Project Runway Rundown: Train Wreck

Finally, Project Runway has come back to my television.

After more than a year since the end of the last installment (the one that the slightly jerky tattooed Jeffrey won), we jumped right into this new season with a one-hour premiere.

Two reasons I liked last night's episode more than the usual two-hour premiere with audition footage. 1. Two hours of ANY reality show is just too much and inevitably leads to drawn out segments and (the main reason) 2. Out of all the reality shows out there, the contestants on "Project Runway" are absolutely the most talented. So if we sat through auditions and saw awful ones, they wouldn't be as bad or as entertaining as listening to someone who's a terrible singer (like on "American Idol"). Also, as a straight dude I sometimes can't tell the difference between a crazy-good design and a crazy-bad one.

I felt the urge to remind you that I'm straight after watching jean designer Kevin felt compelled to do the same. Also, because I'm writing back to back recaps of "America's Next Top Model" and this show within a space of two hours. Honestly, what is Kevin doing? He should spend less time trying to make sure he can hook up with women who watch the show once he gets eliminated and more time trying to win.

Of course, the downside of last night's hour-long premiere was that we didn't really get to know the great majority of the designers, who introduced themselves in rapid-fire succession before the first commercial break. For example, my early favorites are the fat guy who makes costumes, the smooth bald dude, the guy with the 80's hair, and the crazy "multi-media artist" lady. My sources tell me their names are actually Chris, Rami, Christian and Elisa. Chris even made a dress out of salad once — since he certainly hasn't been eating any. Ohhhhhhh! (Sorry, that was really mean — I apologize to my fat readers.)

Everyone else kinda blended in together. Except for the black woman who used to be a model (Carmen) and claimed that gave her a big advantage over everyone else. (huh?) Also, Ricky the lingerie guy who designed, you guessed it, lingerie for the first challenge.

Instead of making a dress out of garbage, salad (hello Chris) or other random items as is "Runway" tradition, the first challenge was about letting the designers express who they are. I LOVED this idea. Given the time constraints and the number of contestants (which I estimated at 32, j/k) it was a good way of having certain people stand out. After meeting in Bryant Park, they all (except for Chris, who huffed and puffed) toward tents with fabric for their design.

It's also a good way of weeding out the weaker, inexperienced ones. It reminded me of the complete collapse of Michael last year, who dominated the competition last year until the "express who you are as a designer challenge" and he crapped the bed because he was really young and had no idea who he was as a designer.

The standouts for me and the judges this week were challenge-winner Rami (am I the only one who thought his beautiful dress was slightly unflattering?) and Christian (whose jacket sleeve pattern was as asymmetrical as his haircut). The bottom two came down to crazy Elisa, who concoted a vaguely bad gown, which was taken to another level of badness by a train composed of discarded, grass-stained fabric and Simone, whose construction was poor. The orangey Michael Kors also pointed out that her jacket clashed with her dress (which I honestly didn't think was that bad at all.) Not surprisingly, boring lost out to crazy and Simone went home, which is bad for her, but great for viewers as we have loopy Elisa around at least one more week.

So what'd you think of the season premiere? Who are your early favorites? I like Chris (despite the fat jokes), Rami, Christian, Elisa and Jack (who just seems like a nice guy). My least favorites are Carmen, Kit Pistol and Sweet P Vaughn. The latter two mostly because they're adults who refer to themselves as "Kit Pistol" and "Sweet P Vaughn" (they sound like porn stars). Does it seem like Tim Gunn (pictured, left, with Heidi Klum) is getting slightly tired of saying "Make it work" and "carry on"?

How do you think this cast compares to seasons past? Who do you like to win? I'm going with Rami and his elegant designs because risk-taker Jeffrey won last year, and boring, I mean, safe Chloe Dao before that, and I'm just assuming it alternates. Finally, if you've done dresses for Jessica Alba (as Rami has), what the hell are you doing on "Project Runway"?