Ellen's Design Challenge - General Discussion

[Puffaroo]

Kudos to those who can ignore Katie's vocal fry; it literally (use extreme fry on the last syllable) makes me want to hit mute.

 

That's precisely what I do.

Well, Ellen finally shows up, & I wish she would stay away. She added nothing to the show, & her "shtick" is annoying.

 

I'm about 99% sure she improvised all that, and it just didn't work.

[Shermie]

Except I don't mute Katie because I still want to know what she's thinking, design-wise. Maybe mute and close captioning for her.

Ellen's presence or absence is a non-issue to me. I like Ellen, although I rarely watch her show. To me, this is a furniture design show, which I enjoy. There is such a dearth of this type of programming on a network that you'd think would have tons of it. (Like the Travel Channel in Canada not having any shows about actual travel, don't get me started)

[auntjess]

As I recall it, Katie didn't start out to make a cow table, but when she realized she had, she made the best of it.

Carly should have picked a different chair, I agree.
I did like Tim's best this week.
 

[roctavia]

I don't have any issue with the whole baby changing pad thing.... since a lot of companies sell dressers like that and advertise as a space for a diaper changing pad...

 

I just think the cabinet was ugly and boring... no matter what pulls she had on it. I know to a certain degree a cabinet is just going to be a cabinet, but that was just BOOORRRING. Gaspar may have also just made a sideboard but it was interesting...

 

Not to mention that the nursery furniture thing seemed impractical in how big it was for a nursery... even with a big bedroom.

[jumper sage]

Thank gawd Leslie's gone

She looks like I have seen her on another reality show.  Anyone else?

[jbrecken]

Gaspar's tree table would have been better with a round top than a rectangle.

[Puffaroo]

Gaspar's tree table would have been better with a round top than a rectangle.

 

And/or with green leaves, as one of the judges suggested.

[MsChicklet]

She would be a good person to create a drinking game around:

- Unintelligible comment due to vocal fry > Drink

- Head duck > Drink

- Coy smile from under bangs > Drink

 

Is there enough vodka in the world for that? She's very talented and when she's focused on the work she's much better, but, Jesus fuck, girrrrrrrrl, dial down the twee.

 

Carley's problem is she can't see the trees for the forest. She's so wrapped up in her big theme/vision that she ignores important details, like, where the centerpiece will go when there's a big gap in the middle of the dining table.

 

Tim has good skill at craftsmanship, but he lucked out with his poorly designed bar cabinet that Resting Bitchface screwed up function even worse than he did.

 

Gaspar's sideboard/buffet cabinet was probably my favorite piece so far. He had a great eye for functional detail with the storage as well as creating something that looks interesting out of a piece of furniture that can be quite dull. Also, he could have taken the foundation of his idea and applied it to the other challenges -- an armoire for clothes, baby furniture, craft storage, a bar.

Edited February 14, 2015 by MsChicklet

[needschocolate]

When my daughter had her baby, we turned her old dresser into a changing table.  It was too low to change a baby comfortably, especially since her husband is quite tall, so I made a box to put it on.  The box has drawers, and a lip around the top to keep the changing pad in place. It is heavy and has rubber pads on the bottom, so there is no danger of it sliding anywhere (and the rubber pads keep the dresser top from getting scratched.  Leslie's dresser also looked too low to make a comfortable changing table, so raising the pad would have been a plus. It took me a few hours to make my box, but I think a real carpenter could do it in an hour.  

 

Katie is very talented and my favorite.  I like her personal style and ignore her voice. 

 

She is my favorite also, but I can't ignore her voice.  I find it annoying, yet I also find myself trying to talk like her.  I don't want to talk like her on a regular basis (or on any basis), I just can't figure out how she does that with her voice. She is not the only one I have heard talk this way, so it is not something specific to her, like she was kicked in the throat by a cow many years ago.  I can't make my voice have that gurgley, gravelly sound - I just sound hoarse.  (disclaimer - I often read to small children using different voices and I have a tendency to try to mimic unusual voices.  I am intrigued by how the vocal fry works, as I can't come close to copying it).

 

As for the non-elim being done to save Katie, doubtful. The show is slotted for a predetermined number of episodes, so a non-elim round (or maybe two) was planned from the start. If it had been Leslie who was save, some people might have said it was done to keep,a villain on the show. It was part of the plan from the beginning, regardless of who it would save.

