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February 7, 2007: The Mayor of Excuses Village
There is a really good reason that John and Michael fought so much in the last episode: They are both equally strong-willed and stubborn. You thought I was going to say something else, didn't you? Well OK, yes, within the first few minutes of tonight's episode, John announced to his fellow contestants that he's HIV-positive. After working 48 hours alongside teammate Michael, during which each became livid toward the other, John explained that, prior to joining the show, he had received a high dosage of testosterone as part of his treatment. He added that he wasn't making excuses, but clearly he was attributing his aggressive behavior in part to the medication. But his disclosure didn't have (and won't have) tremendous ramifications in terms of drama because A) this is 2007 and we've learned a lot since the days of Pedro on The Real World, B) this show is serious about design, C) tonight we saw both of them being confrontational, having the gall to argue with the judges and tell them they were wrong, and D) John was booted off the show. (A related aside: What's your opinion of Jonathan Adler's "See ya later, decorator" line?)
That said, let's move on to the primary aspect of this show. An individual challenge of designing a client's bedroom allowed the designers to better showcase their tastes and talents and us to get to know them more. I wondered in the first episode how long it would be before the high-end prices of PDC became an issue for the contestants. I didn't have to wait long, since they were given only eight grand, née last week's $50,000. But that wasn't the biggest obstacle: After creating a concept and shopping for furniture, they discovered their clients were 10-year-olds. Adjustments were made; pirate, feline, rainforest and soccer themes ensued. And then another twist: the beds were twin-size.
After watching everyone scramble to paint, penny-pinch and think like a child, the overarching obstacle was clearly the time factor. I know giving them only two days creates entertainment, but I wonder whether their creations would be even more "outside the box" if they had more time. Maybe not, I don't know. I was pleased and impressed that Michael put in that wood floor by himself — not to mention the fact that he is now a proud and experienced painter! It seemed like Todd Oldham was also coming into his own; he was less stiff and had more conversations with everyone (that we were privy to, anyway).
Of the finished products, I had several faves. Loved the mobility of Goil's room and Andrea's Murphy bed (both useful living situations if their 10-year-old clients are New Yorkers). Being a cat owner, I immediately recognized that the high shelf in Ryan's bedroom was for the cat, not for tchotchkes (though I agree that the bed was too high for the client). Erik's winning pirate theme was incredibly creative and fun. I didn't quite understand why he could go so over-the-top, but the soccer room was said to be too much. And Carisa's room was pretty, but it didn't seem like a child's bedroom. I immediately noted those rough wooden edges; plus, the only real "kid" elements I saw were the hanging ropes. The judges' critique of Michael's reading room was hilarious, comparing it to a nursing home or an assisted-living situation and saying it was depressing, mournful and "very granny." When Adler said that they were ultimately judging on design (as opposed to finishing the task), I assumed Michael would be let go and John would stay. I think I would have preferred to see what John did in future tasks, but maybe the judges see more growth and promise in Michael. Regardless of John's talent, Adler seemed happy to oust the "mayor of Excuses Village."
Next week offers up another team challenge, and it looks like that will inevitably lead to much verbal sparring and the clashing of egos.
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Feb 8, 2007 1:33 AM
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I thought "See ya later, decorator" was cute.
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Feb 8, 2007 9:13 AM
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Other than having a name designer associated with the show, what is the point of Todd Oldham being on the show? He'd be better as a judge instead of the Tim Gunn role IMO. And listen closely-Oldham sounds just like Kenneth the Page from 30 Rock!
This show is just okay, but nowhere near as good as Top Chef or Project Runway, at least not yet. Given $50,000 to design a room is not something most people can really relate to as a "challenge".
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Feb 8, 2007 9:23 AM
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I also like, "See you later, decorator!" I think that the pirate room was better executed than the soccer room, as Erik had done that intricate wood wall, and Elizabeth really just painted her room blue. While I agree that the pirate room was a little over-the-top, the client loved it, and that's really the goal of a successful design. I really liked Carrissa's room but agree that it looked like there were several rough edges. As for Michael- having been in the bottom two both times already, I really think that unless his team wins next week, he just might be on his way.
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Feb 8, 2007 10:43 AM
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I really like Jonathan Adler. Read his blog on the show's website, it cracked me up alot.
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Feb 8, 2007 12:04 PM
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I think the judges should left Michael go. What kind of 10 year old kids would like to sleep in a Granny Bedroom?
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Feb 8, 2007 12:29 PM
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Some of the bedrooms were interesting. I think we knew that John would go because they spent so much time on him (and he really wasn't that interesting) and because he wasn't smart enough to take the wooden floor or to realize that he didn't have the budget to buy linoleum for the floor before he sent the carpenter off to buy it.
I'm probably not going to keep watching this show as I feel absolutely no connection with any of the people. I've seen one and a half shows and still don't know much about any of the people. With Top Chef, you do get to know the contestants pretty quickly. In Top Design, it is all very cold.
The "white room" is boring. The judges discussion of the designs is shallow and uninteresting, so I won't be watching any more.
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Feb 9, 2007 12:11 AM
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I think the only thing that saved Michael was that John's room looked unfinished because of the floor, and that John had a few too many excuses for the judges' tastes.
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Feb 9, 2007 10:52 PM
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Two things: it seems to me that John was ultimately ousted because his carpenter found he couldn't afford everything on the list and chose to come back without any flooring material. Thanks, buddy, way to allocate.
Second, those judges were wrong about the cat room. It was a GREAT room for a little girl whose passion is her pet. Cats love that high run-around shelf and the treehouse was excellent. The judge who said, "You can't design a room around a cat" ignored the point that the other rooms were also designed around singleminded pursuits--soccer, pirates, etc.
P.S. Michael's room was appalling. I smell a producer rat.
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Feb 14, 2007 3:03 PM
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