HGTV Design Star Season 5: The Death of Design

Am I the only person who hates HGTV Design Star Season 5? Judging by the comments on Hulu's show page, I am not alone in my hatred for the current season. I've watched other seasons of HGTV Design Star and enjoyed it, but this season is terrible. Why is it so bad?

First, in past seasons, part of the focus has been on the budget and supply costs that the designers have to spend. It was interesting to see how much the designers were spending on each aspect of the design, and that was an element of the show that definitely added to its appeal. This season never mentions the budget, so we, as viewers, have no idea if the designers have spent $50 or $500. If this show continues for a sixth season, I think the producers would be well advised to bring back the budgets on HGTV Design Star.

Next, HGTV Design Star Season 5 is supposed to showcase both the design skills and presenting skills of the individuals, but for some bizarre reason, every single episode has included a team challenge. Then, even though everybody worked as a team, only one designer was eliminated. It just doesn't make sense! Instead of showcasing the abilities of the designers as individuals, this show is featuring which of the designers are the biggest bitches! Seriously, if you work in a team, it's always the person with the strongest (or loudest) personality who rules the pack. Okay, so maybe the producers think strong personality = great screen presence, but it just doesn't come across that way. How can you really get a sense of anyone's design aesthetic when the designers are working as a team?

Third, all of the bottom HGTV Design Star designers have to prepare a host presentation that will be counted towards whether or not they will be eliminated. This might seem like a good way to get a sense of who has a good on-screen personality, but it actually puts the winners at a disadvantage! A person who's on the bottom three times has had three camera opportunities to be filmed and see the results. The person who wins a lot or stays near the top never does.

Last, where the heck is the design? All of the rooms prepared by the teams have been incredibly dull, if not downright bad. The teams have been too busy ironing out personal differences to focus on the style and design of the space. If the HGTV designers had been able to work alone perhaps we would have seen much better designs, instead each episode has gotten progressively worse, leading one to wonder if these designers have an abilities at all. I mean, seriously, I'm not an interior designer, but I could make a much better space than these people.

Finally, the absolute worst aspect of the show is the host and judges themselves. Vern is so smarmy and downright nasty to the designers that I can't help but wonder if maybe Vern doesn't want their to be another HGTV Design Star winner because each new designer might take away his thunder. The judges are so high-faluting and condescending that whenever I try to watch the episode, I end up getting mad at myself for having wasted my time.

So what do you think? Are you a fan of HGTV Design Star or are you disappointed in season 5 as well?