Trading Spaces returns on TLC...

OK, I admit it, this show was a guilty pleasure back in the early 2000s and I found myself watching a marathon of all the vintage episodes yesterday, leading up to the Reunion Special at 9 PM and a brand new episode at 9:30.

Everyone looked about the same in most cases. Paige no longer has the spiky hair that could poke your eye out. She now has darker, "regular" hair. And she no longer wears tight jeans and midriffs. I used to watch it just for her hips.

Most of the designers are back, including the infamous Hildi. Genevieve has had some work done on her face, I think. Vern actually looks a lot older. That one pony tail guy who talked like Mr. Rogers isn't part of the reboot.

 

I was really happy that the new episode was a throwback to the classic format, even down to the theme music and graphics. The original show jumped the shark when they started trying to change things too much.

 

I watched some of the old episodes in recent days (my Aunt used to force me to watch this show back in the early 2000s), and I have to say that going back to like 2001 or 2002, this show had to be one of the earlier examples of essentially "faking" stuff to make entertaining TV. Not "faking" in the literal sense. They really did redesign the rooms in the homes and whatnot. But covering someone's walls with straw or fake flowers is either 100% "made for TV" nonsense, or the designer has zero foresight or ability to deem what is actually *functional.*

I read a recent article that referenced old interviews with some of the infamous designers (e.g. "Hildi" and the cranky guy, I think his name is "Doug"?) and indicated the designers essentially admitted they were exaggerating their work (e.g. Hildi's penchant for gluing nonsense stuff to the walls, or narcissistically making a mosaic mural of her own face on someone's wall) "for TV."

This is show is essentially like "Ink Master" in that I can't imagine anyone in "real life" actually hiring these people to do what is ostensibly their actual profession.

 

Agreed. I don't subscribe to TLC, but have seen several old episodes at the gym recently. In one on Saturday they added cardboard furniture to the room - a desk and chair IIRC. I think the budget was $2K back then, and I don't think they have changed it. High Definition episodes definitely show the failure of attention to detail.

 

I managed to catch the other night one I actually remembered from way back years ago. It's evidently one of the more infamous episodes.

The cranky "Doug" guy gets the job of doing a couple's living room. The couple actually leaves a note on the fireplace stating "No Paint."

He then proceeds to convince the other couple working in the room to let him paint the fireplace. They actually refuse, and he gets extra cranky. Eventually he concocts some huge wood covering for the fireplace to avoid painting it.

Anyway, for the "reveal", the couple HATED everything about the living room. The wife has to leave the room and then starts crying. This, despite the fact that they *did* avoid painting the fireplace.

Ironically, after watching a bunch of episodes, this was actually one of the better-looking redesigns (still not great, but better than most).

Even the people who got fake flowers glued to every inch of their bathroom, or the people who got straw and dirt glued to the walls weren't *that" upset.

 

You saw that I started another thread about home improvement shows, but I'll comment here about this particular one.

I was a big fan of the original. Of course that's because I had a major thing for Genevieve Gorder, but that's a different story...and yes, Paige wasn't too hard on the eyes either...
Anyway, I recently read in a Reddit thread from someone who participated in the show, and a couple of things stand out. The designs were already to go by the time the show was taping-there were no on-the-fly decisions. The people did very little on the projects themselves-they had local teams do most of the work. As far as scripting everything, that was definitely the case-everything except the final reveal, when they went with the actual reactions. The show has paid to reverse some of the designs.
I was happy to see Amy Wyn Pastor at the reunion, as she was the most frequently used carpenter by a mile-except that everyone remembers Ty Pennington, who as we know from Extreme Home Makeover rumours was a real a*****e. It was touching that they brought back the little girl Frank Bielec painted all grown up-Frank was very touched by her, and you can see that he is a genuinely nice person. I think it would be hard for Hildi to top some of her wackadoodle designs, and any attempt by her to do so now will just come across as crass and awkward. Part of the beauty of the original show was how organic and unassuming it was-now that it has become quite popular over time it just doesn't have the same feel, but I'll watch it all the same.
And this is really nitpicky, but I have to say it. The new music, which is like a lame copy of what was originally some kind of lame 80's jazzy synth-pop, has to go. They either should have completely changed to something new, or kept the original music (highly unlikely, I know).

 

I'm just starting to watch reruns of the reboot. Immediately, I can say I enjoy it more than any other current home decoration show.

 

Looks like the revival of "Trading Spaces" resulted in TLC's highest Saturday night ratings in 8 years!

‘Trading Spaces’ Return Scores Record Ratings For TLC