks like New Money (which is pretty much Michael's aesthetic on a good day), but I'm wondering about the backless thing--this poor actress won't exactly be going braless (or topless) onstage, will she? How will she put that on and dance in it? Mondo dresses his model and hates his look--I think the jacket is cool (but a little Fu Manchu), but the print of the long skirt with it doesn't make sense to me, and Mondo himself thinks the look is "heavy and overthought." He's slipping into a funk after last week's rejection of his Mama tribute look, and Kara tries to cheer him.<br />
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The next day, Mondo seems restored--apparently he hit bottom and is climbing his way back up. Mila is trimming her fake fur "chubby" and muttering, "Mila's Grooming Services...". It's the first time she's worked with faux fur (I know! Can you believe it? Mila's aesthetic usually screams faux fur), and she doesn't really like it. There's so much shedded hair that I think I'm having an allergy attack here on the couch. Kara, in a talking head, says that she doesn't think Mila's look is her best work, and says, "She's using fur, which she thinks is so fabulous, but it's not even real." Um...is YOUR fur real? I assumed that real fur doesn't come on a roll--and also that Lifetime wouldn't show real fur on TV, for fear of PETA recrimination. Austin pitches a fit about the sewing machines, and everyone else is just like, "Slow your roll, dude." It comes to nothing.<br />
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Hair and makeup! Running! Shoes! Sewing! Everyone is dressed, everyone is happy, everyone thinks all their competitors' work is crap. You know, the usual. To the runway! The previews show us that after the commercial, we'll see the promised Isaac Mizrahi bitchiness to Austin: "Oh, did I say <i>starlet</i>?" Ugh. Fake fake fakity fake.<br />
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This week, Isaac is introduced as an expert in designing for Broadway. Is he? What show did he do? We also meet our guest judge, who is not the director or actor from <i>Godspell</i> (of course not, what could they possibly have to contribute to the proceedings?), but Tony winner Sutton Foster. My pal Shannon just went to see her in <i>Anything Goes</i>, but alas, on the night, the understudy was playing instead...perhaps it was because Sutton was here judging PR? We may never know.<br />
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The show begins with Michael's outfit. The kind of strange green he's chosen for the skirt is the same shade as Rami's Frankenshirt last week, but according to Joanna, that's very "on trend." I guess it's cute, sort of, but she's wearing a hat that aspires to be Philip Treacy but is landing closer to Carmen Miranda.<br />
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Kenley's coat looks good, and it does have a rich/thrift feel about it--Isaac gives it the stinkeye, but that could be for the aqua dress underneath? Didn't really get that part. Austin's look is next, and it's wacko. The hair is very Marie Antoinette, she has fuzzy arm warmers on her elbows (oh, turns out it's a fur shawl with sleeve-ish bits), and the silver brocade skirt is bunchy and has suspenders, over a thin black deep V blouse. And there are black leggings. Also a big hat. Sutton Foster's expression is priceless--her jaw hangs open and she is clearly baffled by this look. It is...not good. I'm starting to feel sympathy for Isaac Mizrahi.<br />
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Jerell's look is next, and it's shockingly tasteful coming from him. Has a definite older-lady-who-lunches vibe; although the jacket's not boucle, it looks like that jewel-necked collarless jacket that everyone was wearing a few years ago (Chanel, maybe?). There's a spray of black lace like an ascot, and a gray pleated skirt with an uneven hem, but I can't tell if the unevenness is deliberate. This might actually look TOO put together for the purposes of this challenge.<br />
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Kara's turn--her red maxi-skirt's been shortened to knee length, and Kara added a giant silver lame bow to belt the fur stole...but other than that, it's about the same. Sutton is scribbling madly and seems to like it. Either that, or she thinks it's hilarious. Mondo's model is next, and she has Dilbert hair--or more specifically, Pointy-Haired Boss hair. It's pretty hilarious. Mondo has ditched the weird underdress in the dark pattern and replaced it with a gauzy gold maxidress over a stiffer gold lame, so it evokes a salwar kameez a bit. The awesome jacket remains, and there are extra bronze-colored feathers at cuffs and shoulders for more zazz. Sutton seems charmed, but Isaac looks skeptical. I don't think we've had a single cut to Georgina through any of this. She must have a hell of a poker face.<br />
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Finally, it's Mila's turn, and her model looks like she got dressed in the dark. I don't understand any of it. The green skirt has a totally uneven hem (that is obviously deliberate, but looks accidental), the white fur bolero-ish jacket is too bright-white for the rest of the yellows--why didn't she choose a cream fur?--and the shoes are terribly clunky. Jerell had described this, bitchily, as "girl who can't get into da club," and I kind of have to agree. This is more "bridge & tunnel" than "mail-order bride."<br />
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Time for judging--Jerell is called out as safe, and that's it, because with only 7 designers left, almost everyone is either a top or a bottom. (Make your own lewd jokes here.) Jerell seems pleased to be safe, and not overly broken up that he's not in the top.<br />
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The judges begin with Michael's look. Georgina says that it's lovely, but perhaps not eccentric enough to be a character look--she felt that the headpiece was forced, and she would have preferred that energy in the body of the look. Sutton and Angela love the party girl vibe and the hint of bitchiness, and Isaac praises Michael's ability to handle the tricky green.<br />
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Kenley's next, and tells the judges her look was inspired by her time living in the East Village and the way people would throw crazy colors or prints or pieces together to make others look. Isaac gets the inspiration, but thinks she missed the mark a little with some of the styling. Georgina agrees that there's a little editing to be done, and it obscures the beauty of the coat's cut. Sutton doesn't get the patterns and thinks they're dulling the effect, not popping.<br />
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Georgina loves Austin's look! My bad, Austin. She sees the nod toward Antoinette, and thinks he's kept the look modern. Sutton loves the color and Angela loves the silhouette. Isaac also thinks it's "incredibly wonderful," so clearly I don't know what I'm talking about! But he thinks it reads a little too young, because the woman who can afford to buy this outfit wouldn't wear it. And of course, the Scarlett/Starlet thing comes to naught--it was all a joke.<br />
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Mila's up, and I get the feeling that she's definitely bottom 3, if not the loser, this week. Isaac likes Mila's separates...but not together. Sutton thinks it's crossing the line from wealthy into streetwalker--Mila went too much toward the "ostentation" side of the spectrum.<br />
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Mondo is telling us this whole made-up backstory for his model--the jacket was her dad's old smoking jacket, the other pieces are from her world travels, yada yada. Isaac loves the craziness and asks Mondo to remove the jacket so they can see the dress underneath--it's a total Anya dress (or Uli dress, for you long-term PRers) and very pretty. The judges ooh and aah. Georgina says something about length being Mondo's problem area, and I don't really get what she means, but it seems to be a minor fault.<br />
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Kara tells the judges that she was going to do this maxiskirt, but then reimagined her actress as "nasty" and switched to the pencil skirt. Angela loves the red, but hates the silver bow, which she says is bulky and takes away from the richness of the look. Isaac says that he thinks it's the best Kara has done, although it still needs development. Georgina loves the ideas, but thinks there are still little tweaks--an uneven skirt slit, a messy hem--that need finishing. Ooh, I think Mila's going home. She definitely got the worst critique.<br />
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So the top three are Michael, Mondo and Austin, and their critiques are as you'd expect. When the judges discuss the bottom three, they start with Mila's look, and Isaac can't contain himself: "This girl looks like she uses drugs." Heh. Yeah, she does. About Kara, Isaac says, "I thought it was her best challenge to date, but I didn't like it." Hmm, didn't hear him tell Kara that. They feel that Kenley heard the "vintage" part of the challenge but not the "rich," and so the whole thing didn't work. Time to call back the designers...<br />
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The first designer called safe is...Michael. Off he goes. The winner of the challenge is...Mondo! He is thrilled, Austin looks hella pissed. Guess Austin didn't see the editing like we did. The "back from a meltdown" edit always means winning! Austin is safe. Kenley is safe. So we're down to Kara and Mila...honestly, either of these two could stay or go, and I wouldn't care. I think they're the next two leaving, regardless. Mila's name is called first, and her expression says, "Shit, I'm going home." But no! She is safe, and Kara is going home. Well, that's as it should be...Kara hasn't really been remarkable this season, and I was fearing for her blood pressure this season. Backstage, Kenley is weeping like they're taking Kara to the gas chamber, rather than back home to her kid. I snark, but it's clear that all these designers care for each other and have really bonded, which is nice.<br />
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Next week, the challenge is delivered at the U.N., and Austin wears a French Legionnaire's hat to celebrate! Of course he does. See you on the runway, everybody!<br />
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<br />Abbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18307375316946083851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2122019877166926354.post-52964576993849260552012-02-09T23:22:00.000-05:002012-02-09T23:22:48.769-05:00PR All-Stars: Fashion Face-offHello, lovelies! Just spent a lovely evening drinking wine with my best girls, and now am BUI for sure (blogging under the influence!). Probably the best way to deal with TV recaps, actually. Well, at least we can be reasonably confident that no one will <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YeTJd7Z9UTg" target="_blank">fall off the stage</a> tonight, barring any model mishaps!<br />
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This week's challenge begins with Angela onstage, looking like she's gone on a mad shopping spree. She's festooned with eight tote bags, and each designer must choose one. Of course they all vie for the most fashionable version--there's an orange leather bag, a green-and-white striped one, and one that's all faux fur--but in the end, it doesn't matter. Inside the bags are luggage tags with a season written on them, and the designers are to design a look for someone planning a weekend getaway in the season they've been assigned. Angela does the math for us--4 seasons, 8 designers--to explain that the two people on each season will be facing off against one another.<br />
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Off to Mood! Jerell (winter) is doing a coat. Rami (autumn) says his woman is going wine tasting in a cardigan. Michael's sketch (winter) looks like a ninja crossed with Lara Croft. Mila (autumn) is doing a cape and a skinny jean. Rami says he's not scared. Mondo and Kenley are both summer, and Mondo in confessional is eye-rolling over Kenley's tendency to do the same thing every time. He finds it arrogant. I find Mondo a little arrogant, to be honest. Be more delightful, Mondo! Austin and Kara, by process of elimination, are spring--but we haven't seen their stuff yet. We do, however, see Austin's giant, blinged-out pincushion wristlet. In case you were looking for one. Rancor! Jealousy! Jerell sees that Michael is also doing a jacket (because, duh, it's winter) and feels that Michael has ripped off his own jacket's shape. There is some good natured ribbing with a bit of bite to it, but it doesn't come to much more than that.<br />
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Joanna arrives to see how the designers are doing. Kara's woman is a mother of two going to Palm Beach for a holiday, and she will be wearing a high-waisted culotte and what looks like a loose cardigan. (Why, what do <i>you</i> wear on your holidays to Palm Beach? I'd be lost without my high-waisted culotte.) Austin is also doing high-waisted pants, with a shell that has "origami" detailing. He and Kara don't accuse each other of copying the high-waisted pant.<br />
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When Joanna comes to Mondo, he tells her that his woman is inspired by his personal story--it's Mama Mondo's 60th birthday today (happy birthday, Mama Mondo!), so he's imagined what he (as model-girl) would wear to Mama's party. He has shorts in a black & white houndstooth and a chiffony fabric in black and white polka dots for the top. Joanna remarks on the fact that polka dots are sort of Kenley's signature vibe, and Mondo acknowledges that while "she is the polka dot queen, I am the polka dot princess." Fair enough. Kenley's design seems to be a romper--her fabric is pale blue with white polka dots. Cute-ish, but rather off-the-rack looking.<br />
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Mila is thrilled when Joanna approaches and notes that "these are Mila pants--I would know your pants anywhere." I'm not clear on what makes them Mila pants, except that they're gray. Rami has a royal blue wrap sweater, which he plans to put over a sort of olive-chartreuse jersey. Mila snarks about his color combo, and I'd be inclined to agree, but Joanna seems unfazed so I'm going to assume it works for Fashion.<br />
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Michael can't even find his sketch to show Joanna, although he has most of the coat on his mannequin already. It's in a heavy gray-and-black stripe, and looks cape-y. (That's a technical term.) Joanna looks over at Jerell, who is listening to this critique and sending his best passive-aggressive looks Joanna's way. She indulges him by asking about the ish, and he explains that he's bothered by the similarities in their looks. (At the moment, I think Jerell's looks better, for what it's worth.) Joanna sees an opportunity for Mentoring with a capital M and gathers everyone for a "team chat," like they do at Marie Claire "when tension arises."<br />
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Kenley is the first to say that she tried on Jerell's coat five minutes before Michael started working on his, and Rami says that they saw Jerell's first--but seems reluctant to really point the finger. Joanna points out that it's a competition, and maybe it's not a problem if you think you can do better by using someone else's idea. Somehow, despite the fact that nothing is resolved, everyone leaves reasonably happy.<br />
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Crunch time! Mila is concerned because she's never made a cape before. Seriously? The cape is the hard part? You just made skinny jeans. Isn't a cape just a blanket, basically? (Talk like that will incur the wrath of the fashion gods.) Austin has made a terrible choice in this week's confessional outfit--he's wearing a shiny scarf (Hermes or the like) like a badly-tied ascot, so it looks like a fancy bib.<br />
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Cut to the break room, where the designers are being fed spaghetti this evening. Mondo and Michael are dining and discussing CoatGate when Jerell comes in. Everyone gets hush hush until Mondo says, "Kind of feels like dinner at my folks' house." Michael, not catching his snap, says, "Spaghetti?" Mondo says, "Um, no..." and Jerell fills in, "Awkward?" Yes. And getting more so--Jerell starts out saying he doesn't want things to be awkward, but then pushes Michael to admit he stole the idea. Michael insists he came to it just by playing around with the fabric, and starts showing him with a napkin how he was folding stuff. Jerell snaps, "Well, clearly I know how it's made--I did it first!" Heh. There's some more scuffling before Michael storms off in a huff.<br />
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It's runway day, and the designers are scrambling. Mila's trimming her cape, Rami's shopping the accessory wall, Jerell's moved on from bitching about the coat to sneering about Michael's styling choices. Michael is shocked, but tells him, "Really,bitch? You wanna play like that, we can play like that."<br />
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OK, I'm taking a stand and saying for all the world to hear that I find the Truvia stevia commercials annoying. You heard it here first.<br />
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Runway! I wonder if they'll send the models down the runway together. (I'm not sure this runway is wide enough for that.) Our guest judge is Cynthia Rowley, whom I think we've seen in previous seasons. And whaddaya know, both models do come out together--but then one stands and waits while the other walks. We start with spring, and Austin's model goes first. She looks like a catalog model from Spiegel. Khaki pleated pants, pink cardigan, very Connecticut mom. Kara's is more appealing to me, and slouchier--wide leg wide pants, fuchsia top, gray swingy cardigan.<br />
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Kenley goes first for summer, and her model's romper looks a little tight in the rise, if you ask me. Top has a Peter Pan collar and little tie bow, so she's covered on top and nearly bare on the bottom. Mondo's is more interesting, with his mix of prints, but I don't really get the cut of the top. It's loose and broad, like a smock.<br />
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Rami is first for fall, and he's showing that bright blue sweater coat (with suede detailing) over the yellow-green turtleneck, with a skinny pant that has bright blue piping. Blue top feels kind of bulky and is gathered weirdly in the middle. Mila's actually looks good--the slim grey pant, a red shirt, and then a camel & black cape/poncho thing that moves well.<br />
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Finally, it's CoatGate! Jerell's model goes first, and the coat looks good. Grey herringbone with stripey trim. She's got a knit hat, a miniskirt and tights, and a dark turtleneck. She looks good, if not amazing or unique. Worlds better than last week, that's for sure. However, we're getting about a gazillion talking heads from Jerell insisting that his coat is obviously better, so I assume the editors are setting up the "surprise twist" when he goes home. Michael's coat and dress are the same fuzzy, stripey material, and his dress is belted at the waist.<br />
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Judging! They start with spring and summer, sending fall and winter backstage to wait. Cynthia likes how Austin's outfit is "so dorky it's almost cool," but Isaac feels that it's a little staid despite the skillful tailoring. Angela says it reminds her of "small town going to church" and Austin shudders. Basically, it's frumpy. Did Kara do better? Angela says it looks comfy and wearable, but Cynthia doesn't see anything original. Kara tries to insist that she didn't need to reinvent clothing for a challenge that was all about a weekend getaway, but Isaac's not having it. He seems to feel the oufit is only appropriate for running to the bodega, but Georgina likes it. In the end, Kara wins, but it was close.<br />
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Cynthia likes Kenley's simple, chic romper, as does Isaac. Georgina calls her out on her sloppy seaming, warning her that when using a dramatic print, you need to line up your polka dots. But in general, they all like her. Cynthia kind of hates Mondo's look--finds it too mixed up because the model's styled all '50s, but her top is '80s and the back is sloppy. Suffice it to say that Kenley won this round, and Mondo is practically in tears. Don't you judges know you're dissing his Mom?<br />
