Channel Surfing: Extreme Makeover-Home Edition

I feel I should say this now. Normally, reality shows make me want to reach for the remote control. However, this show works because it's the exact opposite of most reality television shows. Normally, you see people doing things for some enormous sum of money or see people's lives in ways I'm just not entertained by. Home Edition works because instead of seeing people wanting to take, you see people wanting to give.

In the show's successful first season, it garnered an Emmy nomination and in the second it garnered a People's Choice Award among others for best reality television show. The reason why is very simple. Put together a family in need, a house that's sometimes falling down around the family inside it and the desire of people like Ty Pennington and his design team to help and you have television that will make even the most hard hearted person sniffle from time to time.

Each episode focuses on one family, first their situation and then the amazing transformation their home gets thanks to the creativity of the designers. Pennington leads a group that currently numbers at ten, and no matter who is on the job you are assured a certain knack for TLC in the lives of people who really do need it. While all this is going on, the family of the week is sent on a chance of a lifetime vacation. One of the most amusing parts of the process is demolition day though. Pennington catches up with the family via video and they're able to see their home torn down to the foundation. The reactions have varied from shocked silence to amazement, but it's nothing like what happens when they come home one week later.

So what can happen in seven days? A whole lot if you're working on this fantastic and family friendly show. Homes are completely redone, and redecorated thanks to master carpenters and some of the finest interior designers you'll see working on primetime. Thanks to their partnership with Sears, it seems to be a whole new start for these families which sometimes can make all the difference. One of the most heartwarming parts comes from Pennington himself. Each week he takes on a secret project for one member of the family. Often a bedroom, the amazingly talented carpenter turns it into a haven for a child's dreams and imagination, or creates a sanctuary for parents who have done everything imaginable for their families. His heart comes out in his work, and that tends to be when yours truly get just a little misty eyed.

The bottom line here is this is what a reality show should be. You hear people's stories and you see their lives change thanks to four little words.

"Driver! MOVE THAT BUS!"

Extreme Makeover: Home Edition can be seen on ABC. If you're interested in reading about the families helped or the designers, you can check out their official website here. There's also links to help those impacted by Hurricane Katrina, a fan shop where you can buy the series on DVD, and desktops of your favorite designers. Check it out in repeats this summer, and be sure to catch the new season this fall.


(Information about Extreme Makeover: Home Edition provided by ABC. Picture of Ty Pennington courtesy of his official website.)

-Jenn Untch
Liberty, Missouri
jennuntch@yahoo.com
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