MovieChat Forums > Hot Set (2012) Discussion > Interesting but dull...

Interesting but dull...

posted 12 years ago by gin_martini
10 replies | jump to latest

When you have a show like Project Runway in its 10th successful season, you should know what works and what doesn't on a design competition challenge show. I haven't seen FaceOff so I won't compare it to that and these two shows are structured differently.

For Hot Set, it has an interesting premise and it's technically well produced for a 3rd rate network like SyFy. However, it suffers from some fundamental problems:

1) Boring, dull host: Who thought Ben Mankiewicz makes a good host? He adds nothing to the show. Zero energy.

2) Judges with no personality: Although I appreciated the commentary and experience of the judges, they do not make for good TV. Stiff, too serious and lacking in personality. Some of the over exaggerated facial expressions by the younger male judge look so fake. No guest judges on future episodes to mix it up? Get some writers to give these judges some good lines, please.

3) No overall winner: One of the main reasons to stick with a competition show is to see who will eventually win. You also get to know the contestants week after week and root for your favorite to win. You don't really get to know the designers and barely get to see some of their teammates in the 50 mins they are on the screen. An elimination style format is more interesting to watch. If 5 episodes were shot for 2011, then in 2012, start with 3 shows with two teams against each other. The 4th episode has the 3 winners from the first 3 episodes against each other and one team is dropped, in the fifth episode have the two remaining teams compete for a final prize. Something like that.

4) Eye candy: Craig's teammate, hottie Wyatt got no screen time. Isn't that the first rule of TV, point the camera at the pretty people?

5) Zero conflict: Isn't that the second rule of reality TV. Drama. Conflict?

Overall, Hot Set is watchable and interesting but forgettable once each episode is over. Making some changes for Season 2 could turn this into an excellent competition reality show. How does the saying go? "...like watching paint dry." No quite but it's a bit dry overall.

[–] TheOnlyVindicator 12 years ago

I had to fast forward through most of it. Abra and rock shopping...like torture.

Maybe what the producers are going to do is more "brackets" like the NCAA tourney.
4 episodes of round 1, 2 episodes of round 2 and then an "All Star Crew" 2 part season finale.

[–] gin_martini 12 years ago

TheOnlyVindicator: yes, your suggestion is a good idea.

[–] fakeslashdash6 12 years ago

Couldn't agree with this more...
The host is insanely dull and so are the judges. Since the host has nothing to do with the actual show (he doesn't vote or mentor the contestants) then he REALLY needs to be a model of some sort. I don't care if it's male or female, but get someone who isn't bothersome to look at and has some experience as a presenter.

The format is simply pointless. Why should I care about these nobodies who will disapear from the screen by next week?
And we spend all day long doing what? Watching them shop?
Here's how these shows usually work, in project runway, the shopping in mood takes 3 minutes tops because they know it's boring tv. What they should do is the same thing that Project Runway, Face Off, Top Design or any other reality competition does - Put *multiple* contestants in a single episode.
That way we can spend several minutes on each of them just hearing their ideas, so time passes much quickly.

The talent lacks creativity (at least this week)
They were told specifically don't do the star trek rocks. So she makes red rocks? That's suddenly okay?
If you wanted to make it a really unique alien planet... Give us alien bodies? Give us alien life forms (animal or plants) give something other than rocks? Liquids for alien water?

Honestly I have *NOTHING* positive to say on this show. I love these types of shows and the concept would be great, but the execution is an epic failure.
I doubt it will even last a second season. It certinly won't make it to a third if they don't change the format.

[–] gin_martini 12 years ago

Fakeslashdash6: Overall I agree with you. Just to point out, the contestants did not hear the 'don't make star trek rocks' comment. It was said only between the judges, not to the contestants. They were told to focus on foreground, midground and background, which Miss RedRocks didn't do. But Mr. Dinosaur Techno Junk's was even worse, even though he had a foreground boulder. His concept didn't read at all.

[–] addeisdead 12 years ago

You pretty much summed up all my thoughts exactly. Ben is the most unlikable, boring TV host I've seen in a long time. At least McKenzie Westmore (on FaceOff) has a little personality and isn't hard to look at.

Not only that, but I've felt like the contestants have been either boring or annoying so far. Seems like each week they try to find one high-strung, nerdy guy and one who is either hip or edgy or has an accent.

I have also noticed that they edit the show so that you really think one team is doing horrible and the other is doing amazing, only to find that the struggling team ends up winning.

It wasn't a bad concept for a show, considering the success of FaceOff, but the execution has been terrible.

Unfortunately, it looks like their next offshoot of this genre is called Viral Video Showdown, which I can only imagine is going to be as horrible as it sounds.

[–] Ethereal717 12 years ago

This show is so so bad and boring than there no way it's going to get a season 2 I mean god good .The whole cast is bad and boring and the next show Viral Video Showdown I mean WTF .We had amazing show like Eureka and Sanctuary and now we have this *beep* .The only good show on SYFY is Face Off and Warehouse 13 the rest is garbage .

[–] NotMoreMovies 12 years ago

Yep, it's just not a good concept idea for TV.

I'm not sure if the concept is to blame, or if it's just not a well-presented show, but it's damn boring.

I just show up for the last 10mins to see the sets and who won.

The process of building the set is like wathing paint dry...pun intended.

[–] GaelinW 12 years ago

Agree. I watched the first two or three and just couldn't be bothered anymore.

If you can't walk and talk/text at the same time, do the rest of us a favor and get out of the way.

[–] Meowshi 12 years ago

This show isn't for you. You're looking for pretty faces and "drama". This isn't a reality show in the vein of what you're looking for. If you finding the shopping sections boring, then you're not the target audience. The target demographic for the show is not people who are interesting in how characteristic the judges are or how exciting the presentation is. They are people who are simply interested in the creative outlet that set design provides, and the logistics of how these Hollywood-class sets are built. They love the shopping sections, and couldn't care less about manufactured "drama" between the contestants. The sets are the stars here, not the people.

You should go back to watching Project Runway. I'm sure it is much more interesting as a "reality show".

[–] addeisdead 11 years ago

From what I have seen of Hot Set, they really don't spend a lot of time detailing the craft of set building, as you seem to indicate. Sure, they may show a designer going shopping for a particular column or other set piece, but it's usually just a short scene and is intercut with scenes of the team back at the set frantically hammering and worrying about getting the piece on time.

IF this show's target demographic was people who wanted to see how sets are built, I highly doubt they'd make the show a weekly cash contest and give the designers a short deadline and a small budget. I haven't seen anything on this show that would qualify as "Hollywood-class", and the editors are clearly doing everything they can to focus on the human aspects by showing the designers getting mad at each other, arguing, and freaking out.