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Oh, jeez. They go back, and now everyone has to console a weeping Mondo, who's destroyed by the judges' reactions. He wanted the outfit to be a gift to his mother, and they trashed it. Dude, pull it together--you're not going home for this. Kenley tries to cheer him up by pointing out the mean things they said about Austin. Austin stares at his fingernails and seems to be very carefully Not Reacting.<br />
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On to fall--they start with Rami, and while they love the back of the coat (and seem to prefer it open and unbelted), they don't like his jersey. Isaac seems blinded by the color combo, while Cynthia takes exception to some of his seaming, pointing out that the strange angles make his model's boobs look lopsided. On to Mila--Georgina liked the pop of red and felt that it looked like Mila. The other judges agree, and found it stylish and classic. Mila wins.<br />
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Of course, we save Jerell and Michael for last (though it's convenient that they got winter). Georgina serves as the producers' mouthpiece and instantly asks what's up with the similar looks. Jerell starts out acting as though he's going to rise above, but does it so snidely that he comes off looking bitchy. Ill-played, Jerell. Michael denies any intentional copying, and then there's an abrupt edit that makes it sound as if no one really cared to pursue it further. Georgina loves Jerell's incorporation of bohemian patterns with a cleaner look. Isaac hates the buttons on the cardigan, but that's it. Cynthia loves it, too. Isaac loves Michael's coat, but calls him out for styling the model in tight leggings with a giant patent platform heel--says it's "nasty" and wishes Michael had put her in a boot. Cynthia thinks it's a great ensemble, but reads older than Jerell's girl. Basically, they all liked both outfits, but Jerell is the winner of this pairing, which should shut him up for now.<br />
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High score deliberation is about what you'd expect--feels like they'll give it to Kenley. I do think we caught a glimpse of Angela's distaste for Kara, though...she says that Kara "snuck her way into that high score just because Austin went a little nutso this time." Guess Angela's Team Pornstache! On the low scores, Cynthia hated every bit of Mondo's outfit, but Georgina says it's a good look. Rami disappointed people. Michael may be a better executer than designer. In the end, they have "reluctantly" made their decision.<br />
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And the winner is...Jerell! Mila and Kara were excused as safe, so Kenley is the runner up. Now that he's won, Jerell magnanimously wishes Michael luck as he leaves. (Of course, then he's snotty in another talking head, so whatever.) Michael and Mondo are deemed safe without much fanfare...so it's down to Austin and Rami? Noooooo! I think they are both in the top of this group, and there's no reason Kara should still be here over both of these men. Shenanigans! Shenanigans! And the loser is...Rami. While I agree that this outfit was worse on the day, I think these judges have discounted Rami repeatedly this season. I think he's definitely going home too soon. Sneef.<br />
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Rami accepts his defeat with equanimity, and Austin seems like he feels a bit bad for surviving at Rami's expense. They'll live to sew another day. And next week...Godspell! Lordy. (Literally.)<br />
<br />Abbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18307375316946083851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2122019877166926354.post-7844756373191788252012-02-02T22:17:00.003-05:002012-02-02T22:18:19.100-05:00PR All Stars: Whose Muse is Whose?<style>
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The designers are exposed to daylight, which doesn’t seem to
agree with all of them. Austin, naturally, is sporting a straw boater. I’m
amazed he’s not clad in a white flannel suit to go with it. Must have left his punting pole by the
Thames. Anyway, they’ve been trotted out to Central Park for some fresh air and
panhandling—though in this case, they don’t need money, they need a muse,
chosen from among the various people in the park. And of course, that’s not enough—they have to convince their
muse to give the designers their clothing! I don’t really like this
challenge—it stretches the designers’ skills, but I always become preoccupied
with how sad I’d be if one of my favorite outfits was chopped up into something
I didn’t like.</div>
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Anthony tells us in a talking head that although he’s often
dinged for his big personality, that will be the quality that puts him ahead in
this challenge. He’s right—I would
die if I had to approach strangers and convince them to give me their
outfits. “Excuse me, ma’am, would
you mind…oh, never mind, I’m sure you don’t want to. Sorry to bother you.” And
then I would <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">auf</i> myself and save
Heidi the time. (Sorry, Angela, you don’t have a good catchphrase, so I’m
casting Heidi in this scenario.)</div>
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Ha! Angela throws them a bone by saying that the budget is
$150, and the designers are allowed to use any portion of that to convince
their muse to cough up the threads. Of course, then they’ll have that much less
for Mood, so there’s some calculation at work. Rami observes that they’ll have a difficult time in New
York, because “we know that New Yorkers don’t take that shit very well.” Heh.</div>
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OK, I feel dumb. I thought they were all in Central Park,
but then the designers are released to find their muse and half of them wind up
at Union Square. Man, I am losing the tiny New York cred I managed to scrape
together! Montage of muse-hunting. Mila finds a guy, Anthony finds a woman
working at the greenmarket, Rami seems to be having bad luck. Montage of
freaked-out New Yorkers refusing to part with their clothes. Montage of all the
designers finding muses (sometimes more than one—Anthony, for example,
approaches a guy and shrieks, “Hello, hot white guy! I need the shorts right
off your back!” Hot White Guy obliges, and there is much squeeing among the
designers as he whips off his pants to reveal bikini briefs underneath. Anthony
is crowing about his victory, but Austin says, “Well <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">I</i> got his number.” Good for you, Austin! The designers snap
pictures of their chosen muses, exchange plain white t-shirts for the fun
clothes, and we’re off!</div>
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Cut to Mood, where many of the designers are having money
issues. Kara, in particular, is $3 short and the music playing suggests that
she may have to cut out a kidney and leave it on the counter. However, she’s saved when Michael,
Anthony and Kenley (I think) each chip in a dollar. Hooray! No illegal organ
sales must take place!</div>
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Back at the workroom, the designers settle down at their
various tables. Mila tells us that it’s challenging to cut a men’s jean down to
a model’s size 2. Jerell and Anthony are talking about stuff and emphasize that
the rules say that 50% of the outfit must be from the muse-clothing. Think
this’ll come up later? Michael is moping because he’s not feeling inspired—I
hope this isn’t to set up another Michael win. I grow bored with him. Mondo
does too, apparently, because he claims that the pressure of two wins in a row
is getting to Michael. I think that might be wishful thinking, but I guess
we’re meant to read this as an ongoing Michael/Mondo rivalry.</div>
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Next day! Anthony is less clear about his vision, while
Michael is more so. Gotta be about time for Joanna to visit, no? Lo and behold,
here she is! Joanna starts with Mondo, whom she says has “great street style”
and says that she thinks this could be his challenge (and points out that he
hasn’t won one yet). Jerell is next, and his outfit looks insane. Anthony calls
it “Coming to America,” and he’s not wrong—there’s a sort of Michael Jackson-y
shoulder piece with epaulets, a striped bikini top, and then maybe two skirts
in very different fabrics? Have no clue what’s going on there…it looks like my
laundry pile. (Er, not that I own a shoulder piece with epaulets.)</div>
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Austin is also rocking an epaulet, in a gray and black
military-style jacket. His muse was a little goth girl who had some cute stuff
on. Joanna is cautiously optimistic. She’s less so about Anthony, who seems to
have grabbed tons of disparate pieces and lacks a coherent vision yet.
Michael’s very subdued as he shows off his mannequin, which seems to have lace
shoulders (but big lace, sort of macramé) and a gauzy beige babydoll
bodice. But then I’m baffled,
because now I’m looking at a completely different bodice in a salmon color. I
don’t get it. Jerell is convinced
that he’s finally going to be in the top, but Austin thinks the look is
“tasteless.” Which muse will win?</div>
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Two hours to go! More work montage—quick glimpses of Kenley,
Kara, Mila, Mondo. All are confident. Anthony is struggling because the crazy
print blouse he got from Greenmarket Lady winds up looking kooky or frumpy
against everything he tried. Will he pull it out? Hmm, lots of underboob in
Jerell’s look. Michael’s outfit is not at all what he showed Joanna—it’s a…romper?
bathing suit? Leotard? Strapless sweetheart bodice attached to something that’s
shorter than a booty short. I have no idea what item of clothing that’s
supposed to be, or where one wears it. Maybe she’ll get a sarong, too?</div>
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Then…<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">scandale</i>!
Michael comes over to Mila in the sewing room and whispers that Kenley has just
finished Kara’s pants for her.
Michael, you little shit-stirrer! Notice that he doesn’t say anything to
Kenley or Kara himself…just wants to spread the gossip. Mila’s pissed, but
doesn’t get up. Michael stops by Mondo’s table and whispers coyly, “Did you
want me to finish this for you?” Mondo just laughs. Rrowr, Michael!
I assume this will come back and become a big fight on the runway.</div>
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Non-PR interlude: <i>Breaking Dawn</i> is coming out on DVD soon, and the commercial just makes me angry all over again about how bad that movie was. I definitely wasn't drunk enough for that viewing. Though part of me is tempted to get really wasted and then live-tweet Part II.</div>
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Runway time! Our judges return, and the guest today is Sean Avery, a hockey player who famously interned at <i>Vogue</i>. I'm not convinced he will have much to add to the discussion, but hey, maybe he'll surprise me. Without further ado, we begin.</div>
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Michael is first up, and his outfit is described as "lace top, knit shorts." Model looks cute, but it still looks like a bathing suit. Her butt is barely contained, and I'm not sure that's street-legal. Austin's model is next, and looks cute but kind of costumey. The outfit is gray and black with gold accents, and the military jacket is paired with a stiff flared skirt. Judges will either love it or think it's too gimmicky.</div>
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Kara's model is wearing high-waisted navy pants (that seem to fit great--thanks to Kenley?) and a one-shoulder top with a floral design. There's also a jacket, but I'm not clear on whether that's part of the muse clothing or not. The proportions of pant to bustier feel a little off to me. Mila's model looks...just like Mila! Seriously, I think she's worn this outfit on the show--skinny gray jeans with black colorblocking, a gray and white striped slouchy tee, and a black long vest. Model looks sloppy-cool, but I don't know that this will be considered "fashion forward."</div>
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Jerell's model comes out, and he thinks she looks amazing, but I think she looks like the love child of Bai Ling and Lady Gaga. Still don't get it. Rami, of whom we saw nothing in the workroom, did a cute beige short with pattered hem, a sleeveless blouse with a foldy, drapey ruffle down the front, and a sleeveless vest over that. Model looks very cute in a kind of Paula Abdul-in-the-80s way. Kenley's model is next, and looks cute in a striped, cap-sleeved cheongsam with splashes of red and yellow fabric on it. I honestly have no clue how she got that whole dress out of the striped top she took from her muse--wonder if she bought matching fabric at Mood? </div>
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Anthony's turn--and where's the crazy Greenmarket Lady print? Reduced to a tiny clutch the model is holding. I don't know where any of these clothes came from, but his model is wearing a jumpsuit that has a black top with a plunging V-neck, and red pants with a folded origamish detail at the waist/hip. She's also wearing a red turban. I think Anthony's going to have a hell of a time explaining how this outfit was "inspired" by his muse.</div>
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Mondo's model comes out, and she has the hair of Carol Kane. Her top is a jacket made out of jeans, but it doesn't look like a jean jacket. Model opens it as she walks the runway to reveal a striped bikini top that matches the high-waisted shorts she's wearing. It's cute, edgy, but I don't love the styling, which reads more "kooky" than "street" to me. But then, my own styling tends to read "I give up," so I shouldn't talk.</div>
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And that's the lot of them! Right away we line up the designers and pull out our "safe" crew--in this case, it happens to be all three of the remaining women. So Kara, Kenley and Mila celebrate girl power and skedaddle backstage. I don't think any of them were robbed--all three outfits were OK, but not remarkable. So of our remaining six, who are the top and who are the bottom? </div>
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We begin with Rami, who was inspired by menswear, and the judges all love his outfit. Not a lot to discuss, it seems. Michael's next, and Georgiana tells him, "If my daughter ever went out on the street in shorts that short, she would be put straight back through the front door." Good for you, Georgina! Those things are obscene. Angela thought it was a swimsuit, in fact. Isaac has issues with the fit of the bodice, and even the hockey player is uncomfortable with how bare she is.</div>
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Jerell? Ooh, Isaac is baffled and says the model looks like someone from "The Lion King." Here is where I tell you that I almost made a Lion King joke above, but then feared it was too hacky. The hockey player says that he wrote down, "Lady Gaga and Gwen Stefani at Burning Man on acid." Hmm...he's not that far off, actually. Guess he learned something at Vogue. Georgina loves some of the elements individually, but not together, and Isaac finds that the huge expanse of exposed stomach (from collarbone to hipbones, really) is "the opposite of sexy." Wah-wah....</div>
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Mondo's turn! He tells us that his muse was a woman named Grace, who contributed her dress, and his jacket is made of jeans from "a guy named Pedro." Heh. Thanks, Grace and Pedro! The judges love the look, and think the detailing on the jacket is terrific (there's a cutout on the back at the shoulder blades). Angela loves the model's hair, so what do I know? Georgina thinks the shorts are super-flattering, and Hockey says he could picture a lot of girls wearing it.</div>
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Anthony's outfit is well-received, though the judges do ask how much of his look was muse clothing. He tells us that everything from the waist-up, plus the bag, was from the street, but I don't think we saw him collecting it. The judges all love the look, but the judges aren't convinced that he really responded to the challenge because it's such a departure from Greenmarket Lady's look.</div>
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Georgina loves the proportions of Austin's outfit, but Hockey thinks the left shoulder details are a bit overdone. Isaac confuses me because he says the details are out of control, but that it's fabulous. So...yay?</div>
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Time for judging--and somehow, although Rami's look got nothing but compliments, now they're bitching about the model's fedora, which Hockey says "felt too forced." Oh, lighten up, dude, I thought it was cute. Though now that I think about it, that's why I was thinking Paula Abdul. Austin's look is charming and girly. Mondo has a great eye, but his looks don't offer a lot of ways for the wearer to make it her own. Is that a thing the designer is supposed to be worrying about?</div>
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Jerell's model was too naked and crazy-looking; Michael fell down in construction; Anthony was lazy because he didn't really use enough street fabric or represent his muse. He better not go home instead of Jerell!</div>
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Non-PR interlude: I struck up a conversation with a classmate at Zumba, and we discovered we both lived in Astoria. We took the train home together, and had a nice chat--I told her I was an editor, and it turns out she's trying to write a children's book (aren't they all). It was funny, though--when she suggested we ride back together, I had a sudden moment of "Eek! What if we only have two minutes of conversation and it's all awkward, or what if she expects us to do this every week and I don't like her?" I think I need to lighten up and get over myself.</div>
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Results! Rami is declared safe and sent back--poor Rami! I think he's been overlooked a couple of times now, but he always does good work. And the winner of the challenge is...Mondo! Well, not too surprising, as the editing seemed to be pulling for him, but it was a good look. And Austin is sent back to safety with compliments for his work. </div>
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And now for the losers...Jerell is declared <i>safe</i>? WTF? How on earth did that monstrosity get through? Anthony has a look like he knows they're booting him. They are! And Michael starts weeping, which I find a little drama queen-y. It's not about you, Michael! Anthony is gracious in defeat. Maybe Austin will give him Hot White Guy's phone number as a consolation prize. It's clear that the other designers love him, as there are clasped hands and lots of hugs for Anthony as he goes.</div>
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And we're done! Whew--this one felt speedy tonight. See you all next week!</div>Abbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18307375316946083851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2122019877166926354.post-66659975083202900582012-01-26T22:24:00.003-05:002012-01-26T22:24:48.128-05:00PR All-Stars: Good Taste Tastes GoodHello, PR fans! I type with weakened fingers, as I finally made it back to Zumba tonight and am now spent. Lifetime, be gentle with me. The title of this week's episode gives me some pause, given that last week we had Miss Piggy as our guest judge/client. Tonight are we going to see Charlie the Tuna?<br />
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No, but I'm not as far off as one might think. The designers' next challenge is to make an outfit inspired by the colors and flavors of gelato, and they've actually got some poor scoop jockey with a cart from "L'arte de Gelato." April points out that the board of flavor options is rather over the top, and she doesn't even know what some of these flavors are (notably, "Fruits of the Forest"). Michael is last week's winner, so he gets to pick first. He scampers over and chooses grapefruit, and is handed a tall skinny cone from the server. He's a little disappointed, because the ice cream is sort of pale blush-colored, not the ruby-red grapefruit color he'd hoped for.<br />
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Michael then chooses the next person to pick--Mondo. Mondo wants cantaloupe. Mila chooses "Milk and Sour Cherries." April chooses blueberry. Jerell chooses the infamous Fruits of the Forest, which turns out to be a rich red color. Kenley chooses passionfruit. Austin chooses Vanilla Madagascar (I have visions of a white gown with a Carmen Miranda hat). Anthony chooses green tea. Rami chooses kiwi, and last is Kara, who winds up with "chocolate with cayenne pepper." She's disappointed, but I don't think it's a bad pick--I'm not sure why she's so upset.<br />