 

I think the non-elim was planned in advance to coincide with Ellen being on the show.  I rarely watch her talk show now, but used to tune in in the past.  It seems like any time she had a contest/game between two audience members they would both end up winning.  As soon as I heard Ellen would be announcing the winner and loser, I figured there would be no loser going home this week.  

 

The non-elim makes me happy because I really like this show, and now it will last one episode longer than I thought. There are two things I would change, if I were in charge - use a point system instead of sending someone home each week (as other have mentioned), and have them switch carpenters each challenge. All the carpenters seem good, but I think some may be more creative than others (Chip seems to have more input than the others do), plus sometimes personalities don't get along (Leslie was difficult to work with, but I felt her carpenter wasn't the most easy-going guy either).  Maybe the "prize" for winning (getting the most points) would be that you get first pick of carpenters the following challenge. 

[auntjess]

 

All the carpenters seem good, but I think some may be more creative than others (Chip seems to have more input than the others do),

Again, if you haven't seen Chip's show, Elbow Room, I recommend it.

He does some very clever things.  Some wouldn't work for me, but most of the things are unusual.

[Tess23]

Oh, I heart Tim's table that incorporated both wood and metal and would snatch that up in a heart beat.

 

Katie's talented but I join the chorus here and hit mute whenever she simpers into view and opens her mouth. My daughter lives in the Brooklyn Heights area of Brooklyn, but ventures in Williamsburg on occasion--where Katie-esque clones roam. Each one thinking she's a special butterfly that's oh so hip--but in reality are all equally annoying. 

 

Gaspar. Pretty middle of the pack so far.

 

Carley and her carpenter are totally hooking up. And she should have gone home for the middle-less table.

[Shopgirl]

I know everybody's annoyed by Katie's vocal fry, but the blonde judge (from Wayfair?) is what makes this show close to unbearable and, in turn, Katie more annoying to me. For starters, the judge has that mean high school girl vibe about her and screams fake (such as clearly looking at the door prior to Ellen's entrance only to turn around and say she was so surprised...mmhmmm, sure, Jan.)  Also, and maybe it's the horrible editing of this show or my determination to find her annoying, it seems like she has such a fangirl crush on Katie while also being set against Carley. The fangirling over Katie has been pretty obvious since the beginning, but I started getting suspicious of her motives towards Carley when she got semi-catty with her about her design choices, outright telling her she should do something else, only to turn around and semi-politely mock her attempts to follow said advice. Then when I was rewatching the judging scene from this last episode, it really did seem like the judge gave Carley praise for her metal work through gritted teeth and then seemed so disheartened to have to give Katie any kind of criticism.
 
Second only to Katie in her favoritism (based on her mannerisms) seems to be Tim so I wouldn't be surprised if those two are the finals. (And I have no favorite in this race so it won't bother me who wins.) 
 
Maybe I'm way off base here, but it's just really grating to the nerves when judges don't at least try to be objective (but, hey, I get it, these people are human and pretending to be objective in an arena solely founded on subjectivity isn't easy). Again, it also could be bad editing and/or all intentional to make it seem that way. The greater irony (or is it?) is that the non-elim round came at the same time Katie and Carley were in the bottom two since I agree these things are planned in advance.
 
That all said, I thought both tables were ridiculous and would have made it a double elimination if I were calling the shots, but for practicality reasons at least Katie's table was functional. But honestly, both ladies' tables look exactly like the kind of trendy, homemade, and for lack of a better word, hipster-y stuff I see in my little town's overabundance of salvage shops all the time. I'm sure they'd be bought by somebody, somewhere - even with that weird gap down the middle of Carley's.

Edited February 15, 2015 by Shopgirl

[mla40]

The annoying girl would have been gone for that awful cow table that looked like a bunch of teenage girls made, if I was a judge.

I like Ellen but I don't understand her bumbling shtick, it's not cute or funny.

I'm so glad though that the competitors aren't fighting or putting each other down, it's very refreshing.

[aguabella]

Again, if you haven't seen Chip's show, Elbow Room, I recommend it.

He does some very clever things.  Some wouldn't work for me, but most of the things are unusual.

 

Although I like Chip and believe he's a good carpenter, I wasn't always a fan of his projects, either.  If you haven't seen it, each show had a special, typically unusual, project.  We call them "Chip's neato project" for each episode.  Our prob was many of them weren't particularly functional. 

