ok. first of all, a disclaimer: i could research this if i REALLY wanted to, but i'm not going to. i'm just going to vent and be pissy. i'm not like bill, who spends hours researching every little thing he writes. i just don't care THAT much.
the questions:
has there been a change of producers on "trading spaces" who have directed the designers to be more controversial (shitty) in their designing. i'm not going to even address doug, whom i have supported in a lot of his efforts (most turned out very nice, i thought); i'm only going to say that his medication seems not to be working anymore, as he is getting nastier and nastier. these people are SUPPOSED to be redecorating people's personal spaces! this should not be an opportunity for them to work out their own personal grievances against society in general, or against those the designer considers beneath him or her taste-wise.
this USED to be a good show! the designers did nice things to the spaces, and the people were generally appreciative. as they should have been. and we viewers enjoyed the show because we learned some things and learned how to do some things. it was great. more and more, i feel that i'm watching TLC's version of "punk'd." lately i've seen shows where people were "gifted" with cardboard furniture and walls, walls covered with feathers, and walls covered with straw. these are ALL hildy's work. what happened to her in these past few years that she's terrorizing these poor people? what did they ever do to her? these shows remind me of performance "art" pieces with people throwing around chicken shit and innards to "artistically represent" something.
and you know it looks like shit. the complicit neighbor / "friends" know it looks like shit, and the "victims" know it looks like shit. but we're all supposed to just eat these shit sandwiches with a big smile on our faces lest we be deemed ignorant of the "beauty" of these "designs." well i'm not keeping my mouth shut anymore. THE EMPEROR'S NAKED!
and what about these "friends?" that would be the end of that friendship for me.
i'm not watching it anymore. i'm exercising my right to change the channel. unless vern is on every show from now on. vern and laurie. two happy, well-adjusted people who know what their role is / should be.
Posted by Stacey at January 18, 2004 02:18 PMmental note: don't suggest you guys for a "remodelling" on trading spaces. might be some bloodshed...
"you're entering a world of pain [hildy]"
Posted by: mark at January 18, 2004 07:22 PMHildy is loony. Period. Vern and Laurie, very nice. I haven't watched most of this season, but what I have seen is Doug being a complete ass to the homeowners. Major "I am a star don't breathe without my permission" attitude.
Posted by: kathy at January 18, 2004 08:49 PMHello Angel - nice to see you back - have missed your posts. We don't see Trading Places here but I have seen other shows and I have to agree with you 100%. They should fire a decorator for turning out shit and why should other people be subjected to their weird and wacky tastes? Simplicity is the key - they don't need to go overboard.
Posted by: Michelle at January 19, 2004 01:30 AMI think I'm glad I've never seen it. Stacey, you are magnificent when you're angry!
Posted by: Anji at January 19, 2004 02:03 AMI used to be an avid viewer, but I've been pretty sporadic the past couple years. It's just not fun to watch someone destroy another person's house (painful to see what they did to the Arts and Crafts home in Oakland!). This weekend, both homeowners loved their rooms and cried. Don't the producers know that's what we want to see? We want to see ideas that we may actually use in our homes? I've done a few things from that show--from the first season.
Posted by: pink lotus at January 19, 2004 01:40 PMI stopped supporting Hildy (and watching trading spaces) when she did that holodeck basement. I don't know what the hell is wrong with them anymore -- it seems like that, instead of trying to give people nicer homes, they are trying to make "art." Like you said, I guess.
It makes me sad that Doug is being an ass. I used to love what he did. He would push the edge just far enough to give people something really cool that they never knew that they wanted. I used to be angry at the homeowners for not giving his work enough thought to see that it was good. Now it seems, from what you are saying, that he is the one being thoughtless.
Posted by: Matt at January 19, 2004 11:06 PMMy husband won't watch the episoded where Hildy is on. She needs a beating.
p.s. i love you guys
Posted by: jenB at January 20, 2004 12:47 AMoh, yes, i do love vern. laurie needs to learn that just because you call it "cork" don't mean it ain't yellow!
Posted by: jenB at January 20, 2004 12:48 AMI agree 100%. If I saw Hildy, I would run, not walk, but run the other way. Vern (and Laurie on one of her good days) are the only ones I'd let near my house. Some of the things the others have done this year are just scary. I'd like to see one of the homeowners deck the decorator. Now that would be fun.
Posted by: TW at January 20, 2004 09:28 AM