Missed Wednesday's debut of Season 5 so I could catch a preview of "The Dark Knight" (go see it, love it, but bring food and water because you will need it to survive -- flick is LONG, and it feels even longer). I was able to catch a repeat last night, even though I was dreading it. Normally I LOVE Project Runway. I covet it. It's right up there with Amazing Race and Top Model as my favorite reality shows. But given all of the behind-the-scenes drama going into this season, I was not happy. For those not in the know, PR5 will be its final season on Bravo before jumping ship to Lifetime. LIFETIME. That network that airs made-for-TV movies starring Meredith Baxter and Golden Girls re-runs (and I believe Blanche and Co. are leaving the network soon, too). The move comes from PR producer Harvey Weinstein throwing his considerable weight around, and alleging that Bravo was taking all the credit for the series' success without�paying the show what it's worth. NBC (Bravo's parent company) is currently suing for breach of contract (or something), but it looks like the Lifetime jump will happen for a new season this fall. That has sparked a number of other changes: Season 5 was rushed into production (by mid-June they were only filming the eighth episode of roughly 12 or 13); Season 6 will be partially filmed in LA; judge Nina Garcia has been dismissed from Elle and landed at Marie Claire (oh, Nina...), and have I mentioned LIFETIME? I mean, sheesh, even Oxygen would be a better fit, unless S6 challenges will involve making it work with stirrup pants and caftans.

Anyway, finally caught the first episode. And just based off those 40-something minutes, this seems like a more personality-based season than S4's talent-based season (which was very light on drama, but big on outstanding work). There are quite a few characters in the mix. Unfortunately, most of them are annoying. I refuse to take a 38-year-old man who refers to himself -- in third person -- only as "Suede" seriously. Between his obsession with tanning (how I weep for my generation), his penchant for adding "-licious" to any word, and his dependence on crotched Depends, Blayne is an unmitigated disaster. I remain dubious as to Jerell's assertions that he was a model, because...no. And also: shut up.�I kind of feel like I might actually like Stella if she stopped whining for five seconds. And I'm delighted that Jerry is gone. What a total doofus. And his outfit�looked like axe-murderer nurse. Just a mess. (For a look at the dress, and all of the first episode's fashions, click here.)

Although it wasn't as bad as I feared, I still got a distinct slap-dash feeling from the proceedings thus far. The fact that they recycled a challenge from Season 1? (The very first, the Gristedes grocery store challenge where the designers�could use only materials found in the�market to make their garments.)�This smacks of, We didn't have time to plan these out, so here you go. Tim and Heidi seem bored or exhausted, and you can't blame them; they just wrapped S4 in March, and this has to be a LOT of work. And I can't get past the deep, abiding fear that all of these people were castoffs from S4, people who were OK, but that didn't quite make the cut. You know what I mean?

That said, I did like the winning dress. Kelli shows a lot of potential; I was particularly impressed by the subtle, but critical, flourishes, like the gold push pins and spiral notebook binding. That was cool. I also liked Daniel's blue cup dress, which must have taken a�ton of work to pull off. He seems like a Debbie Downer, but at least he's ambitious. I was surprised Joe's dress didn't make Top 3. I thought it looked cool and was really inventive, what with the rotini pasta-created design. I also liked Terri's crotcheted top, but thought her portfolio photos looked absolutely dreadful. I thought Korto's gown was beautiful, but a total cop-out on the point of the challenge, which was innovation. The veggie brooch was a decent save, but it still felt cheap to me. Much like Keith's win in the first S3 innovation challenge, where he made a similarly gorgeous dress out of either sheets or a chair covering. How is that innovative?

And that was the most frustrating part of all: these designers�were SO LAZY with the tablecloths. I was very glad that Tim called them out on it (he's even more exasperated on his Bravo blog), but I hoped that the judges would have kicked some more ass. Talk about phoning it in. And they really had no excuse, either. This challenge had been done before! They should have known EXACTLY what the judges were looking for. A tablecloth folded daintily ain't it! To me it spoke to either a lack of talent or a lack of imagination on the part of the majority of these designers. They need some fear of God, or at least Michael Kors,�put into 'em.

A couple other random thoughts: either Leanne or Jennifer (I honestly can't tell them apart) is the most boring person on a reality show, ever. Almost
creepily devoid of soul. Wesley needs to seriously rethink those shorts of his. Keith takes home season hottie by a landslide, followed only by Joe.
It's a really homely bunch up in this piece.