 

For example, once they laid down tracks in a bonus room and designed a sofa that could roll on said tracks between the indoor room and an outdoor patio.  Wanted to cry at how they ruined the beautiful h/w floors and could envision the family's 3 boys playing games, slamming the multiple sofa sections together, jamming their lil bro between a couple of them, potentially causing serious physical harm. 

 

Am fairly certain they're not filming any new Elbow Room episodes but occasionally they burn off a new episode that's already in the can during a marathon.  So, if you haven't seen it, check the 7am HGTV listings, lol!

[Rhetorica]

I'm enjoying the show. The absence of drama is delightful. I think all the designers forgot their client this episode. They seemed to want to create a work of art, rather than a complementary piece to be placed in an existing room. Carley's might have worked in a foyer as a single piece, where it made a statement at the entrance but didn't work in the designers' lounge at all. I agree that there were no winners tonight.

[GaT]

I liked all the couches, but I couldn't decide a winner (or loser for that matter) tonight. 

[Puffaroo]

Man, I do NOT get the aesthetic of the judges on this show.  They seem to come from the same place where they get the judges for Project Runway -- the love the items I consider fugly, and vice versa.  I *floved* Carley's couch, except maybe for that band of contrast along the bottom.  Okay, it didn't fit with the other furniture, but neither did any of the others.

 

The guest judge for the couches seemed particularly rigid.  I just wanted to smack her.

[MsChicklet]

The guest judge was worthless. She didn't contribute anything. The other two were the ones test-sitting the couches, etc.

 

This was an off week for all the designers. There were some good elements to the couches, but some really bad ones as well. Gaspar's fit the space the best, but those inward-curving wood arms were not good. Carley's was the best stand-alone, but  the height of the right side didn't work in the lounge. Katie's and Tim's were just awful both in terms of function and looks.

 

Katie and Tim should be grateful the judges made the elimination based on overall performance and not just this week's efforts. Both have been hit or miss. Tim did great with the desk and the dining table, but the bar cabinet and couch sucked. Katie's best performance was the armoire, but she's flopped the last two challenges.

[NYGirl]

So far all of the guest judges have been rigid. And yet another episode.....final four no less....and no Ellen.

I think Gaspars fit the best if they were hard pressed to have a winner. Did I miss Tims advantage from winning last week?

I liked Carley's but I figured she'd be next.

Still can't stand Katie's talking heads.

[hkit]

Did I miss Tims advantage from winning last week?

 

 

He got exclusive choice of the fabric for the upholstery. Pretty lame reward, given they had hundreds of swatches to choose from. 

Edited February 17, 2015 by hkit

[qtpye]

Did anyone else think Katy's design was hideous?  I usually like the way she thinks outside the box ( I could even see a market for her cow table), but that couch was pure fug.

 

I agree with the poster who thinks blonde judge has a thing for Katy.  Everything Katy does is "on trend".  It's like she thinks proximity to Katy's youth is going to make Wayfair (isn't she the Wayfair lady?) automatically attractive to young hipsters.  Carly is actually not much older then Katy, but she seem more mature and does not do the cutesy thing as much.

[mlp]

 

Did anyone else think Katy's design was hideous?

 

I did.  I saw nothing whatsoever to like about it.  Carly's was a better effort as far as overall design and fabric went but it was all wrong for the room.  Tim's would have been OK if it was less massive.  He should have had the seat the same height as the seats of the chairs.  I thought Gaspar's was best for the setting.  I wasn't crazy about it and thought it looked a bit cheap but at least it fit in the room. 

 

I think the reason Carly was eliminated had more to do with her poor judgment than the quality of her work.  Each week she has made something that she likes but misses the mark like the dining room table with a big gap in the middle.  She reminds me of the decorators one hears about who want to impose their own preferences on their client's space.

[Wings]

I didn't like any of the couches.  The least successful was Tim's, and he should have gone home for that mess.  It was way out of scale and ugly.  I hate sitting on furniture that is too high.  It isn't comfortable nor does it look good.  I agree the raw metal would have looked better but that could not save it.  

 

I don't think Carly was thinking it had to fit the lounge's style; she just put her mind to making a piece of furniture she liked.  She did not deserve to go home for that.  One judge deemed it comfortable.  It's only fault was not in keeping with the lounge style, which was sadly lacking, if I might say!  

