On tonights episode of Design Star, the remaining designers - Todd, Robb, Will and Kim - look like they are doing something to Mr. Wayne Newton's house. The previews didn't look promising. The HGTV website hasn't been up dated to include preview videos and nothing has been leaked to YouTube.
People are still howling over the horror that was last weeks wedding design challenge. HGTV's message boards are still buzzing with conspiracy theories and anger at the loss of Sparkle Josh. Their viewers rated the final room a 1.4 (uninspired work) out of 5. They even put up lovey-dovey photos of the bride and groom at their reception. One wonders if it was to cool tempers and remind us all - the bride and groom loved it - so chill out! hmmm...Meanwhile, elsewhere in cyberspace, you should check out what Trixie from Kora-in-Hell as to say in her post "Design Star Meltdown".
And my own poll here shows as of right now that over half of the responders think none of the four finalists should win and Robb has received not a single vote. Since the final two are already selected - one has to wonder what they are thinking over at HGTV? Of course, many of these polls and comments are based on personality - but given this contest is about making a tv show for the winner - personality is probably the most important aspect of the competition.
No matter how great a designer - a bad personality will turn off viewers. But someone with "sparkle" [okay, couldn't resist that one!] can get away with mediocre design skills or execution because the production crew can make those up. Kind of like how Audrey Hepburn and Natalie Wood were easily dubbed in their award winning movies. All a design show needs are a few Marnie Nixon's toiling away behind the scenes. Or, for a more topical reference - Ty Pennington is who he is because of all the less telegenic and more capable carpenters working behind the scenes on Trading Spaces.
So, on we go with the final four. Whoop-de-doo. I have to say that with all that said, it's the producers who I blame for this mediocre show. They selected the finalists (well, culled them down to the group that the judges had to choose from, plus they have input on the final decisions), they select the challenges, and they decide how many episodes they will take to cull eleven contenders down to two.
I am pondering the differences between Top Design and Design Star. Their goals are very different, so it is really hard to compare. DS is looking for a television personality who can design, TD was looking for a designer who could make it through a reality television series. I think there was much more room for innovation on TD. I never thought I'd say it, but I miss Goil's out of the box ideas. While some didn't work and were completely impractical, at least there was innovation. And even though on TD there were too many white box challenges and not enough real-world challenges, we saw real high end interior design trying to struggle out of the restrictions. Neither show was terribly successful.
Maybe interior design is just too difficult to showcase in this type of format?
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