House in Progress Diary

This might finally be a reality show we can relate to

I'm not a big fan of reality TV.

I don't consider it very "real". Even shows which are fun about home improvement are a little SURreal...where's the disagreement about door placement? Where are the 18 trips to Lowes or Home Depot or the local lumberyard?

And NO WAY can you do the amount of work they're doing in 60 minutes. With commercial breaks.

BUT! TBS and Lowe's have just announced a NEW reality TV show called "House Rules." If it shows just ONE real thing about a couple working on a house that is a mess (some quiet crying maybe? Or a trip to the Emergency Room?), I will consider this to be "the real deal".

If you are or were one of the couples who responded to this site, hats off to you, mates. You are brave souls.

Hmmm. I'm already having my doubts. And I haven't seen the show yet! However, the Lowe's website shows a contestant "demolishing" a counter top. No...sorry. Only "pre-demolished" items are real.

And then, there are these rules:

--Each team will renovate one home, starting on a new room each week. (Ahhh haa haa haaa haaaa haaaa! )

--Each team will put their lives on hold for the 12 weeks of the competition. This means they must take a leave of absence from their jobs, as well as move into the house they are renovating. (Lives on hold? Lives on hold?? No, sorry. Live in house, keep lives AND renovate. THAT is real.)

--Weekly allowances will be given to each team, but they must compete in theme games to determine which team gets the largest allowance. Each week's allowance can only be spent for that week's room. It cannot be spent on another room or banked for use later. (Allowances that come every week? I WANT THAT!! Bring on your theme game! I will theme for that! Because...that's not real.)

--Contestants must do all work themselves, with a few exceptions for major installations, which will be handled by Lowe's. (Major installations? I hope they mean, like, installing a furnace.)

--Teams cannot call friends to help them on larger projects. They can only ask for help from their competitors. (Okay, this seems a little strange. It's like calling the neighbor who despises you instead of your dad. This is all very "mind gamey"...)

--All materials must come from Lowe's. (Hmmm. This explains the allowance part. Forget the theme game. I want to choose my own suppliers. Does Lowe's have an emergancy room, by the way?)

--Major tools must be shared among the teams. (Okay, I guess they need this for a "show". Otherwise, they would call it "Barn Raising".)

--A panel of judges will view each team's work for the week. The team whose project is chosen as the week's best will win a special prize. (We never get a special prize...this is SO not real. We may get windows that open. But never a "special prize.")

--At the end of the 12 weeks, TBS Superstation viewers will determine which team will actually win the house they've renovated. (This is more real than "This Old House"...12 weeks. If they made it 12 YEARS, then it would be the MOST REAL "reality show" on television.)

(Keep repeating to self..."do not measure progress against TV...do not measure progress against TV...")

By the way, if you've read this far, you deserve to know reality. Reality is that we had a pile of shredded and ripped up wallpaper in the front room upstairs. On a rug that we weren't keeping. And the cat, angry at us for something, decided to use it as a litterbox. Which he never does. Bye-bye rug. Hello reality.

Posted by jeanne on October 11, 2003 at 9:00 PM (2)