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"house hunters" is fake.
i love this show. the show that, according to hgtv, "...takes viewers behind the scenes as individuals, couples and families learn what to look for and decide whether or not a home is meant for them." the show prides itself on "focusing on the emotional experience of finding and purchasing a new home and [following] a prospective buyer and real estate agent through the home-buying process, from start to finish."
well, it's all a bunch of bs. even though technically, the show description is not wrong. the people are prospective buyers. just not of any of the homes they show. i have firsthand (ok, secondhand, but the firsthand was my husband) information from someone that was on the show.
the producers find buyers that are already in escrow and take them to homes that they're not even interested in, make them comment on certain features of the home and their rooms (so that's why all their dialogue sounds so robotic!) and take along a film crew to document it. two months or so later, they film them in their own home, making it sound like they made the right decision all along. the up-side for the "house hunter?" 500 bones. the up-side for the realtor? free advertising. to quite a nice demo.
i knew that everything wasn't real (the phone call saying they got the home, for one. clearly staged.), but i could suspend my disbelief for that. i just can't suspend it long enough to "emotionally invest" in this show any longer.
hgtv, the jig is up! no more catchy little "ding-dong-kachaaa-bzzz-click-click-click" intro song. no more monotone: "wow. i like that window." no more perky: "so, will our house hunters realize the home of their dreams?" no more expressionless fake phone calls: "hi sharon. we did? really? we got the house? honey! we got the house." these people sound like they're taking demoral or something.
well, hurrmph. i am now a "house hunters" fan detoxed.
June 20, 2004 in kvetching. | Permalink
Comments
mip...
"reality" show does not refer to "reality" as we use it [I know, I got your cynism]. TV disgusts me more and more, as do the people who truly, honestly, cross-their-heart believe they see "the real world". I know it sounds eerie and conspiracy-theory-like, but I see a mass stupefization [did I make this just up??] behind this. "Satisfied" customers are quiet customers. Full bellies won't growl.
TV is no longer the "neat evening on the couch and a bowl of popcorn" entertainment. It is a propaganda tool, it reaches the masses, and really - do we know who is behind it, on the really high chair? You lose if you dare switching off your mind.
Posted by: mademoiselle a. | Jun 21, 2004 6:11:06 AM
I love that show and a lot of other HGTV shows. I figured there must be some staging involved, but not all the way through. At any rate, I've come to expect this of most tv shows so I guess I'll still keep on watching. What I like to see anyway is what homeowners do their homes once they've moved in. Which means I only need to watch the last two minutes. Hmmmmm. ;-)
Posted by: marie | Jun 21, 2004 10:46:23 AM
I too have a ridiculous HGTV/BBC America makeover addiction. The thing that drives me, an East Coast girl, mad about all of those shows is that they are ALL set on the West Coast. They don't travel around the country. They don't mix up the the styles. curb Appeal is a great show, but for once it wish it were not a stucco or bungalow with a tiny front garden and all arid plantings. There is abnother coast people not to mention, you know, that whole middle section.
Something has always rubbed me the wrong way about House Hunters and thanks to you I now know what it is.
Posted by: jo | Jun 22, 2004 7:16:44 AM
jo: that's so funny you say that about curb appeal; that's exactly how i feel about all the foodtv shows! do they ever make it across the ol' miss?! hello? we have great dining and food finds and good recipes here on the other coast, too! those darned production companies. can't they spend a little cash to make us all feel like one big lovable country?
Posted by: mipmup | Jun 22, 2004 3:21:33 PM
Yes, a lot of those shows on HGTV and TLC are staged heavily which strips a lot of realism from the show.
My husband and I were on one of those shows and we were constantly told to "re-enact" certain parts over and over. It was kinda frustrating b/c we felt so fake.
Great site BTW...I'll be back! :)
Posted by: rubber-sol | Jun 24, 2004 8:57:38 AM
I love the show even though I know it is staged!
Posted by: Jeff Whalen | Jul 9, 2004 5:06:22 AM
Whatever!! Sometimes I just like to turn on HGTV cause I dont have to think too much. I'm married, two kids and work part time, I like to see shows that do not include violence or any type of documentation. Maybe I am dummying down myself but sometimes its just nice to watch fluff. (and btw...they stopped the fake phone call from the realator at the end...lol)
Posted by: Cassidy | Jul 10, 2004 9:39:53 PM
ha ha ha! Too funny. I knew the gig was up when I researched a couple that was featured on the show. They purchased a house that was converted into a B&B in Costa Rica. I read online that in fact, the husband purchased the house without the wife even seeing it. On the show, they looked at the properties together for the "first time". I then started watching closer and realizing that 99% of the "chosen" houses are unfurnished. hmmmm.
I am still nosy and will probably watch, just to see what the places look like. Especially the international ones. Oh well.
Posted by: Eve | Jun 10, 2009 9:36:52 AM
He is right on the money. My neighbors did the show, they were in escrow, got $500, and worked 3 long near 12 hour days. They said they would not do the show a 2nd time. Oh and Tru TV isn't all "true" either. Operation Repo is also staged.
Posted by: Adam | Mar 23, 2010 11:04:20 PM
Ok....I am a sucker. Since we're talking about fake-me-outs, what about Yard Crashers and like, are those shows fakes too?
Posted by: marion | Aug 5, 2010 11:40:37 AM
It's tottaly fake! My wife and I were watching an episode of a couple that lived in the city in Chicago and was looking for a house in the burbs. They showed a shot of the couple in their condo in the city and we both notices how nice their coffee table and sofa was. Low and behold the first house they looked at had the same furniture! So guess which of the three houses they picked??? Are they really so dumb that they don't evne bother to switch out the furniture?
Posted by: tdesai | Oct 9, 2010 9:05:51 PM
Honestly, who uses "budget" in their vocabulary as often as they do on House Hunters. The last time I used that word was in a spelling contest when I was ten! In addition I’m beginning to feel like a pauper. You can’t buy anything on House Hunters International that you would live in for less than $400,000. I just love these over sized closets that are selling for $250,000. Granted they had one in Bulgaria for $40,000, but would you want to move into a garbage pit? Also amazing is the number of people that are "buying" in the Caribbean that want oceanfront properties. Haven’t any of these idiots ever heard of Katrina? Oh, one more thing that may have missed your observation. Have you noticed how many homes have bars on the windows? That sure isn’t for looks or style, it’s to keep the bad guys out! The bottom line is the show is total BS and most of the properties at would be affordable are a P of S!
Posted by: Darrell Fichtl | Oct 25, 2010 8:10:35 AM
Well, right from the sources mouth they made him move out of his house that he had lived in for 5 years, cleared everything out to do the show. Completely fake. I think hgtv travels around to find people that have moved to the area they want to film and go from there.
And I have a question:
How come every damn couple says in the end, "And I like the FACT that........" Every last person used the FACT word. So staged.
Posted by: Sadie | Aug 16, 2011 5:13:36 PM
