"Top Design" finale, "Shear Genius" premiere...

[Flaxbee]

anyone have any thoughts? I thought Top Design was a dud, overall, but it could be just first-season issues/problems. The thing that irriates me is that Bravo at first seemed to start out, with Project Runway and Top Chef, to be interested in showcasing talent, but the producers - on all Bravo shows, now - have instead decided to focus on drama and conflict between the contestants, rather than skill. It is stupid and irritating; I enjoy design and am pissed off that instead of design/design theory, etc., or cooking skill/creativity, Bravo emphasizes juvenile idiotic spats between the contestants in every goddam episode.

I'll give "Shear Genius" a try, though. I still hope against reason that Bravo's producers/editors will do something interesting.

Anyone else have any thoughts/comments?

[grace0418]

1. Did the Top Design finale already happen? I missed it then.

I get so confused, they keep playing the shows over and over so I never know when the show is actually on (not a rerun). So who won?

[Flaxbee]

4. no, it's tonight...

between Matt and Carisa. Ho hum.

[dysfunctional press]

2. top design was a total dud...

we completely lost interest after 2 1/2 weeks.

i'd like to see them do more with project runway- maybe do an international version, with the final at fashion week in milan or paris.

[seemunkee]

3. Hated it

What a bunch of whiners, contestants and hosts. I worked with designers for years and I would have cut that bunch out after a couple of jobs.

[dropkickpa]

5. I liked the stuff Goil did

I think the architect's brought something to their work that was really neat. I think, if Goil had more time, his stuff would have all turned out fantastic, but he got bogged down in details (perfectionist much?) too often.

Carisa read waaaayy too much Sassy when Todd wrote for them, and Matt is booorrrring (though he has good taste for the most part).

Shear Genius has potential, I'll watch it in reruns later this week (today is too late for me, I'm already crazy sleep-deprived).

[DixieBlue]

6. Goil and the architect were my faves.

I think Carisa's work is unoriginal and Matt's, while nice, boring.

Blah. What a waste of a show.

[RebelOne]

7. What is Shear Genius? A hair styling competition?

[Flaxbee]

12. yup. Hosted by Jaclyn Smith.

The ads for it show her pointing a blow dryer like a gun (a la Charlie's Angels). Sally Hershberger is also a judget, I think...

[Beaverhausen]

8. Bring back Project Runway!!!

by far the best!

[xchrom]

9. i think you're very wrong about the conflict drama thing -- BUT

what got me about top design -- i didn't see any significant difference between any of the designres.

they are all too infected with american minimalism layered with a 60's, 70's ambience -- with some 50's modernism references.

i think these shows genuinely show talented people doing their best.

the viewing public though gets emotionally attached to their favs -- and when they lose they take it personally.

[Flaxbee]

11. really? Maybe it's the hour-long format, but it

seemed that there's all this jabber about how annoying the contestants find each other, and really nothing about their designs... it'd be nice if the interviews were more about the challenges. and I dread hearing Carisa nagging Carl for the entire episode, though I'll no doubt watch. "Carl. Carl. Carl! Carl. Carl! Carl." ARGH! And she's probably not nearly as grating as the editing makes her seem....

[xchrom]

13. the hour long format is really weak for top design.

on top chef and runway -- you get see the contestants work -- but on top design that element was really missing.

that was very frustrating.

on top chef - the show let the marcel hate get WAY out of hand -- they forgot -- the viewers forgot -- marcel is a person.

but you got to see how they cooked -- how they liked to cook -- so on and so forth -- but again not on top design.

i LOVE design -- i want to see the contestants create.

[Flaxbee]

18. yes - the other two formats, and probably Shear Genius,

fit well into an hour. But Top Design needs some format tweaking if a second season (if there is one) is to be more interesting.

I love design, too, and this show just doesn't really showcase it very well. :shrug:

[xchrom]

21. yeah -- i mean there's sketching out the design -- there's

what design ideas do you follow -- there's spending more time watching the contestants put their rooms together.

i thought the show did a good job of solving each person working on a projest -- the cubes at the design center.

the team projects were a mess.

you couldn't follow anything that was going on.

there was no detail in those episodes at all.

interesting the garage episode had a lot of what i like.

i just don't care much about garages. -- but still it did have it.

[NYCGirl]

10. Sort of liked "Top Design", but the better show was "Design Star" on HGTV. NT

[LostinVA]

14. Top Design was sooo disappointing

I am hoping Sheer Genius stands up to its teasers!!!

[bicentennial_baby]

16. It will never be as good as Blowout!

Repeatedly sobbing famous stylist in his therapist's office: Reality tv GOLD!!! :bounce:

[judaspriestess]

15. top design was lame

BUT WORKOUT is an insanely hilarious show. gotta watch it.

[LostinVA]

17. I read that ***SPOILER***

Rebecca and Jackie are still dating!?

Mimi is a sociopath. If she was a man, she would have been arrested for domestic abuse.

[judaspriestess]

20. yes

jackie and rebekah are still seeing each other but jackie is also seeing someone named Tiffany.

[Flaxbee]

19. yesterday, though, was total bullshit --

they all say how wonderful Doug is, they know he's terrified of his birthday and aging, and when he drops out of sight for days (though the timeline was rather fuzzy) NO ONE calls his friend Cheo, or tries to find him? If a good friend who lived in the same fucking town just dropped out of sight and didn't return messages, I"d have done a whole hell of a lot more than just wonder what the hell he was up to. And they say they care so much about him? Yeah, right.

It's a funny show, but the trainers all seem so insanely self-absorbed it's obnoxious.

And, regardless of how easygoing the training world is, Jackie dating Rebecca is just asking for a disaster --bosses dating employees never seems to work very well.

[judaspriestess]

22. I agree 100% about Jackie and Rebecca

there are just lines you don't cross. But I love this show it is insanely funny to me.

[Flaxbee]

23. I like the show, too ---

I spent about 5 years in L.A., and many of the places Jackie and her friends go to are places I used to frequent. The episode where there were at the sushi place (called something else when I lived there) was in Brentwood, I used to go to that outdoor mall all the freaking time for sushi, running errands, etc. Lots of good place-memories for me in the show.

It seemed last season there was a bit more about training, too, and not quite so much interpersonal drama. I'd prefer it if there was more about health/fitness/food than prolonged make-out scenes. Oh well. I'll still watch it...