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Archive through March 19, 2005

The TVClubHouse: Other Reality Shows ARCHIVES: Archives for 2005-3: WifeSwap: Archive through March 19, 2005 users admin

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Tishala
Member

08-01-2000

Monday, March 07, 2005 - 10:30 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Yes. Quakers are the antithesis of the Calvinist fundamentalists who seem to control Christian discourse in contemporary America. [FWIW, lots of Jews never go to temple and are more cultural Jews than anything--I'm one of them--but they are as Jewish IMO as any Lubavitcher.]

And it's not an assumption that he and his family are Quakers. They ARE Quakers.

Julieboo
Member

02-05-2002

Wednesday, March 16, 2005 - 8:38 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Both families have their pluses and minuses. Will be interesting to see who is more open to change.

Personally I think it would be more beneficial for the treehouse family to keep the 2 little ones at home and send the older kids to school.

Julieboo
Member

02-05-2002

Wednesday, March 16, 2005 - 8:43 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Harvard dad is too uptight for an 8 & 6 year old. I think a week of homeschooling would be fine for them.

Julieboo
Member

02-05-2002

Wednesday, March 16, 2005 - 8:52 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Treehouse mom is very close minded...

Scorpiomoon
Member

06-06-2002

Wednesday, March 16, 2005 - 8:59 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
This episode was off the hook.

I have to applaud the producers for finding families that make for good TV.

These people--all four of them--were truly unbelievable.

Vee
Member

02-23-2004

Wednesday, March 16, 2005 - 9:11 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Treehouse mom was the most unbelievable of the four adults. I'm surprised that the kids were all fairly normal.

Willwillbee
Member

09-20-2001

Wednesday, March 16, 2005 - 9:49 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
I wonder how treehouse mom will respond if her children tell her how miserable they are stuck in a minimum wage job that they hate because it is their only option.

Yankee_in_ca
Member

08-01-2000

Wednesday, March 16, 2005 - 9:52 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Interesting article in today's NY Times. Sorry it's so long, but since it's a registration site, thought I should post in full.


One Show's Unexpected Lessons in Reality
By JACQUES STEINBERG
NEW YORK TIMES
March 16, 2005

An essential element of "Wife Swap" - the ABC program in which two women with starkly different lives switch families for a few days - is that each woman should learn something about herself by walking in the shoes of the other.

But the two women featured in tonight's episode say that perhaps their most valuable lesson concerned the creative liberties involved in assembling a show that is in the vanguard of the latest wave of so-called reality television. Their observations, in interviews arranged by ABC to promote tonight's episode, instead serve to provide a rare behind-the-scenes glimpse of how those shows featuring a documentary-style examination of people's lives - as opposed to the cutthroat competition of shows like "The Apprentice" and "Survivor" - rely more heavily on the techniques of scripted drama than the shows let on.

At least based on the experience of tonight's featured wives - Christy Oeth, a working mother from suburban Philadelphia, and Nancy Cedarquist, who is home-schooling her six children in northern Vermont - making a "swap" ready for prime time can entail withholding facts from the viewer that might muddle the central premise; supplying participants with material to read aloud; rehearsing pivotal confrontations off-screen; and, in some cases, re-enacting events the cameras missed.

In tonight's episode, for example, the Oeths, a family of six, are described by the narrator as putting "success before family life" and as "high achievers who run their family like a business." In pitching the episode in a one-page memorandum to ABC, the show's producers - a British company called RDF Media, which also produces a British version - posed the following question: "Will Mrs. Oeth get in touch with her natural maternal instincts?"

In fact, Mrs. Oeth, 36, who works at an investment firm, said in a telephone interview this week that she had stayed home for five years to raise her four children, a fact the producers never share with viewers, and that she had returned to work only last year, when her husband left a high-pressure job in Manhattan.

"There is a very big element of unreality to the way they pigeonholed me," she said.

