Project Runway: Part 1 of Season Finale Sends Michael Costello Home

I don't remember when I've seen such devastation on a Reality TV Show as what we saw when Michael Costello realized he was out on Project Runway.

I think among the sobbing I heard Michael say that this setback would have his family demanding he get married again. So, that is where the kid came from? He'd been married?

Anyway, Tim Gunn checking in on the final 4 at home was interesting.

Andy South, in Hawaii, was the most likable he has been. But, I totally don't get why he was not the one who was out, what with the bizarre bikini. Andy's back sob story caused me to find him a little less annoying. Apparently they'd escaped from Laos. And now operate a farm where catfish are grown among other things.

Hawaii made Andy seem like much more of a macho man than New York City did. Andy horrified Tim by picking up a live catfish and made Tim scream like a school girl when Andy suggested handing the catfish to Tim so he could have fun holding it. Andy was also very adept and breaking open a coconut.

I  think next up was Mondo in Denver. Mondo's family seemed nice. Funny dialogue between Tim and Mondo's mother about the raising of Mondo. Apparently Mondo was forced to place baseball (short stop) if he wanted to take piano lessons. His family seemed quite proud of Mondo now, especially his sister.

And then it was to Palm Springs to check in on Michael. Michael had a lot of friends there, all male, and his little boy. And his live-in boyfriend. Apparently Michael's family have long given him a hard time about his lifestyle choices.

And then it was off to Portland to check in on Gretchen Jones. Well, Gretchen has been a Reality TV Show Goldmine. I've gone for really disliking her and wanting her to have a humiliating comeuppance, to sort of liking her and sort of feeling sorry for her. Apparently Gretchen returned to Portland to find her life destroyed,   abandoned by her significant other (was not made clear what gender. I suspect male.), her bank account wiped out, no place to live. I forget what else was in Gretchen's litany of woe.

Then it was back to NYC where each had to put 2 things from their collection and one new item on the Runway. Andy's was the one among the 4 that seemed really really bad to me. But, what do I know?

Michael Costello just seems like a much better one to keep around, just for the making good TV factor. Andy is really not made for TV.

Tim Gunn and the others were eventually able to get Michael's hysterical sobbing to stop and get him back laughing. In the end Michael really did win everyone over. Except, I suppose, for Ivy.

Project Runway: Michael Costello Wins Again While Peach is Out

I thought this week's episode of Project Runway would be more entertaining that it was, what with the bitch slapping of annoying Gretchen by an annoyed Tim Gunn at the end of last week's episode.

Gretchen did some lamenting, called her mom, whined about wanting to go home, then decided to take the high road and turn her lemons into lemonade.

And then proceeded to once more be hyper-critical regarding the sewing skills of Michael Costello, who was driven to tears, the week before, by all the mean comments made by his teammates about his lack of sewing skills, that and being ignorant and lazy.

So, it was very satisfying, when after the Runway Show and after hearing the snarky comments of Gretchen about what an abomination Michael C's work was, after she and several others were told they were safe, with Gretchen sure Michael C was in the bottom, to, instead, have him win. Again.

On the bottom were Valerie Mayen, the other Michael, he being Michael D aka Michael Drummond and Peach Carr.

I forgot to mention, this week's challenge was to transform an ugly bridesmaid's dress into something fashionable. I worded that poorly. It's the dresses that were ugly, not the bridesmaids.

So, Gretchen, and some of the others, like the annoying Andy, are all just appalled that the judges do not see what a totally incompetent designer Michael C is. They keep saying he can not sew. So, how is Michael C holding those clothes he makes together if he is not sewing?

I was surprised it was Peach who got the boot. Valerie's transformed bridesmaid's dress was really embarrassing. Like something you'd find in a real trailer trashy version of a Victoria's Secret store. Michael D's was worse. He managed to make a pleasantly plump lady look even bigger and sort of ridiculous.

I wanted Michael D to get sent home so I'd not have to hear him speak anymore. Why would anyone choose to talk using such an affected, fake, stupid sounding voice? Does he not get enough testosterone?

Project Runway: Casanova Wins, A.J. Out

I was ready to bail on Project Runway after last week's bizarre episode where the designers had to design a look that went with a so-called hat made by an annoyingly pinched little man, who, apparently, is famous for making hats.

Except.

They weren't hats. The hats were more like masks. It was all odd. And not entertaining, like the week before when the designers had to design a look out of junk they bought at a party favor store.

Michael Costello won the hat/mask challenge, giving him immunity this week. A week in which the designers competed on teams of 6.

Last week's winner got to pick first. He picked the female douchebag from Portland, Oregon, named Gretchen. Heidi then picked a name out of a bag. That name, Apriil, got to start the next team. On and on the picking went til Peach was left, by default on April's team.

So, Michael's team had all the winners, while April's team had the losers. Both teams took a different approach, with Michael's team quickly taken over by overbearing Gretchen.

Gretchen is one very odd, very annoying girl. I'd been looking forward to Gretchen getting her comeuppance. This episode delivered that comeuppance.

Gretchen dissed the other team's collection at the Runway Show. She did a lot of know it all, holier than thou, dissing. Usually when a lot of dissing is shown the disser ends up with ironic pie on their face. Gretchen ended up with an awful lot of pie on her face.

So, April's team wins. The judges heap praise. Eventually Casanova wins, which was also foreshadowed when he had a major diva moment, ready to give up and go home, because Tim Gunn had disliked what Casanova was doing. Again. Thus shattering what remained of Casanova's confidence. That and he was very upset because the show was making him fat.

Casanova is Reality TV Gold. That is an extremely flattering photo of Casanova at the top. In reality Casanova sort of looks like a monkey. A Puerto Rican monkey, who is funny, with a funny accent, saying stuff like, "Again Tim Gunn he break my heart, he saying I design for sluts and old ladies."

After Casanova won, the losing team comes out and gets a big dose of reality from the judges. Overbearing Gretchen does all the talking, then switched her spin, as if thinking no one would notice she was totally contradicting herself.

On and on Gretchen talked, pretty much throwing herself under the bus. Where she deserved to be.

But, in the end, with it down to Gretchen and A.J., it was A.J. Thouvenot who got the 2 cheek kiss from Heidi Klum.

And then it got even better, Gretchen comeuppance-wise. Back with the other designers, A.J. lamenting being out, oh the unfairness of it all, Tim Gunn comes in and interupts A.J., pretty much agreeing with him, and then addressing the others, telling them that Gretchen bullied and manipulated them.

So, Gretchen is annoying everyone, including the extremely nice, wise guy known as Tim Gunn. Ivy claimed Tim's words caused an ah ha moment for everyone. Methinks it is going to be fairly funny now, watching a deflated Gretchen, post-comeuppance. There is no way this was the first time in her life that Gretchen found herself on the receiving end of being put in her proper place.