Dooce’s Recap: Oh no, Dan! Energize me! Make me nicer!
Is it episode three already? It is, and as Nina points out very wisely as the men celebrate their win, “The fall from the top is a long way down.” She was on top the first week, in the bottom two last week. Already Design Star is saying to the contestants, WE EAT EGOS LIKE YOURS FOR BREAKFAST.
Immediately the contestants walk out onto the rooftop of Trump International Hotel and Tower where a jazz band is getting down. Oh, jazz. You cute little acquired musical taste. Like hot, diluted beer on an uncovered patio in the desert. My husband loves you. I love him despite this.
Vern tells the ladies to choose one guy to join their team since the numbers are lopsided four to six (women being the first two eliminated). After a tiny bit of whispering they choose Dan, they say because of his skills and his nice energy, an infusion the women could really use. Really, it’s not because he’s so cute and has that adorable Southern accent? Those things come in handy when you’re sewing curtains.
This week’s challenge is to design a 200-square-foot outdoor terrace inspired by music, what Vern describes as one of the most difficult Design Star challenges ever. It’s an intangible inspiration, and each contestant must choose an individual instrument to influence their design. Courtland chooses the cello, Dan takes the guitar, Tom takes the sax and so on until the final contestant, Stacey, is stuck with the trumpet, which she says is perfect since they are both little and loud. Vern urges them to, “Determine how your band is going to sound in the design.” Oh dear, I sense a lot of musical metaphors in the making. If you’re taking a shot of liquor every time you hear one, you might be dead at the end.
The spaces are amazing blank canvases. The men go shopping immediately, find a gorgeous wicker daybed that they plan to use as the centerpiece of the design, and Alex thinks his work is done as it represents his instrument, congas, perfectly. Their quick start hits a huge bump when Trent picks out a Christmas tree to stick right in the middle of the space. And the bickering ensues. This tree? No tree. That tree. Big tree! For a few minutes the dialog among the men sounds like a book I read to my newborn before bed.
Dan is having a calming effect on the women as they talk and work together, and surprisingly they all agree on the furniture. He suggests that maybe he’s the missing link, and I think he may be right. Have you noticed I have yet to pick on Nina? I mean, his calming effect is working its way across the country to Utah. That’s some energy!
Flash to the men trying to load all of their furniture and materials into the elevator up to their terrace, and ohhhhh, nooooo. That beautiful daybed is going nowhere. They’d have to rent a crane to get that thing up there, and I’m guessing that’s not in the budget. Let’s hope booze is.
And then Courtland… COURTLAND! Is he really doing a faux paint finish again? An orange faux finish? NO NO NO NO NO! I’m with Michael on this one: “Nothing screams cello to me like Venetian plaster.” It’s a total disaster, I’m calling that one now. As Tom points out, he basically just took the color of the cello and fauxed it all over that wall. Yes, that is a verb.
Over on the men’s side, Trent is walking around avoiding conflict, probably because he’s tired of being nitpicked. And Tom is attempting to salvage whatever chance Alex has in this design since the original daybed couldn’t fit in the elevator. Meaning, they are designing something to represent a saxophone and a conga simultaneously. Yeah, I am so glad I’m not a contestant on this television show.
It’s a mad dash to the finish, and the judges enter the men’s space first. My first impression is that five designers all entered a space, never said a word to each other, and set up their own little installation. There is nothing cohesive about this space whatsoever. You’ve got yellow and turquoise and orange and magenta and black, and then this giant musical note made out of an extension cord on the wall. That saxophone of a daybed juxtaposed to the orange Venetian wall is a nightmare. Literally, like something you’d see in the Halloween section of a craft store.
The women’s space, despite the swirly swoops, has a totally different, more inviting vibe to it. The purple walls are so chic, so – shall I say – jazzy, and they work perfectly with the trumpet-themed wall made out of wood. The votives and low slung furniture finish off the space with a feeling of tranquility, which is what I think Dan was going for in terms of bringing the guitar into the room. The judges disagree with me, they even think the swirly swoops were a great idea, but that’s why I write the recaps, right?
And when the judgment is handed down, the women win! I totally agree with this decision, obviously, but I can’t abide the fact that Nina is chosen as the top designer. SWIRLY SWOOPS. AAAACK! I think Dan deserves a lot more credit here than the judges are giving him. He changed the dynamic and energy of the group. He even made me nice for a few paragraphs!
The men scramble to figure out what went wrong, and then at elimination we get a slew of musical metaphors: “a cacophony of different noises.” “Come together as a symphony.” “We were out of tune as a band.” Whoever is doing shots of tequila, STOP NOW.