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To follow the ice cream handout, the judges are even more excited to discover that their guest judge for this week is...Diane von Furstenburg! OK, that is a pretty great judge. DVF tells them the bad news--they only have 6 hours for the whole challenge. The designers' faces fall, and you can practically see their cones sag in sympathy.<br />
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Sketching time! They have 30 minutes, and they're all freaking out about how they'll manage to pull this off. Michael's sketch looks like a Halston-y kind of jumpsuit with big ruched sleeves (they kind of look like harem pants for your arms). Jerell's doing something with color-blocky lines, and Kenley says a bit sourly, "Well, I'm not gonna try anything new, not in six hours." Not like we've seen her try anything new yet this season, but whatever.<br />
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Oh! They don't have to lose time traveling to Mood, because they've set up a "mini-Mood" in the next door room. April's freaking because she wants black jersey, but there isn't any to be found, so she has to reinvent her idea. Kara explains that her creation must acknowledge the chocolate, but it's really not about the chocolate, it's about the flavor, so she's working with fiery colors. Mondo ran out of time before he bought all the fabric he wanted. "Shucks," says Mondo.<br />
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Michael's color looks pretty ugly on my TV--more peach than grapefruit, and it's sort of satiny. Michael's not worried at all about the time, because he has clients who need clothes done in 45 minutes. (Really? What kind of life does one need that requires made-to-order clothing but has only 45 minutes to do it in?)<br />
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Kenley and Austin are a little giddy, while Mila proudly shows Michael that she's not including any black in her dress today. She wants to show the judges the softer side of her aesthetic. And then--crisis! Michael has somehow mismeasured, and his fabric is now 8 inches too short on one side. Ruh-roh. Guess he doesn't have that much time after all.<br />
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Kara is racing back and forth to the sewing room, which introduces our sewing room footage. Everyone is worried, bobbins are breaking, cocktails are longed for. No fights, though. In general, this group of designers seems totally unconcerned with manufacturing drama. I wonder if that bums out the producers?<br />
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Joanna comes in, tells the designers to keep working, as this is the shortest challenge in PR history, and says that she's brought them all "a little snackeroo to keep you sugared up." She's holding the chocolate and cayenne gelato, so she starts with Kara. Kara shows her layers of sheer fabric, beginning in pale colors and descending to fiery red to evoke the cayenne. Joanna seems content, if not blown away.<br />
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April is next, and her gown is made of some really pretty deep purples and blues. April gets a pop quiz, poor thing: Joanna asks her, "With a deadline like this, what are the tricks of the trade?" April says, "Staying with what you're comfortable with." [sic] Then Joanna goes in for the kill: "How can you have a fashion moment if you're staying with what you're comfortable with?" Doh! April tries to say that she's working with color, but Joanna seems skeptical and points out some technical hem issues.<br />
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On to Mondo, whose fabric really does have cantaloupe colors--the body of the dress is bright orange, but the sleeves are pale green & cream. It's looking kind of Golden Girls to me, to be honest, but Joanna doesn't seem to think so. She talks to Mondo about how to accessorize, and they try some different belts.<br />
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Anthony shows his green tea bodice (lots of folds and pointy bits) to Joanna, who wants to hear his DVF pitch. He sounds well-spoken, yet says nothing of substance. That's all we get. On to Austin, and Joanna says, "Of course it would be vanilla with madagascar for you." He shows her a bit of draping, and she warns him, "Don't channel the wedding, channel the fabulousness." Words to live by for all of us, really.<br />
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Rami's piece will have a wrap skirt, and Joanna accuses him jokingly of sucking up to DVF, since she's queen of the wrap dress. I'm more concerned that he seems to be working with three different and uncomplimentary tones of green. Moving on to Mila, I notice that Joanna seems to have stopped delivering ice cream. She seems to think that Mila's piece isn't going to wow the judges enough. It doesn't look like much on the mannequin right now, it's true.<br />
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Over to Michael, who is asked, "Now, what <i>is</i> this shade of pink?" She's not in love with it, but simply warns Michael to be sure it pops because the color's so pale. She also says that he's the envy of all the other designers because he works so quickly. Austin is hot-gluing his trim onto his dress, and tells us in confessional that he's ashamed. With only six hours, I'd be more worried that the glue won't dry in time!<br />
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Kenley loves her print and says it's very her--looks like a bright red/hot pink with chartreuse polka dots and a Peter Pan collar. Mila turns up her nose at it. She also thinks that Rami's look "is of questionable taste...garish." Well, Mila just knows everything today!<br />
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Anthony is throwing shade of his own, saying, "I love Mondo's caftan, but...it is a caftan. It is a dress that I designed when I was in college." Um, maybe you should win a challenge before getting so confident, Anthony. I will say, the glimpse of styling we get on Mondo's model suggests that he has figured out how to make it a Paris Hilton caftan and not a Rue McClanahan caftan.<br />
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Fashion crisis two! April's dress doesn't fit her model and she needs to add panels, but she doesn't have enough fabric. The solution to this dilemma is not addressed in this shot. Anthony changes his skirt from a pencil silhouette to a swishy A-line. It's a pale yellow, so I'm not sure how that says green tea. Mila has just now figured out that her dress is see-through. Sorry, model!<br />
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Austin comes in to find Kara at "his" sewing machine, and just stares at her pointedly. She looks up, quickly finishes what she was working on, and says "thank you" as she walks away. Now <i>that's</i> a Project Runway first! No screaming over "you stole my machine"? Astounding.<br />
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Fittings! Kenley's happy, Austin's sewing his poor girl into the dress because he doesn't have time to do a zipper, and Kara's sort of vaguely freaking out but not crying. Jerell tells us that he most admires Mondo's cantaloupe dress, which I agree is the best we've seen in both fully embodying the flavor and yet not looking costumey.<br />
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I'm always so impressed by how the designers just rip their fabric into pieces--is that a typical sewing thing? I mean, sometimes you see them use their pizza cutters, but sometimes it's just rrrrrrip! And yes they never seem worried about not being straight, or having raggedy edges, or anything. Any sewers who care to explain in the comments, be my guest!<br />
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Mondo and April are checking out the accessories wall, and Mondo says, "They have a lot of cute stuff today." Interesting--I didn't realize they changed out the accessories for each challenge. I assumed everything was there all season, so if you loved a pair of sandals or a handbag one week, you might seek it out again. More fun this way, for sure.<br />
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Hair and makeup! Neat bun, messy bun, braids into bun. Buns are apparently hot, hot, hot.<br />
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April's worried about how short her dress is (guess she stole her extra fabric from her skirt), but I don't see why she's not worried about the weird neckline that is jutting away from her model's chest. It's sort of a "Maleficent" cut, with the neck scooping up into twin exaggerated points. Do not like. Kara has figured out that her proportions aren't right--Jerell elaborates so I don't have to: "Her model is a rail, and she had her looking like a pregnant cupcake? That's not the business." Hear, hear. It's true--the tiered skirt starts right under the bust and she looks fat.<br />
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Uh-oh...the previews show everyone looking sad, and all the judges being disappointed. Maybe they didn't get any gelato?<br />
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Showtime! "Seems like I just saw you a few hours ago!" jokes Angela. She's still no Heidi. We meet our judges, Georgina, Isaac, DVF, and model Miranda Kerr, who will wear the winning look to an industry event. We start with Mondo, who thinks that his kimono styling will impress the judges because it's a departure for him. Next is Anthony's green tea dress--origami bodice with fluffy dull yellow skirt. It looks kind of tortured to me. Anthony's worried, too: "When Diane von Furstenburg likes something, she looks at the designer and kind of winks at them....Diane does not wink at me."<br />
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Kenley's passionfruit dress is next, and she's delighted with herself. It is a cute dress (the collar now has a floppy bow), but it looks very off-the-rack to me. Nothing special about the silhouette or the styling. Like, <i>I</i> could wear that dress.<br />
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Ooh, Rami. I love you, buddy, but I don't get this one. The skirt is a yellow-green satin, and the bodice has like three different fabrics--more of the satin, a green and black polka dot, and a minty green organza-looking fabric. The top greens have blue undertones that I think clash with the yellow-green of the skirt, and while the layers don't look bad, I think it's a bit bulky and awkward.<br />
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Mila managed to do something so you can't see through the dress--lined it all in red? It's cute, breezy, but not memorable. Jerell's is crazy! Strappy on top, short hemline in front swooping back to almost a train behind, it's done in a couple of rich berry prints that somehow work together. I don't like the strap details, because it looks like they've strapped down the model's boobs, but other than that, it's interesting. DVF loves it! The camera deliberately shows us her grin and the thumbs-up she shoots Jerell. He's psyched.<br />
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Oh, Kara. Kara, Kara, Kara. She's thrilled with the dress, and it's true that all the little tiers of fabric are fluttering like a sea creature on a coral reef. But the dress has a white bodice and more pale than fiery layers, so this doesn't say "chocolate and cayenne" very loudly. And as discussed, there's so much bulk beginning right under the model's breasts that she looks 7 months pregnant. Kara says, "I see DVF's eyes and she's definitely reacting to the dress." Um, yeah...I don't think that's a wink, though, babe.<br />
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Michael's turn! He, too, adores his creation and think she looks great. I think she looks like she's wearing a bathrobe that's too big for her. There's voluminous fabric everywhere, and I can't distinguish anything about the sleeve because it's getting lost in the skirt. The neckline plunges to her navel, and she's wearing a big blingy necklace. Do. Not. Get. It.<br />
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April's model looks cute but unremarkable coming down the runway--pretty color, fits decently--but as she turns around, I gasp a bit at the length of the skirt. Let's just say the model better not drop anything on the way backstage, because she won't be able to pick it up. Austin's dress comes next, and it's an off-white, gauzy creation that has a huge braided detail on the bodice creeping up over one shoulder. It's a little goddessy, and the dress itself is pretty, but I think the braid looks incredibly heavy and overworked, and it smothers the dress. Not feeling it.<br />
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Our callouts are: Austin, Rami, Jerell and Kenley. Turns out those four are safe, but neither top nor bottom. I was duped by the producers! I should have known they wouldn't show us Jerell's DVF wink if he was going to be in the top. This also gives me a chance to observe that Isaac is wearing red loafers (or maybe Moroccan slippers?) with no socks. Just sayin'.<br />
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They start with Kara, who gives a great pitch for her ugly dress. The judges all love her summary of how the dress shows the layers of flavor and ends with the pop of cayenne at the bottom, but in closeup I can see that her hems look raggedy. They all say that she has passion, but her dress doesn't. DVF calls out the unflattering profile--they all say "pregnant."<br />
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Anthony tells the judges that his dress was inspired by watching his ice cream melt, and Isaac says, "Before you explained your inspiration, I liked the dress much less." I think that's rather silly--this isn't high curation. Do you really think the dress has become more beautiful just because Anthony cites melted ice cream? Angela found it messy, and DVF likes the concept, but they all feel it was overworked in the bodice, especially in the back.<br />
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Mila's next, and Isaac loves it! Angela, too--the color blocks and the layers of sheer fabric really spoke to them as saying "cherry ice cream." DVF also likes the concept, but thinks it's a bit sloppy and the time restriction shows. Georgina recognizes the challenge of doing all the seaming in six hours, but dings Mila for choosing heavy accessories that weigh the look down.<br />
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Michael sucks up to DVF for a bit, but it's Isaac who jumps in first to say he loves the dress. Really? Why? They ALL love the dress and its draping. I don't get it. But none of them likes the color that much, although they basically give him a pass because that was the color of the ice cream. (It also looks much pinker here on the runway, and not as salmony as it did in the work room.) Diane gives Michael a heart attack by telling him, "I think it's a beautiful dress. Michael, you gotta call me after the show." Michael does his best "Taylor Swift surprise face" and the other designers laugh.<br />
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April explains her blueberry concept, and Georgina loves the layered purples, but she feels the corset was too ambitious for the time allowed. She says it's "all over the place," but I don't really understand what she means. It does look uneven. Isaac hates the styling, and says the back is "scary." Basically, they love the concept and think it was about half good, but half Halloween. They make her take the belt off and like it 100% more.<br />
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Mondo is next, if the editing is to be believed, but interestingly, April's model has her belt back on, so clearly he actually went before her. The magic of television! You'll be pleased to know that Mondo is wearing short shorts, as is his tradition on the runway. He shows off the cantaloupe-rind sleeves, and the judges adore it. Georgina is impressed that he somehow makes these two disparate fabrics work together, and Angela loves how it flatters the model's figure, but she doesn't like the bright orange. That's sort of a dumb critique when you gave him cantaloupe. Isaac is less head-over-heels because he doesn't think it's revealing enough, but then felt it was saved by the back, which is quite low and reveals a swath of bare back.<br />
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The judges powwow, but I'm going to skip that because honestly, I'm tired. But perhaps it's worth knowing that Isaac expresses particular doubt in Kara's future as an All-Star. Time for results! Mila is safe, but didn't win. Michael and Mondo are the top two, and the winner is...Michael! Ecch. I think that sucks. I thought Mondo's dress had a much higher degree of difficulty. Also, I clearly just don't care for Michael, even though he hasn't really done anything wrong this time. Angela tells Mondo that all of the women on the panel wanted to wear his dress, and they loved it, and Mondo's tight smile reads as "then why didn't I win, dammit?" But he is safe, and doesn't sound too disappointed in confessional. Anthony is in the bottom three, but is sent to safety without much fanfare.<br />
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It's down to April and Kara. April's construction was lacking, and Kara's dress lacked passion and her silhouette was too unflattering. But...Kara is still safe! She is shocked and relieved, and tells the judges that she does have passion. Now there are tears. April is also crying, and she is kindly dismissed by Angela. She tells us she's not going to give up, and reminds us that she's only 22. Oof. Yeah, kid, you'll be OK.<br />
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And that's it! Tune in next week to find the judges in the park, seeing muses among the passersby. Until then, keep your skirts short and your walks fierce! You are all the favorite accessories on my Neiman Marcus Wall of Love.Abbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18307375316946083851noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2122019877166926354.post-36088455689880576312012-01-19T22:53:00.001-05:002012-01-19T22:54:09.966-05:00PR All-Stars: Model MuppetsHello, all-star readers! While I'm enjoying the season thus far, I can't say that I'm particularly excited for tonight's episode, "Patterning for Piggy." Not only has the Muppet movie come and gone, but I don't care if these designers can design for a puppet. And I don't really need to see a talking ball of foam judge the dresses. But hey, maybe they'll surprise me. And it's certainly ripe for a Surprise Twist, in which the designers think they're making a dress inspired by Piggy, but then at the last minute ALSO have to make a matching dress FOR Piggy! (If it happens, you totally heard it here first.)<br />
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Angela comes out and does a coy intro to the challenge, telling the designers they're to design "a flamboyant cocktail dress for one of the most famous fashionistas in the world." She also tells them that this guest has had everyone from <a href="http://www.wmagazine.com/celebrities/2011/12/miss-piggy-obesssions" target="_blank">Burberry</a> to<a href="http://www.toughpigs.com/anthnewstuff11.htm" target="_blank"> Prada</a> design for her. Huh. I did not know that. Austin thinks it'll be Cher or Lady Gaga, but the designers all laugh, and a lot of them seem really psyched. The Muppets touched us all, I guess. We see a lot of Miss Piggy shots in various outfits, and there's one with straightened hair that kind of reminds me of Jill Zarin. Ah--"the winning designer's cocktail dress will be modified for Miss Piggy's figure." So they still get to build human-sized clothes, at least. (Good thing--you know how these designers all are about working with plus-sized models!)<br />
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In the workroom, Mila decides to go 60s Mod for Piggy, because it doesn't need to be costumey. Kenley tells us she loves Miss Piggy because she grew up watching the cartoon, and I immediately start grumbling that that isn't authentic Piggy. Muppet Show is where it's at! Statler & Waldorf 4eva! Let's go to Mood and walk it off.<br />
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Austin wants a hot pink fabric, but Gordana notes that a lot of other designers are grabbing black. I also observe that this time, the designers keep their own time...no Tim (or even Swatch!) to chivvy them along. With an "All right, Mood, Imma holla atcha!" from Anthony, we're off to the workroom to sew, sew, sew!<br />
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Gordana doesn't want to do structure, like the other designers are--she feels that her vision is more free-spirited and flowing, which is beautiful on a woman (or a pig, I guess). Mondo tells us that he thinks her dress is beautiful, quiet and soft, and doesn't fit the challenge requirement of "flamboyant." I'm thinking that all this working footage would be improved if they played the theme to the Muppet Show over the top. Here you go (here you go, here you go again...)!<br />
