Oholibamah

The pleasant surprise of Kelley and Monica making it almost lessens the sting of losing Teresa. Almost. Peih-Gee was my #1, so as long as she was in I would have survived, but I am happy about all ten females. But no Shane? WTF? Obviously viewer memory stretches back far enough to put through Terry and Andrew, so I am a bit confused. Not thrilled to see Woo in the mix, but the guys I really didn't want to see (Brad, Jim, Max) missed the cut, so no complaints.

Or, as it were, "Purple Kelly".

It isn't that people who don't obsess over the show aren't watching it correctly, but there is a greater chance that they are voting without having all of the information. I would be hard pressed to find many people who, having watched Tocantins and Worlds Apart back-to-back, would prefer to see Max back over Stephen. Yet, that may end up being the case if a significant number of people are filling their ballots with "well, I didn't like that person but I saw that season last week" votes. Of course "casual fans" are responsible for keeping the show on the air, and I am thankful for that. They are likely to be putting a lot of support behind players like Ciera, Keith, Spencer, Tasha and Joe, which I am fine with. But there are some equally strong characters from the earlier seasons that I am confident "casual fans" would love who may not get the chance for the simple fact that they aren't well known to today's viewership. I can only hope that CBS pulled the "production's choice" clause because they saw that the votes were going in favor of Wiglesworth, Jeff, Peih-Gee, Stephen and Shane, because the season will be a massive disappointment without them. I do find it interesting that Kass is one of the people bellyaching about the "casual vote", though, because she is one of the ones who I think will benefit MOST from it.

I think it could have been worded better, but the OP was pointing out a pattern that's been noted for quite a few seasons now. Regional voting was a lot easier to identify in Canadian Idol because there's fewer provinces. Every season featured an East Coaster who overstayed their welcome, and would sometimes have a Bottom 3 with everybody from a single province due to vote-splitting (BC's Elena/Shane/Jacob in S2 comes to mind). It personally doesn't bother me that Southerners frequently win Idol since A) that appears to be consistent with its viewership, B) doesn't really influence how diverse they are musically and C) the "South" is not really a static concept (i.e. Arizona, Texas, North Carolina and Oklahoma are not always considered "South"). But it does bother me that the winners are disproportionately white and male. The show obviously can't completely control who wins (and if S12 is any indication, they shouldn't), but the judges could easily shift momentum with fair, pointed feedback. Personally, I think the judges went extremely easy on Clark and Nick despite desperately needing to vary their performances. Contrast this with contestants like S13 Jessica, S11 Hollie or S10 Haley who were treated coldly, even after solid performances.

Zzzzzz. Nick set a new record this season by giving 20 nearly identical performances back-to-back. I can't decide if that's better or worse than having the personality of a sandwich. MMV about who's "deserved" to win the last 8 seasons, but the fact that it's been a white male 7 of those times is an issue. It's not really a competition when only one type of person has a chance to win (without stacking the deck, of course, a la Season 12). I was originally sad to hear the news about AI's cancellation, but I think last night's result proves that it's run its course.

You are amazing, and I am now questioning how I ever wrote a research paper. (I probably skipped the website because I didn't understand what it said, but it ended up being more straight forward than most, so there you have it). Thank you!

This is random (and probably offtopic, but I'm desperate): does anybody have Paul McDonald's studio version of "Tracks of My Tears"? I can't find it anywhere, including iTunes.

Can we have like, 14 girls and 6 guys? The only women I DON'T want to see back are Mikayla and Natalie (although even with Natalie it'll be interesting to see if she's grown up). Hoping to see Peih-Gee, Teresa and Monica as most of my other favs are basically guaranteed (Ciera, Tasha, Kelly). The guys are pretty weak. I want Jeff back. Shane and Stephen are good. Spencer and Jeremy are probably shoe-ins. And I am praying Mike is a red herring and actually won Worlds Apart, because otherwise...

Considering how pathetically low minority representation is on this show to begin with, 25% is actually higher than I would have predicted. The first Allstars only had two! Regardless of who ends up making it in, I find it refreshing to have one-timers only eligible. Not a single person needs to see Amanda or Ozzy for a fourth time. That said, Kimmi, Angie, Mikayla and J'Tia don't really bring much more to the game than pure novelty for me. They were funny and moderately entertaining their first time, but do we really need to see them again? If they were going this route, I would have much preferred to see Sandy, Leslie, Angie Jakusz, Lindsey Richter, or even the odious Lisi as candidates. Stephanie, however, is a great representative for this type of returning player. I generally quite like Natalie and Chelsea, but they weren't particularly excellent players or riveting personalities, so I'd be bummed to see them steal a spot from somebody more interesting. I'm thrilled to see Teresa, Monica, Sabrina and Wentworth, as I find them all likeable and underrated as players. Of them, I would be most excited to see T-Bird return. I'm fairly confident that Wigglesworth, Peih-Gee, Abi, Ciera, Tasha and Kass are locks, and I am happy with all of them. The guys are definitely weaker in terms of gameplay, and it's a lot harder to pinpoint who will make it. I would love to see Varner, Shane, Stephen, Hayden, Spencer and Jeremy, but I fear that Culpepper, Terry and Cliff have very good chances. The only person I think has zero chance is Jim. Which... good. Most disappointed not to see Erinn, Kelly Goldsmith (who apparently just had twins, so that is understandable), Tracy, Ashley Underwood, Michelle Yi and Brian Corridan.

I'm excited to see a full performance from Rayvon on "Awake" and Quentin on "Royals". However, I am praying they let Jax do "Toxic"... That was one of my all-time favorite Hollywood performances.

If that has to happen, then it needs to be Quentin. Because I just can't with another "meh" white guy winning again. But TBH, I thought the guys as a whole sucked. Meanwhile, I was impressed with Adanna, Jax, Joey, Tyanna and Sarina and think Katherine was pretty good and will improve with time. The judges were positive toward almost everyone, deserved or not. I couldn't believe my ears when they were praising Lovey, Trevor, etc. It seemed to me the approach they're taking is "let's just be neutral-to-positive to everyone, avoid creating any strong sympathy blocks, and let the chips fall where they may."

I was actually hoping for the typical "12 perform, 5 get through, and then have a chance for 3 more Wildcard slots" format, but I fear that would have resulted in a very character-heavy, talent-weak group of finalists. But I will have to wait and see if cutting 4 this week and 2 next week will work, either. Going into the Top 24 I felt that Quentin, Rayvon, Savion, Qaasim, Nick and Clark were head and shoulders ahead of the rest of the group, and they received the highest grades from me last night (although only Quentin really blew me away). Riley and Mark weren't completely terrible, so I am hoping to see Adam, Trevor, Michael and Daniel go home. But considering how heavily pimped they were throughout the auditions, I need to start preparing myself for disappointment.

The problem is the disconnect between casual viewers/voters and the hardcore type that post on webforums, visit WNTS, and approach the show more intellectually. Sadly I can envision a reality where a bunch of mom-types throw Daniel enough votes this week to get him a slot over somebody more deserving. What gives me faith is the fate of Eben in S11 and S13 achieving the co-best F4 in Idol history (shared with S5) despite TPTB's insistence on trying to make Sam happen. So I will remain cautiously optimistic that Daniel isn't going to snatch a spot from one of my favorites (Rayvon, Savion and Quentin). Fingers crossed!

She is my pre-season favorite also, despite reminding me of a cross between Corinne and Shii Ann (neither of whom I am a big fan of). But I am hoping she pushes the snarky superiority just far enough to keep me onboard.

Personally I think Missy had Fox written all over her. She controlled the votes for a large portion of the game and was closely aligned with Jon (bear). Jaclyn and Baylor were, by design, Goats because they were always intended to be cannon fodder for Missy/Jon. The original definition of a Goat is somebody easily defeated but promised to make it far in exchange for their vote. What makes things fuzzy is the Blood v Water element and an almost unprecedented "agreement" that Jaclyn/Baylor would sacrifice themselves (which is essentially what a Goat agrees to by proxy when they align with a Fox) leaving all "pairs" represented in the finals. This allowed the "Bunny" Natalie a slot in the finals (likeable, good at challenges, but at the time the agreement was made not strategically dominant) despite Bunnies being historically more threatening than Goats. Natalie turned "Rat" (Bunnies who make endgame powerplays, i.e. Kelly W/Danni) and commanded jury respect by getting herself to the finals and not being taken there. She played "foxlike", but I wouldn't say she played a classic Fox game since she was playing Bear until Jeremy's blindside and was the Bunny in the new alliance. Her endgame power moves make her the classic Rat.

