Manolo says, ayyyy! Drag queens and Project Runway! Two great tastes that taste great together, like sequins and neon green feather boas! Like Mediterranean accents and fashion blogging! Like existential despair and bargain vodka!

Oh, how very long the Manolo has been waiting for the Project Runway producers to recognize the pure entertainment value of drag; to see that the addition of the ferociously fierce-o-licious drag queens would likely produce one of the greatest episodes ever.

And indeed, it has come to pass exactly as the Manolo had imagined.

But then, the Manolo has long been convinced that if the television networks were truly serious about increasing viewership they would serve up the heaping helping of drag queenage. Consider how much more entertaining your favorite shows would be if the lead actress were replaced with the giant drag queen. (Finally, The Closer would be watchable!)

So, at long last, there they were, giant glorious drag queens heralded onto the runway by the delightful Chris March in full Brunhilda glory. And these were not just any old random drag queens, no, no, no these were famous drag queens, figures of renown and respect in the “community”. Varla Jean Merman (whose Southern accent is much more convincing than Kyra Sedgwick’s), Miss Understood, Hedda Lettuce, and the others, they are all famous, truly the creme-de-la-drag.

At that point, five minutes into the show, the Manolo’s joy knew no bounds!

And then the designing started and the reality of the episode exceeded the expectations. Without the doubt this was the most quotable episode of the Project Runway ever. “Sad chicken”, “gay pterodactyl”, and “wookie onesie” (with sound effects) have all now entered the Manolo’s vocabulary.

It was also the most entertaining episode ever, every bit of it amusing–the trip to Mood, Tim’s customary workroom walkabout, the inevitable attempt at conflict (between Suede and Hedda Lettuce), the celebrity judge (Ru Paul!), Michael Kors comments– every bit of it wonderfully delicious.

For the Manolo, the exact peak of the show arrived when RuPaul rebuked the excuse-full Keith the Angry Gay Mormon with “the dingoes ate your baby,” which is cryptic in print, but hilarious and sharp and cruel in context. Truly, one of the great moments in the history of reality television.

Likewise, one of the most amusing aspects of this most amusing episode, was that Emphatically Not Gay Joe so fully mastered the subtleties of dressing drag queens, to the point that he was judged the winner for pouring Varla Jean into the spangly pink, Gay Ship Lollipop sailor suit. Masterful.

And Terri, whom the Manolo is completely convinced will be one of the three finalists, came up with something so startlingly surreal and original that the previously ousted Jennifer (the bewildered child who claimed her inspiration was “Holly Golightly meets Salvador Dali”, whatever that means) must be kicking herself. Again, masterful.

The bottom three, Miss J. Jarell (whom the Manolo also expects to be one of the three finalists), Keith the Angry Gay Mormon, and Daniel (the bewildered child with the “impeccable taste” that wasn’t) were all deserved, although Jarell’s outfit was merely not over the top enough, rather than actively bad, like the other two.

And in the end, after Keith was cruelly rebuked, when Daniel was sent away by popular acclaim, it was more like the mercy killing than the auf’ing. Daniel’s threnody of whine had grown tiresome, and his lack of talent had begun to tell.

And now the Manolo must go watch this episode again, for such concentrated entertainment cannot be fully appreciated in the single sitting.

Manolo says, ayyyy! Who knew Brooke Shields was so nice! She is like the giant, beautiful goddess of nice, radiating kindness and good humor everywhere.

Clutch us to your ample bosom, Giant Goddess Brooke! Teach us to be nice to annoying persons with consciously outre hairstyles and studied personality traits. We are your votaries!

Such is the power of Goddess Brooke’s graciousness, that last night, even the most contrived attempts at creating dramatic friction (between Korto and Joe, and Terri and Suede) resulted in the big nothing. And thus, for the first time all season, the clothes were the stars, and not the tediously strained fake personalities.

And for this we are thankful.

Yes, there was that unpleasant (but funny) moment on the runway when Kenley sniggered at Daniel’s protestation that he was possessed of “impeccable taste”, the moment that was sort of like Minnie Pearl making fun of Dolly Parton, ridiculous and ironic on more levels than one could care to count. And in truth, it just made the Manolo pity poor Daniel, self-deluded, his ship of self-image foundering on the rocks of reality.

Other than that, this was the drama-free episode. Indeed it was even one of the few episodes in recent memory when someone actually took Tim’s advice and used it to improve their outfit, as Korto did with her “giant sweet potato” jacket, belting it up and into some semblance of shape.

For the Manolo, the final runway show was the revelation, as it showed that there was more to Keith the Angry Gay Mormon than insecurity, self-regard, self-loathing, and that stuipd bandana. (Who does he think he is, the auxilary member of the 18th Street Locos? ) His final outfit was gorgeous and original, and completely appropriate for Brooke Shields. Bravo!

Likewise, the Manolo has gained new respect for Miss J. Jarell, who is much more intelligent and thoughtful than his silly personal costuming would indicate. His final outfit was the smart blending of textures and materials, and the Manolo preferred it ever so slightly to Keith’s. That belt was rocking.

As for the other outfits, the Manolo agrees that Kelli’s was the clear loser, tacky and cheap-looking as it was. Korto’s wasn’t bad, and ditto for Terri’s, although the Manolo grows weary of the pants thing.

And then there was Blayne, who truly seems to have little talent for original design. Didn’t the Manolo see this exact same grey Bermuda short set on Jennifer Aniston, circa Vince Vaughn? Worse, what is up with Speedy’s the Alka-Seltzer Boy’s hairdo? It does not seem so much styled as thatched.

Of the course, the Manolo now feels guilty for making the gentle fun of Blayne, for it is clear that whatever he lacsk as the designer, he more than makes up for in human decency. They way he behaved on the runway, when asked who should be sent away if his outfit were judged the worst, was the true lesson in grown-up adult behavior. The Manolo salutes him for this edifying display of Brooke Shield’s style graciousness, it deserves our respect.