Friday, August 17, 2007

Bravo


If not for Jonathan Adler's interview with Top Design winner Matt Lorenz in Elle Decor this month, I would have completely forgotten the show ever existed. I never made it past the initial episodes--actually, I barely made it past the annoying theme song.

When first announced, Top Design seemed full of promise. With host Todd Oldham and judges Jonathan Adler, Kelly Wearstler and Margaret Russell, the ultimate, design dream-team had been assembled. Plus it was to air on Bravo, home to the Cadillac of creative contests, Project Runway. So what happened?

This interesting article about the Bravo network in New York Magazine breaks down why some shows are hits, why some are flops, and what happens to the legitimately creative talents of Top Design, Top Chef and Project Runway after the cameras stop rolling.

5 comments:

Joanna Goddard said...

i agree. top design was so lame. jonathan adler was so awkward, it was just a bust.

top chef is great, though - and project runway changed my life!!! :)

Brilliant Asylum said...

No show captures the creative process like Project Runway.

Things That Inspire said...

I actually enjoyed Top Design. I liked the fact that some of the shows focused on high end design, using the Pacific Design Center as their shopping resource.

Brilliant Asylum said...

Yes, seeing the showrooms at the PDC was interesting. I just think the show would have worked better if they had been in real homes rather than a soundstage. It was really more about set design.

Mrs. Blandings said...

The show was certainly not a home run, but I did like that not everything had to be crafted from egg cartons or some such thing. And, how could you not love a show that used the tag line, "See you later, decorator" - I mean really?