And we’re back! This week’s show promised to start trimming down the remaining contestants two at a time. Thank goodness—tomorrow is the actual Project Runway finale at Bryant Park (and we’ll be attending—whoo!), which means news of the final four will soon be all over the Web faster than you can say “spoiler alert.” Last week, Terri  offered a “Peace out, Stella!” to the ousted contestant. Then she added, “Will I miss Stella? No.” Yeah, neither will we.

Okay, and we’re back! With Stella in a bikini! Um. That was totally unnecessary. (Though I did have a small spark of caffeine-addled affection when Terri told her she makes “kick” coffee.) Suede, on the other hand, has had to move in with the remaining guys, but he’s just happy to be one of the one of the last four guys standing. Um, along with the remaining five girls. So hurrah for Suede for solidly proving to be in the middle of the pack? Honestly, Suede, it’s really not that impressive if Stella and Goatee Joe are still around.

We confess to be suffering from Project Runway ennui. The show has reached its midseason slump, and with several contestants still around who we thought should have been booted long ago—hello, Goatee Joe and Stella—our interest is starting to wane. We were highly unenthused about this week’s episode until our handy cable guide told us that superstylist Rachel Zoe—known to the world as Raisinface thanks to gossip blogger Perez Hilton and despite her best attempt to Botox out all those wrinkles—will be a guest. Not surprisingly, she’s got her own show debuting on Bravo September 9, but we’re hoping she’ll also contribute some hilariously clueless commentary and at least add some much-needed amusement to the process.


As the episode unfolds, the contestants seem equally worn out. Kenley tells us she’s sad to see Daniel gone because they were “best friends.” Um, really? Even after she advised him poorly on his Olympic cocktail dress and subsequently laughed out loud on the runway when he defended his taste? Really, with friends like that . . . .


And we’re back! And, oh my goodness, we happen to kick things off with a shot of Stella in the morning. With seriously bad bedhead. Well, that was a rude awakening. Still, we have high hopes for this week’s Project Runway. With so many contestants left, we’re still dealing with a lot of mediocre designs, but this week’s drag queen extravaganza ought to mix things up a bit.
 
Off to the runway, and then suddenly: From behind the screen, out toddles an enormous viking! Why, it’s Season 4 contestant Chris March. He and Heidi try to air kiss, and there’s a very awkward moment where his disco-ball-breasts get all in the way. Next comes a full parade of drag queens—not unlike the Olympic stadium a few episodes back, Korto proclaims them to be “ginormous!” The contestants are looking less than thrilled with the task at hand, and we can’t blame them. Since when did designing drag attire become a way to prove yourself as a competent modern designer?
 
Only Terri is thrilled: “This is the challenge I’ve been waiting for, because I love drag queens.” Really, Terri? This is the challenge you’ve been waiting for?

And here we go! Your fearless recapper had the pleasure of enjoying this week’s show with family, which involved explaining to my father that Project Runway and the subsequent airing of Shear Genius were two different shows. (He was quite confused). But we digress. Let’s move to the recap, shall we?

After some gratuitous exercising footage—does Daniel always wear plaid pants when lifting weights? Weird!—we’re back with Heidi on the runway. I’m glad they’ve decided to fully dispense with the tedious choosing-the-same-model-every-time process, but I sure do miss those tacky oversized buttons with everyone’s names on them.

Back in the studio, everyone starts speculating on who the “high-powered and glamorous professional woman” they’ll be designing for this week will be. Blayne hopes it’s not Hillary Clinton, because he would be forced to make her a neon pantsuit. Which is a hilarious image. There is also speculation that it could be Nancy Grace (um, who?), Joan Rivers, or Sharon Osbourne. Obviously, Project Runway’s lengthy history of bringing on D-list personalities has had much bearing on the contestants’ guessing games. At least they’re being realistic.

And we’re back! Now four weeks in, the designer pool is being whittled down quickly, although the ones we think should have been kicked off weeks ago (ahem, Stella, Jerell) are still hanging around. This week, the designers are piled into vans with Tim Gunn and dispatched across the city. Jerell doesn’t care where they’re going; he just hopes it “has nothing to do with female wrestlers.” Um. Random! Kelli, on the other hand, hopes it has nothing to do with hospitals. Tim uses the time to quiz Blayne on his tanning schedule—it’s about every other day—which Blayne likens to his personal hobby. We’ve been liking Blayne more and more, but we’re starting to really worry about his risk of melanoma.

After last week’s snoozefest of an ecochallenge, we were wishing and hoping (and thinking and praying) that the new episode of Project Runway would return to our good graces in a big way. We were not disappointed: The show bounced back with flying colors—also with Carmen Miranda-cha-cha-cha! colors—lots of glorious New York scenery, and a blissfully minimal amount of Stella time.

After the most anticlimactic model selection ever—Suede loves Tia! Suede blows everyone kisses with two hands!—our fearless contestants are sent back to the cozy Atlas apartments to await the arrival of our hero Tim Gunn, who will be taking them out for a night on the rainy town. Tim rolls in with a sleek black trench and majorly popped collar (Blayne: “Aren’t you ’licious!”) as well as ponchos and brightly colored Hunter wellies for all. (Seriously, where did those materialize from? Random!) Why, he’s taking them on a double-decker tour-bus ride!