Those TV shows on TLC crack me up

[Jeffrey Makiel]

There was a show on the TLC channel where new homeowners buy a house and make interior changes to it. Then they invite the previous homeowner to come back and visit it.

On this particular episode, some new homeowners buy a huge luxurious farm house and decide that the kitchen cabinets must go. The kitchen was already large with modern stainless steel appliances, a modern layout with granite countertops, natural stone floors and nice lighting. The cabinets in question where plentiful and where 1940s maple cabinetry that was just professionally restored by the previous homeowner.

Not only do they rip out these beautiful cabinets, they show their young children hitting the cabinets with a hammer to demonstrate how awful they are.

I guess the instant flavor-of-the-day was more important than the historic look of the custom handcrafted and restored cabinets matching the rest of the farm house. Nor did they think about donating the cabinets to a reclamation organization. When the previous homeowner was invited back, she appeared somewhat disapponted to say the least.

I watched this one show which has satisfied my annual quota for watching TLC. Unfortunately, I see this mentality in reality but not to this degree. Some folks have more 'dollars than sense' or they simply have too much money and no appreciation for anything. Either way, it's disheartening.

-Jeff :)

[Mitchell Andrus]

You've got to separate the wheat from the chaf. I know... 85% of TLC is junk, but there are a few gems once a while.

When my wife watches those 10 years younger makover shows, or worse, those awful Brittish "clean my house 'cause I'm a lazy no-goodnik" shows I have to leave the room.

[Charles Wiggins]

That whole thing is just sad.

Well, as Dave Ramsey says, "Stupid is not illegal," so I guess suing someone for being and idiot would probably not get you too far.

It seems that suing someone else because you yourself are the idiot works much better, like suing McDonalds because you ordered hot coffee and spilled it on yourself, or you ordered their fattening food and ate it and ended up overweight.

Maybe someone could sue the producers for preying on the stupid?

[Doug Shepard]

I've almost completely tuned that channel out tho it used to have some interesting stuff on it. Another one that ranks up there on the Stoopid-Meter is an Animal Planet show. Some group of "experts" does some dog and pony show (or meybe pot-bellied pig and alligator) where they parade a menagerie of "pets" through the victims homes, subjecting them and the "pets" to various highly scientific tests to determine which pet is most suited for them. Gimme a break.
And dont even get me started on the Game Show Network - the stupidest collection of 60's-70's-80's game show rejects ever invented. I have a couple relatives that cant get enough. I keep asking them where the suspense is - the same trailer park trash that won the first time is going to win on the rerun. And if the show is 20 years old, the Price Is Definitely Wrong.

[Chris Padilla]

"Entertainment is in the eye of the beholder...." :)

[mike holden]

Charles Wiggins said: " like suing McDonalds because you ordered hot coffee and spilled it on yourself,"

Charles, you ARE aware that the lawsuit was NOT about the spilling of the coffee, but rather, that the McDonalds would not help the injured lady with first aid or call for municipal assistance. It was this gray area between the duty of the purveyor to help when their product caused an injury vs the "good samaritan" rules that let you ignore someone in distress.

Yes, the good samaritan rules are to protect someone who offers help, but they also allow one to remain uninvolved.

This case is still misunderstood twelve years later. To my knowledge, the only media that reported it correctly from the onset was the Wall Street Journal.

Mike

[Rich Engelhardt]

Hello,
Might as well add a "classic" like TOH to the list.
(IMHO) They destroyed an old Victorian during a recent renovation by "opening up" the living areas.

Matter of fact, in a lot of ways TLC is better - at least they don't try to hide the fact that they are crass commercialism.

[Chris Padilla]

Oh, Man...a dig at TOH!!! Norm, Tommy, Rich...my heroes!!! ;)

[Jeffrey Makiel]

I have to admit that I lost my interest in TOH mostly because the stuff they do is unrealistic to me both economically and physically. I must also admit that I'd be bored watching the basics on how to hang sheetrock over and over and over again. At least with TOH, it doesn't get into the personality parade issue discussed in the original post above.

-Jeff :)

[Greg Peterson]

Charles, you ARE aware that the lawsuit was NOT about the spilling of the coffee, but rather, that the McDonalds would not help the injured lady with first aid or call for municipal assistance. It was this gray area between the duty of the purveyor to help when their product caused an injury vs the "good samaritan" rules that let you ignore someone in distress.

Yes, the good samaritan rules are to protect someone who offers help, but they also allow one to remain uninvolved.

This case is still misunderstood twelve years later. To my knowledge, the only media that reported it correctly from the onset was the Wall Street Journal.

Mike

No fair. Foul. Um, whatever.

The McDonalds case is the number one legal case used by armchair legal scholars to demonstrate the frivolity of lawsuits.

Of course the Good Samaritan law was good for a few laughs in the final Seinfeld episode.

[Neal Clayton]

the travesties committed on old houses never fails to sicken me.

i grew up in new orleans, and even now won't live in a house older than WW2 (current one built in 1908).

after stripping miles and miles and miles of paint, anyone who goes near anything made of vintage wood in a house with white paint should be at least jailed, imo, if not beaten.

and i've got a craftsman now, so the woodwork can be re-created, at least, with modern tools pretty easily. the people with old victorian mansions full of hand-carved stuff, ugh, painting that should get them the chair.

[Bob Moyer]

This weekend Direct TV had a free preview weekend; I did not know it until Sunday afternoon, I taped a number of shows. Last night I was watching a show called "Under Construction"; my wife was quilting and all of a sudden when the guys and sub-contractors started swearing at each other; she commented. I wonder if that ever happens on TOH; would make for a different show. :rolleyes: