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Archive through August 15, 2005

Reality TVClubHouse Discussions: Home Improvement Show ARCHIVES: Extreme Makeover: Home Edition ---with Ty - 2004-2007: Archive through August 15, 2005 users admin

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Mak1
Member

08-12-2002

Sunday, May 22, 2005 - 5:50 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Mak1 a private message Print Post    
Yeah, Color, Ty's screaming bugs me too. That's why I normally don't watch, but tonight's show is really special, and he is toned down.

Lve2laff
Member

01-16-2004

Sunday, May 22, 2005 - 6:07 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Lve2laff a private message Print Post    
I agree. Love the show, love the concept...even love TY...BUT TONE IT DOWN. I am over the screaming. I did cry the entire show tonight...very moving.

Colordeagua
Member

10-25-2003

Sunday, May 22, 2005 - 8:03 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Colordeagua a private message Print Post    
Mak, he's toned down? I think it was at the end of the first hour tonight.... Stop screaming !!!!!!

Mocha
Member

08-12-2001

Monday, May 23, 2005 - 7:30 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Mocha a private message Print Post    
I love the screaming.

Luvmom
Member

10-17-2000

Monday, May 23, 2005 - 7:47 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Luvmom a private message Print Post    
I love the screaming and I love Ty.For everything he does for these families,if he wants to let out a bit of fustration or energy,I say go for it!!

Colordeagua
Member

10-25-2003

Monday, May 23, 2005 - 8:29 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Colordeagua a private message Print Post    
Has anyone ever heard anything negative about the houses from EMHE / ABC / house contractors / Sears? A family in the Chicago area who was gifted with a new house from the copycat program Jay McGraw did -- bad news. Bad design, bad construction, etc., etc. They got a piece of junk. They're no better off (if not worse) than pre-program.

Mamie316
Member

07-08-2003

Monday, May 23, 2005 - 9:06 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Mamie316 a private message Print Post    
Wonderful show last night!

Mocha
Member

08-12-2001

Monday, May 23, 2005 - 9:26 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Mocha a private message Print Post    
Color I haven't seen any negative reports but that doesn't mean they don't exist.

Mak1
Member

08-12-2002

Monday, May 23, 2005 - 9:36 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Mak1 a private message Print Post    
lol, Color, maybe he wasn't really toned down, but I was just tuning him out!

Twiggyish
Member

08-14-2000

Monday, May 23, 2005 - 6:21 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Twiggyish a private message Print Post    
Great show tonight and last night. I loved this family. I would love to see updates on them.

Kep421
Member

08-11-2001

Tuesday, May 24, 2005 - 4:21 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Kep421 a private message Print Post    
I think I would like to go see the Veteran's Memorial Building....I've always had a fascination for the "Wind Talkers"... Gotta put that on my "To Do" list...

Rosie
Member

11-12-2003

Sunday, May 29, 2005 - 9:06 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Rosie a private message Print Post    
I laughed out loud when the daughter said something like "and I am not there", when informed that the Navy was helping build her home.

Beautiful family tonight. Great job on the house, as usual.

Racsan
Member

04-09-2004

Wednesday, June 22, 2005 - 6:56 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Racsan a private message Print Post    
ATTENTION ALL TY PENNINGTON & EXTREME MAKEOVER HOME EDITION FANS IN TNY:

Ty and the show will be in Clarksville, TN June 27 - July 3 to tape a show for next season. There's going to be a free Bon Jovi concert. Drats that we're leaving for Hawaii for 2 weeks Saturday, I'd LOVE to get a glimpse of Ty. [I'm so SURE I WON'T enjoy myself in Hawaii knowing Ty is going to be in my hometown. ] For more information you can contact the show at feedback@emhe.tv Last I heard they still needed bodies for beginning day destruction so if you're going to be in the area it might be worth contacting the show.

Hummingbird
Member

08-21-2002

Thursday, June 23, 2005 - 4:01 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Hummingbird a private message Print Post    
I wonder if some of the people they build these fantastic houses for can keep up the tax and insurance payments after the crew leaves town.

