... And sweaty guys and squirts on shirts and bubble blowing and - you know what? Baseball is gay enough as it is, so no need to make it any gayer, Wes. What the hell am I talking about? In the latest episode of The Cut, Wes gave us his singular vision of what New York says to him: Hot guys with sweaty wieners and nice balls. And I say more power to him - it's about damn time we move past the 9/11 iconography and into a new age of homoeroticism. Transit cops, grow those mustaches and lose those shirts! Times Square, be the Pink Triangle you truly are! Homeless bums, pig piles on Fridays! Broadway shows, stay just the way you are, sister! But I digress... The show was about more than just Wes's gay fantasies as there were six others still competing for The Cut's crown. And the show is definitely picking up steam - Chelsea bath house steam, perhaps, but steam nonetheless.
The episode opened at the SoHo loft where the gang was commiserating over Rob Walker-from-Brooklyn's recent ejection. Chris, feeling guilty for selling his friend out, kept mindlessly repeating how much he loved Rob. Princess was bawling her eyes out. Um, people, isn't this a competition? Didn't Rob suck? Did you really think HALfiger would hire a guy who slopped fabric paint on t-shirts and shoes for a living? Get over it already. At least Wes did, stating, "I don't care that people are getting booted. That's one less person to worry about. I want to win and I'm about to get CRAZY!" Score one for the CBS foreshadowing department...Though I've been waiting for a night vision scene of a cockroach scampering across the counter, a la Survivor's nighttime crab-on-beach cliché. Make it happen, CBS, make it happen.
As always, the wooden HALfiger gathered the remaining lucky seven and bored them with a tale from his past. This week, they met at Empire State Park (actually, it's called Empire-Fulton Ferry State Park, but that doesn't exactly fly off the tongue) and HALfiger explained how he made his mark with "iconic imagery." Instead of the old stodgy models other designers were stuck on, HALfiger brought in some "young, hip, cool kids and let them have fun." I don't know what it was, but hearing someone as incredibly boring and robotic as HALfiger explain how he is a trendsetter was a little bit surreal. Anyway, before Liz and Princess were about to choose their teams, HALfiger told them they'd be working as individuals this week. You know, like every single other reality show does with 6 or 7 people remaining. Can this show do anything original?
The challenge for the week was actually pretty cool. One thing about this show is that CBS dumped a lot of money into it, as they've had some pretty elaborate challenges. It's kind of sad to see, when you realize it was obvious the network had very high hopes for their Apprentice/Project Runway rip-off... And now it's competing with the WB's "What I Like About You" reruns on Friday nights. (And really, with that comedic powerhouse due of Amanda Bynes and Jennie Garth, how could you even hope to compete?) Strangely, the show seems to be getting better and better as it goes along - and this week was no exception. I've been enjoying The Cut recently - and that sort of scare me. Oh TVgasm, what have you done to me?! Anyway, the challenge this week was for each person to set out on their own to secure a fashion photographer and a Ford model to create their own bold iconic vision of New York City. With $2500 each to spend and two days to get their shots, HALfiger's only command was for them to get a memorable photograph that has never been done before. My IronyMeter 2000 maxed out at that point, realizing that The Cut is the most derivative show... Ever.
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Comments (15)
Ha! Yes, I actually enjoyed watching this episode! It was kind of cool to see the contestants have a project that asked them to be creative. I was dying laughing watching Wes, because I knew you tvgasmers love him and his gayness. (He actually creeps the hell out of me because he looks exactly like this guy who text message stalked me.) So lets see if it keeps getting better or takes a nosedive!!!
1 of 15 | Posted by jayneatomic | Posted on August 17, 2005 6:21 PM
Thanks for the recap! They didn't show this episode in New York because of football (it was supposed to be on at 3 AM, but then they showed something else instead). According to my DVR, it's not on again this week either. Just my luck to miss the first episode that actually sounds kinda good...
2 of 15 | Posted by kepster | Posted on August 18, 2005 6:27 AM
In that picture of Karl Lagerfeld, he looks like he could be Ozzy's dad. As soon as Liz said she was going to use American flags, you knew she was going to win. HALfiger loves that stuff. I personally thought that the pictures could have been a little more creative.
