Originally aired on Wednesday, 03/14/2007
Episode Rating: ** (2 stars out of 5)
Episode Overview: The remaining six designers have to work as a team (again?!) to plan and design a party tent for this week's product placement.
Episode Highlights:
- Top Design continues to test my patience by having the designers yet again work in a team AND work on a project that is just totally boring.
- Carisa and Michael carry on the friction that was established in last week's episode.
- Goil has a little meltdown.
Recap:
This week on Top Design, Todd Oldham tells the designers that they will be creating a party for Bicardi Limon, and, once again, they will be working in teams. Matt Lorenz says he is completely over working in teams. Hear hear: I'm over watching the designers work in teams. With only six people left, why do teams? It makes it difficult for the home viewer to really see any one individual's strength and style. And the intra-team conflicts just make nearly every contestant seem unlikable, so I feel totally indifferent as to the outcome.
Honestly, I'm getting to be a little over Top Design in general. I'm usually willing to give Bravo pretty wide latitude with their reality shows, but this one is turning into a snoozer. So let's just get through it, I guess.
The teams are assembled: Michael Adams, Carisa Perez-Fuentes and Matt will be working together. Carisa and Michael just butted heads last week, so this should be fun. Goil Amornvivat, Andrea Keller and Erik Kolacz will be the other team, and Goil, at least, is excited about working with Andrea.
Todd informs the group that the individual judged to have contributed the most to the top design will not only win the challenge, but will also get a prize of one extra hour on the next challenge. Time is always at a premium for the designers so they are hungry for this win.
The teams sit down to plan their designs. Goil, Erik and Andrea decide they want a look that they sum up as "supermodel party in Iceland." Goil suggests making a Dorothy Draper-style chandelier out of the bottles and the group likes the idea. After that, though, Goil has trouble providing input as Erik and Andrea take over the challenge, he thinks.
Things are also not going swimmingly with the other team. Carisa and Michael continue to butt heads, but somehow the group manages to hash out a design that they feel will be "chic and minimal."
The teams separate to head out to do their shopping. Carisa is responsible for getting the fabrics for the team; as she is limited by regulations to flame-resistant materials, she finds her palette very restricted. On the other team, Andrea is picking up the flowers, where she opts for a fuzzy flat red flower because of its texture.
Construction begins and the conflicts continue. Erik thinks that, with two architects on his team, there isn't enough design, so he is trying to put his stamp on the process. He adds a lattice wall. Andrea is also contributing her vision; the chandeliers cannot be hung, so she re-imagines them as deconstructed floor fixtures. Goil, however, seems to be relegated to grunt work, and complains that he is a "Halfling…half-designer, half-carpenter," and no one is listening to his ideas.
On the other team, Carisa's and Michael's strong personalities continue to clash. Michael momentarily attempts to arrange for a go-go dancer, and bristles at Carisa's concerns (valid, I think) about how tasteful that will be for the event. The idea is discarded at some point anyway, in exchange for one large bouncer to give the event a "clubby" feel.
The two teams pull everything together, and it's time for the judging. In addition to the regular judges (including Kelly Wearstler, who this week is wearing your old 80's prom dress over a tee and jeans) and guest judge (event producer Ben Bourgeois), their efforts will also be evaluated by a large group of party-goers.
After the party, the judges query the designers and award the Top Design. Michael and Carisa jostle for credit and blame, but it is Matt who gets the prize for contributing the most to their design, considered the stronger of the two.
Over on the losing team, Goil has been feeling apprehensive that he would be the "scapegoat" for a lose, and burst into accusatory tears backstage about what a "mess" it was to work with Andrea. The judges aren't thrilled with him, especially for not standing up to the others about his concerns with the chandelier design changes, but he is safe. Andrea is also called to the carpet for weird flower choices, but is also ultimately safe. It's Erik who is sent packing for…well, frankly, I didn't quite understand what. Overall weakness design, I guess.
With some words of encouragement from Todd Oldham, Erik departs, leaving only five decorators left; none of whom, to my mind, is a true standout from both a design and leadership perspective. Maybe next week, they can work on their own and we can once again try to see their individual strengths…with only a few weeks left in the season, it would be about time!
- Leslie Seaton, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
(Images courtesy Bravo)