Vern totally rips into both Tom and Courtland, even telling Courtland that his wall is pure insanity, “that a clown car exploded onto that corner of your patio.” Alex is reamed for not having any representation of a conga in the room. Trent tries to justify his part of the design, the keyboard, as the feeling of “party” in the space, and Genevieve is quick to point out that this explanation is too vague. It’s too hard to see him in the space. And after a quick discussion, Trent and Alex are announced as the bottom two as those whose voices where not seen enough in the design. I think this is valid as this room could leave everyone involved at the bottom.
Alex’s host presentation is casual, easy, albeit a bit repetitive, and he only focuses on one corner of the room. Trent’s presentation feels a bit more confident, at least initially, but then he sort of trails off and can’t find himself. Before the judges can announce who’s going home Trent interrupts Vern to say that he is just too easygoing to work with such strong personalities. And what do you know, the judges were going to say that he’d been fading too far into the background. And out he goes. Next week the men better work harder at coming together as a symphony.
I hate the new format of Design Star! Where is Clive?? Why is it so dramatic??? "And the winner is…………………………………………" So tacky! Just say it! Why is it that the designers aren't doing their own rooms??? None of the designers seem to have the talent that other seasons have had. Not sure I will keep watching. I was so looking forward to the show but I am so disappointed with the changes!!! Fire the person who decided to change the format!!!
I agree with all the comments in this thread. Horrible new format. Where the hell is Clive? No way should Nina have won anything up to this point. I'm still getting over those tacky Chinatown umbrellas in her first win. (seriously, Design Star, for shame)
Musical instruments as design inspiration for 5 designers? Do you have any idea what you're doing over there?
I've hung on until this episode but dear God in heaven forgive me for saying this but I'd rather watch Army Wives than this. And Dooce, you used to tell the truth on your blog. Why are you wimping out now?
I am new to all of this and have been watching the channel for a few months now. I am enjoying most of the shows and as I see according to all the comments the same thing over and over. Wheres Clive whats up with the new judges and the new format . want to see more individual artistic design and less bickering. Overall the show has been ruined by the new format, hope they are reading these letters. I noticed that the contestants that seem to like to tell the judges all about how bad the fellow contestant had been doing usually gets kicked off the show. Hope they get a clue and grow some humility over their budding artistic value.
I looked forward to seeing fresh ideas in design – what was I thinking! Design Star, this year, has NOTHING to do with design and everything to do with made-up drama.
I'm with Trent – GET ME OUT OF HERE!
I have to say that If Nina wins this whole thing, I will definitely be disappointed and will not be watching any show she is in. A big part of the reason that I watch any show has to do with the way I feel about the host of the show. When the host is chosen in this manner, we obviously get a chance to see them in all situations. The idea that someone like Nina, or Courtland for that matter, can win and become someone that we look to for design guidance bothers me. Knowing their character as shown in this series so far does not engender confidence and, frankly, is a turn-off.
I agree on the aggressive and bully like personality of Nena she doesn't fit in with the show who most of the hosts seem to be loving and friendly types who wouldn't be running over others all the time and saying oh weel that is your tough luck. Nina does have some artistic style which is predictable. I think her male opposite is Courtland in some ways. I think his ego is pretty large and hits art style is nothing to write home too. I thought the judges were wrong about his stripes that he painted in the room .. That was simple and it was sloppy. I think he is over rated.
Definitely personality will be a great determining factor in the winner, they need to be friendly and artistic not cutthroat and artistic.
I totally agree. I wouldn't watch one second of Nina and I would NEVER hire her!! If she keeps getting rewarded for being a b****, I will stop watching Design Star.
I agree that I would not watch a show that Nina hosted. This recent fascination with Jerseylicious, Cake Boss and any other number of shows which display loud, rude and overly-brash personalities are a huge turn-off to me. You can have confidence and be nice, really. I want to like a person AND their talent, if both don't coexist, I'm outta there. Nina, get a personality make-over, and maybe you can save this thing. Kindness people, get a clue.
In all fairness, you have to admit that Buddy is brilliant. He's obnoxious, but those cakes are something else.
I miss Clive too! (Although Vern is doing an excellent job as host).
I agree with the above! They need to get rid of Nina…the girl is not even remotely likeable….If she wins, the show won't be worth watching based how nasty she is in this competition. I don't mind Courtland that much, but I think Tom seems more together than the rest of them and he will be my choice to win.