I still don't get how these people are showing HALfiger that they are creative when it comes to clothes. Maybe they will do more clothes stuff now it is down to six.
3 of 15 | Posted by carol | Posted on August 18, 2005 9:37 AM
Thanks for the great recap, sg-dub.
Hey Kepster, thanks for letting me know I'm not going crazy. I also live in NY and missed the episode. My DVR was set to record the show at 3:00am but I wound up with an episode of Numbers. I couldn't figure out what I had done wrong.
4 of 15 | Posted by BronxNY | Posted on August 18, 2005 10:06 AM
Thanks for the recap. Lots of Wes-time this week. It seems like they go to him for every play-by-play analysis. Or is it just that I only notice him and his cute little Southern drawl?
The show is really getting down to the wire. And as Tommy put it, "the cream is rising to the top." Grudgingly, I have to give Elizabeth credit for a beautiful dress, bless her Young Republican heart.
Next week's challenge looks stupid. It looks they are set up in teams of two and he will be dumping a team instead of just one person. (I'm doing the math on the number of episodes left.)
Oh, the excitement builds. Who will make the Cut?
5 of 15 | Posted by downtownlala | Posted on August 18, 2005 10:16 AM
Kepster, it sucks to be us. I actually called the programming dept. at CBS NYC and it's not airing again until 26 August at 9pm, so don't even try to dvr it at 3am this week. Bastards! I wanted to see Wes and his hot dog!!!
6 of 15 | Posted by Tootie | Posted on August 18, 2005 11:09 AM
I just knew you would have a good time with this recap sg-dub. Very funny stuff. And I am still laughing about the gay crippled dog pics from the Surreal Life.
7 of 15 | Posted by runswithscissors | Posted on August 18, 2005 12:41 PM
I missed this episode, so could you please post a picture of each photo next recap?
8 of 15 | Posted by tv freak | Posted on August 18, 2005 3:48 PM
Do you guys live in New York City or New York state? I live in Brooklyn and CBS aired this episode after the Jets game around 10 pm.
9 of 15 | Posted by jayneatomic | Posted on August 18, 2005 6:25 PM
Carol: The CLOTHES are not important, because they never have been for Hilfiger. Nobody ever bought his clothes because they were good. They have never been more original, better made, better fitting or better looking than Ralph Lauren, Nautica or even Land's End. People used to buy Hifiger because it was a trendy BRAND. A must-have label. Thankfully, that time is over!
10 of 15 | Posted by Hinha | Posted on August 18, 2005 6:56 PM
***ALERT for all you Cut fans***
CBS is pre-empting the show tonight for the ENTIRE country to show pre-season football. If you check your DVR's, you'll note that the mannequin episode is airing next Friday, 8/29 in it's usual 9PM timeslot.
Find ways to cope with this tragic news anyway you can.
11 of 15 | Posted by sg-dub | Posted on August 19, 2005 8:07 AM
sg-dub, don't mock us just because we like to watch train wrecks.
12 of 15 | Posted by jayneatomic | Posted on August 19, 2005 3:20 PM
Did anybody notice that when Tommy was critiquing Shauna's work that he mentioned that imagery with the yellow taxi belongs only to Donna Karan in the fashion industry? Boy, that's the first I ever heard of it. I mean, what was Donna going to do? Sue Shauna for stealing her imagery?
13 of 15 | Posted by Sarah | Posted on August 20, 2005 2:02 AM
Did anybody else also notice that Shauna's top teeth are white while the bottom set is gray?
14 of 15 | Posted by Sarah | Posted on August 20, 2005 2:06 AM
I happen to really enjoy this show. It gives us a look into how designers think and we can speculate and see how close our opinions are to what actually happens... Kind of like watching the legal shows on TV. I really missed not having "The Cut" on last week -- in Michigan the show is airing on Fridays at 9 p.m. -- Donna --
15 of 15 | Posted by Donna Frey | Posted on August 24, 2005 8:05 PM