 

Gaspar's looked pretty good, if not a little boring.  I agree that the fabric did not go well with the wood grain and said that out loud to my TV when I saw the finished product.  He moaned about not knowing about fabric or color and that clearly showed.  Curved arms made it impossible to lie down with a pillow under your head and many do exactly that on their couches!  

 

Katie, ah Katie.  I love her style and would have loved to own the first 2 pieces she did.  I like her.  Her couch was hideous. 

Edited February 17, 2015 by wings707

[carrps]

I think there's a predetermined winner. That's why a certain designer was not eliminated. I've stopped watching. Don't care anymore.

[Madding crowd]

I don't think the winner is predetermined, but I agree that the judges really like Katie. I wasn't crazy about any of the couches, but I see a lot of workmanship and attention to detail in Tim and Gaspar. And I don't want to be sexist against my own sex, but Katie and Carly see to value quirky designs over quality.

[Wings]

I don't think the winner is predetermined, but I agree that the judges really like Katie. I wasn't crazy about any of the couches, but I see a lot of workmanship and attention to detail in Tim and Gaspar. And I don't want to be sexist against my own sex, but Katie and Carly see to value quirky designs over quality.

 

 

They favored Tim on this one.  His couch was terrible and he should have gone home.  

[Madding crowd]

Furniture design is subjective though. I didn't think Tim's was the worst, but it wasn't great either. I don't have a favorite based on personality, but as I said before, I think Tim has good work details on his pieces.

[Wings]

Furniture design is subjective though. I didn't think Tim's was the worst, but it wasn't great either. I don't have a favorite based on personality, but as I said before, I think Tim has good work details on his pieces.

 

 

Making it way too high and too deep is a huge gaff.  To me, that trumped everyone else's mistakes.  

[Shermie]

Yeah, they definitely want a Tim and Katie final two, so a "there will be no winner" decision, followed by "the loser will be determined by their entire body of work, not on this week's piece, the way we've done it every other week" announcement seals that deal.

While I wouldn't want any of those couches, simply because that funky odd stuff would get old fast, Gaspar's matched the room the best, and really, a couple of bolster-style pillows in the arms would have negated the curve issue. And Carley's couch was amazing, a cocoon, just like she planned and the blond judge said it felt like. Yes, it was tall on the one side, but that was the point, it was a statement piece.

Oh well, she and her hot carpenter can continue their "friendship" offscreen.

I expect Gaspar will go next week, barring another non-elimination. Then it will be the girlish ingenue vs the manly he-man.

And to guess next week's piece? They haven't designed a bed yet.

[staphdude]

While I have no illusions that television producers see the audience as anything but drooling morons, to have a deliberation two weeks in a row find Katie safe is pathetic. The cow table should have had her removed retroactively from the competition and that chair that is a couch was not attractive.

It frustrated me to no end when the judge who stated her height as 5'1" complained about Tim's couch's height when the average American woman is 4 inches taller than her. That may have meant that it was still a bit high but by comparison one could say that all the other furniture in that lounge was low- and since I am 6'2" I suppose I should have the right to complain about that.

I never want to hear "on trend" from that judge again.

Edited February 18, 2015 by staphdude

[alexa]

Oh yes, the Katie couch was awful...so ugly.  I was very disappointed in her in this round...how she thought that was great is beyond me.  I felt bad for Carly as her couch was kind of cool, and just because it didn't work in the lounge, it was a better piece than some of the others.  

[FineWashables]

When I look at Wayfair commercials I see a younger demographic all dancing around because they're so excited about their furniture.  Katie seems to fit best with the image Wayfair is trying to project -- Mark's aesthetic was too rustic, Carley's persona was too country, Leslie was too middle-aged and that Resting Bitch Face was just bad bad bad.  Gaspar and Tim could win, but if Wayfair is going to showcase the winner and what they put out so that they can position themselves as cutting-edge design for 20-somethings, then I think Katie has a real advantage.  

[Wings]

I think Katie is the one who will benefit from the exposure on this show, too, FineWashables.  I loved her first 2 pieces.  None of them succeeded on the couch.  They are all woodworkers and upholstery is not in their resume.  Fail on the show's part on that one.  

 

I love this show and hope it sees a second season.  I would like them to have a challenge where they build whatever they choose, just to see where their passion lies. 

 

Someone is watching Katie and will hire her as a designer.  I loved the first piece she made and would buy that if it were in my budget.  I thought it was phenomenal.  Her table failed but I liked the direction until it went south.  The red armoire was beautiful for a very large room, another piece I would gladly own if I had the need or space.  

