Extreme Makeover

[dabria]

Man, I love Extreme Makeover Home Edition. I think I must have watched about six episodes of it in the last three days and it just gets me every time. I think there is something very heartwarming about seeing people help other people just to be nice. It gives me faith in humanity.

Comments

[dabria]

I dunno, I still love it. I agree they should help the people who really need it, but they generally do.

[somethingpirate]

I have mixed feelings about it. I'm sure they've done very helpful things for most of the people on the show, but, like most things, just handing someone a new house or a bunch of cash (like the lottery) doesn't really help them. Most people end up going bankrupt after winning the lottery in America, did you know that?

A thrift store near my house is run by a lady whose house was redone by Extreme Home Makeover. And just like before she got the new house, she still got code violations brought against her by the city because she still left junk out on the front yard of this shiny new house. Her mission is great (helping people get the help they need and back on their feet after dealing with drug problems) but it seems like what really would've helped her is to give her some business training along with the house. Because she didn't know how to separate her non-profit's expenses and her personal expenses, she almost lost the house to foreclosure.

[dabria]

I agree that handing over a brand new house doesn't solve all of the problems that are faced by the people on the show, but I think the newer seasons at least address that. They set up scholarships for families who couldn't afford to send kids to school, they donate money to charities that the people either work for or support and in a few of the episodes I've watched, they've paid for medical treatments that would be above and beyond what would be available without their help.

So generally, I like the show. They do so much and they raise awareness of charities and problems that other people ignore. I especially liked the series that focused on helping people that had been affected by Katrina - doing practical stuff like providing washing machines and clothes.

I go through phases of being addicted to this show - can you tell?!