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Midway through, the designers start eyeballing the accessories wall and staking their claim to stuff. This leads to some scuffles and negotiations, and Kara and Mondo start to get into it over some pink elbow-length gloves before both of them do the dance of "Never mind, you can have them." "No, you can." "I don't care." Mondo says he didn't want to fight, and told Kara she could have them, but then claims to be pissed off in his talking head. Dude, stop being so passive-aggressive; if you told her she could have them, you don't get to be mad at her for believing you.<br />
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Non-PR Interlude: Tonight I did yoga with my Wii Fit Plus, and tried out the feature that puts the "Plus" in Wii Fit. Whereas with the original Fit, you had many yoga exercises but had to back in and out of the selection menu after each one, Fit Plus lets you build a whole routine and run them end to end. I put together 16 poses in a rough approximation of the routine my yoga class at NYSC does, and it totally worked! It was great, and I really liked being able to do 30 solid minutes of yoga rather than 10 blocks of 3 minutes a pop. For any of you who have the Fit and haven't touched it in a while, or those who've been thinking about getting one, I totally recommend Wii Fit Plus. [Wii is not a sponsor of this blog, and my opinion has not been paid for. If they'd like to, though, I'm totally open to that!]<br />
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We're back! Kara's wondering if she can "sex up" Miss Piggy, Mila's not entirely feeling this challenge, and then, the best exchange I've heard all season happens! I will render it as a script, so you can feel like you're right there with me.<br />
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ANTHONY (working on garment): Why is my zipper doing the snake?<br />
GORDANA (in her fab accent): Well, you were supposed to first take a seam down and then put the zipper in so that way it doesn't stretch while you're applying it.<br />
ANTHONY: Riiiiight, but now that we're past that, Gordana...<br />
GORDANA: You are shit out of luck.<br />
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Thank you, Lifetime. That almost makes up for no Tim.<br />
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Seems like the designers have a lot of wandering-around time this week. Jerell's bugging April, who's pleasant but ignoring him. Kenley's showing off her pink giraffe-print bodice in the sewing room, which gives Mila a chance in interview to roll her eyes at how "some people" are very needy "ALL the time." Fortunately, Joanna comes in to do the sniff 'n' sneer. (TM Top Chef--will have to find a fashiony equivalent, since she doesn't actually sniff the dresses.) She tells us enthusiastically that she things this is the best challenge in the history of PR, but as always, there is no feeling behind her eyes. I think Joanna Coles might be a cyborg.<br />
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We start with Gordana, who wanted a youthful look that would show off Piggy's great legs. Joanna warns her that it's looking a little nightgowny, and that Gordana's assertion that Piggy would be so comfortable in this dress (which does look a little like a peasant top at the moment) is not the utmost consideration. Joanna tells us that the people she shoots for <i>Marie Claire</i> will wear double Spanx (eek!), Saran Wrap, whatever it takes to squeeze into a dress--comfort is not important when dressing a "mega-celebrity" like Miss Piggy. It should be noted that Joanna throws her heart into this line. I retract my cyborg accusation...for now.<br />
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Mila's mod look is cute--it's a black shift with what looks like a sheer stripe about an inch up from the hem in a sort of colorblock manner. She tells Joanna she plans to add a headband, and Joanna reminds her of Piggy's ears, which Mila had forgotten. On to Kenley, whom Joanna asks, with a straight face, "How does a pig FEEL about wearing giraffe print?" Kenley tosses it right back and says, "Well, she loves wearing leopard." Joanna must concede the point.<br />
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Austin goes on a tear about how he and Miss Piggy are kindred spirits: their love of French phrases, their tendency to refer to themselves as "moi"...he tells Joanna about his big sculptural bow idea, and she warns him to steer clear of gift-wrapping. (Also, hasn't he done the big bow thing already this season? In the first week?)<br />
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Mondo is also channelling the 60s a little, because he remembers Miss Piggy from his own childhood and thus extrapolated that she was born in the 60s. OK, why not? Though I'm sure the Divine Miss P would say that she is timeless. Mondo's using a sort of pointilist print fabric in red/orange/purple that sort of looks like what would happen if you melted a package of Skittles. It has a shiny, almost plastic quality to it, but I can't tell if that's just an odd effect of lighting or not. Joanna just warns him to stay focused, because there's a lot of competition in the room. And that's all we see!<br />
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The models arrive for fittings, which means it's time for Bitchery! Mila has trouble with sleeves, Anthony thinks Michael's design is "amateur," Gordana says she feels confident but it sure does look like a nightgown on the model. Michael sneers that you could walk into a department store right now and pick up that dress. Mondo is in a slough of despond, and thinks his dress looks heavy and overwrought. Mila thinks Kara and Kenley have become co-dependent. I think that has the potential to be a seriously toxic combination, but so far it seems to be keeping them quiet. And no tears from Kara this week!<br />
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Non-PR Interlude: I'm determined to do more regular pleasure reading this year. Between work reading and my love of wayyyy too much TV, reading for fun often falls by the wayside until vacations roll around. Any recommendations for me? I'm thinking about P.D. James' <i>Death Comes to Pemberley</i>, because I'm a sucker for all things Jane Austen. (Heh--I misremembered that title as <i>The Road to Pemberley</i>, and it turns out there actually is such a book. It's an anthology of Austen-related stories by romance writers.)<br />
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Eat-sleep-mingle time! I like seeing this footage. The designers are wiped and giddy, and Anthony starts babbling about something he learned from Oprah. It's cute--they all seem to enjoy each other, and there's less of the ganging up that seems pervasive during some of the regular seasons.<br />
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Back the next day at the workroom, and everyone's scrambling. Austin is so behind that HIS SHIRT IS UNTUCKED. I know, madness. Michael doesn't care for Austin's outfit, and me thinks someone is stinging from his second place finish last week. Kara is looking for her accessories and can't find them...and now we see why we had to watch the Kara/Mondo spat from yesterday. Austin has taken all her accessories for himself! (Basically, there are only so many items on the accessory wall that are Pig-worthy.) Kara whines a bit and Austin whines back that there was no tag on them, but it looks as though they compromised--Kara got the pink gloves, Austin kept the studded shoes. (I find myself wondering why the models couldn't just trade off gloves & shoes during the show.) And then there's some more grousing because now Kara wants other shoes that Austin has? I dunno. Bored now.<br />
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Kenley's crowing about her dress, which she feels sure is the challenge winner. "I'm confident. I'm always confident!" Happily, her confidence seems undiminished by history. April smiles smugly in talking head form and observes, "It's a princess-seam dress in giraffe print...just like all her other princess-seam dresses...but in giraffe print." Ooh, snap. Maybe April and Anthony can be the new Statler & Waldorf?<br />
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Brief hair & makeup montage (Michael's model has some crazy hairpiece that looks a little like the Princess Bea wedding hat made out of hair), and then it's runway time! Austin (who is dressed as a gay caballero) sends us off: "It's time to put on makeup/It's time to light the lights/It's time to get things started/For Miss Piggy's dress tonight." OK, Austin, you win, you're the superfan! Miss Piggy is your spirit animal!<br />
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Non-PR Interlude: I had a terrible cold this weekend, and forgot to take my Zicam, so I was stuck with Cold-Eze (which work, but mean you have to taste the nasty zinc for hours after). My taste buds are still messed up. Of course, that might also be from the Mucinex cough syrup I bought. Please learn from my mistake and NEVER try this...it is truly the most disgusting thing I have ever tasted. I know cough syrup's not supposed to taste good, but usually it's just medicinal, and then you deal. But this...first of all, it's <i>blue</i>. You feel like you're drinking Ti-D-Bowl. Then, you pick up the cap (a dose is 20 ml, which is a lot!) and realize that it smells like the fakest blueberry flavoring OVER the medicine smell. At this point my tongue tried to beat a hasty retreat, but I screwed my courage to the sticking place and knocked it back. Yeeeeaaaggggh. I'm shuddering at the very memory. Please, save yourselves.<br />
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Time for runway! And at long last, Mademoiselle La Cochonne is with us! (That French is so bad as to be an international incident.) But we have no Isaac this week--instead, we get Eric Damon, costume designer for "Gossip Girl." Fair enough--those clothes are <i>crazy</i>. Miss Piggy tells us, "Kissy kissy, everyone!" and I notice that they're shooting her so as to eliminate the puppeteer from frame altogether. (I wonder if there's a big angry dude behind her thinking, "Dammit, the Elmo guy got his <a href="http://beingelmo.com/" target="_blank">big break</a>, what about me?")<br />
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It's time to start the show! First up is Michael. His dress is shimmery in a red/gold/black painterly sort of print, short, exposed zipper, with a big bow thing on one boob. (Her hairstyle evoked a similar shape.) Kind of looks like wrapping paper? I'm not feeling it. Next is April, who went back to basic black this week. The collar neck of the dress has black spiky feathers coming off it, and there's a triangular piece at the neckline in a gray and black polka dot. The skirt is swishy but short, almost French maid-ish.<br />
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Jerell's dress, which we've barely seen all night, has a two-level hem, is red with a small black polka dot pattern, black lace shoulders and a big beady thing in the middle. Looks kind of saloon-girl to me. I'm concerned about Jerell's taste level. Kara's model looks about twelve years old when she comes out, but it's a jailbait 12--the dress looks like woven leather, almost, but might be just a brown and black houndstooth? There's pink piping and a high midriff cutout, and the model got her pink gloves.<br />
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At last, Kenley's pink giraffe comes down the runway. It's cute and springy, but it really is a pretty simple silhouette, except that the strapless neckline is cut into a narrow, deep U that drops to below the model's boobs. (Neckline looks unevenly cut, if you ask me.) The model has a HUGE pouf of pink tulle on her head. Kenley is delighted...almost as delighted as Anthony is about his dress! "Wow, what a beautiful dress," he says of his own creation. The model's dress is black with sheer black stripes, and an explosion of blue/purple/black feathers crawling up the bodice and down the skirt. I'm making it sound worse than it is, but I don't think it's great. Oh, when the camera finally pulls back, we get a look at the skirt, though, which is very cute. Multilevels and multilayers, so that the different sheer stripes play off each other and give it a sort of waffly look.<br />
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Rami's dress makes me smile, it must be said. It's the sort of dress that would say "cheap floozy" in a romantic comedy--white fabric with hot pink and orange polka dots, in sort of a mermaid cut with ruffles at the knee and a kind of capelet ruffle effect over the shoulders. But to be honest, I could totally see Miss Piggy in it. Not sure which way the judges will go. This is a huge contrast to the next look, which is Mila's. I think this dress is adorable, but I don't know if it's enough look for Piggy, actually. It's a mod shift with a hint of A-line, and the sheer (or pale gray?) detail at the hem is echoed in striped sleeves. I could imagine a young woman wearing this, but not really our Muppet client.<br />
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Gordana's turn. Weirdly, I think both she and Joanna are right--it does look much more finished than it did in the work room, and the hem has nice shape and structure to it...and yet it does still kind of look like a babydoll nightie. The styling's a little weak, too--just some pearl elbow-length gloves.<br />
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Oh, lord, Austin has designed something I don't know how to describe. It's a fitted sleeveless dress in gray and fuchsia with a sweetheart neckline, and two big pink bows on either hip. The bodice has windowpane seaming so it sort of looks like you gift-wrapped a skyscraper. Austin thinks he did great, but I don't get this one. We cut to Piggy taking a last look and shaking her head. Spoiler alert?<br />
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Mondo's turn--cute basic shape--cap sleeves, zigzag hemline that's thigh-high. The fabric still looks crinkly or plastic or something, but the color's cute, and the neckline is high to compensate for all that leg. He's put his model in what I thought was a straw hat, but in fact is an enormous, unmoving bouffant hairdo. (With matching side bow.) Mondo has no doubt that he's going to be in the top 3. I am not so sure.<br />
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And that's it! Our callouts are Austin, Rami, Gordana, Kenley, Mila and Michael. They are our top and bottom for this week, so Mondo, Jerell, April, Anthony and Kara are safe. We start with Austin, who explains that he chose gray and pink as "classic Piggy." Georgiana begins, and compliments his construction, but thinks he chose the wrong pink--and she's right. He went with a deeper raspberry color that she finds is "not reading as very happy." Also, the hip bows don't look like the same tone as the raspberry. Eric hates the bows because they accentuate the hips, which Piggy probably won't want. Miss Piggy doesn't like the bows either.<br />
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Rami is next, and tells the judges that the bright cheery fabric called to him, and he wanted the organza flounces because Piggy is so animated. Angela begins, "This could be a difficult dress for the average woman to wear..." as Piggy interrupts, "Yeah, but I'm not average!" in her gravelly lower register. Georgina loves the playful quality, and takes minor issue with some matching issues at the seam. Eric praises it as well as "Parisian Hog Couture," and then likes the joke so much he repeats it. Methinks someone missed a cue. Piggy gives him the side eye and says, "That was a dig, wasn't it. BE CAREFUL." She then tells Rami, "This is the most garish, outlandish think I have ever seen...I LOVE IT!"<br />
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Gordana's turn: she wanted a dress that evoked the happiness Piggy has brought to Gordana's own children. Angela says it's very pretty, but too understated. Georgina didn't love the glove styling, although she understands that Gordana picked them because they're a signature Piggy piece. Miss Piggy just "doesn't know if it's <i>moi</i>."<br />
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Michael's up now, and man, I still don't like this dress. Georgiana feels that Michael went in a different direction, but it still works. Angela found it a little dark for Miss Piggy, but Piggy herself says she loved it and thinks it looks like a "present for Kermie." Eh.<br />
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Mila tried to go "Hollywood It Girl," but Angela can't see the "flamboyant" coming through. Georgina, more helpfully, points out that for a red-carpet dress, color is better because it photographs better. Eric loves the graphic, linear quality of the dress, but is also sad that Mila didn't seize the opportunity to play with color. I'm sure Mila's thinking, "What are they talking about? I covered the whole spectrum from black to gunmetal!" Miss Piggy loves the retro reference but says it "does not SCREAM Miss Piggy. It whispers it."<br />
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Kenley is brimming with excitement over her dress, which she wanted to demand attention. (That it does.) Georgina begins by telling Kenley she's achieved that goal, but there are construction concerns. Turns out the judges thought the bodice was taped down, but it actually just looks that way because Kenley used upholstery fabric. Eric likes the whimsy, loves the tulle hat and then makes a misstep by referring to Piggy's ears, so they can do another bit. Piggy likes it too, I guess, but doesn't talk about the dress.<br />
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Judging. Poor Austin's dress is deemed "not classy," but the bows are the killing detail. Mila's dress was "a mod Wednesday Addams," but that's not Miss Piggy. Gordana's dress was the wrong shade of pink as well--too grey (it's sort of a dusty rose)--and won't flatter Piggy's curves. (I think Gordana might be going home for this one.) Kenley's design was cute, but the construction was iffy. Rami's was fun, brash and perfect for the client, though the dress might be awful in another context. Michael's dress looked good, but his styling failed him by being too severe and edgy. [Then there's another staged bit so Eric can get karate-chopped by Piggy, which it turns out doesn't work so well when you're all seated in director's chairs.]<br />
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Results! Kenley is immediately called out as safe, and dismissed. Rami and Michael are our top two, and the winner is...Michael! Noooo! I think that was the wrong call. He asks Miss Piggy if she needs a date to the premiere, and amusingly, she responds politely, but as though he's a bit of a creeper. Rami is sent backstage with compliments. Austin looks miserable to be in the bottom, but is quickly sent to safety as well. His caballero hat droops in shame. So we're down to Mila and Gordana. Mila is safe, and Gordana is out. [From the other room, Gordon shouts, "Sorry, you couldn't dress a Muppet!"] It's too bad, because I like Gordana, but I have to say her eye didn't seem quite dialed in this season. Best of luck to you, lady!<br />
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Next week we get to go back to real people! Diane von Furstenburg and Miranda Kerr. Until then, my fellow PR fans, let your inner Muppet guide you! (And if you're not sure which one you are...here's a quiz: <a href="http://www.matthewbarr.co.uk/muppets/">http://www.matthewbarr.co.uk/muppets/</a>.)Abbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18307375316946083851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2122019877166926354.post-61815336152118858892012-01-12T22:57:00.001-05:002012-01-13T12:45:12.101-05:00PR All-Stars: A Night at the OperaHello again, lovely Runway fans! I have made my peace with this new, Tim Gunn-less runway, especially because I have it on good authority that he will definitely be back for next season. Whew! (Also, for all you fans of <i>Gunn's Golden Rules</i>, he's working on a new book!) I've tuned in early enough to catch the "coming up on this season," and it looks like Isaac definitely won't stay as sedate as he was this week--for good or ill.<br />
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Angela welcomes the designers and announces the guests who will deliver this week's challenge: the two men who make up Badgley Mischka! Badgley (or Mischka) demonstrates via self-tanner that orange is always in fashion. The task tonight is to design a dress for attending the opera, and it should be fabulous and creative. (I assume they're referring specifically to opening night at the Met, which I know is fancy because Alex and Simon made a big deal of it on RHONY. See how educational reality TV can be?)<br />