Courtland was my favorite until this week . . . I'm just not as confident in him as I was previously. Tom is impressing me more lately. He is just slick. And I like Dan's personality but I don't have any sense of his design style or what he's capable of other than making girls get along with each other. I don't like anybody else.
Can you seriously classify Nina's wall work as "art" or even "design?" That wall with the painted lines along side the "picket fence" was really amateurish and ridiculous. And somehow she won? I would have picked the patio that was nothing but brick walls and concrete over the girls design. If I walked into a house and saw that "design" I probably would have laughed and left thanking God as I walked out that my patio was not that big of an atrocity.
I'm not sure that much of what has been on this season can be called design.
awful format. very cold and distant
Ok, within watching 10 mins of the third episode of this fifth season of Design Star, I have to add my voice to the many others who have already spoken here, in saying that this season is really, really disappointing.
I think the challenge concepts are in fact very interesting.. compelling the contestants to take inspiration from such varied sources like fashion and music, is quite smart.
But aside from that, nothing else really feels like it works. I miss Clive..his laid back demeanor and his somewhat quirky sense of humor really did give the show cohesion. He was a good bridge between the contestants and the judges.
Also, what is up with the girls vs. guys thing? One episode.. ok, fine.. it's kinda cute. But to continue the teams like that completely takes away from the professionalism of it and minimizes the potential for design collaborations.
This show (old format) was one of my absolute favorite shows. The way it used to be.. from the designers designing their own space to the white box challenge, and all the surprises in between.. was perfect.
So please, please.. go back to it. You had a good thing going.. really.
The best season was Season 2. There was so much creativity and talent.. it was sick.
And I love Color Splash and Myles of Style.. both being among the best design shows currently on HGTV.
Along with Divine Design. But as much as I love Candice.. I very, very much miss Cynthia Rowley and Martha McCully. It really added to the show to have judges who were successful, established professionals in their own fields… and not tv show hosts. They responded to the participants with dignified constructive criticism, respectful of them as professionals, without talking down to them. And because of that, their feedback felt more real and honest from a design perspective. Which I think is perhaps more important that just focusing on how things look on TV. Because if the designs themselves are good, they will naturally translate well in media. Having them as hosts established this show as an authentic competition for real design talent.
So, once again, to those whom this concerns, …please rework this show.. back to the winning combination of elements it already possessed in seasons 1 and 2.
I completely agree with everything you said here. After watching last week's episode I went back and watched all of seasons 1 and 2 because I missed seeing good design, and just good -television,- on this show.
I miss Martha and Cynthia as well. They didn't try to make funny reality TV comments like Vern does, and I loved every time Cynthia got teary-eyed over something. (I'm also not a big fan of Genevieve's show, although Candice Olson is my favorite HGTV designer).
Honestly, I think if they want a new design star they should have an alumni season, bring back previous years' Final Four, and then give Todd his own show. He deserves it so much more than anyone this season or in season 3. (I do think season 4 had several very talented designers though.)
You are so right about season four have some very good designers–Dan, Loni, and Tori–but unfortunately Candice and Gen harmones got into good judgements and Antonio won. Yes Cynthia, Martha and Clive need to come back!!!!!!
Todd has a show – Over Your Head – he alternates with the other guy whose name eludes me right now. It's on Saturday mornings in LA.
As far as these judges – Vern doesn't even have a show and Genevieve has had two recently on at the same time. She leaves me cold – didn't like her on Trading Spaces when she was always wearing short skirts and going barefoot. Now her signature outfit on her show is tight riding pants and high boots.
Totally agree. This girls vs boys is silly. Let's see some individual work.
i agree, I liked the first two seasons the best, Cynthia and Martha gave a more professional feel to the show. I think they should check into how Project Runway does it. Vern is too uptight (and talk about a one trick pony-how many times have we seen the wall of candles sconces???)
I do think this year's challenges have been inspiring and out of the box so that is fun, and I do think we see alot of the individual designer in them because they have their own "object" to design around.
I am wondering if only the bottom two have to show their hosting skills, what if the last ones standing are the worst hosts and cannot perform in front of the camera? (i'm sure we'll see them host before then- I HOPE??)
(to julie.. "i am wondering..")
lol.. good point!
First of all, how can we – or any of the judges – get a truly accurate view of each designer if they are doing strange design challenges as a GROUP? In the real world, I am almost positive there will NOT be several other designers battling their opinion and design. I really wish they would do individual challenges so we can see EACH designers talents!
Second, PLEASE GET RID OF VERN. He makes me tense. This is an HGTV show, not judge judy. And I'm sorry, but Vern isn't that great of a designer himself. All I've seen from him is horizontal stripes and candle sconces……
This whole season is making me quite nauseous and angry….and that's not a fun combination!
I agree, the biggest problem is we really don't get to see how creative each individual is. They are all being thrown into a group and having to combine all of their ideas. I would rather see each individual and what they can (while being uninhibited from others) After all the single winner will have say on their show right? So why shouldn't we get to see them raw and organic from the beginning instead of this group think mess of a show? And Vern is so intense, I truly miss Clive, he was so nice and upbeat, and added the "human" factor to the show. It now feels like a bunch of b*tchy people trying to get a show, I don't want to watch that! The sucessful shows are very nice and compassionate people, aka david & kim. So I don't see myself ever watching whoever wins this season because they seem so high-ego and rude and unpassionate, and design is all about passion.
This episode gave me a headache. Too much talk, and too little design. Actually, this season has had very little design. Decorating yes, design no.
They were right to get rid of Trent. He thought getting a grill and a couple of chairs was design, so I guess that means millions of us are designers!
I noticed something in the episode that really showed how phoney this whole show is. It was when Trent and Courtland were talking in the hallway after their team lost. During the converstation, they showed the two of them, and then cut back and forth to close-ups of each, and then to a long shot from down the hall. That means they had to repeat the conversation at least 4 times in order to get all those shots. I'm sure that isn't the only time that has happened, but it was the time I first paid attention to it. It just underscored how this whole season is about the producers manipulating things to fit a "reality" show cookie-cutter formula. Not only has the creativity been removed by short changing design, but the creativity has been removed from the production staff as well.
Yes and did you notice both wore hats in the convo? very staged. I liked Trent as a nice guy. But he couldn't swim with the sharks and his design fell timid.
Trent did seem like a nice guy. He also seemed like he didn't want to be there anymore. He may have done better in previous seasons, when they had more individual challenges.
Though if you look at the pictures that were sent in by each contestant, Trent has the ability to put together a very nice space…No one in that group has the ability to capture an audience and keep it…I personally wouldn't watch any of them…Oh well it's just another stupid fake reality show and we're even more stupid because we tune in every week to watch it – LOL…Stupid is as stupid does. :S
I agree Mark! But Trent didn't assert himself and the result was a timid effect. He is far more talented and could have done more. I wish I could have seen more from him- but I am sure he glad to be out. He looked very uncomfortable.
Heh . . . I don't think you've ever worked on a video project before. What is far more likely is that there are multiple cameras rolling at once on location, and multiple camera men focused on Trent and Courtland's conversation. Also, you don't know that the way the conversation appeared on camera was the way it actually happened. Everything that was captured close-up, for instance, could have been said all at the same time, and then it was just broken up by the editor to make it more dynamic – in other words, the close-up shots are A, B, and C, but they're spliced between shots D, E, F, and G so the conversation as it appears to us is out of order.
There's enough to criticize about Design Star this year without making up more.
I have worked on video projects before. In order to film close-ups of both, a mid-range shot of both, and a long distance shot of both, all at the same time, they would need 4 cameras. There wasn't enough room in the hallway for 4 cameras. There is no way they could have had all of them filming at once without a camera catching another one.
"Also, you don't know that the way the conversation appeared on camera was the way it actually happened."
Yes, they most likely edited the conversation. But that just underscores my point that it was a manipulated conversation.
Pointing out the manipulation and editing to make DS follow the standard reality show format is not "making up more" things to criticize. It is a legitimate concern, and one that has been addressed by other posters.
I agree I tuned in to watch talent not all this personality drama. Totally sick of all the attention Nina is getting. Get rid of her. If I wanted to watch a soap opera I watch it, but I want to see design. Lets see what they can do by them selves we have had two weeks of too much togetherness. I don't like this format either. If they pick Nina I'm done with this show. Bring back Clive, and lets not make too much out of the judges, Vern has to be so dramatic about his comments. Pick Pick!
Good point differentiating between decorating and design. I can decorate; design, not so much. And if I were on the show, i would be able to compete with the other contestants. Unfortunately, that means there would very few designers on that show.
I agree that the new format is not as good as the old one. It seems to concentrate on the losing design group; passing quickly by the winning design group. I don't get the feel of the individual designers or get to really enjoy what they've done right.
Exactly. In the past (season 2 to be precise), a member of a winning team has been sent home in a double elimination. I think that in only choosing the winner from the winning group, and only eliminating someone from the losing group, they are going to get rid of some good people. For example, Trent should have been sent home last week because his design was the weakest, but since his team won, they sent home Tera.