Mayhem and Foolishness

Confession time. There's no good way to say this. My name is Oratorical Animal and I'm addicted to Clean House. It's become my default television choice this summer; if the Cubs or Keith are not on, I'm tuned into Niecy and the Scoobies of cleanliness.

The show is pretty simple. A family lives like pigs. Niecy and the gang go in, wonder at the mess, chastise the owners, pick items for a yard sale (I need big ticket items, people!), sell the stuff, match the proceeds up to $1000.00, make a special gift of some sort or another, and then fix the place up.

Why do I love this show? I like the small scale--they aren't spending 100k to rebuild a house. They're spending (once you figure in cleaning, etc.) around 5k--no walls are torn down, no kitchens are rebuilt, nada. Take what you've got and see what you can do with it.

I like the ritual. Reality shows are the new situation comedy and this show provides the comforting ritual. The gang moans in disgust when they see the place. The strong, black woman plays her culturally accepted role and chastises the owners for their "mayhem and foolishness." The gay designer creates a lovely home. The tough southern woman organizes everything. The goofy big white guy builds something. And, most important, the mess has generally come about because of some emotional problem in the family which is solved in minutes by Niecy and the gang--ah, it is Friends. 

The moral superiority is pretty cool, too. If you're feeling a bit down about the books you haven't put away or the garage that isn't quite cleaned up--hey, tune into an hour of this show. Woo-Hoo! I'm Frasier and Niles! I'm sure moving has something to do with this, as my examples probably show, but it's a good time.

Two other interesting notes. None of these people read. Occasionally, books must be sold at a yard sale, but they're never allowed in the house in any place that people can see them. It's fascinating to watch America's illiteracy in action. Plus, people occasionally don't like their new house. It's awesome when it happens, and it's very rare, but there are legendary moments when they hate it. That's just wonderful.

Tonight, we have a two hour episode presenting the Messiest House in America. CA and I have been looking forward to this for a couple of weeks. I can't wait.    

Comments

[V]

My name is V, and I watch Nashville Star.

[a.eye]

"interesting notes. None of these people read. Occasionally, books must be sold at a yard sale, but they're never allowed in the house in any place that people can see them. It's fascinating to watch America's illiteracy in action."

I never really paid attention to this, but it is really true. The rooms (after the makeovers) are full of random nick nacks, but never books. Not even magazines.