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The designers all retire to the workroom to sketch before heading to Mood (with $350, but only a day to make the dress), and I find it interesting to see how few of them embrace the sponsor's HP Think Pads for sketching. April tells us that on her season, she used a ton of black, so this time she's embracing color. Not, apparently, in her hair, however. Austin tells us he was called "the king of couture" on his season of PR (was he?), and will be humiliated if he doesn't do well on this challenge.<br />
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I can identify Sweet P by her sketching hand alone--the tattoos on her fingers were a giveaway. She's nervous after being in the bottom last week. Mondo explains that he doesn't sketch pre-Mood...he just chooses material and then lets the fabric tell him what to design. I'd scoff, but it worked pretty darn well for him last time.<br />
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At Mood, there is running and bolt-grabbing and calling of time...but no Joanna. Apparently her mentorship does not extend to accompanying the designers on their Mood outing. OK, I'm coping as best I can, but if this season doesn't at least have Swatch, I will be sorely disappointed! April and Michael C. tell the camera that they're doing red dresses, and then Uh-oh! at the runway discover that they seem to be channeling each other once again. Michael's freaking out, and changes his color--April doesn't give a crap if they have the same color dress. I leave it to you to decide who's most confident in his/her skills.<br />
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Back at the workroom, April immediately takes the lush red fabric she's chosen and...dunks it in a bucket of dark (black?) dye. She says she's going for a "corpse bride" thing, but the other designers all look on aghast. They think she's wrecked the fabric, or won't have time to both dye the cloth and make the garment, and either way, they're all thrilled she's (apparently) taken herself out of the running.<br />
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Off the Runway Interlude! Oh, man, moving the show to Lifetime means sometimes you get amazing commercials, like this one for the new TV movie <i>Sexting in Suburbia</i>. When a high school girl foolishly sends naked pics to a boy who spreads them around (she's told too late the first rule of naked pics--don't show your face), the whole school torments her. But her mother won't stand for it, and plans her revenge. Then there's the best series of quick cuts ever: baseball bat! Weeping YouTube video! Dangling feet of hanged student! Bloody hand fallen next to ancient cell phone! Delicious.<br />
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The workshop is busy, with shots of Mondo helping Michael with some trim, Michael placing a feather-and-beaded strap on his mannequin, Kara cutting out some pieces. In walks Joanna Coles, and...no one looks up. She has to plant herself in the middle of the floor and announce, "Hel-LO!" to get a response. Don't worry, Joanna, you'll get there (but I bet that's a weird experience for her compared to the reaction she gets as an editor-in-chief). Kenley tells us again how happy she is to have Joanna as a mentor, and once again we remember that it's probably because she and Tim hated each other.<br />
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Joanna starts with Rami, who tells her a little bit about his design, but there's nothing really to show yet. Joanna asks who his biggest competition is, and he says Austin, who coyly responds. (I am still depressed about Austin's pervy-looking mustache, and it is not helped by the hat he's wearing today, which might be a porkpie?) Austin tells Joanna he's nervous about the expectations, but he has a vision for his dress that Joanna seems to like. Gordana, in a talking head, is over his fussing--"If you are so used to making something, it shouldn't be a big deal--just make it." Heh. It's even better if you read it in her accent.<br />
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When Joanna gets to April, she's concerned with the decision to hand-dye the ombre, but April is unfazed. April is so unfazed as to be almost sedated, in fact. She tells Joanna what her "surprise" for the judges will be, and talks about how the dress will move. Joanna seems mollified, and moves on to Michael. She asks her already-growing-familiar question, "How will you surprise the judges?" and Michael shows her his feather-and-bead halter strap. The gown is in black jersey (having ditched the red at Mood), and is one of those dresses that shows a lot of skin because the cloth just crosses over the boobs in front and leaves a midriff spot bare. I often find Michael's stuff a little tacky, and I think this could go either way, depending on his styling. Joanna asks if he's going to put cups in the bodice, and he says no. Jerell, in a talking head, tells us it's a bad idea: "No one wants a nip slip, not at the opera. It's tacky!" Heh. So true. Save your nip slips for the movies, ladies!<br />
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On to Kara Janx, from whom we heard very little last week. She's starting with a floral taffeta bodice that looks kind of garden-party--Joanna wants to know how she's going to make the dress look like evening wear. We don't see Kara respond--just a series of worried, near-tears faces. Kara, toughen up! You were a contender in your season! Sweet P is next, and she's chosen orange. Her dress also looks very day, and Joanna seems unconvinced. No suggested changes, but a "we'll see." Careful, Sweet P!<br />
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Joanna comes over to Anthony, and I suspect these two are about as far apart on the aesthetic spectrum as you can get. Anthony's chosen a cream fabric (organza, maybe?) and shows Joanna his sketch of a plunging-neckline gown with something that could be a train, or maybe a cape? I'm no good at deciphering these sketches, and his is hasty at best. Joanna asks him how he plans to keep this from looking like a bridal gown. He basically says it's too sexy--"plunging in the front, plunging in the back." Really? Both? I thought the rule was breasts or legs, front or back. I think he's going to get dinged for taste.<br />
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Rami explains that even though everyone thinks he's a tough cookie, he appreciates Joanna's encouragement. Y'all, Rami's sensitive! Don't let the massive muscles fool you. Sweet P is happy with her look, though it's taking a long time. Mondo thinks Kara's the weakest designer here because she's too sensitive and unconfident. Mondo, don't be bitchy--eyes on your own paper. (That said, she really does look like she's about to be sick.) Austin thinks Michael C's dress is "beautiful. However, a little too celebrity and not enough socialite." Before we know it, the day is done and everyone returns to the hotel to eat, sleep and mingle with the other teams. (Oops, wrong show.)<br />
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We're watching Kara alternately melt down and boost herself up, but the other designers are mostly pulling for her. I'm bewildered by her outfit in the talking heads--she is covered in straps. She's wearing an embroidered halter-neck top, but there's some sort of pink lanyard around her neck, and then she has denim shoulder straps, as though she's wearing secret overalls just below camera. Or a smock? Hip waders? Who knows what's in this year?<br />
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Off the runway Interlude! <style>
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</style><span style="font-family: Times;">Have you been to <a href="http://whenparentstext.com/"><span style="color: blue;">When Parents Text</span></a>? I tried to buy their book, but alas, was outbid. Here's a sample that makes me giggle: <a href="http://whenparentstext.com/cazadillo"><span style="color: blue;">Cazadillo</span></a>.</span> <br />
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The next morning, the designers are all back to do their fittings & finishing touches. The workroom is nearly silent, which is a function of pressure, but also, I think, of the fact that there are no 20-year-olds in this cast. There's a lot less goofing off and swanning about with this crew. (Swanning about? Excuse me while I go put my teeth in and get a Werther's.) Models! In they come, and no one looks disastrous, at least. Jerell thinks his model looks like "mofo money." Um, good?<br />
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Runway! Our guest judges are, of course, Badgley Mischka. Kenley's dress leads off, and it looks like Scarlett O'Hara got a shot at your nursery curtains. Long tiered pink organza skirt, pink-with-black-polka-dot bodice. The model looks swallowed up in it, and it reads as "hoop skirt" to me. Isaac is frowning, but in concentration or disapproval? Next is Gordana's dress, which we saw little of during the workroom scenes. It's periwinkle, with a long skirt that has sheer chiffon panels on it (which unfortunately kind of make the model look like she's not wearing any bottoms). The bodice is a halter neck with a mesh overlay. Gotta say, this one gives me taste concerns as well. Angela is staring intently like a cobra just crawled into her dressing room.<br />
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Ooh, Rami, no! His model is in a fuschia off-the-shoulder dress, with complicated triangular pleating fitting down past the hips before the skirt swirls to the floor. I think the fabric looks cheap and shiny under the lights, and overall this looks like a bad bridesmaid dress. I am shocked to see this from Rami rather than Anthony. Our eyeballs get a rest as Mila's all-black dress comes out. It's gorgeous--a fitted column with lots of sequins and a gauzy one-shoulder detail, but it's not particularly unique or dramatic. Plus, Mila herself says, "I'm hoping they forgot that they said romantic and feminine." This looks perfectly feminine, actually--it's not as severe and linear as her usual--but I feel like you could pick this up off the rack anywhere.<br />
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Sweet P. Oh, Sweet P. Her poor model walks out and is either preparing to appear at the opera in the role of Carmen, or is going to a fiesta. Plus, the empire waist and awkward pleats make her look seven months pregnant. Sweet P claims to be delighted, but the racer back looks off center, the skirt is stiff, and the whole thing doesn't say "evening." I think Sweet P is headed for trouble.<br />
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Mondo surprises me by designing something that Betty Draper would wear. It's a white and silver short cocktail dress with a dramatic 60s neckline (I will have to find a picture, because I don't know what to call it--here you go: <a href="http://www.mylifetime.com/shows/project-runway-all-stars/season-1/rate-the-runway/episode-2#id=10" target="_blank">Mondo's dress</a>). Fits tightly, but trailing from the back of the dress is an eight-foot train. As the model walks back up the runway, we see that the train is attached with a large obi-style bow detail on the back. Mondo tells us it looks "very 60s, but very modern," and I pat myself on the back for identifying the fashion reference.<br />
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Jerell's dress is also disturbingly maternity in shape...it's a brown bodice with a lighter brown, patterned full skirt, connected with black feathers. The waist is so high that it's above an empire--it's like the seam runs right across her breasts. (It also doesn't look even.) Quick cuts to Isaac and Mischka (or maybe Badgley) show furrowed brows. Jerell, my friend, I fear your confidence is misplaced.<br />
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And speaking of confidence...it's time for Kara Janx. Hmm, she also has this near-maternity shape--it's not truly an empire waist, but it's definitely high-waisted. Surprisingly, banding the floral fabric with a tidy black belt and creating those exaggerated proportions moves it into evening wear, at least for me. Not sure the judges will buy it. I'm also not sure there's enough design there--it's a simple strapless bodice and a long skirt, though it seems well-constructed.<br />
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Here comes Anthony's white Grecian gown. He's put her in above the elbow black gloves, which feels wrong to me. The dress is cut super-low and belted with a jeweled chain detail; it's draped well, but shows a LOT of skin. Serious double-stick tape happening here. The gloves look way too severe to me--I think the judges may bust him on the styling.<br />
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OK, Austin, show us what you've got. Behind the screen, his silhouette almost looks Edwardian--seems to be a high neck, and there's the hint of a bustle in the skirt's rear volume. The dress has an interesting criss-cross detail, where he's brought gold straps over the black tulle to contain it on the bodice before letting it flow down the sides of the skirt. It's pretty, but perhaps a little simple, and doesn't look quite as even as it could. Still, it's certainly not going to land him among the worst tonight.<br />
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And now it's April's turn--did she get her dress dyed in time? The dress looks a little crazy, and April says she can see the flaws, but doesn't elaborate. The dyeing seemed to work, but the dress's asymmetrical details are a little confusing--there's a red square panel on one shoulder, and the model's hair is all uneven and frizzed out like she's a mad bride, and overall, she looks more messy than deliberately artistic. More Helena Bonham Carter than Tilda Swinton.<br />
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Michael C.'s gown comes out, and it looks better than it did on the mannequin--the glittery shoulder strap covers a fair bit, and the midriff isn't showing. In fact, there's just a small keyhole detail in the front...but when the model turns back up the runway, you see that her whole back is bare except for a crystal strap running across the small of her back. The skirt has a fishtail hem, which Michael calls "this little 80-foot train." I hope he has someone double-check his measurements. It looks a little watered-down Bob Mackie, but still pretty.<br />
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And that's it! We go right into the call-outs: Anthony, April, Sweet P, Austin, Kara and Michael. Uh-oh, kids--these are our highest and lowest! Definitely Sweet P and April in the bottom, and Austin in the top...but the other three could go either way, I think.<br />
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Off-the-runway Interlude: Commercial! Aggh! Rob Lowe is...<i>Drew Peterson: Untouchable</i>. I don't want to see Rob Lowe under tons of aging makeup, saying, "I'm untouchable, bitch," while he and an unknown actress open and close a garage door! That seems like a bad decision for all concerned.<br />
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Back to the runway, and Austin looks like he thinks he has this in the bag. The judges start with Anthony, and now that we're up close we can see that the black gloves are leather. Strangely, this works better for me than it did from afar--the leather feels modern. Isaac agrees, loving the "new context" for a white dress. Angela loves the styling too, while Georgina is on the fence, but she loves the fabric. B&M both love it, too--yay, Anthony!<br />
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April's up next, and Isaac congratulates her on choosing a color, but he doesn't think the ombre dyeing is right for the opera--looks too tie-dyed. B&M don't like it, in part because it looks "tortured" and overworked (yes), but also because it turns out they both hate red & black together. Oopsie. Georgina likes red, but calls April out on some of her details, which were done in a matte red that doesn't quite work with the shiny stuff.<br />
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Sweet P says she was going for "ball gown," but Isaac tells her she wound up on "prom dress." B&M think the skirt looks like a dirndl, and Georgina wishes she'd swapped her fabrics, so you just had a short plain bodice in the floral, and did the big skirt in straight orange. Sweet P says, "Now I do, too!" Yeah, well, that's a problem, Sweet P. The other half of B&M points out that the color is fun, but the bodice doesn't fit well. Sweet P looks crushed and is trying not to cry.<br />
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On to Austin, who was going for "sensual refinement." Isaac jumps right in to say he loves it. It looks "fresh and classic and expensive." He also appreciates that Austin went for something a little modest, which is rare on today's runway. B&M also think it's lovely, but note that his tulle is slightly uneven--they give him a pass, though, given that he had only one day. Georgina also loves, though would have preferred a slightly lower-cut bodice. But overall, it's a clean sweep for Austin.<br />
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Kara, still looking a bit like she could cry, talks about why she chose her print and how it might suit for evening. Isaac agrees with her, and also finds that the simplicity of the ball gown cut, contrasted with the cheerful floral print, is what makes it work...but warns her that when your look is that pared down, it has to be "utterly perfect." He finds the placement of the black grosgrain ribbon slightly off, and B&M wishes the bow tails in the back were 3-4 feet longer, "for the opera." Yes, be sure your opera ribbons are full-length, people! Kara is clearly relieved at what's basically a positive critique and points out that she added pockets. Angela is quick to say that she loves pockets in a dress, as does Isaac. Kara says, "You need them for your lipstick and your iPhone." Heh. Nice plug. HP must be PISSED right now. Georgina's the only naysayer here, because she thinks it's a little generic, and doesn't say "Kara Janx."<br />
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Isaac says of Michael's dress, "I can't believe you made this dress in a day, because it's perfect. Shockingly perfect." (Was Michael the designer who had issues with knocking off established designers' pieces? Or am I confusing that with Isaac's former fashion competition show?) Where Austin was old-world society glamour, Michael's dress is for "Kim Kardashian at the opera." Heh--he's right. Georgina loves it, and says, "Even if she's going alone, she's certainly not going HOME alone in that dress." Heh. B&M love the coverage in the front vs. the bareness in the back, and Angela tells him she wants to wear it.<br />
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So who's it going to be? Austin or Michael? Old or new? Classy or brassy? First we have to pick the loser. The judges think April made some bad choices and her construction was sloppy, whereas they thought Sweet P's skirt was well-made but the bodice looked like a frumpy bathing suit. Georgina moves on to Kara's dress, which she thinks is done well, but she's seen it a thousand times. Angela doesn't know many girls who would wear it, but B or M stands up for it and says he loves it. Isaac seems to agree, with some minor bow issues.<br />
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On to the top--they say more nice things about Anthony's dress, but I don't think he's the winner. Austin garners more praise for his cut, his eye, etc.. Angela then whispers in a strange come-hithery way, "What do you think about Michael's gown?" Um, are you trying to seduce Badgley and/or Mischka, Angela? They all agree that it was well done, but Isaac makes a case for it being more familiar in its brazen blinginess. Georgina loves the personality of it. I still haven't a clue which one they'll pick as top!<br />
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Off the runway Interlude! Wow, it's like Lifetime is reading my blog--they just gave me the <i>Sexting in Suburbia</i> and <i>Drew Peterson: Untouchable</i> ads back to back!<br />
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The results are in--Anthony is called out safe and sent back to the stew room. Then the winner is announced and it's...Austin! I'm glad. I prefer his old-school designs to the in-your-face stuff. Michael is obviously safe as well, and they tell him it was a very tough choice. Kara is put out of her misery quickly, as she should be--she's obviously safe, since her gown was much better than the other two. Angela actually delivers some nice comments to both before Sweet P is sent packing, to no one's real surprise. (April walks offstage without even acknowledging Sweet P, but I think it's because she's so relieved to have made it through that she just wanted to get offstage before crying.) Sweet P is gracious in defeat, but I'm a little put off to see that as she packs up her stuff, she seems to be wearing no shoes.<br />
