PR's Chris Vs. Rami showdown,American Idol swings into the '70s,and Square Pegs will be on DVD!

Part one of Project Runway's season finale aired last night and dealt mostly with the Chris March/Rami runway walk-off that would ultimately decide who would get the coveted spot in the Final Three. Interestingly enough,both fellas chose to showcase the darker outfits in their collections;guess they felt the need to be dramatic here in order to really wow the judges.



Tim Gunn was a tad freaked out(along with Heidi,later on)about Chris using human hair as trim,telling him that he had "been in the monkey house" for way too long. In my opinion,it didn't look bad to me and no doubt that the folks at PETA will be thrilled that he didn't use fur.



I loved what Chris did there-yes,it was costumey but as Nina pointed out,many costume designers have gone on to become very successful fashion designers(*cough* Bob Mackie*cough*). His clothes were meant to be,in his words,"glam Goth" and they had a great Addams Family as 1920s flappers vibe to them.

True,his clothes were not the most commercial or practical but I honestly believe that they were supposed to be couture looks,not ready to wear items. The judges did praise him for his creativity and daring use of style,as well as appreciate a lot of the hard work that Chris did,like making an entire skirt from black chrome safety pins(each layer taking about eight hours!).



In the end,however,it was Rami who was given the nod from the judges to be in the Final Three. Rami did atleast show that he could do more than drape(his best dress out of the three that he presented was draped,tho)and his outfits were fashionably designed and made with a easy to sell style. That coat was way overdone,the collar appeared to be strangling the model at times and as Nina pointed out,it had too much volume.



Well, congrats to Rami and better luck to you in all of your future endeavors,Chris. You really can't say that Chris March didn't get a fair shake at this competition(despite the less than enthusiastic reception that he seemed to get from the judges and Tim Gunn on a few occasions)and he took his loss very well.

Chris was genuinely cordial in wishing Rami and the others the best,and rather good natured about the way things turned out,even surprised at all of the "love that the universe" is sending him. Hey,being a good guy on a reality competition show is a rare sight to see,my friend. It's no wonder to me that folks have taken a shine to you and that you will get some leg ups on your road to fashion fame and fortune.

Next week is the Bryant Park showdown and it should be pretty fierce;some of those numbers that Christian is planning to unleash are going to make Chris' hair trimmed clothes appear tame by comparison!



American Idol had the guys and gals sing tunes from the 1970s and once again,I was more impressed by the ladies. The girls weren't perfect by any means(I'll get to that in a moment)but it's easier for me to recall their names and remember what they actually sang. From the fellas,I can quickly name Danny Noriega and David Achuleta,who wowed everyone with his rendition of John Lennon's "Imagine".

Also,I've been noticing certain wardrobe choices by Paula during these rounds. When it's the guys' night,she has on outfits that show some skin and flaunt the girls,if you know what I mean. For the girls,Paula puts on very buttoned up tops,as if she wishes to look like a Prim and Proper Miss on the panel. Paula,please,ok? Don't be so desperate there.

I had to give this week's Sanjaya award to a contestant on both sides this week;first up is Luke Menard for serving us a severely bland and cheesy version of Queen's "Killer Queen". We have Constantine to blame for opening the door to AI singers attempting Freddie Mercury songs. Dude,unless you can sing like Mika,don't even go there:

HE'S KILLING THE QUEEN



MERCURY STILL RULES





And for the girls,it's Kady Malloy who takes the Sanjaya home for fumbling her way thru Heart's "Magic Man". She wasn't the only girl to slip and fall on her song but after giving it a serious re-listen,Kady stuck out like a sore thumb. She sounded like Mumbles from Dick Tracy during the first verse and never got into the right groove to make this song work.

While Kady has a good opera voice,"Magic Man" was way out of her league. That song is like verbal gymnastics,you have to able to start off slow and sultry and then work your way up to the fireworks towards the end. Instead,this wound up blowing up in her face,big time:

WE'RE TRYING TO UNDERSTAND,KADY,WE REALLY ARE



THIS IS WHERE THE MAGIC IS





Other ladies had tough turns on the show,such as Syesha's remake of "Me and Mrs, Jones" but Simon was right,it's not a song written or scored for a woman's voice. She gave it a game go,but the dice rolled snake eyes for her. Brooke did a good job with Carly Simon's "You're so vain" and her range for that type of song is like the porridge that Goldilocks chose,but,she's too damn nice to be truly convincing. Carly Simon has a bitter worldiness in her tone that accents the song with more conviction.

One of my favorites,Amanda the Rock N' Roll Nurse,didn't do so well with her take on "Carry On,Wayward Son" but I refuse to give up on her. She and Carly Smithson are two of the reasons that I have any rooting interest in Idol this season and unless they get voted off,I will still be cheering for the them to go all the way:

CARRY ON, AMANDA



CRAZY ABOUT CARLY



Random Notes:



Square Pegs: The cult teen comedy sitcom is finally coming out on DVD,with a tentative release date of May 20,timed to tied in nicely with co-star Sarah Jessica Parker's Sex In The City big screen film version hitting the theaters.

As an old school fan of the show,I'm happy to hear this news. Hopefully,there will be some good extras available-so far,there's only word of a SJP interview and a couple of "mini-sodes" but you can always make your own fun by playing "Spot the future famous actor/actress!" or a drinking game for each dated '80s reference that pops up.

The Soup: E!'s Friday night mockfest is a must-see for me and if you think it's just another one of those goofy clip shows,think again. Check out this skit that the channel was too timid to show on the air but is right on target,plus damn funny to boot. Reminds me of a few of Trevor Moore's sketches with kids: