Does anyone else feel it was a little "Wham, Bam, Thank You Ma'am"?

After a long dry spell Project Runway is back for Season 4, and I'm back writing about it, as I have for the last 2 seasons. Since discovering Project Runway during Season 2 it's become my favorite talent reality TV show, not least because it has the most substance and least filler per 60 minutes of any of them.

But last night might have taken that a bit far...as a whirlwind of 15 designers, their backgrounds and their work sped past us, with little time to grasp who they all were, and why we should care, before Simone was the first to be auf'ed.

Count me among the PR fans who wishes they had had at least one audition episode before kicking off. I know, I know, those episodes can be full of filler, and they can create unfair biases for people who got more air time during them. But since this is a show NOT ruled by audience votes, who cares? I just feel like the first 3 or 4 contestants to go will be gone without us ever getting a feel for them at all. Not a tragedy, I realize, but I do feel a light pang about it.

But on to the challenge...

The challenge was, as per usual in the first episode, to create and outfit that expresses who you are as a designer. Unlike past seasons, though, no one had to express who they are using carpet or groceries or other odd materials. No, they could pick through $50K worth of textiles provided by Mood fabrics. They had 10 minutes to grab their fabrics and then it was work, work, work all day.

My namesake, Elisa, has been cast as the oddball...putting grass stains on her fabric (which never showed up as far as I could tell) and sewing things right on her own body. Oh, and she does yoga. Wa-aa-aaa-cky, right? Christian is this season's Andre...young and emotional. No one else has yet been established as a type, particularly no one has been established as the Santino/Jeffery asshole type. I'm sure it's coming.

The show started with our buddies Michael Kors (MK), Nina Garcia (NG) and guest judge Monique Lhullier on hand. Maybe I'm the only non-fashionista watching PR, but I wouldn't have minded learning a bit about Monique, given I'd never heard of her. Is it just me?

1. Elisa (the spiritual, wacky one) kicks off with her Flashdance Mermaid dress (my moniker, not hers.) It had a bright clingy jersey look, and when paired with scrunchy knee-high boots that reminded me of leg warmers, I just thought Jennifer Beals removing her bra beneath a sweatshirt. Don't ask me for a better explanation of why...that's all I've got. The highlight was the one sleek column of fabric down the sleek model's body. The lowlight was the mermaid tailof fabric scraps that emitted from wherre a back center slit would have suffice just fine, thank you. Heidi had the hilarious line of the night, saying it looked like the model was "pooing fabric." Ew. But true.

2. Chris (the one who has already been targeted for his weight...and the one who looks like he should be designing for Beach Blanket babylon here in San Francisco, not couture) was next with a Soap Diva dress. It was purple with gold accents, and had a slightly negligee feeling to it. Elegant and simple, but a bit cliche in its color scheme, it was clear he wouldn't get kicked out for it, but it felt more daytime drama than runway.

3. Kevin (who is straight, damn it!) was next with an outfit that was the first to seem creative in a completely not insane way.The top was a somewhat silvery corset-style, while the skirt had a diagonal strip pattern and was full. nice enough, but I have to say the shoes were the best part of the outfit, and those came off the Bluefly.com accessory wall, not out of his imagination.

4. Sweet P (the motorcycle chick whose name makes me say "whatever") followed with a Holly Hobbie Bubble dress. I know (as Monique confirmed) that "volume is in", and bubble skirts seem to be in. But count me not among fans of the style. So, this bubble dress in a bland color reminded me of a girl's pinafore...which isn't that inspiring.

5. Simone (who I should have known was leaving since the little they showed of her had her talking abut being part of the Bryant Park final in a "I want it so bad I know it will happen" kindof way) brought out this beige skirt with a limp top, a random patterned over-shirt, and yellow band of fabric that were supposed to give it a cool shock of color, but again just seemed random. The fit on top was atrocious, the whole thing looked pretty bad.

6. Jillian (who is, apparently an Eve Harrington that Ralph Lauren should watch out for) again went with the bubble skirt, as part of a big orange halter dress. Again, like Simone, the top wasn't really well-fitting, so the effect of the color and silhouette was nice, but the fit wasn't good enough.

7. Christian (this season's Andre) designed a plaid jacket with black ruffles down the front, matched with a somewhat asymmetric and full taupe skirt. Lots of beige and taupe and boring neutral colors on this runway. And lots of full-volume skirts that real women should stay away from. Still this was a agood outfit...it looked imaginiative, it looked well-made.

8. Victorya (who could be this year's Chloe, since they're playing up her childhood immigration to America from Asia, but who seems way too dour to emulate the perky Chloe) created a black baby doll dress with a big aluminum foil looking flower on the shoulder. The judges liked this, which was completely inexplicable to me.

9. Rami (bald and from Israel...see how much we learned about the designers?) brought out a gray Grecian Goddess dress with a big rosette on the shoulder. It was elegant and well-made, beautifully draped and very flattering to the model's body, but honestly wasn't it a bit monochromatic and a bit of a yawn? Haven't we seen this before. A lot?

10. Ricky (the lingerie designer) designed lingerie. Or at least a baby doll dress that was lingerie-inspired. Which given what the kids wear today, was indistinguishable from lingerie. It was cute. Looked well-made. And was shiny. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

11. Jack (the man with the bod) offered a fresh and cute dress with a floral halter top, blue sash and skirt with a less dense floral pattern. Actually quite wearable and pretty. down side? To matchy-matchy for what we know to be the taste of the PR judges.

12. Marion (like John Wayne, a man named Marion...and a florist in his day-job) concocted a big, ugly, Mrs. Havisham raggedy dress. One of those shabby-"chic" things, if you define "chic" really loosely.

13. Steven (who works for a museum) constructed a Laura Bennett sleek suit and put it on a model who also evoked Ms. Bennett. Nothing wrong there, I'd wear it to the office. But perhaps could have used a touch of innovation? This year's Emmett perhaps?

14. Carmen (the former model who swears that gives her a competitive edge) showed black satiny pants with a gold brocade top. Very Dynasty. I mean a step up from daytime diva (a la Chris) but no much of one.

15. Kit "Pistol" (another chick with name that makes me say "whatever") presented a graphic dress with a red off-the-shoulder top thing, and some dangly embellishments that confused me.

After letting 9 people off the hook, it left 6 who represented the best and worst. it was clear that Christian, Rami and oddly Victorya were considered to be the best, while Simone, Elisa and Ricky were the worst.

After watching for a few seasons I was pretty sure I could nail that when it came down to Simone or Elisa going, it would be Simone. These judges will always give another chance to someone who exhibited creativity, but had some flaws in the execution, over someone who was boring (and not that well-executed either.)

I wasn't sure who they would pick to win. I thought they might go for Christian, given Rami's basic style was nothing new. But they went for the polished look that you could probably find in a special events department of store right now.

Although I feel a little like it went by just too fast, I didn't have any big arguments with how it went down.

How about you?