This was also the case for Nancy Cedarquist, 36. The Cedarquists are portrayed as having "dropped out of society" to live in a "treehouse," and that is technically true - their home, which has no cement foundation, is indeed perched on the bases of 11 trees. But another assertion by the narrator at the outset of the program - "husband Keith is the only one who leaves the treehouse on a daily basis, to work at the local paper mill" - ignores the many activities in which their four older children have participated at the local schools, including ballet, a pompom squad, basketball and band. None of these activities is ever shown or mentioned.

Moreover, no mention is made in tonight's episode that tensions between Mrs. Cedarquist and Michael Oeth had so grown during the five days she spent living in the Oeth house in Yardley, Pa., that the producers effectively evacuated her early and installed her in a Sheraton hotel nearby, driving her to and from the house until her final scenes were completed.

And do not get Mrs. Cedarquist started on the scene she agreed to film in which, she says, she pretended to be asleep - she had indeed overslept one day, but cameras were not present - or the new rules she agreed to post for the Oeth children, which, she said, were written not by her (as the narrator suggests) but by a producer working off-camera on a laptop computer.

"This is where you should play the stupid hillbilly music," Mrs. Cedarquist said, a reference to the "Dueling Banjoes"-style soundtrack that is, incongruously, laid over images of her Montgomery Center, Vt., home. "I really thought reality television was more real than it is."

To Wendy Roth, co-executive producer of "Wife Swap," the postproduction concerns expressed by the two women are a function, at least in part, of a naïveté people have about reality television.

"A documentary is a news show," said Ms. Roth, who has worked as a producer on "Good Morning America" and several prime-time Oprah Winfrey specials. "We come out of the entertainment division. There is a certain amount of poetic license."

Ms. Roth acknowledged, for example, that mention of the five years Mrs. Oeth spent raising her children full time was omitted from the episode, not because it would have complicated the episode's stark premise - coldhearted working mom versus nurturing stay-at-home mom - but because "we don't do back stories on our show."

"The most back story we do is, 'They live in a treehouse and they built it themselves,' " she said. "We do what's happening in the present. Otherwise it gets too bogged down."

Ms. Roth said the two women, who were shown rough versions of tonight's episode last week, might have fallen victim to two afflictions that frequently befall not just reality-show participants but also people interviewed for television news programs and even newspapers. One is the reality that while nearly 100 hours may have been recorded - as is the case with "Wife Swap" - only 43 minutes can be broadcast, which, she said, always necessitates hard editing choices.

But each woman had also raised concerns that neither the way they are portrayed nor the way they sound matched what they saw and heard in their own minds - and that, too, Ms. Roth said, is common.

"You know how you have an image of what your life looks like to other people?" she said. "At some point, they realize the way they see themselves and the way other people see their lives isn't exactly the same."

"Wife Swap" thrives on its ability to get viewers to see themselves - or at least their ideals - represented in the life of one player, and under assault from the other. By nature, the show's structure dictates that the participants be presented as caricatures. In earlier episodes, for example, an heiress from New York City was switched with a woodcutter from New Jersey; a woman with two dozen pets traded for a neat freak; and, as was widely reported last month, a lesbian toggled with a woman who was anti-gay.

Thus far the show, in its first full season, has enjoyed relatively high ratings. It is seen by an average of 9.4 million viewers each week, which places it behind such reality fare as "Survivor: Palau" (22.3 million) and "The Apprentice" (15 million), according to Nielsen Media Research, but ahead of "The Contender" (8.9 million viewers last Thursday).

Each episode of "Wife Swap" takes months to research and produce. On a big board in the show's Manhattan offices, near the Port Authority Bus Terminal, the producers have listed descriptions they hope to match with actual families - "tattoo parlor," "rocket scientist," "midwife."

