LISA DENTON: With a surprise double elimination Sunday, HGTV's "Design Star" whittled its original 12 contestants down to five, and I still don't have a sense that any of them has star potential.
I do think the show got a little easier to watch the previous week, with the booting of Nina Ferrer, whose contribution the first five episodes was a mural, a mural, a mural, a mural and, you guessed it, a mural - the last one in Braille. Huh?
Sunday, Stacy Cohen and Tom Vecchione were dismissed, but even the individual project winner, Alex Sanchez, didn't really accomplish anything memorable.
For me, the episode really illustrated what's wrong with the show this season: no one really stands out from the pack. They're all very in their own head, with no sense of cooperation and camaraderie. I know it's a competition, but on team projects, they really need to be able to work together.
SUSAN PIERCE: The fifth episode was my first time to watch "Design Star, " but I immediately disliked Nina for her ego, so I wasn't unhappy that she got the fireman's boot. Her high opinion of herself resulted in what seemed to be a total disconnect with what the fire chief expressed as the firehalls' needs. She came across with an "I know better" attitude.
LISA: Lackluster contestants aren't the only thing wrong with the show this season, though. For starters, I miss Clive Pierce, the affable British host.
The bigger problem is the change in tone by Mark Burnett's production company, also responsible for "Survivor" and "The Apprentice."
Producers are trying to build drama into the show with dark lighting and stone-faced judges (Vern Yip, Genevieve Gorder and Candice Olson.) They don't seem happy or all that pleased with the designers' work even when they're announcing a winner. And having them seated so far apart just leads to awkward confabs as they debate the winners and losers.
SUSAN: I liked that the fifth challenges resulted in a change that improved the lives of others, which seemed much more relevant than an apartment in a Donald Trump property in episode six. With the firehall episode, the designers provided two needed room renovations, which a city budget would probably not have covered.
"Celebrity Apprentice" often uses the challenges that make an impact, and it's something I wish "Project Runway" would do (by the way, its new season starts Thursday). For example, once those designer dresses are created, the network could auction them on eBay and give the money to the winning designer's favorite charity.