What a difference a year makes. Last summer I dismissed HGTV’s Design Star as design for idiots since not only did the cast seem destined to forever dwell in Michael’s Arts and Crafts, but they also had to appeal to the average TV viewer since the viewers decided their fate. Now a year later I’m super jazzed about the latest season. Maybe it’s because there is no new season of Bravo!’s Top Design. Maybe it’s because my fellow South High Class of ’92 alum Genevieve Gorder is a judge. Maybe it’s because the judges, also Candice Olson and Vern Yip, now will decide who wins the grand prize. Then again it could just be the urge to watch anything remotely viewable in these dog days of summer TV. Whatever the reason, after last night’s premiere, I’m hooked and will now be doing a weekly column on the show.
The one thing Design Star still lacks are the smooth production twists that we’re accustomed to on shows like Runway or Top Chef. In an effort to change things up last night, they had the 10 designers vote in the 11th competitor. Their decision process was made up of a brief Q&A session and the potentials’ video reels. They chose Torie who looks like a 50 year old ex-beauty queen but in reality is a 35 year old ex-beauty queen. It was a pretty weak twist that did not make for anything resembling engrossing TV.
Once the now 11 contestants got that out of the way, they were given their first challenge of designing the rooms in their Hollywood house. Props to HGTV for delivering the designers the biggest budget in Design Star history even in these tough economic times. I also enjoyed the fact that the designers were left to chose who did what, and how to split the budget. The idea to base the splits on square footage was not only fair but sadly drama free.
The performance in this challenge instantly identified who the best and brightest are in this season. The dining room team of Dan and Nathan were great and the judges certainly recognized their effort. I thought star of the room other than the graphic painting was the large table with the cut out in the middle. Remembering back to last year and the drama the large table brought to those contestants; Dan and Nathan built their own and smartly assembled it in the actual room. The team of bitchy Lonnie, unremarkable Amy and my early favorite Antonio turned out to be a pretty good second. I thought they were heading for trouble with their colors but Antonio’s flying pink ducks saved the day. I also loved the idea of extending the fireplace ledge around the room. Torie and Jany did a nice guest bedroom that was just ok.
Of course with the good also came the bad. Instantly annoying Jason, who looks like a Will Ferrell character or a live action Butt-head, was teamed with Jen the sequel, she not only looks like last year’s winner Jen but came complete with pigtails, in one of the extra bedrooms. Their design included $700 astro turf and a desk chair that didn’t fit under the desk. Let’s not even get into the wooden animal heads they stuck to the wall that they didn’t stain or paint or the lame letter stencils on one wall. They claimed they imagined the owner of the room to be a writer for National Geographic but that was just a lame excuse to cover bad work. Clearly one of them would have gone home if not for the amazingly bad work of the poorly named NataLee and Tashica. Their master bedroom was good on paper but turned out to be one of the worst executed challenges in all of reality show history. This ranks right up there with the season 1 Apprentice challenge where a team made $7. With tape marks on the painted floor, queen comforters ripped in half to fit twin beds, and curtains duck taped to the ceiling this room was horrible beyond words. Credit to the judges for being able to see beyond that and give credit for the plan and the color palette. The only drama was which oddly named contestant would go home for the debacle and in the end it was NataLee due in large part to the seizure she had after doing a decent day’s work.
Perhaps I’m getting too excited about a show I ridiculed a year ago, but so far so good. The promise of Hollywood guest stars should at least keep the show fresh. Not only is basic cable whore Kathy Griffin guest starring but so are 90210 alum Jason Priestly and Tiffani Amber Thiessen. Of course if it goes downhill from here we still have August 20th and Project Runway on the horizon.
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