In the cases of both the Cedarquists and the Oeths, many details presented in tonight's broadcast are dead-on accurate, the participants agree. Mr. Oeth, for example, does, as the narrator intones, type his grocery list on a spreadsheet and then overlay it on a floor map of the local supermarket.

Not all the relevant details omitted from the broadcast are the responsibility of the producers. In an interview, Mrs. Cedarquist said she actually worked 20 hours a week - many of them outside the home - in a rental property management business she had joined in September.

She made no mention of her work in her application. Ms. Roth, the producer, said she had been unaware of Mrs. Cedarquist's work until told by a reporter; Mrs. Cedarquist said she had attempted to bring her job to the attention of a field producer, but had been discouraged from doing so.

As for Mrs. Cedarquist's other assertions, Ms. Roth disputed that the scene of her oversleeping had been re-enacted, but cautioned, "I wasn't there." She made no apology for having a producer draw up Mrs. Cedarquist's so-called rules for the Oeth house. "The rule changes we always rehearse," she said. "It's a major format point."

When asked why Mrs. Cedarquist's evacuation to the hotel was not portrayed, Ms. Roth said she was satisfied that the tension between Mrs. Cedarquist and her new family was apparent - Mr. Oeth is shown tearing the rules off the wall - and that no more needed to be shown.

While the producers said they had hoped Mrs. Oeth would learn to loosen up a little bit, she came away with a different take. Watching the disarray in the Cedarquist house, she said, had cemented her belief that she was causing no harm to her children by putting them in day care and school and then working a full day. "I've let go of that nonsense guilt," she said.

Mrs. Cedarquist was far more jaded by the experience, and is seriously considering a new career for herself - one she imagines introducing on the program headed by Ms. Roth's former boss, Oprah Winfrey.

"I'd like to offer myself up as a support person for people who go on these shows," she said.


Scorpiomoon
Member

06-06-2002

Wednesday, March 16, 2005 - 10:31 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
"I really thought reality television was more real than it is."

In other words:

"Wah! Wah! Wah! They edited me to look back! Wah! Wah! Wah"

To Wendy Roth, co-executive producer of "Wife Swap," the postproduction concerns expressed by the two women are a function, at least in part, of a naïveté people have about reality television.

Go, Wendy Roth! If these two women didn't have the sense to research what they might be in for by appearing on a reality TV show, too damn bad. Anyone doing a Web search could have gathered enough info to know what these shows are really about.

"I'd like to offer myself up as a support person for people who go on these shows," she said.

Oh please. Next she'll be a guest on thefishbowl.com--whining about how much her life sucks thanks to the show while promoting the t-shirt sales on some Web site she'll quickly set up.

Thanks for the article, YIC.

Puzzled
Member

08-27-2001

Wednesday, March 16, 2005 - 11:32 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Interesting that there's no mention of Mrs. Treehouse's pathetic home schooling.

Teachmichigan
Member

07-22-2001

Wednesday, March 16, 2005 - 11:37 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
I was just coming to post the link Yankee - -thanks. :-) Found it interesting to see how surprised people are that 'reality' tv isn't much like 'reality.' While I do agree to a point that we aren't completely "objective" about how we're perceived by others, I do think some valid points were made about obvious distortions and omitions.

Tishala
Member

08-01-2000

Thursday, March 17, 2005 - 1:22 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
To say that I was not a fan of Joan from the treehouse would be an understatement.

Scorpiomoon
Member

06-06-2002

Thursday, March 17, 2005 - 2:41 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Mrs. Treehouse's pathetic home schooling.

That's an understatement. Isn't there some sort of rules governing homeschooling or is it a total free for all? How could those kids get a job let alone enter college?

Mocha
Member

08-12-2001

Thursday, March 17, 2005 - 5:43 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Great show last night. Didn't care for treehouse mom at all but glad the dad came around.