 

No one else has done anything that I have liked much at all.  I understand why Tim's table won but I thought it was way too large and clunky.  The base shape was boring and a cliche.  That swoop is everywhere.  

[magdalene]

So far there haven't been any surprises. I  knew Carly was next to go home. The winner is going to be Tim or Katie. I give the edge to Katie because she is the teacher's pet.

[ethalfrida]

I like this show also. However, I am fessing up... the voice fry chick is getting on my nerve. I swear it never bothered me until now. And it seems like she is really exaggerating it lately.

The sofas, except for the fact that they were handmade, were not unique. Especially Voice Fry Chick's. That is a standard pattern layout in discount furniture. Only the feet were exciting. It's nice how they choose not to send anyone home if they want. Maybe that's why the show is better than a lot of reality shows... it's not laid out in standard ways.

[woodscommaelle]

I hate Katie's use of acrylic on all her pieces. Think it looks tacky.

[Shermie]

But acrylic is on trend!

As others have said, I would have preferred all six were there for the entire run and points awarded each week, but whaddayagonnado?

Maybe Katie's voice and mannerisms are all an act. Like Michael Jackson, she gets caught off camera speaking in a normal voice, heh.

[Wings]

Lucite was used in mid century furniture before acrylic was made.  I have an acrylic reproduction of a fixture over my dining table.  I love Katie's use of acrylic!  

[auntjess]

I thought Katie's couch was ugly and tacky, and that fake marble looked like cheap fake fur.
The whole couch looked like some Goodwill wouldn't want.
Tim and Carly both failed to figure out the proper size and scale.  Chip should have picked up on that.

They seem to go out of there way to put down what Gaspard does.
 

[Shermie]

I believe his name is Gaspar, not Gaspard.

Katie's cow table and fug couch both look like something done on Trading Spaces back in the day, when amateurs worked with $1000 and 24 hours.

[NeenerNeener]

I loved Carly's sofa...it looked like a great place to curl up with a Kindle. Katie's was all kinds of fug, but the judges gave her a pass anyway, so yeah, they must be trying to save her for the final two.

[FineWashables]

 

I wish the show didn't eliminate any designers and had a points system instead. I'd love to see six different designs each week.

THIS!!! Crimsongirl, you are a genius.  I can't think of too many reality competitions that wouldn't benefit from this approach: Project Runway, Top Chef, Design Star, and this Ellen Design show --  I'd love to see them give this a try for a season.  Instead of giving us a group of 12 or 16 contestants with a core group of only 5 or 6 who've got any hope of winning, get rid of the low-hanging fruit and keep 6 solid contestants in until the semi-finals.  Instead of stupid manufactured drama among the contestants, spend more time having the contestants consult with the judges or mentors to understand what it's going to take for them to produce a winning design.  I'd love to hear these creative people discuss the creative process, and how they arrive at the choices they make.  Keeping the contestants in week to week would allow for that more, whereas the current format does not.

[aguabella]

I love it when the designers collaborate and help each other out.  Would also prefer to retain the core group for a finale on these shows.  It's one of the reasons we enjoyed Flipping the Block.  They appeared to have a fool-proof, objective, judging method, i.e.the sale price of the condos.  Unfortunately, the way it worked out, not surprisingly, investors waited until the market set the condos' value and the team whose condo was randomly sold last received an unfair or at minimum, unreasonable advantage, IMHO.  Sorry, I digress, lol ...

Edited February 20, 2015 by aguabella

[aguabella]

So far all of the guest judges have been rigid. And yet another episode.....final four no less....and no Ellen.

I think Gaspars fit the best if they were hard pressed to have a winner. Did I miss Tims advantage from winning last week?

I liked Carley's but I figured she'd be next.

Still can't stand Katie's talking heads.

 

Agree, agree, agree, NYGirl  with your comments. 

 

Yes, Tim's "advantage", first pick of numerous fabric selections was so insignificant that if you blinked, you missed it.  Guess they needed to gin up the typical reality show conflict / drama by allowing him to steal someone else's fabric or make their selections for them or at least something, anything!

 

WRT Ellen's NON-appearances, happened to hear a tag-line, "From Executive Producer, Ellen DeGeneres", flipping the channels recently, on an ABC network channel.  Can't remember the type of program but it wasn't design or some other specialized category, IIRC. 