Serate
Member

08-21-2001

Monday, June 27, 2005 - 7:25 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Serate a private message Print Post    
Actually the demolition in Clarksville TN started Wed June 22 and the Bon Jovi concert is Wed June 29. My husband is supposed to go to the concert for work [trying to get out of it - awful long drive for a concert of somebody you are not in total awe of], and his supervisor and ass supervisor went down for the whole thing. I tried to find the press release off of the DAV website from Friday but I can't. But I did read a copy of it Saturday so I know the dates stated above are incorrect.

Jkm
Member

07-10-2002

Thursday, August 11, 2005 - 10:32 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Jkm a private message Print Post    
Posted on Thu, Aug. 11, 2005






Five siblings sue 'Extreme Makeover' show

Associated Press


LOS ANGELES - Five orphaned siblings who received gifts and a new dream home on the hit ABC television show "Extreme Makeover, Home Edition" are suing the network, the company that built the house and the couple who took them in after their parents died.

The lawsuit is rooted in a falling out between the children - who range in age from 15 to 22 - and the couple, Phil and Loki Leomiti. The children ultimately moved out of the Leomitis' home in Santa Fe Springs, a small city southeast of Los Angeles, and are living separately with friends, said Charles Higgins II, the eldest sibling.

Their complaint, which was filed Wednesday, alleges fraud and breach of contract.

"What we're really seeing is the collision between reality TV and the perception reality TV seeks to create in the minds of the general public," said Patrick Mesisca, the Higginses' lawyer.

ABC said it does not comment on litigation and referred queries to the production companies.

The network, however, said in a statement that "It is important to note that the episode was about the rebuilding of the Leomiti family's existing home to accommodate the inclusion of the five Higgins siblings, whom the Leomitis had invited into their lives following the death of their parents."

People who answered the phone at the Leomitis' home initially said the couple had no comment and later referred questions to ABC and to Endemol USA, the television show's production company.

Endemol publicist Melissa Armstrong said the company had not yet reviewed the claim.

The parents of the Higgins children died 10 weeks apart in the spring of 2004 - the mother of breast cancer and the father of heart failure. The Leomitis, who knew the children from church, took them in to their home in July 2004, according to the lawsuit.

Producers of "Extreme Makeover" learned of the children's plight from a television newscast.

Workers demolished the Leomitis' house in February. Pardee Homes replaced it with a 9-bedroom mansion, and show producers arranged for the siblings to receive cars, groceries, computers, stereos, and other gifts.

Pardee paid off the mortgage on the new house but the Leomitis retained the title, according to the lawsuit.

But around the time that the episode first aired in late March, the Higginses moved out. Their lawsuit alleges that the Leomitis engaged in "an orchestrated campaign" to drive them away by insulting them and treating them poorly.

"We were promised a home," said Charles Higgins II. "They broke that promise."

Mesisca, the attorney, acknowledged Wednesday that the siblings were never promised a house in writing. But the network's statements and actions could legally be considered a promise, he said.

The suit seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages.



Jkm
Member

07-10-2002

Thursday, August 11, 2005 - 10:33 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Jkm a private message Print Post    
this one has a little more

From the Los Angeles Times
TELEVISION
'Makeover' now family feud
Five orphaned children file suit against 'Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.'

By Scott Collins
Times Staff Writer
Published August 11, 2005


A Downey family has sued ABC and the producers of "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition," claiming that there is a tale of greed and deception behind the scenes of the heartstring-tugging reality hit.

In a suit filed Wednesday in Los Angeles Superior Court, Charles Higgins II, 22, and his four younger siblings say that the producers took advantage of the family's hard-luck story and promised them new cars and other prizes to persuade them to participate in the program, first broadcast on Easter Sunday, March 27.

The Higgins children say that after both parents died within weeks of one another in 2004, they were taken in by Firipeli and Lokilani Leomiti of Santa Fe Springs. The suit claims that the Leomitis used the children to increase their chances of being selected for the program. In February, a construction team working on behalf of the producers tore down the Leomitis' existing 1,300-square-foot home and erected a new nine-bedroom residence in its place. The project was then featured on "Home Edition."

The suit claims that shortly after production wrapped, the Leomitis began working to evict the Higgins children — who are black and at the time ranged in age from 14 to 21 — through physical abuse and name-calling, including repeatedly using a racial epithet. None of the Higgins children lives in the house any longer, the suit says.

The Leomitis, who are also named in the suit, allegedly appropriated the children's cars and other prizes.