I've always assumed that when they go from 48 to 24 they basically choose their Top 12 by including 14 real candidates with 10 cannon fodder. The sad thing for me is that the ones I don't think are even remotely ready for this (Maddie, Daniel) or think are all schtick with not enough talent (Adam, Mark, Riley) are probably destined for the finals. My ideal Top 12 has Quentin, Rayvon, Savion, Qaasim, Clark and Nick for the guys and Tyanna, Jax, Katherine, Adannah, Shannon and Sarina for the girls. Unfortunately that would probably be seen as "boring", and I think hell would freeze over before 7 black singers end up in the finals. But fingers crossed.

I found this season so paint-drying-ly dull that I probably won't watch the Reunion, but I have always found Benjamin despicable, so I am loving that he made himself look like such an asshat. Was Kate there? If so, I'm glad she didn't put her foot in her mouth like she did at the S12 reunion. And if not, I'm glad she wasn't there to put her foot in her mouth like she did at the S12 reunion. Either way, I still love her, Helen friendship notwithstanding.

Having naively believed the Helen spoiler, it took forever for me to work up the energy to finally watch the episode. I was physically convulsing and exclaiming with horror as her collection walked the runway. Aside from the first dress (adorable), the rest looked pretty rough. I couldn't fathom her winning, especially after watching Sonjia and Dmitry's collections. When Isaac announced her out of the running, I felt my first ever warmth toward him in four seasons. Her attitude did slightly improve this season, but she was calling out Sonjia and Dmitry for replicating design aesthetics despite her own use of capelets, capsleeves and lace. So whatever, Helen. I had talked myself into believing that Sonjia would win. Not only has a female never won Allstars, but she did the impossible by outperforming even the ever-consistent Dmitry throughout the season. Her collection was creative, beautiful and interesting, whereas Dmitry's was a bit clunky and poorly fit the "Seasons" assignment. Finally, a Dmitry win is so eerily similar to a Seth Aaron win that I just didn't think they'd go there. But they did. This is the second time Dmitry has won with a "meh" collection. TBH, I think judging panels are afraid to deny him the win. Everything he does is so uber polished and put together, and he has such a smarmy, overconfident presence that commands respect, that just giving him the win is the easiest way to avoid any backlash. We also now have a male "Fan Favorite" winner from seasons 7, 8, 9 and 10. Anybody want to put money on Stanley, Bradon and Kini winning the next 3 Allstars?

Interesting, but not at all surprising. If he's available to provide some sort of a soundbyte I reckon they'll mention him; otherwise they'll probably ignore him unless they can put together a montage including a few others who weren't able to make the journey. It might seem awkward and shoehorned in, otherwise. TBH, this is probably preferable to how he likely would have progressed through the competition - he either would have started sucking, or been genius but hated by the judges, makig me hate TPTB - but his audition was absolutely haunting. Would've been nice to see him one more time. This? Terrifies me. In theory this should be the best Semifinal method, but the jump from 16 to 12 is always bad enough for atrophying some amazing talent. I am scared to see what kind of talent we lose jumping from 16 to 10! Oddly enough, the one-shot 12 sing and 5 advance with 3 wildcard slots tends to produce the most streamlined group of finalists. It also keeps the Semifinals to only one week, which is extremely efficient. Yeah, we may still lose some talent by giving them only one shot, but they can shoehorn in somebody they love that screws up by putting them in the Wildcard. The last two years in a row we've somehow ended up with the best possible Final Four. And Season 11 had 8 possible candidates to make an amazing Final 4. So maybe I should have more faith in the voters... but we will see.

Why oh why are they wasting a spot on Lovey James, especially with Ellen, Hunter and Jelly still available? I get that it's a TV show and she's marketable, but she had better blow me away in Hollywood. My memory on the guys is a little fuzzier, but Rayvon and Quentin were my favorite male auditions (after Kohlton, but I am fully expecting him to gloriously flame out during Hollywood a la Kez Ban). Disappointed not to see Reno in the Top 24, but I was surprised to see he'd even made the Top 48 so I will take what I can get.