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What's coming up next week? They have to design for Miss Piggy. Ugh. People, let them make real clothes! I don't need to see the puppet as a judge. Curmudgeon curmudgeon--better go get another Werther's. Tune in next week to see if I'm less of a crank! <br />
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<br />Abbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18307375316946083851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2122019877166926354.post-88198969519414946812012-01-06T00:43:00.001-05:002012-01-07T00:55:55.584-05:00Project Runway All-Stars: Retro EditionI'm back, lovely blog-friends! And having just come home from seeing <i>The Book of Mormon</i>, I am high on life. (Don't worry, Mom, they didn't convert me--but I am still humming.) And to quote another sacred text, <i>The Rocky Horror Picture Show</i>, I am breathless with antici...PATION at the prospect of seeing all (OK, some) of our favorite PR alums! Into the dressing room we go...<br />
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We begin with introductions and--whaaaaa? Where's Michael? Where's Nina? That's right, we have all new judges for this season! I am shocked...but it does eliminate the possibility of playing favorites. Interesting! We get quick clips with all the designers, but while all the faces are familiar, I'm not sure of everyone's names, so we'll wait and see. There's also a replacement Heidi--another model I don't recognize. But what about Tim? Is there a Through-the-Looking-Glass Tim? I don't think I could handle that.<br />
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So let's meet our All-Stars! The first is Mondo, from Season 8. We see him walking through the streets of New York, a garment bag over his shoulder, wearing the tiniest shorts imaginable. Mondo, you may recall, seemed to be a shoo-in to win his season, but was defeated by Gretchen, or as Michael Kors so eloquently named her, "Our Lady of the Canyons." Mondo spots a familiar face coming at him and it's...<br />
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Michael Costello, also of Season 8. Michael was a designer who may have been self-trained? At any rate, he didn't seem as skillful or confident as some of the other designers, who then ganged up on him in a festival of Mean Girl (and Guy) nastiness. Michael cried. A lot. I never really cared for his designs, but he kept pulling out challenge wins. It'll be interesting to see if he's made of sterner stuff this time.<br />
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Next up is Mila, from Season 7. She's the one with the rather severe Louise Brooks bangs who did a lot of minimalist black and white tailored stuff. She was also a finalist in her season, and she says she's driven to go all the way this time. She's joined by a castmate, Anthony Williams, who is remembered for his cheerful exuberance and bright colors, but perhaps not his taste level. <br />
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We then see Jerell Scott from Season 5. I think he's a little less skinny than in his original season--he looks good. If I recall, I liked his work the first time around and thought he got booted too early. I think. Maybe.<br />
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I don't immediately recognize Elisa from Season 4, because her hair is now super-long, but I have no trouble remembering her! You probably don't either--she was the loopy artist who spit-marked her fabric in order to imbue her clothing with her essence. She didn't really have the technical skills she needed to stay in the competition long, but her vision was intriguing. If she's learned to sew in the meantime, she could be a contender.<br />
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And then, that inimitable voice drawls, "I've always been a star." Austin Scarlett (it feels wrong to use only his first name somehow) struts in front of the Plaza (I think), also carrying a garment bag. (Actually, a lot of them have been carrying said bags...but none of the bags appear to contain garments. I suspect the contestants may be...acting.) Austin has become a caricature of himself, and is wearing a Flock of Seagulls hairdo and an Errol Flynn mustache. I cannot condone the facial hair. He's barely a tin of mustache wax away from becoming Dali. (Oh, he's from Season 1, as if you didn't know.)<br />
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Ooh, prepare to hiss, as an All-Star villain enters! Yes, it's Kenley, from Season 5, who earned the enmity of thousands of fans when she was snotty and dismissive to The Beloved Tim Gunn. More fool she. She's still wearing that Bettie Page styling, but softened a bit. Now it's kind of latter day Shannen Doherty. She was very young on her season, I think, fresh out of design school or some such--she's a little defensive in her interview, but let's see if she's chilled out. We see her meeting Jerell in the park. (Union Square? Madison? I can't tell.)<br />
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Our next talking head is Rami, who launches right into telling us that he's heard stories about <a href="http://www.limelightshops.com/mainmenu.html" target="_blank">Limelight</a>, which used to be a club (and before that, a church) and is now a mall. Um, I don't understand why we're talking about Limelight, but apparently we're going there. Yes, we get a shot of all the designers (including a couple who haven't been introduced yet) hugging and kissing and generally doing first-day-back-at-school things.<br />
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Hey, it's Gordana from Season 6! I liked her, and wished she'd made it to the end, but she did have a bit of a close-but-not-quite issue with her designs. I think she's cool, though, and I like to listen to her accent. She tells us that she thinks Sweet Pea and Mondo are her biggest competition.<br />
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Wait, did I miss Sweet P and Kara Janx? I'm baffled--they were both in the opening credits, but haven't had a talking head yet. However, we're told "all of us are here" and they all march into Limelight Marketplace (which looks narrow and dark, like the inside of a Benetton store) to meet Not-Heidi. Not-Heidi is, in fact, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angela_Lindvall" target="_blank">Angela Lindvall</a>. She does not have a cute accent, but is very pretty. April, from Season 8 (Hi April! Welcome!) says she's excited to have somebody new. I don't remember, did Heidi like April?<br />
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Angela tells the All-Stars the basics: most important, that there will be NO immunity for the challenge wins. Yay! I think that's great. Also, they're playing for "their own exclusive boutique in select Neiman-Marcus stores" and online. So, like Target Missoni, but fancy? They also get the Marie Claire fashion spread (even with no Nina?) AND a position as guest editor for a whole year. Cool! Kara Janx (Hi, Kara! Welcome!) says she'd kill to be the MC guest editor. They'll also also get a ton of sewing machine stuff (surgers?) and HP printer stuff. Oh, and by the way...$100,000. Since the All-Stars have advanced enough to have real businesses, they're psyched.<br />
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Time to meet the new judges! Ah, the first judge (whom I didn't recognize) is Georgina Chapman, designer & co-founder of Marchesa. The contestants are shocked and appreciative. Georgina has very shiny hair. The next judge is Isaac Mizrahi, who is ubiquitous in pop culture/fashion crossovers. I hope he's better here than on the terrible PR ripoff show he hosted for whoever it was (the CW?). The All-Stars mostly seem happy to see him, but not as wowed as they were for Georgina. But Elisa, in her talking head, sounds a little like she just met Gandhi. And at last, we're ready to start!<br />
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Hey, wait, we haven't met the mentor! Where's Tim? I want Tim! (Can you believe the blog is this long and I'm only 7 minutes into the show? Premiere nights are a killer.)<br />
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The All-Stars were each asked to bring a recent creation that they feel represents themselves as designers. (OK, I'm sorry I cast aspersions on the fullness of the garment bags.) They're about to meet their models, and have 30 minutes to dress them. This also seems to be where we're going to pick up our last couple of intros.<br />
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Sweet P, from Season 4, tells us her main competition is Kara Janx. (Kara, like Austin Scarlett, has one of those names you always want to say in full. But not type in full, so I'll get over it.) Sweet P says she thinks Kara should have won her season, and also that she likes her personally and doesn't want to see her go--but still wants to beat her.<br />
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More shots of designers talking to models, fixing hems, steaming skirts, and then it's time for runway. Describing all these dresses may kill me. Kara says she's completely panicked.<br />
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During the commercial break, we get an ad for "24 Hour Catwalk," which appears to be...Project Runway? Honestly, it seems to be another designing show. Don't get it. But if you're curious, it was on right after PR.<br />
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We're back! I think I'm going to just list the designers and dresses tonight--bear with me.<br />
<b>Jerell</b>: Long gown, sort of a maxidress, in a greeny-yellow print with some complicated chain detailing at the peekaboo neckline. I don't love it--doesn't seem to hang quite right on the model.<br />
<b>Mila</b>: Still looks like Mila. A tunic dress with asymmetrical hem, it's half beige and half black-and-white stripes (vertically).<br />
<b>Kenley</b>: I assumed this was Anthony's when I first saw it! Royal blue strapless evening gown with sweetheart neckline and a crazy tulle pouf on one shoulder (can't tell if that's a strap or just an embellishment). Similar white tulle spills out from the bottom, petticoat-style. I swear I'm not being mean, but I hate it.<br />
<b>Austin</b>: Turquoise shiny evening gown, strapless, square neckline with plunging V and a complicated foldy-sashy detail on the front. The bodice does not appear to move with the model or fit her that well, but I don't know if that's due to Austin's unfamiliarity with boobs, the model's lack thereof, or just the fact that he only had 30 mins to fit it to her.<br />
<b>Elisa</b>: Ha! Very Elisa--sort of crazy, sort of pretty. It's a simple white (or pale pink--can't tell on my TV) shift dress with a large painted floral design on the skirt and writing (I think) on the bodice. The model opens her arms wide to reveal a gauzy cape of the same fabric and print. If there were a superhero called Garden Party Girl, this is what she would wear. (And by the way, the model is barefoot.)<br />
<b>Rami</b>: He has moved on from draping to folding, apparently. Dress is short and strapless, and basically a series of intricate folds like a big ribbon on a Christmas gift. The fabric is a combination of black and white checks and plain black. It looks good, but rather stiff and sculptural.<br />
<b>Gordana</b>: Her dress is lacy off-white with red shoulder accents, and looks a bit like a fashionista wedding gown. The hemline is super-short in front, with a flowy train in back. Not sure about that one.<br />
<b>April</b>: Her dress looks very commercial, and she tells us she brought a more ready-to-wear look. This seriously could be bought in Ann Taylor right now--it's a simple dress (with sleeves, a rarity on this show) in black jersey and gray fabric with texture (tweed?). Very fitted. Nice but a bit dull.<br />
<b>Anthony</b>: Bright parrot-green is the first thing you notice. It's a one-shoulder dress with a huge kerchief-bow arrangement on the shoulder, and a giant jeweled safety pin, but I can't tell if that's at the waist or not.<br />
<b>Michael</b>: Has already squicked me out by saying "My model? She's making me question my sexuality right now, she really brought that dress to life." Ugh. I don't want to think about horny Michael. Anyway, the dress is flowy, strapless (maybe even a two-piece) resort-style in a warm black/brown and white speckly print. Skirt is slit so far up the thigh it might as well be her crotch. A little tacky.<br />
<b>Mondo</b>: Mondo! He does not disappoint. The model looks nutso. Sort of Bavarian steampunk. High-collared blouse in an unusual black and gray print (or lace over black?), paired with a black flared miniskirt and kneesocks. There is also a mini top hat perched jauntily on her forehead. I love it in its Mondo-ness. <br />
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What the heck? Once again I've missed Sweet P and Kara. Am I going crazy? Why do they keep getting left out? Honestly, I just rewatched the fashion show and they didn't include either of them. But Angela is back and they're all clapping like it's over. Am I slipping in and out of a fugue state? I apologize if I've somehow just ignored them.<br />
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The designers are sent off to their hotel, where they all pick out beds (Elisa marks hers with a lipstick kiss) and then gather to watch their first video message on the big screen TV. A white-haired, orange-skinned Italian man introduces himself as Jean-Carlo Giammetti and thank you, Austin, for losing your shit and repeating his name, since I couldn't understand it and have no clue who he is. Turns out he's Valentino's partner, and he's working on the new Valentino Museum. Then there's Valentino himself, wishing them luck. All the designers are weeping with delight at having a message from the Great Ones.<br />
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The next day, they meet Angela for their first challenge, which, per usual, is the "unconventional materials" challenge. The hunting ground today is a pretty good one--a 99-cent store! And the twist is that their look must be in some way inspired by the look they just showed us at the fashion show. I'm more curious about the budget--at a 99-cent store, I wonder if they're only going to be given, like, $20. But no--they get $100! That's like $400 at Mood!<br />
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Designers running, grabbing, hopping, nearly breaking stuff. April tells us she wanted something textural, so she needed "a clusterfuck of mops." (I think we should all declare that the official collective noun for mops.) Austin's pawing through ribbon, Anthony is sweating with an arm full of wrapping paper. Sweet P is grabbing anything bright, and Kenley is straining to reach something on a high rack and grumbling, "Does anyone work in this store?" Fair point--haven't seen a staffer anywhere.<br />
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They line up to check out, and uh-oh...Michael also has a clusterfuck of mops. He's concerned, but April isn't--she observes that even if they use the same materials, their inspiration dresses are so different that they'll wind up with very different outfits. Makes sense to me.<br />
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Back to the workroom, which is either in a new place or has been redecorated recently. It has new paint, and the accessory wall is now brought to you by Neiman Marcus rather than Piperlime. The designers coo and cluck as they find their assigned work tables and unpack their 99-cent loot. Angela walks in, says, "Hey, guys!" and then an obvious overdub says "Welcome to 1407 Broadway." So not Parsons, then--sounds like someplace near Mood. (Does that mean no Tim? I'm worried that this means no Tim. Where is heeeeee?)<br />
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Oh. Oh, no. No, no, no...Angela tells the designers that later that day, they will have their first mentor session--with Marie Claire's Joanna Coles (who was so nasty last season)! She is not mentor material! She is not someone who will give a designer a hug in the middle of a meltdown! What happened to Tim? Is he with Andrae at the Red Lobster? Tiiiiiiiiiim!<br />
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Kenley tells us she was happy to find out that the mentor was Joanna Coles. Yeah, I bet you were (grumble grumble). OK, trying to move past this. Angela says farewell, and leaves the designers to get to work.<br />
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Elisa promptly moves her cutting mat under her work table and sketches there, prompting Mila's eyebrows to arch even higher. Anthony is working nearby, and tells Elisa just to let him know if he gets in her way. In a talking head, he tells us, "Elisa is different, but I'm going to give her a pass on being different because I had a grandma who was committed to the crazy house, so I really don't think Elisa's that bad." Heh. This is why Anthony is an All-Star, and he knows it.<br />
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Michael has a pile of mop strands that he's trying to sew together one by one, which seems like a Sisyphean task. And then Jerell points out that Ruh-Roh! Michael's dress looks just like April's dress (and unfortunately for Michael, April seems to have worked a lot faster, because her mop-dress is already on the mannequin. Jerell tells Michael he and April need to talk and "get on the same page--or off the same page, as the case may be."<br />
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Joanna comes for her first round of mentoring, and I remain skeptical. She starts with Sweet P, who has sewn together a number of brightly colored towels into what looks like a tiered skirt. As one might expect of dollar store materials, it looks cheap. Joanna asks Sweet P what about her outfit will surprise the judges, or impress them with her use of an unusual item. Sweet P has no answer, which is answer enough in itself. (Jerell calls the dress "ratty roughness" and says "me no likey.")<br />
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Gordana is happy to have Joanna as a mentor, and seems to be making a shorter version of her dress, but using streamers instead of fabric. Joanna says the dress looks like the kind of thing that's blah on the hanger, but can look great in motion, and Gordana agrees. (Mondo says the dress looks like a pinata, and hopes the model is full of candy. Heh. Also, I see the All-Stars have been brushing up on both their sewing and their trash talking.)<br />
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Mondo seems to be feeling a little low-energy when Joanna gets to him. Makes sense--he's the most recent competitor, came super-close to winning and then lost in a (to most viewers, it seems) questionable decision. Or maybe he's just depressed about the one super-long earring he's wearing. Joanna basically tells him to buck up and get competitive, and says she can't wait to see what he's doing. All we see are some plastic-looking panels of black stripes.<br />
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On to Elisa. Joanna opens with, "You're not going to spit at me, are you?" Elisa seems not to recognize that this is a joke and responds seriously, "No, it's actually a blessing mark, and you do it just with the tip of your tongue. I've been doing this seventeen, eighteen years and my clients actually pay me for my blessing." Joanna says "That's pretty cool," but I question her sincerity. Elisa is working with flowers, something flowy, and...not sure. The camera's shooting faces, not fabric. Joanna asks her, as she did with Sweet P, "Is this surprising enough for the judges?" Elisa tells her that she feels it's important for the judges to make it surprising for themselves. Joanna is nonplussed and then backs away from the crazy girl.<br />
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That's enough of that, apparently--Joanna leaves, and the designers get back to work. Cue "Bustling Montage" and accompanying synth music. Then, crisis! Austin's dress is plastic, and he accidentally let it contact his hot glue gun, which melted a hole in the skirt. It's quarter to 10, so there's not much to be done about it tonight. Will Austin pull through and save his dress? Will the winner of the very first weird material challenge now be eliminated on the same event? Only time will tell.<br />
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Runway day! The designers come in for their last couple of hours of futzing time. We see that Gordana has added little silver squares to all the streamer-ruffles of her dress. Not sure that was a great choice. Austin is wearing a black kerchief like he has his hair in curlers (maybe he does?). He has managed to patch the dress and thinks he's going to be OK. Models get primped in the L'Oreal hair and makeup room, and then we're off! I hope they'll show each dress with its inspiration so I can finally discover what Sweet P and Kara originally designed.<br />
