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DO WE NEED ALL THESE D.I.Y. SHOWS?
MY NEW HOUSE INDICATES "YES"
April 15, 2005
I used to wonder why there were seemingly hundreds of home-improvement shows spread across the dial, all trying to teach you how to install a window, plant raspberry bushes, remodel your basement and put in a new air-conditioning system.
Well, as of late February, I'm a first-time homeowner. And now I know. Boy, do I know. Is there anything more terrifying than moving into a house with immediate problems and realizing you don't know how to fix any of them? Didn't think so.
I'm just finding this out. Apparently, TV execs have known for years. That's why there are not just shows, but entire channels devoted to the art of making your home better. HGTV (Home and Garden Television) is the most recognizable, but its sister network--DIY Network (short for Do It Yourself)--may actually be more comprehensive. Both offer 'round-the-clock, exhaustive programming on ways to spruce up the place you call home.
Meanwhile, TLC (The Learning Channel) offers three home-repair shows--the popular "Trading Places," spinoff "Trading Places: Family," and "In A Fix." Turner South has "Southern Home by Design" and "Home Makers" on its schedule. Even one of the major networks, ABC, has cashed in with ratings-winner "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition." Heck, there might be more TV hours devoted to home repair per week than there is to poker. Does anyone else remember when it was Bob Vila or nothing?!
And when it comes to these shows, no half-original concept is ignored. The novelty of "Trading Spaces"--which features neighbors who switch homes for two days and must completely redesign one of the rooms on a set budget--seems downright quaint now. Newer shows have either borrowed parts of the "Trading Spaces" formula or are built on premises so strange that I'm not sure the ultimate goal is to assist me in making my house nicer.
For example, "Home Makers" features an all-women construction team faced with the task of restoring a home built in 1905. OK, I get it--having female workers is supposed to be the hook. But why does gender matter when I'm learning how a home is restored? What's that? It doesn't. Then … why all ladies? Oh, forget it. A beer commercial just came on, and I figured it out myself. (And, yes, the "Home Makers" girls are cute. If you're a guy who digs a girl with excellent table-saw technique, go have a ball.)
Personally, my favorite home-repair shows come in two colors. I enjoy the ones that try to actually help the viewer rather than tug at emotional heartstrings. (I'm looking sternly at you "Extreme Makeover.") The best may be HGTV's "Design on a Dime," which forces a design team to completely remake a room for under a meager $1,000. For us poor TV writers, such info can be quite useful.
I'm also partial to series that are set up like little contests. HGTV has two interesting shows in this vein: "Designers' Challenge," which pits three design experts against each other as they attempt to procure the same remodeling job, and "Landscapers' Challenge," which is essentially the same thing but with a lot more sunshine. You can actually pick up some nice ideas watching these shows.
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