Love it. Love it all. She had given me Corinne-lite vibes to begin with but couldn't explain why, but your summary makes the similarities easier to pinpoint. The thing I've always struggled with re: Corinne is that I hate her, but can admit that A) I would probably be friends with her IRL (perhaps moreso than any other contestant they've had), B) I would be aligned with her if we played together, and C) I would probably behave an awful lot like her if I were on the show. So Shirin may be a wonderful reiteration of the Corinne type minus some of the stuff I hate about Corinne.

http://robhasawebsite.com/the-cascade-of-gender-bias-in-san-juan-del-sur/ This beautiful article articulates everything I`ve said in this thread much better than I ever could. Definitely worth a read.

This season is just so wrong. I have thrown legitimate hissy fits if I get home from work on Fridays and can't download Project Runway for whatever reason. But this season I barely remember when an episode even aired. Heh. As has been noted, this challenge sucked. They should have called it no-contest with no winner/no loser, or used their ridiculous "design something live on the runway" twist from next week this week and had them re-do the dresses on the runway. BUT wait, they can't, because of the ridiculously lame "wedding" to air, so we wouldn't have had time for that. When they aired the teaser about a "penis shape", I could have sworn they were talking about Helen's dress. The way the lace lined up in the front created a distinctly phallic shape down the dress. I also completely fail to see how that dress was anything even approaching "flattering"; the lace panels on the sides of the dress made it widen her stunning client. Also, I am suspicious that Helen was assigned the most model-like client in her third "real woman" challenge. Sonjia's had problems, but it was interesting! And quirkly! Which... look at her client! She had interesting and quirky written all over her. Would any girl be able to wear this dress? No, but that wasn't the assignment. They weren't asked to make something for mass production. They were supposed to flatter the client and make her feel special. She accomplished that. If anyone was going to get the win, it should have gone to Sonjia without question. This challenge also sucked because it ruined Dmitry's perfect record of no bottom appearances. Not that wasn't completely deserved - that shit was referential and ugly - but still a shame. I didn't really care who went home. I love Fabio, but he's been skating through these last few weeks. HIs dress was technically my second favorite by default, but I just don't care what happens this season, so whatever. Adios. Sonjia has always been a hot mess. Her time management in S10 was atrocious, and every week the viewer could count on either her or Melissa having a total panic attack 2 minutes to runway. One of my favorite scenes was during the Lord & Taylor challenge where Sonjia is having a completely OTT hilarious meltdown while Elena is desperately trying to pull Sonjia's peplem-dress over her model's hips for her. She eventually burned out at F5 during the avant-garde eveningwear challenge, and I was convinced the editing was heading toward another end-game flameout. But we will see next week if history repeats itself!

Shirin is my pre-season favorite for shiz. I also like Max and Tyler. And So is so-so, but I am predisposed toward Asian-female contestants, so she is among my favorites for the time being. Jenn seems hilariously dry, but we will see if that translates on the island or if she just gets edited into nothingness. I like pretty much all of the women, come to think of it, except maybe Hali. But even she's fine. The men, OTOH, may test my patience. We will see. I took a risk and picked Dan for my pool because I think he seems like a nice guy, but I reckon he's not long for this world.

Yet, interestingly, I've seen it argued that Ometepe was intended for Russell while the more "salt of the earth" type Zapatera was intended for Boston Rob. I just can't imagine they would knowingly put their new "star villain" on a tribe with do-gooders like Mike, Steve, Julie and Sarita if they actually wanted him to succeed. Whereas, Andrea/Ashley/Natalie are not (on the surface) Boston Rob type allies. Andrea was targeted early because of Matt and Ashley is the type of player Rob typically avoids (able to peel his allies away from him). Natalie was his proxy-Amber, and Grant is the typical Rob ally, but I think Russell would have been more successful on Ometepe and Rob would've been just fine on Zapatera. All that said, I don't think it's beyond reason that they instruct players on which egg to pick, which buff to draw, etc. Tribes are preassigned all the time... It isn't unfair or unreasonable to make it seem random for the purposes of TV.