Project Runway 3, Week 11

Manolo says, and it was the disappointingly anti-climactic week of disappointing anti-climaxes.

First, the Manolo must admit, that the previous week without the televised episode had diminished the Manolo’s enthusiasm, especially when he had already seen the final collections on the runway, collections which did not overly impress the Manolo.

And so because his ardor for the designers had perhaps cooled, the Manolo found that he was this week less interested in their risible antics, and much less interested in their “artistic” visions, having already seen the disappointing final product of those visions.

But the Manolo must carry on manfully as his many internet friends are awaiting his ridiculous pensées.

As for the anticlamatic anticlimax, the Manolo was disappointed that no one was sent away, just as he was disappointed during the previous episode when the Vincent and the Angela were brought back.

These instances seem to the Manolo to be the unnecessary bending, twisting, breaking of the rules by the producers so as to increase the dramatic tension. Although last night the rule-fiddling was not so much about the increasing of the tension, as about the acomodating of the favorites, so as to prevent the Michael, the beloved one, or the Jeffrey, the pathetic-boy sort-of-villian, from being sent away.

Yes, on the one level, the Manolo understands this decision to keep the Jeffrey and the Michael for the final runway.

Both the Uli (who deservedly won last night) and the Laura (who again showed too much of the sternum) are the completely predictable designers. While, the Michael seemed (until the Manolo saw his final collection) to have the impeccable sense of what worked. And the Jeffrey, for all of his many and manifest faults, is entertaining in his way. Thus the decision was taken by the producers and the judges to keep the more interersting designers, even though their final outfits last night were very weak.

Of the course, this decision, to end in the giant group hug, it undermines the point of the show, which is the fierce competition.

Without the competition, the Project Runway is not worth the watching. And when the losers arbitrarily can be brought back, and the final three arbitrarily made the final four, the show is revealed as silly and artifical. Yes, the Project Runway it was always silly and artificial, but as long as the competition seemed plausibly fair we could ignore this, so accustomed are we to the nature of games. In the world of games, the one thing you do not do is change the rules halfway through, for to do so is to render the game not worth the playing, or the watching.

Thankfully, however, last night, there were still the Tim Gunn, the Michael Kors, the pillowy Heidi Klum, and the Ninotchka Garcia de Castellanos to observe. Indeed as far as the Manolo was concerned the only truly amusing moment was at the end when the Tim Gunn became almost verklempt, the eyes welling-up, the voice almost demi-semi-quavering, and the lower-lip seconds away from full pout. Who knew that beneath the steely grey hair and the all-business demeanor there lurked the soul of the sentimental, marshmallowy romantic?

Now, it is on to the reunion show. Perhaps the return of the dangerously egomaniacal Keith can provide some true amusement.

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