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Angela welcomes the designers to their first runway. Her dress is cute, but looks sort of like it's made out of Trix. (Yum.) Mondo has dressed up for runway in a straw boater. Georgina and Isaac say hello, and then we meet our guest judge--the fashion director of Neiman Marcus, Ken Downing. Let's start the show!<br />
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<b>Austin</b>: His dress is made out of tablecloths and freezer bags, and is in the same color as his original. The obi detailing from the original isn't as successful here, where it's kind of bunchy around the waist.<br />
<b>Kara</b>: Her outfit looks adorable! Made of mops, tin pans, and curtains, it's a rose bustier with a black, high-waisted tulip skirt. Model is wearing a straw hat and a tinfoil belt. Sure enough, I never saw the inspiration dress, but we do now--a boxy black dress and jacket with some sequin detailing on the bodice. Actually, her 99-cent look is much cuter, I think.<br />
<b>Jerell</b>: His dress is the same shape as the original, but made of handkerchiefs and placemats in a blue print. It's gauzy and flowy and actually looks pretty great! He might get dinged for the old fabric-as-fabric issue, though.<br />
<b>Elisa</b>: Ooh...not good. She used shower curtains and finger paint, and the model has a sort of sleeved cape, a la her original dress...but the rest is just a very skimpy tank and shorts/tap pants painted with a flower detail in close-up. Looks like the model's in her underwear, basically. The model does have amazing pre-Raphaelite russet hair, though.<br />
<b>Rami</b>: I like this one, too, although it's a little crazy. It's made of those nylon/vinyl giant shopping bags that are always in a sort of not-Burberry print--it's a miniskirt and jacket, with a stiff folded/flared collar and matching peplum. She's styled quite well, with sleek hair, big black sunglasses and a little clutch.<br />
<b>Sweet P</b>: We get only the briefest look at her inspiration dress, which was white and had an interesting detail at the halter neck, which might have been trimmed in leather? But alas, her 99-cent version looks like an ordinary peasant skirt/halter that you'd wear as a beach cover-up. I don't think the judges will be surprised.<br />
<b>Mondo</b>: I knew this was his because the model is wearing another tiny hat. He made the dress out of the plastic covering from 3-ring binders, trash bags, and tape. It's a black strapless dress with a very cute short ruffled skirt, and even the fascinator the model's wearing looks impeccably done.<br />
<b>Kenley</b>: Her dress has a neckline that echoes her original shape, but this one's short and done in more white, less blue (and it's a pale blue). That said, she has a whimsical detail where she used a white shower pouf as the model's hat, to echo all the tulle from the inspiration dress. The dress is made out of rubber bathmats, which is impressive but makes it stiff. (And probably hot! Bet that poor model is sweating balls right now.)<br />
<b>Gordana</b>: She made the red shoulder accents of her original dress into silver netting here, and picked up the red at the neck instead. I think this might get dinged for taste level--Gordana occasionally drifts a little close to "Russian mail-order bride" levels of bling. But the dress definitely flutters in a fun way, as Joanna predicted.<br />
<b>Anthony</b>: He's done a halter-neck dress in purple crepe paper with gold details made of bunches of safety pins, and is praying that the tissue paper doesn't rip. (Not as hard as the model's praying, I bet.) I think it was a cute choice to echo his giant safety pin from the first dress by using actual safety pins here.<br />
<b>Mila</b>: I think I like this one better! She used gift bags and a curtain liner to make a vinyl shift dress. The material had a striped pattern, and she used two pieces set perpendicularly to make a right-angle pattern on the front of the dress. It looks cool (though this one also goes in the "bet it's sweaty" column).<br />
<b>Michael</b>: Michael gets a little gift here because his mop dress is walking the runway before April's, but I will say I like this a lot better than his inspiration dress. The short dress has a spiderwebby effect, and the black and white mop strings echo the pattern of his original fabric. He's given it a halter neck and the strings are arranged in swoops heading out from a center seam. But just as I'm feeling kindly toward Michael, he says, "I want to go somewhere with the model and...spill something on her dress and watch her soak it up." Should be funny, comes off creepy.<br />
<b>April</b>: Of course the producers make her go right after Michael--we've all seen reality TV before. April's dress is floor length, though the skirt is really long vertical fringe rather than solid pieces. The bodice doesn't seem to move with the model, and lacks the clarity of detail that Michael's had, but I think relied on less muslin to hold it together. Michael keeps talking about how he's worried they'll say April used the mops much better than he did, so I assume this is setting us up for the opposite result.<br />
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And that's everyone! Time for results. Not-Heidi calls out Austin, Mila, April, Anthony, Kara, Kenley and Michael. They are all safe! So the Great Mop Conflict came to nothing. The remaining designers--Rami, Jerell, Elisa, Mondo, Gordana and Sweet P--have the highest and lowest.<br />
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The judges start their interrogation with Rami, who is clearly in the top, if not the winner. As he shows us the details, we see that in addition to the tote bags, he used tinsel garland to simulate the ostrich feathers at the collar of his original dress, and an umbrella to make the peplum of his jacket. Isaac commends him on his construction, which he says rises above that of most of the others. Ken says that the outfit could be photographed right now, and no one would know it was made of plastic. They love it.<br />
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Sweet P doesn't fare so well (although now I can see that she used leather belts to do the halter neck and emulate her first dress). The judges think the execution looks sloppy (probably in part because the towels are saggy terrycloth) and that the skirt makes the model look bigger than she is. Georgina felt the colorblocking was sloppy.<br />
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Georgina finds Jerell's dress very wearable and thought it moved beautifully. Isaac loved the color, and Ken loves the high-low hemline. On we go to Elisa...Georgina says, "This isn't a look that I would respond to, but I want to know more about your use of writing." I think basically the judges hated it, but the producers said, "We know you're going to dump her, so let us milk as much crazy as we can first." Elisa starts talking about circles and degrees and stories, and Isaac seems to be into it, but Ken thinks it's too complicated.<br />
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Then in an awkward cut we go to Mondo--the deliberations here are feeling a bit rushed, I guess because they squeezed everything into an hour. Georgina appreciates its whimsy, and Ken thinks it's flawlessly executed and would love to see it in "a real fabric, not something that had to be hosed down in the backyard after wearing it." Oh, Ken, you card! Isaac praises Mondo's sense of proportion, which makes the dress snappy and crisp.<br />
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On to Gordana. Isaac loves the silver mesh shoulders, which turn out to be made of steel wool pot scrubbers! Heh. Georgina thinks there are too many ideas at play and Gordana confesses that she works so quickly that it leaves her time to overdesign. With that, the designers are sent away while the judges deliberate.<br />
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Clearly, the top two are Rami and Mondo, and the bottom two are Sweet P and Elisa. Jerell gets a little nailed for not pushing the boundaries with his choice of material--it wasn't paper plates or umbrellas or anything--but it's still pretty. And then they have made their decision!<br />
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Bringing back the six designers, Angela first tells Jerell that he's safe. Mondo and Rami are told they have the highest scores (duh), and the win goes to Rami. I'm struck by how ripped Rami is--did he always have those biceps? Mondo, of course, is congratulated on his design and sent to safety. Gordana is safe. Sweet P is...safe! Elisa is out. Well, not really a surprise. As Angela comes up to shake her hand and send her home, I realize that I miss Heidi's cheek kisses and Teutonic sendoff. Sigh.<br />
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And we're back in it! See everyone next week, when hopefully I'll manage to spot everybody's dresses. Auf wiedersehen!Abbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18307375316946083851noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2122019877166926354.post-31777585332192341232011-12-07T20:59:00.001-05:002011-12-07T23:03:25.084-05:00ANTM All-Stars: The End of the RunwayAnd here we are at last, fellow Booty Toochers...we've come down to the final three sad, shopworn girls battling for a crown of tin and paste. Who will be the winner? And can they truly be said to have won?<br />
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Our opening montage reminds us of our three choices: Creepy Chan, blonde kewpie doll of enormous eyes and bloodlust; Angelea, angry girl from the 716 who works at a bank, so we know she's classy, even if her Greek extends only to "where is the bathroom?"; and Lisa, a 47-year-old mother of three who, judging by her confessional hairstyle, is apparently hot-rolling her hair for her son Joey's wedding on Long Island this weekend.<br />
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We return to the house, where Angelea is giddily crowing, "Final Three! Final Threeeeee!" while Allison looks at her feet and Lisa grudgingly allows herself to be hugged. Then it's time for Lisa's sob story--she has been performing her whole life to "break through the shackles of physical, sexual and mental abuse." She tells us that she's the best she's ever been, and wants to win ANTM to boost her new album and help her charity for abused children.<br />
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Angelea tells us that she will fight to the death for this win, and that she sees it as redemptive after her previous loss. To be honest, we don't seem to spend as much time on her story as Lisa's, but then, we've heard it in every single talking head from Angelea, so we're good.<br />
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Allison reminds us that she's still recovering from the death of her father (from cancer). She wants to win because she's interested in pursuing a fashion career (though again, she mentions working behind the camera--she doesn't really want this job). Also, I notice that although her eyebrows are bleached the same terrible yellow-white as her hair so that she looks like Powder, in every single one of her portfolio shots, they've darkened her brows to brown. Nice makeover, Tyra.<br />
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TyraMail! Up pop three Greek words, which Angelea translates as "easy, breezy, beautiful"--that's right, it's time for the Cover Girl challenge!<br />
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Lisa tells us that Angelea is her strongest competition, but she thinks Ang is too fragile to succeed. And then she gives us this life lesson: "When things get hard, you hold onto the handlebars of fierceness and don't let go. She's let go many, many times." Gentle readers, always remember to cling to the handlebars of fierceness, even when you've skidded into the gravel pit of jealousy. (And remember to wear your helmet of confidence.)<br />
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Allison says that Lisa's very good, and that it comes down to what the client/judges want. No one has anything nice to say about Allison? Mean!<br />
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Another sunny day, which presumably will once again be tough for near-albino Allison. They've gathered at a seaside restaurant for Mr. Jay to instruct them. This year's product is some sort of eyeshadow plus primer in a stick. IntenseBlast? Something. And their photographer is Nikos, who I believe did the salad bowl shoot and loved Allison even though she couldn't open her eyes. The Cover Girl rep is on set, to add to the pressure.<br />
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The girls are given "scripts" that fit on an index card, but will no doubt trip everyone up anyway. Lisa's shoot is first, and Cover Girl Lady (henceforth, CGL) seems pleased. Good thing this is for eyeshadow and not lip gloss, because you can see every little wrinkle around her mouth. Now it's time for the commercial--they have a "teleprompter" in the form of a PA with an iPad who's finger-scrolling while the person reads. That can't possibly be helpful, can it? How does the iPad holder know how far he's scrolled?<br />
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Lisa has no trouble with the basic text of the commercial, but there's an "Oh, yes!" in the middle of it that's throwing her. No matter how she says it, she sounds insincere. (Honestly, I think that's as much a fault of the writing as the acting.) My TV sound had a momentary glitch on the first take so that I thought she said, "Fuck, yeah!" It should be a warning to Tyra that it seemed perfectly reasonable to me that Lisa would ad lib a swear in her commercial. In the end, it seems like they kind of give up on it, and Lisa's a little deflated, even though CGL tells her good job.<br />
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Next is Allison, looking kitted out for the club in a plunging electric blue shift and flatironed hair. Allison is worried because she was the worst at Cover Girl in her last cycle, and once again, she's finding it impossible to open her eyes. It looks like they're standing under the shade of a pergola, so I'm a little surprised--it's not like she's in full sun--but this is her "handicap" to overcome, apparently. In the end, they get some profile shots and then shoot a bunch with her eyes closed. Also, I see in this footage that her eyebrows are still brown, so apparently the ridiculous erased-eyebrow look in confessional is a sneak preview of the runway styling!<br />
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Time for Allison's commercial, and she has to emote more. Mr. Jay finds her too introverted and tells her to dial it up to 11--her next take is better. That's all we get, so I guess they're OK with it.<br />
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Angelea professes her nervousness to Lisa, who looks bored and holds a battery-powered fan to her face. Angelea is in a hot pink dress that is a terrific color for her. Her shoot apparently goes well, because we don't spend much time there. Right on to her commercial, which actually has great energy and appeal, except for something in the middle where she shouts "Frowers!" or something. I can't understand it. Ohh...we get take 7, in which she pronounces "for hours" correctly. And that's the take, so back home for more TyraMail!<br />
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The message is "Ciao bella...get ready for a beach day." The girls instantly start trying to puzzle out this message, wondering if they're going to Italy...but no, they're staying in Crete (at a gorgeous beach--seriously, Crete absolutely delivered the money shots for this show) and having their Vogue Italia shoot! We see the ridiculous eyebrow bleaching, which Angelea declares makes her look like Vogue Italia.<br />
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Allison is sent into a little crevice in the cliffs, where she poses in a white bikini and has no apparent problems with her eyes. Oh, we quickly rush right on to Lisa in the same bikini and the same crevice. Honestly, you can't see that much of the girls in this position. Angelea poses as well, and we see that they got some ocean shots, too. The camera mostly avoids Angelea's paunch.<br />
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Oh, jeez. Mr. Jay explains the runway, including the exciting fact that having three girls walk is an ANTM first (really?). For the final show, the girls will descend into a pool of water, symbolizing their transformation from mortals to goddesses. Then they will fly through the air and walk the runway to the strains of the song they wrote. To fill out the fashion show, they'll be joined by not only local models, but also our last three bootees, Shannon, Dominique and Laura!<br />
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Faithful viewers will recall that a few weeks ago, the girls all "designed" their goddess dresses in hopes of making it this far. Now those dresses are ready, and we'll see what on earth their assorted gibberings turned into. Lisa's is, unsurprisingly, a mirrored bustier with a white skirt cut mini-length in front, but with a bridal train behind. It's a skirt mullet. A skullet. She loves it.<br />
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Angelea's has a sheer top with lots of gold detailing that seems sort of Egyptian, and has high gold winged shoulders. The rest of the gown is white and clingy, but also has a long train. Allison's is lacy and sheer on top with a chiffony sort of skirt (I can't see if it has a train). Basically, she looks like she's in a wedding gown.<br />
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Each of our booted visitors pick a different candidate--or rather, Laura picks Allison ("Go, Allie Cat!"), Shannon picks Lisa, and Dominique picks "each one of these girls is so different." Weird, that doesn't sound like "Angelea." All the girls are also wearing carnival masks, and I believe I just saw Miss Jay marching to his seat in a gladiator helmet with a stiff red mane. As we go to commercial, Angelea starts to cry, getting nervous about the water portion, since she doesn't know how to swim. Girl, think! Are they seriously going to make you SWIM in your FULL-LENGTH GOWN? Don't be an idiot.<br />
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Oops--we start, and I'm forced to eat my words a bit--the girls aren't in clothes yet, but in simple white tunics. They actually do swim across a little pool and then step into a circle of curtains, which are raised while the girl is hastily changed and put in a harness to "fly" about eight feet to the runway. At which point the woman is disconnected again and begins her walk. This "show" must have been excruciating for the audience, because there had to be at least 5 minutes to change and then to unhook each girl from the harness, right? Though I notice this girl's hair is dry--I think television tricks may be at work.<br />
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Lisa's in a long red wig today. She's swimming underwater and tries to do a dramatic flip, but then her long fake hair gets caught in her mask, she gets lost, and swims into the side of the pool. She pops up, confused, and then carries on her way. Aha! Lisa explains it all to us. When Soggy Lisa steps into the Circle of Changing, the curtains rise and she dashes out the back while a girl in "goddesswear" steps in to take her place. But then Lisa runs away, changes, and comes back to be harnessed, fly, and begin the runway...so what did the other girl do? I'm confused.<br />
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Anyway, Lisa is doing her best mime of "walking against the wind," because it's blowing like crazy here on Crete. Her train is all over the place, but she makes it to the end of the runway for the opening beats of "I Be Like Whoa" to start up. She sashays happily up and down the runway while the judges boogie in their seats. Yeah, she's a veritable Terpsichore, people.<br />
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Some more generic models go, so we have time to watch Angelea freak out some more. She dives in, has a little panic and comes up with mask askew, but then makes it the rest of the way across the pool. Backstage, she gets popped into her dress and gets hooked up for her "flight." She flaps her arms as though that will help, and her nose is popped in the air as though she's trying to peer under her mask. She gets to the end of the runway and her song starts up: "I Ain't Goin' Nowhere (I'm Here)". Mr. Jay is standing and fist pumping like the Jersey Shore's drag queen cousin.<br />
