TV Party for Monday, August 8th

Tonight brings us yet another reality show premier. Fox has the latest entry, a combination of the home improvement world – think “Extreme Home Makeover” or “Trading Spaces” – and the life-improvement world – think Nanny 911 or Trading Spouses. What is this wonder? It’s “Renovate My Family”, hosted by Dr. Phil’s son Jay McGraw. Jay spent his adolescence learning and living his father’s Life Strategies and translating them into language teens can understand and enjoy, which I take to mean he used “Like” and “you know” every other word and threw in some hiphop slang to make it more “def”. As for the show, a panel of makeover professionals – a stylist, an interior designer, a construction crew and even experts to re-invent cars and pets (how do you re-invent a pet?) help restore and redecorate the families in need. Oh, and I shouldn’t forget to mention that the construction crew consists of a set of smoking hot blonde triplets…this is Fox after all.

Fox is airing two episodes tonight. First up at 8 is the Brooks Family, who Fox describes as “the working-class Huxtables”. But instead of a fancy brownstone in New York they live in Watts, one of the most dangerous cities in America. The family is all about education, and spend all their money on private schools for their children. The team gives the family some help facilitating their American Dream, and throwing a family reunion.

At 9 they turn the triplets loose on the Famiglietti family of Peabody Massachusetts. Mother Diane has worked hard to raise her five kids – too hard, in fact. She’s spent the last 20 years taking care of her children’s needs at the expense of her own, and now she has severe health problems which culminated in a heart attack a few years ago. Well, the kids want to see both their parents focus on themselves for a change and finally have the house and the lives they’ve never had because they always put their kids first.

If that’s not your idea of a good time, how about three hours of beauty pageants? Start off at 8 on Oxygen with “Mo’nique’s Fat Chance”, where 10 full-figured women compete in a beauty pageant. Mo’nique, a full-figured gal herself, developed the show to highlight the fact that, while the “beauty norm” in television is skinny girls with implants, women with real, natural curves and without protruding ribs and bony knees are beautiful as well. And I say more power to her.

At 9 you can switch to NBC for the antithesis of “Mo’nique’s Fat Chance”, “Miss Teen USA 2005!” Fifty-one beautiful and conscientious contestants from across the US will compete for the crown. During the NBC live broadcast, no doubt tape-delayed here on the west coast, the Top 15 will be announced and will compete in a glamorous evening gown competition. The esteemed panel of judges will then pick the Top 10 who will showcase their beauty and athleticism in swimsuit competition. The evening culminates with the crowning of Miss Teen USA® 2005, changing one teen girl's life forever. And we certainly hope that change is a good one, and not just a plunge into drug abuse and eating disorders.

That’s your TV Party for Monday, August 8th, for Northwest Indy Radio I’m Scott Chicken