Dogdoc
Member

09-29-2001

Thursday, March 17, 2005 - 6:10 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
The adults know the rules going in. I can see children rebelling but why would anybody (Harvard father) not be able to follow the new rules for 5 days! The chickens were a bad move.Treehouse mom has some odd ideas. I bet there are suburban zoning restrictions about roosters. Of the four, I liked Harvard mom the best.

Texannie
Member

07-16-2001

Thursday, March 17, 2005 - 6:37 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
"A documentary is a news show," said Ms. Roth, who has worked as a producer on "Good Morning America" and several prime-time Oprah Winfrey specials. "We come out of the entertainment division. There is a certain amount of poetic license."

Essence
Member

01-12-2002

Thursday, March 17, 2005 - 6:50 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Harvard dad wasn't the only one that broke the rules. When tree house mom overslept, didn't she say she wasn't going to work anymore? I thought that was around day 2 or so when she was supposed to be following Harvard mom's routine.

Anyway, I don't blame Harvard dad for breaking that rule. I would have sent those kids to school too. There was no schooling going on in that house.

That woman was rude and inconsiderate, especially when he was trying to put the baby to bed. She didn't want to listen to anyone else's points. And, she completely missed the point Harvard mom was trying to make about the children having choices when they grow up.

At least tree house dad came around. He and Harvard mom had a much better experience than those other two.

Mocha
Member

08-12-2001

Thursday, March 17, 2005 - 7:00 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Ditto that E.

Lexie_girl
Member

07-30-2004

Thursday, March 17, 2005 - 8:28 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
I fell asleep last night. What happened to the rooster?


Seamonkey
Member

09-07-2000

Thursday, March 17, 2005 - 11:34 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
LOL last we saw the rooster was in his new house but I'd suggest that the rooster has been relocated. Even when I lived in a very rural setting the roosters were the most irritating inhabitants and I remember half the canyon cheering when the rooster's owner's dog silenced the rotten bird forever.

I'm so happy living where I live now!

signed

Roosterless in Fountain Valley



Vee
Member

02-23-2004

Thursday, March 17, 2005 - 11:57 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Thanks for posting that article, Yankee. Gotta say that I agree with Scorpio on this one. It doesn't take too much research to figure out exactly what is what.

Still, they can't reenact what never happened. And, despite creative editing, I think we got a pretty good idea of what is going on in those homes. Does anyone think that you would've see much different if you had been a fly on the wall for the entire 100 hours of filming?

I like the four adults in this order from most to least: Harvard mom, treehouse dad, Harvard dad, treehouse mom.

Treehouse mom as a support for other participants of the show? LOL!!!

Puzzled
Member

08-27-2001

Friday, March 18, 2005 - 10:29 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
I agree, Essence.

Like Scorpiomom, I just can't believe how Mrs. Treehouse gets away with that pathetic "home schooling." Doesn't Vermont test these kids or anything?

Seems Treehouse Dad at least got the point that the kids should have a chance. Hope he follows through.

Sunshyne4u
Member

06-17-2003

Friday, March 18, 2005 - 11:57 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
ROTFL Scorpiomoon said it all LOL

I am still trying to figure out WHY any rational person would build a house around a bunch of trees?? That house is going to be pulled apart in around five years LOL

OH! and what was that BARE insulation ceiling that we kept being shown>??!!! Talk about a Health Hazard!! Everyone including the kids will have predisposition to LUNG cancer early in life.

Seamonkey
Member

09-07-2000

Saturday, March 19, 2005 - 8:29 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
It may not contain asbestos. I've seen houses build around trees but this one seemed doomed to me. I'm more worried about the mom and her influence on the kids. But the older kids did seem to enjoy their home schooling more with the little ones out of the house, so perhaps there is hope that they actually want to learn something.

Sunshyne4u
Member

06-17-2003

Sunday, March 20, 2005 - 12:10 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Fiberglass insulation

it is GLASS fibre which enters the body by breathing.

many men work with fiberglass with no concern at all. there are warnings all over the packaging at least, the stuff I've seen.