Long review (with spoilers): I watched the first episode in its entirety. It epitomizes why HGTV is not a channel for me. They have complete contempt, even disregard, for showing the process of renovating a house, much less in showing the mechanics and creative logistics of the Brady house project. The only aspect of the renovation they showed start to finish was the interior rock wall next to the front door. They could’ve shown the complete process of 3D printing/reassembling the horse statue, or the process of recreating the fabric for the sofa, or talk with the people who do those jobs as a career to learn about their respective trade. Instead the focus is on making the hosts likable and staging scenes to make it look like the Brady kids are somehow driving the creative/design aspects of the show, which has to be an insult to the talented designers making it all happen behind the scenes. They hyped up donated props, giving shout-outs to fans, but didn’t bother showing how they made props they couldn’t just find.
When announced, I liked the idea of the project, and I liked the inclusion of the actors from the sitcom. And as a mindless hour of TV, there are worse options out there. But whether This Old House or any of the home shows that preceded HGTV, the story was always supposed to be transforming a house. Not just showing the before and after, but explaining how to get from the before to the after. HGTV just shows the before, cuts to a commercial, then reveals the after. It isn’t dramatic. There’s no hook. It’s frankly bad television. Television is visual... you can/should show things. HGTV refuses to the point of incredulity to show process, which makes me as a viewer feel cheated, like watching a magician saying he’s going to saw a woman in half and put her back together again, then pointing at a woman who is clearly not in half and saying “ta-da!” I guess he’s technically putting on a show, but it isn’t a very compelling one to me. The other gripe I have with this specific show is they just gloss over the gaping changes they have to make to the finished house that are ridiculously different than the sitcom house interior. Part of the challenge... part of the fun... was supposed to be making it an exact replica given the size and roofline constraints. But it turns out they didn’t even try. So the parents bedroom will be on the ground floor, and the attic will be in the basement. So the very premise... transforming the house into a near-total facsimile of what was seen on TV... was rejected (off camera!!!), which means the show viewers are watching isn’t the show that was promoted for a year. On Tue, Sep 17, 2019 at 6:14 AM 'Bob Jersey' via TVorNotTV < [email protected]> wrote: > > Well, they at least let Mr Bass (and his life-partner) tour the place... > > > https://www.hgtv.com/shows/a-very-brady-renovation/lance-bass-tours-the-brady-bunch-house-pictures > (link) > > The remaining episodes (being normal length) go behind the authentication > wall. Not sure how that works for HGTV... > > B > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "TVorNotTV" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To view this discussion on the web visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/f986c033-8d3e-466d-8ee0-3c32d174b28b%40googlegroups.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/f986c033-8d3e-466d-8ee0-3c32d174b28b%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > -- Kevin M. (RPCV) -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TVorNotTV" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CAKgmY4D4WmwrGWbz7E1gDyz7QwsfOaKXL6un%2B9BsTtHmHSiWVg%40mail.gmail.com.