 

Perhaps she's either spread extremely thin these days and/or attempting to branch out from her roots as a comedienne/actress/host.  Her cable, competition, reality show must be far down the priority list.

 

If nothing else, sounds like Ellen's probably set herself up to (very) comfortably retire on her own terms, whenever she cares to!

Edited February 20, 2015 by aguabella

[Wings]

I think this design show paid for her name and a few appearances to get viewers.  Fine with me.  I like this show!  I want another season.  Design shows have come a long way from Trading Spaces!  

Edited February 20, 2015 by wings707

[Shermie]

I don't really care if Ellen is on the show. She's the exec producer, so her name gets people to watch - "Oh, Ellen is involved and I like her, so I'll check it out." After that, the show has to sustain itself on its own merits.

She put her face in the ads and probably had a say in the concept. It's not like it said the show would be hosted by her; I don't get the complaints.

I compare it to a TV show produced by Steven Spielberg. His reputation might make me tune in and I'm sure he had a say in the initial concept, but I sure don't expect him to physically be in it.

[aguabella]

No "complaint" from me, Shermie, WRT Ellen's lack of attendance - merely an observation.  I don't believe Ellen's presence would add much, if anything, to the series.

 

Agree, it's not unusual, in general, to use an EP in this manner but it is, IMHO, for HGTV.  And, when tptb pimped it, they didn't show much in the way of clips or introduce the host and/or other HGTV personalities.  It was only all Ellen, all the time.  I believe that's why everyone's expressed surprise. 

 

In fact, I can't recall HGTV using a celebrity or other personality in this manner, in general.  Doubt they have huge network-type promotional budgets.  Who knows?  Perhaps they're testing this out, reviewing the numbers and may change their marketing strategy, going forward. 

[GaT]

THIS!!! Crimsongirl, you are a genius.  I can't think of too many reality competitions that wouldn't benefit from this approach: Project Runway, Top Chef, Design Star, and this Ellen Design show --  I'd love to see them give this a try for a season.  Instead of giving us a group of 12 or 16 contestants with a core group of only 5 or 6 who've got any hope of winning, get rid of the low-hanging fruit and keep 6 solid contestants in until the semi-finals.  Instead of stupid manufactured drama among the contestants, spend more time having the contestants consult with the judges or mentors to understand what it's going to take for them to produce a winning design.  I'd love to hear these creative people discuss the creative process, and how they arrive at the choices they make.  Keeping the contestants in week to week would allow for that more, whereas the current format does not.

Just my opinion, but I don't think this would work. There wouldn't be any suspense, because the audience would know everyone's score, so we would get to the last episode & once we found out how many points the winner of the last challenge would get, we would immediately know who couldn't possibly win. We might even know it in previous episodes.

[Kromm]

Carly was right to look shocked.  I think she got screwed over a bit in that judging.  The fabric was fine, even if arguably not idea for that room, and the shape of the couch was actually the only innovative one of the four.

 

Except... arguably she deserved to go home the previous show with that horrible table design with a big hole in the middle.  So maybe this was just the judges way of undoing that.

[Kromm]

I compare it to a TV show produced by Steven Spielberg. His reputation might make me tune in and I'm sure he had a say in the initial concept, but I sure don't expect him to physically be in it.

I don't know if that analogy works.  Steven Spielberg has a huge knowledge of filmmaking, scriptwriting, etc.  And his projects where he's an EP have reflected that position.  So as an Exec. Producer the assumption is that his eye having reviewed the material and greenlit it means it met his standards of excellence in those areas.  And he's sub-specialized in fantasy/sci-fi--even if his greatest films have more been straight dramas--at least enough that when you see his name as producer on a show like Falling Skies or Under The Dome, you say to yourself "okay, this is the guy who did E.T. Close Encounters, Jurassic Park, etc. So there's a direct credibility boost based on "like knows like".

 

Ellen in this case only has knowledge of the show subject area as a consumer, albeit one arguably with a taste level in the area, and from the production standpoint very little experience (she's basically been an EP on her own shows and a few TV movies).  Her name caries weight in a less specific way.  

So with all of that calculated, what Ellen DOES bring to the table is herself.  Ergo, her name on it--to the point of even being the show title--implies that she'd bring HER inarguable strength to the show.  Herself.  Whereas Spielberg isn't an on-camera persona.  He's inherently a behind the scenes guy, and we all know it.