ABC and producers Endemol USA and Lock and Key Productions "knew that an episode of 'Extreme Makeover' based on the story of five children who struggled to stay together after losing both parents within three months of one another would appeal to the hearts of their television viewers and consequently generate higher ratings," the court papers say. The suit seeks unspecified damages for fraud, breach of contract and other claims.

A statement from ABC suggested that the heart of the dispute lies in soured relations between the two families: "While we don't comment on litigation it is important to note that the episode was about the rebuilding of the Leomiti family's existing home to accommodate the inclusion of the five Higgins siblings, whom the Leomitis had invited into their lives following the death of their parents."

The network referred other questions to Endemol and Lock and Key, which did not immediately comment. The Leomitis could not be reached.

The lawsuit also names Pardee Homes, the Los Angeles-based residential builder who performed the construction work. The Higgins children say that Pardee used their photographs and story on the firm's website without their permission.

"Pardee Homes built the house that ABC and the show's producers asked us to build, and it was a positive experience for us as a team," Pardee President and CEO Mike McGee said in a statement. "We are very sorry to hear of the current difficulties between the families."

Midday Wednesday, the Pardee website still featured a prominent link about the "Home Edition" project, including quotes from members of both families. Lokilani Leomiti was quoted as saying before the program taped, "It's not about the material things. Even if we don't get chosen [for the program], it doesn't matter because [the Higgins children] have a home, and they'll always have us."


Mocha
Member

08-12-2001

Friday, August 12, 2005 - 11:09 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Mocha a private message Print Post    
I read a story bout this yesterday. Very interesting. It's a shame and sad that the kids are scattered and these people have a brand new home.

Maybe the producers should've checked to see if these people had legal custody of the kids first.

Sillycalimomma
Member

11-13-2003

Sunday, August 14, 2005 - 7:10 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Sillycalimomma a private message Print Post    
I can not stop crying long enough to even watch this episode! This is so sad. Having my child taken from me and not knowing where she is, who has her and what they are doing-my ultimate fear. I need a huge box of tissues over here!!!

Sillycalimomma
Member

11-13-2003

Sunday, August 14, 2005 - 7:51 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Sillycalimomma a private message Print Post    
Don't know if I would get in trouble for this, but awhile back (when I stayed current with the Starting Over boards) we had a member by the name of CillySue. Her daughter is missing as well. She went missing from an area not too far from my where I live and I kept the link to her website about her daughter ever since. I send it as a link in emails often. I don't know what happened to CillySue as far as TVCH goes, but I would like to repost her website to share with everyone who has not yet seen it.<click on the following and it will open a new page for the site>

Please Help Bring Answers For Gayles Mother

Mamie316
Member

07-08-2003

Sunday, August 14, 2005 - 9:08 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Mamie316 a private message Print Post    
I started crying when they were showing the previews before the show started!

Sillycalimomma
Member

11-13-2003

Sunday, August 14, 2005 - 10:50 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Sillycalimomma a private message Print Post    
I know! I cried so much during those two hours it was ridiculous! How could you not though with that story. I missed the first 10 minutes or so. Did they say where her father was? I did not see him or a mention of him at all even at the balloon ceremony thing.

Mamie316
Member

07-08-2003

Monday, August 15, 2005 - 7:09 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Mamie316 a private message Print Post    
They never said anything about the father.

Scout
Member

01-20-2005

Monday, August 15, 2005 - 8:19 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Scout a private message Print Post    
I was curious about the father as well.

I feel for this family. Having your child missing would definitely be the hardest thing a parent would have to go through. But I couldn't help thinking, that maybe this wasn't the right show for this. I know they wanted to get their message out, and I don't blame the family in any way, but their home itself actually looked quite nice.
There are so many people living in such terrible circumstances, that it just seemed wrong to tear down a perfectly good house with more than enough room for the family.

This was a two hour program and only showed the pictures of a couple of other missing children. They would have had the opportunity to show a hundred pictures throughout the episode and really increase the chances of bringing another child home. Maybe instead of seeing Ty smash new guitars (I also have a problem with ruining what looked like brand new instruments just for wall art), we could have seen some additional photos and heard some other families stories.

Mamie316
Member

07-08-2003

Monday, August 15, 2005 - 8:39 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Mamie316 a private message Print Post    
They had extensive water damage in the house. I think that's why they tore down the home.