Reality TV

Design Star is one of my favorite reality TV shows, and David Bromstad is my absolute favorite host, winning the first Design Star competition. His Color Splash show amazes me as he never ends up with tacky, no matter how much color he brings into a space, and he always personalizes his design work with an original piece of art that completes the job perfectly. David served as the mentor for this year's competition, providing insight into what separates outstanding design from average, as well as smoothing out the presentations for the camera challenges.

David has grown so much since he won the first competition, and he is the one designer I would not hesitate to leave in my home to do his magic. Antonio, on the other hand, fagetaboutit! His designs remind me of a chainsaw massacre!! Emily? Too much turmoil to get to the end product that still looks like a tossed-together melange of whatever happens to catch HER fancy!!

I watched the latest series and was interested first that Kathy stayed on the show as long as she did: her best design plan was “I’m going shopping,” which left her teammates in the lurch on every single project assigned to her. Kathy personifies the catch phrase “throw under the bus” as she made it very clear to the viewer that her plan was to do her own thing, ignore any ideas from her teammates, and win based on her past experience on-camera. I sighed with relief when the judges finally caught on that she was outstanding on camera, but not as either a designer or a team player. I knew from the git-go, however, that the judges’ favorite was Meg because they forgave her faults that others left the show for making. I was surprised, on the other hand, that Carl made it to the finals, but pleased at the same time because he truly designed, while Meg merely redecorated.

Carl, in the final challenge, brought design features from the building veneer into the space to make it not just unique, but a reflection of the architecture of the neighborhood. This was Carl’s strength throughout: architectural design. I thought it would be the quality that gave him the win, but his camera presence was not professional – and Meg, although her work was much more frantic decorating than design, glowed on camera no matter how many takes it took for her to get herself together and film the spot.

I always hope that the HGTV execs realize the talent they have available and give second place something to do, so I’m going to continue to look for Carl, but probably won’t tune in to Meg’s show because she simply did not show me anything I could not have figured out for myself and done at least as well as she did it during the contest.

I also watched America Has Talent, an interesting show of some of the weirdest contestants ever to make it to a stage. Perhaps “talent” is as the individual defines it, but I would think that a person would have to do whatever it is that s/he designates as a “talent” better than anyone else, not worse. Last evening’s wrap-up finale featured the Top Ten Worst, every one of which was more than deserving of being included on that list. OMG, as if it weren’t bad enough to sit through their performance the first time, highlighting them as a performance group was painful.

In the end, however, the singing talent of Landau gave him the top honor, as well as a million dollar prize and a show at a Las Vegas venue. Landau can sing across genres and his voice does credit to any song he performs. Last night, he rocked it out with Patti LaBelle, and it was magic, truly a million-dollar performance.

Next week, the Sing-Off begins, and I cannot wait. This is choral performance, with voices making the sounds of musical instruments, as well as vocalists performing the actual songs. Last season was amazing, and I’m looking forward to an even better season this year. Nick Lachey is the right host for the series, and the judges all have the creds to back-up their critiques. Good show, good music, good time watching.