Extreme Makeover: Home Edition

I've been addicted to Extreme Makeover since it first aired here in the UK on one of our satellite channels. I confess to having shed a few tears on more than one occasion, the most recent episode being where a son had managed to trace his father who was living rough and bring him home. There wasn't a dry eye in the house that night. Its truly heartwarming stuff in a world where we increasingly don't really care about people who may be less fortunate than ourselves. I suppose thats the not very "secret" secret about this show, it does something positive to help people who are at their lowest ebb. The team of builders, designers etc really seem to care about what they do and of course when they get overly emotional when the job is finished that sets me off too! Its great entertainment whilst doing something extraordinarily worthwhile. I have to say you guys in the US really know how to build houses.

Put me in the camp of those who detest this emotionally exploitative show which is all about greed. The premise takes down-and-out families, sends them on a luxury vacation for a week, while a huge team of workers rebuilds (or builds) them a house for FREE. (NOTE: I have no idea how they get around the tax liability that this kind of several-hundred-thousand-dollar gift would normally entail.) Furthermore, this show is an appalling insult to the many millions of hardworking American homeowners who work hard and save to afford even modest homes.

All of the families apparently already have homes of their own, and in many cases they seem incompetent to care for a small, simple house (some are living in squalor), so how can they possibly keep up a large ornate home? Anyone who owns a home knows that there is more to it than the mortgage payment -- even a "free house" has maintenance costs and responsibilities. Furthermore, the situation involved seems to invite exploitation: a recently publicized lawsuit was filed by several orphaned children, whose foster parents used the show to get a huge new house and furnishings for their "big family"...and then threw the kids out, and kept the place for themselves! Since no one bothers to revisit the other "winners", I would assume that similar greediness has affected many others.

Another example noted here is that of a home donated to the family of a US soldier killed in Iraq: even overlooking the fact that 1500 US soldiers have lost their life there and what makes this ONE family so special?, you are still faced with the reality that every soldier has about $250,000 in military life insurance MINIMUM (required) plus whatever regular insurance they have, plus burial expenses. No mention is made of this, or the fact that most families who lose a breadwinner get neither $250,000 OR a brand new home and luxury furnishings.

Many needy, worthy families in this tough economy need basic housing and furniture. Yet hundreds of thousands are spent in this show to give just ONE family (with a schmaltzy tale to tell) a super-luxury home. What ever happened to concept of a basic decent house and normal furnishings? Why do people NEED plasma televisions and 4000 square foot palaces? This is a horrible, morally shoddy kowtowing to the wretched values we have picked up as a culture from Hollywood celebrities, "lifestyles of the rich and famous" and so forth. We no longer have a reasonable idea of the basics.

Why not a show called "Extreme CAREER Makeover"? After all, what most of these "contestants" really need is a JOB, not a free house. (If you have a JOB, you can buy your own house.) And another one called "Extreme HOUSECLEANING Makeover". Because most of them also require a crash course in basics like vacuuming, washing, sweeping, picking up trash and so forth.

It takes little imagination to see the future of the Extreme winners: big houses gone to seed, family fights over the money and possessions, furniture and plasma TVs hocked to pay bills and so forth. Not telling "the rest of the story" is a big, dirty lie.

Conclusion: this is the worst and most base, vile show I can think of. Morally and spiritually, it's actually worse than "Fear Factor" and that's saying something!

What a fantastic show! It makes you laugh, makes you cry, and gives you hope that there are still people out there who are willing to work their socks off to give to other people. It makes one believe that perhaps the world isn't so full of cold, selfish people out to please themselves. It really makes me feel good inside to see how happy the people on the receiving end are, and it's also wonderful to see that the men don't feel they have to be "manly" or "butch", and have no qualms about crying on camera, to be seen by heaven knows how many people.

The fact the team go to such lengths to make the house the best it possibly could be, tailored to the family, is amazing. Imagine if you were on the receiving end, how ecstatic would you feel? Imagine your joy, and then you may be able to imagine just how the families helped by ABC and the EM:HE team feel. Their lives have been turned around, picked up, and there are much fewer things for them to worry about.

I know a lot of people have issues with this show, that they feel it is base and demeaning, and the people on it are undeserving. The people they feature are needy in different ways, and just because they aren't destitute and living on the street doesn't make them any less deserving. The fact the team have worked to make houses safer for residents to live in (such as the girl allergic to sunlight) proves in my mind that this is much more than just a reality TV programme. This is life-changing, and absolutely stunning.

In my opinion, this show is one of the most heart-warming reality TV shows I've come across, and I think there should be more! Helping people who need it, changing their lives in ways they never could have done themselves, I think that's an amazing thing. Kudos to ABC, and to the design team and the contractors who work through the night to get the house done. It's fantastic!

Wow! What an amazing show. I never knew a show where everyone had such great hearts! This show not only has amazing families every week but the design team and crew just keep on working no matter what conditions there under. I also must admit that I really like their spin off series as well to give viewers a behind the scenes look at what they didn't see the night before it's on this show where you can also see the kindness of everyone on it. Way to go ABC you've really hit a Home Run with this show keep it up you're doing a great job so far! I hope that you guys keep it around for a while and I'm sure that in the future they'll still be watching this Wonderful show!

Rachel

I have to shake my head when I read the comments of people that don't care for this show. It's obviously not about the nuts-and-bolts building of a house, and as far as Ty "never picking up a hammer" - for God's sake, they can't show the entire seven days of building the house, and if they did, who'd want to watch it?! Reality shows, by their nature, are cruel freak shows, highlighting the worst of human behavior, like disloyalty and back-stabbing motivated by greed (SURVIVOR comes to mind), gross-out stunts (FEAR FACTOR, anyone?), extolling the idea that physical beauty is the answer to all your problems (THE SWAN), or exploiting a near-psychotic desire to appear on TV no matter what the cost to yourself or your family (Jerry Springer and his ilk). Extreme Makeover Home Edition instead highlights the best in human behavior - compassion, a sincere desire to help someone in need, and the "pay it forward" idea that helping another human being will lead to that person helping another, and on and on. I don't enjoy being shown that people can be selfish, hateful morons that will eat a pig rectum or back-stab a friend for money or exposure, but I DO enjoy being reminded that there are people in the world willing to help others down their luck and do it in ways that change the recipient's lives.

Extreme Makeover Home Edition is a wonderful, entertaining, inspiring show, cast to perfection with funny, entertaining people who do their jobs with exquisite taste and imagination. May it run forever!