March 29, 2004

The Swan: Fox hits rock bottom, again. The Swan offers women the incredible opportunity to undergo physical, mental and emotional transformations with the help of a team of experts. Contestants must go through an intensive "boot camp" of exercise, diet, therapy and inspiration to achieve their goals. (And plastic surgery! - S)
posted by scartol 20 years ago
  • I wish they had selected the contestants, since my guess is that none of them will be ugly by other than fashion model standards. If they picked women who had real deformities I might feel some sympathy with the concept and happy that they'd pay to correct them, but I suspect they'll be kinda normal looking folks. And, if the show chose deformed candidates, I suspect that the ratings for the show would be in the toilet. Please remind of of this when I can see if I got it right.
  • Isn't there already something like this? There's a US-made show currently on in NZ called Extreme Makeover where they do all this. It's horrible.
  • But it seems like having these people then compete is another spoonful of salt in the wound.
  • I wonder what'll be next -- I always think reality TV can't get any more ridiculous, and then, somehow, it does.
  • Flashboy is sleeping on it as we speak.
  • "Extreme Makeover" has spawned this Fox version...and there's also the less-invasive "What Not To Wear," which features solely on clothes, makeup, and hair. There's worse stuff than this going on in the world and on TV.
  • There's worse stuff than this going on in the world and on TV. Two words: Fear Factor Even the ads make me want to barf.
  • Extreme makeover is one of those shows that stalks you. It seems on those few occasions my partner and I watch TV together, there it is! Invariably this is late at night when nothing else except infomercials is on. It is an incredibly disturbing show. Of the episodes we've seen, most have featured participants who didn't look that bad to begin with, and barely looked different afterwards, despite seemingly extensive surgery. Only in the latest episode we were subjected to was there a significant difference, but the episode was possibly the most disturbing of all. There were two long time housewives who had stopped worrying about their looks long ago (so they could worry about their family) and a nerd. The first woman had fairly minor surgery, worked her butt off in the gym, and got new hair and wardrobe. She did look fantastic afterwards - really came into her own. Actually worth while. The second woman had extensive surgery, ended up looking somewhat better but again, not an enormous difference. Her husband though, a handsome and caring seeming man, looked not particularly pleased with the process. He seemed like he'd been quite happy with the wife he'd loved previously. Last was the nerd. He appeared to just need a personal stylist, but got the full surgery etc. Ended up looking 'as cool as he always wanted'. He did look much 'slicker', and no longer nerdy. His longtime girlfriend though, who obviously cared about him deeply, was a stereotypical 'nerd' girlfriend - cute, sweet, overweight, frumpy. You couldn't help but wonder how long before he dumps her for an 'upgrade' to go with his 'cool' looks?
  • Hmm, projectile vomiting.... that could be the nucleus of a new reality program.
    (for any Fox producers reading this, I'm kidding!)
  • I always thought frumpy was kinda hot. As for this show, I bet they're just told they had surgery. I bet it'll be revealed at the end that they didn't really have surgery and they were just that beautiful all along. Or not. I don't really care. Show looks like crap, anyway. Remember, frumpy = hot.
  • Remember, frumpy = hot Anybody interested in doing some viral advertising for that?
  • I think the saddest thing of all is, if these people have children, the look on their kids' faces when they see their 'new' parent. It's awful to see the confusion and sometimes even fear. Like they've lost their 'real' mommy or daddy. It may be me projecting, but I'm definately not a proponent of plastic surgery. What these shows are doing is horrible. Most of these people don't need it. I'd like to see how some of them are doing ten years down the road. See if their lives improved so significantly as to say that 'Yes, plastic surgery can fix your problems.'
  • The other thing I noticed with Extreme Makeover is that every single woman gets a boob job, and I swear barely any of them look in need of one. I thought the misogynist days of "big boobs = desirable" were long over.
  • TPCQ*: "Plastic surgery may make you feel good on the outside, but it'll make you feel hollow on the inside." "But I'll feel good on the outside, right?" "Yeah, but --" "Carl Carlson, you've saved my life. Plastic surgery it is!" *Tangential Pop Culture Quote
  • Oh man! You know what this means?? TELEVISED EXECUTIONS ARE ON THEIR WAY! w00t!