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Allison's turn, and she seems to have confused this with a swimming contest, as she submerges right away and swims underwater all the way across the pool. She's gasping for air a bit as she comes out, but they get her sewn into her dress and she has some graceful poses on the wire. Her gauzy train is practically horizontal (as are the ginormous false eyelashes on her mask), and she tells us that she's almost blown off her stilettos in a couple of spots. I think her "Underwater" song helps her because it gives her a beat to march to--she doesn't look as gawky as she usually does in runway.<br />
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Heh. Lisa, in a post-show talking head said, "I think I had an insane runway show." This would be unremarkable except at the moment, she's in a frizzy red fright wig and her eyes are encircled with black like a raccoon, so it's rather more literal than I think she intends. Angelea isn't feeling well, or she's upset, or something (and I see her dress's seam has split), and Lisa gives her a side eye.<br />
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OMG! Surprising update! We come back from commercial, not to the girls, but to the panel in L.A., with serious music playing. This is "a special finale being conducted under unusual circumstances." Turns out, after shooting was completed, Nigel tells us, the production team learned information from Angelea that disqualifies her. Shocker! (Is she pregnant? I bet she's pregnant.) WTF??? They don't tell us. They just say that they'll be judging only Allison and Lisa, without Angelea in the mix, and then Mr. Jay says, "You know what, guys? We wish Angelea all the best in all her future endeavors." ALT chimes in, "Oh, absolutely. Absolutely." BUT WHAT IS IT WHAT DID SHE DO TELL ME TELL ME!!!<br />
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No such luck. On to final judging with Allison and Lisa, in their finale dresses as though they weren't standing in L.A. I wonder if Lisa got married yet? I see Allison dyed her eyebrows back, at least. Tyra runs down the many prizes waiting for the winner (including spokesmodel for the official ANTM fragrance, "Dream Come True"--Lisa gets a look on her face that says, "Not Neon?"). Who. Is going. To be. America's. Next. Top. Model? (I did that a la Tyra for you.)<br />
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The judges loved Allison's swim, but found her walk awkward. Lisa's swim was a disaster, but she "worked the wind" and conquered her dress. Time for Cover Girl commercials! Allison's is pretty good, and they cut in the eyes closed shots so she looks languorous, not suffering from the light. Nigel tells her she looks like she's communicating even through her closed eyelids. ALT wanted even more energy and pop in her articulation. Lisa's commercial is fun and flirty, and ALT loved it. Tyra was not impressed, though, and felt that Lisa's "daring" persona wasn't there. Lisa is practically biting her tongue not to say, "Jay told me to tone it down."<br />
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Print ad time! Allison's is first, and to be honest, this isn't a terrific shot, I think. Her eyes are pretty, but her mouth is just sort of agape and her face looks undefined, almost pudgy. Nigel says it's a bit vacant, and Tyra agrees, saying she didn't smize. All the other judges fall in line to agree. Oh, man, tell me Lisa's not going to win this whole thing. SHE'S 103 YEARS OLD, PEOPLE! But her ad is definitely better--she's actually peering out at us from behind her bangs, so you can see only one eye, but it's got a lot of personality. She's rocking the "Modelland" eye.<br />
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The judges are going off to deliberate, but it doesn't look good for our Allison. I am shocked that Lisa may take this whole thing home. I was sure we were looking at Angelea. Oh, I have so much Googling to do! Whatever could have disqualified her? Basically, the judges all agree that Allison has this compelling look that sucks people in, but Lisa's an all-round performer.<br />
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And the winner is...<br />
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Not us, yet, because we have to watch Part 2 of Tyra's crazy-ass Modelland "motion editorial" from last week. (I'd forgotten all about it.) Oh, evil--the final shot of the video will announce the winner of the season.<br />
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We start the vid, and once again it's yellow dinosaur-girls and Allison in a cat helmet and Lisa just looking old...and hey, they cut all of Angelea out of the video. She's been fully disappeared. That's what you get for disappointing Tyra.<br />
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And the final shot is...Lisa. Ancient, trashy, horse-faced Lisa. Um, congratulations. Good luck with your foul-mouthed correspondent, Extra. Bullet dodged, Allison. Sucks to be you, Angelea.<br />
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So goodnight, smizers! I be like whoa at having had you all reading this whole season, and I will leave you with these final words of wisdom...<br />
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POT LEDOM is Top Model backwards.<br />
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<b>Update: </b>According to Twitter, Angelea really did win, but stupidly couldn't keep her mouth shut on Facebook, so the judges disqualified her and reshot the ending in L.A. Man, if it's true, that is a dumb, dumb way to lose.<br />
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<br />Abbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18307375316946083851noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2122019877166926354.post-53778945253022169982011-11-30T21:49:00.001-05:002011-11-30T23:07:51.898-05:00ANTM All-Stars: Tyson Beckford and the IntoxibellasSmize, everybody! After Tyra gave us the holiday off with last week's clip episode, I'm back and rarin' to blog. And Tyra's rarin' to plug--tonight's episode will be about Tyra filming a "movie" to plug her YA book, <i>Modelland</i>. Yes, it is a <i>New York Times</i> bestseller. The eye on the cover is definitely smizing.<br />
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We rejoin Angelea, who expresses surprise and glee that she was kept over Dominique last week. Angelea seems not quite to have learned the lesson the other girls were trying to teach, but hey, learning has never been one of ANTM's priorities. Back at the house, Laura admires her photo on the "digital art" wall (i.e., the television) and speculates about what it would be like to win. The breakouts on her chin don't encourage this speculation. All the girls cluster around to admire her photo for a while, until Lisa says, "All right. Well, I'm done looking at it," and walks off. OK, heh.<br />
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Next day, the girls meet Nigel in a shop called vendemma, and learn that they will be auditioning for "their future boss," the EIC of Vogue Italia. If you recall her from last cycle, you'll remember that she pulls no punches and basically dismissed all the models but tall, skinny Ann. She doesn't care about your personality, your story, or your personal tragedy--she just wants a clotheshanger.<br />
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Oh, lordy. The girls must style themselves in an outfit from this shop, then travel around the countryside taking pictures for a blog post. This will end in tears. But Creepy Chan is psyched--she gets to dress in all her favorite poet-wear and tell herself that she's an artist. Laura tells us that she has a blog of her own, but it's mostly pictures because of her dyslexia--she doesn't like to write a lot. The first spot she chooses looks pretty, but woe! Allison is already there. No drama from Laura, though--she cheerfully goes somewhere else, or waits, or something. Anyway, pictures are taken. Angelea takes some pictures. We've barely seen Lisa. Allison tells us she's the last girl to get back to the house, which makes her nervous, but we don't see any blogs before Nigel arrives to tell them time's up! Who knew blogging could be so exciting?<br />
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TyraMail! I went out for wine with friends after work, and as a result I am far too woozy to bother transcribing her nonsense. It means nothing anyway. We meet Mr. Jay in a picturesque cobblestone street so that he can reveal to the girls that they will be starring in "a motion editorial." Seriously? Motion editorial? As an editor, I don't think I can condone that. Moving on...Tyra appears, in rather sketchy hair and a blue newsboy cap. She's got her directing hat on, y'all! Or no, sorry--it's her book-plugging hat. We learn that "Modelland" is an elite modeling school on top of a mountain that only a select few girls get to attend. So basically, Hogwarts for models. The heroine is named "Tookie," and she learns that inner beauty is important, or something. (Gordon observes that ancient Crete was wiped out by a volcanic eruption and ensuing tsunami, and speculates--correction, hopes--that the gods may return to finish the job after seeing this.)<br />
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Angelea is dressed like a fifty-year old cruise maven on the Lido deck. Don't know why. Jay tells us that the shoot will last for TWO whole days, and scenes will be done out of order "like a real movie." He neglects to add that this is only to confuse the girls more. Their first scene is a footrace--all the girls are racing to see who gets into Modelland (I guess cardio is important?), and they're all wearing gauzy yellow toga-like gowns with silver accountrements, the most notable of which is a silver mohawk of spikes. They all look like dinosaurs, basically. There's running and posing and looking modelly-not-runnery. I think this is like a bad Fellini imitation.<br />
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Next is a scene where Lisa is hiding in a sort of doorway/cave thing, holding a baby doll. (Hey Lisa? Notice how they're casting you as the mom? Just sayin'.) Tyra and Jay praise her ability to work the doorway and find her light. Laura's scene is her digging through a bag of trash--she's in a turquoise leotard and has hair frizzed out to forever and grime smeared all over her face. She does not look modelly so much as COMPLETELY INSANE. Eventually she gets a shot, but it seems to be difficult.<br />
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Time for another Laura scene--now she's in a big white poofy dress and posing with a whipped cream can. (Tookie loves whipped cream, y'all.) Tyra has Laura spraying the cream into her mouth, and then tells her, "Don't swallow, don't swallow, don't swallow, spit" and we get to watch that happen. Now all the girls are in white dresses, clustered around a water fountain splashing it fiercely. As you do. They all look ridiculous. Then they're waving toy weapons around and wearing their head-spikes again.<br />
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OMG, now it's Creepy Chan's dream shoot. Bad supermodels in Modelland (called "intoxibellas") are turned into cats, so Allison comes out dressed all in black, wearing a sequined black helmet with cat ears and holding a kitten. She is thrilled. Basically, think of this:<br />
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Allison thinks she rocked the cat shoot, feeling a bond with her feline sisters, and then we get a glimpse of her in red, smelling a grapefruit. Then she gets to have a bloody lip! It's a horror movie! Oh, lucky, lucky Creepy Chan!<br />
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Time for Angelea. This is the serious part, everyone, so grab a tissue. Tookie feels unloved at Modelland, so Angelea (also in crazy-frizzy hair) has to tap into her personal tragedy. I know you'll be surprised to hear that Angelea feels a kinship with Tookie, and cries to Tyra about her past. Tyra is eating it up, and Angelea is weeping. Standing behind a ladder, she whispers to camera, "I'm Tookie." This is the first point where I think, oh, no, they're going to give this whole thing to Angelea.<br />
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Oh, hey! Remember that blog challenge? Well, Nigel is "having a phone call" with Franca Sozzani the Vogue Italia lady. The two of them review the blog posts. Allison's is too short, and Nigel thinks it's too hifalutin, because she writes about "Persephone's demise" and claims to have felt inspired. I find myself rolling my eyes, but not sure at whom. Laura "went deeper" than Allison, according to Franca, but "not interesting points." But she likes Laura's sexy photo. Lisa should be disqualified just for her font choices--but she had a decent idea in discussing the difference between her life in California and her experiences here on Crete. Franca feels she needed to compare the fashion more directly, though. And finally, Angelea's blog was very good, and talked about fashion and her own background, and had some nice photos. Nigel tells Franca, "Unfortunately, she can explode once in a while" which Franca feels is "maybe not safe." Um, for a blogger? Well, actually, I retract my snark on that one. Yeah, I can just imagine Angelea going off in a blog post about someone who actually turns out to be a designer. Heh. Please, Vogue, give her a blog! I want carnage!<br />
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The girls are eating at the villa when Nigel arrives to tell them who's won the blog challenge. This challenge comes with a pretty great prize, a week's vacation for 2 here on Crete, at a gorgeous-looking hotel. Nigel is holding a wrapped box, and says it's an additional gift from the hotel. Nigel tries to throw us off the scent by telling Angelea that Franca liked her blog, but then telling Lisa a whole bunch of things they liked (and leaving out the lack of fashion talk). So when he announces the winner is Angelea, Lisa (in confessional) says, "So <i>that</i> just came out of right field, like <i>what?" </i>Angelea is shrieking and grabs her gift box. What is it, what is it? We don't even see her open it, but it turns out to be a golden laurel wreath. Um, great, she'll wear that SO many places!<br />
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Back to Day 2 of the Modelland shoot, with a new and shiny co-star: Tyson Beckford! The girls are swooning over Tyson, which gives us time to watch Tyra's shoot. (C'mon, you didn't think she was going to stay out of this video, did you?) She's wearing a pink body stocking that looks sort of like a footless onesie, and is covered in writing. I don't even. Oh, and now she's in a bright yellow dress and kissing Tyson, because it's "Tookie's" first kiss. (Notice how she kept this shot for herself, rather than letting the girls do it.)<br />
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The girls come down now, wearing their yellow dragon outfits from yesterday--oh, sorry, they're "gladiatresses." If only there had been more emphasis on the classics at Modelland, Tyra might have known that the word is "gladiatrix" (or "gladiatrices"?). There's some thing with a reveal, and masks, and someone is winning--I seem to have lost the plot--but Allison is having issues with her sensitive eyes again. Fortunately, Tyra loves tears. Allison still worries that she might be going home.<br />
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Time for judging! I pray there is a link to this trailer on the ANTM site, because I cannot imagine being able to describe it adequately here. I notice that ALT was nowhere to be seen this week, though he's at panel--maybe he was at the Ministry of Modelling during this ep? It is worth noting that Tyra is wearing, in addition to suspenders, a button-down shirt that has a cape instead of sleeves. I will say no more.<br />
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Ack! In explaining the challenge to the judges, Tyra once again uses the phrase "motion editorial." But even worse, she tells us it was for her first "fiction novel." Bad Tyra! Wrong, wrong, wrong! Don't make your ghostwriter whack you on the nose with a rolled-up copy of <i>Publishers Weekly</i>. <br />
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We're only watching Part I of the video this week...for Part II, we have to tune in to next week's finale. That's so now--just like HP7 and <i>Breaking Dawn</i>. Tyra has her finger on the pulse. This video is already giving me a stroke. It's all stuttery edits and bad techno music and pointless effects. It's completely incoherent. This is the kind of video they run backwards in "don't take drugs" ads to show you how wrecked the person is. And then--ew! Tyra and Tyson are having their kissing moment, and Tyson runs his thumb along her lips. Tyra lunges for it like a trout after a fly, and you hear the slurp as she sucks his thumb. Ugh. It is almost as bad as this:<br />
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We end with closeups of each of the girls whispering, "I'm [insert model name here]...and I'm Tookie." Annnnd scene. The lights come up and everyone claps. Nigel leaps in instantly with "Wow. My goodness." He is loud, but I notice those are not technically words of praise. Tyra flirts a little with Tyson, and then moves onto judging.<br />
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Angelea comes out first, and Tyra praises her "emotional breakthrough" that made her more beautiful than ever in the crying scene. But she laughed at her in the running scenes, because Angelea looks like a robot. Laura's next, and while they like her "I'm Tookie," they warn her about being hyper-aware of the camera. Wow, that's kind of meta when you're on a reality show. Anyway, they also feel she was a little too sexy in the whipped cream scene. Really? The half-dressed girl squirting whipped cream into her mouth was too sexy? However did that happen?<br />
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Allison is rocking her crazy red lips, and Nigel says, "Very good. I'm very impressed." Tyson speaks up to say, "I disagree." He felt that Allison couldn't find the camera, and her eyes were darting around. She acknowledges the trouble with her eyes, and Tyra is sympathetic but basically says, figure it out, because it's her major strength. Finally, Lisa. ALT loved her! Loved the action scenes, loved the Tookie whisper. Tyra did, too, but reminds her not to forget her model-self.<br />
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Oh, man, is this finale going to come down to Angelea and Lisa? I don't know if I can handle that.<br />
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I'm skipping the judging discussion--there are pros and cons to all of them. Interestingly, Tyson loved Angelea and hated Allison. Cut to the girls waiting around, basically with no clue who's on top. Then we're back at panel with a chyron telling us "1.5 hours later." Nigel and Tyra are standing, and it seems that ALT and Nigel are fighting. Tyson seems bored and "Producer Ken Mok" calls in, "Make a decision." He's the one who knows they're paying the crew overtime. Tyson tells Tyra she's going to have to make "an executive override" and she shoots back, "I don't override." Uh-huh. Tell that to Janice Dickinson or Paulina Porizkova. Who will it be?<br />
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Tyra praises the girls and points out that the deliberation took forever, but someone is going home. The first girl called is...Lisa! She's trying to look humble but mostly looks smug. Runner-up for best performance is...Angelea! Oy. But she's gracious and excited. We're down to Allison and Laura, and I fear we're going to lose sweet Laura, although the tide seemed to turn on Allison this week. Our third finalist is...Allison! Well, yeah. No way is Laura <i>Italian Vogue</i> material, sweet though she is. She's devastated, and Allison is crying from the winners' stand. She sweetly says her goodbyes, and is played out with her "Pot Ledom" song.<br />
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And that's it! Tune in next week to see who is the Tookie, and who is the Intoxibella!<br />
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<br />Abbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18307375316946083851noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2122019877166926354.post-47441363934296524392011-11-21T23:07:00.001-05:002011-11-21T23:07:33.312-05:00Talking TurkeyHappy Thanksgiving! Some of the editors at work got together for a little lighthearted fun on our romance fan page, Pocket After Dark. We channeled our inner kindergarteners and made Turkey Hand drawings...try to match each one to its editor:<br />
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<a href="http://pocketafterdark.com/_Happy-Thanksgiving-The-Home-Game/blog/5499561/159176.html" target="_blank">Happy Thanksgiving: The Home Game</a><br />
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Can you guess which one I did?Abbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18307375316946083851noreply@blogger.com2