Makeovers for the masses

• Looking mahvelous

By Mike Hughes
Gannett News Service

Before and after is key on TLC's "What Not to Wear," above, right, which offers fashion makeovers. TLC photos

"While You Were Out"

"Extreme Makeover"

"Trading Spaces"

In sheer quantity, this is TV's biggest trend, witnessed by an avalanche of shows about change.

"It's all about transformation," says Roger Marmet, general manager of TLC, which started the trend three years ago with "Trading Spaces."

"It's all about before and after," he says.

For the uninitiated, TLC's "Trading Spaces" has families agreeing to go away while a neighbor links with an eccentric designer to drastically change a room.

Some people love the changes, some don't. "Sometimes it's the jeopardy, the emotion that draws people in," Marmet says.

As some competitors see it, that's mean-spirited. "This 'gotcha reality' with the makeover surprises is just not for us," says Burton Jablin, president of HGTV.

Susie Coelho, the former actress who hosts HGTV's upcoming "Outer Spaces," agrees. "(We have) a lot of crying — but tears of joy, not horror," she says.

Viewers, however, can't seem to get enough of "Trading Spaces," tears and all.

TLC runs two hours of it (one a rerun) each Saturday. It has "Trading Spaces: Family" on Sundays and then there's "Trading Spaces For Kids" Saturday mornings on NBC. There's also a "Trading Spaces" DVD and the book, "Trading Spaces Behind the Scenes" (Trading Spaces, $19.95) has sold 750,000 copies and two more such books are on the way.

And, of course, there are similar shows.

TLC offers "While You Were Out." Discovery Channel (part of the same cable group) copies it with "Monster House." A&E even has "Makeover Mamas," in which a young couple leaves and their mothers transform a room.

HGTV has a flood of its own shows, gently changing homes or gardens or yards ("Design on a Dime," and "Decorating Cents" to name a few).

Then network executives decided there was no reason to stop at inanimate objects.

"(There is) a very normal and human reaction (to judge) other people for what they wear," says Henry Roth, an Australian native who has a wedding dress business in New York City. He's also the "judge" on "Style Court," premiering in August on the cable channel Style (a division of E!).

Plastic surgery, too

Hence the proliferation of such shows as "What Not to Wear" and this fall's "Date Patrol," also on TLC. There's "Buff Brides," which airs this fall on the Discovery Health Channel in which several women go on an elaborate workout program to get in the best shape possible for their upcoming nuptials.

And Bravo has unveiled "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy," which has five gay men giving style tips to heterosexual males. The first episode did so well (garnering 1.6 million viewers) that NBC, which owns Bravo, has decided to air 30-minute versions of the show on its network.

But so far, the most extreme example (logically enough) is "Extreme Makeover," which returns to ABC this fall. On "EM" folks have had their teeth bleached and straightened, and have had Lasik eye surgery, rhinoplasty, tummy tucks, breast implants and liposuction. One woman even had her lips reduced. You can check out the incredible results on ABC's Web site.

"Date Patrol" and "Queer Eye" don't just settle for changing hair and clothes. They're ready to change attitudes, apartments, dating techniques and more. They seem to be the consummate makeover shows.

Carson Kressley, former Ralph Lauren stylist, disagrees with that moniker, though.

"It's not a makeover show," says Kressley, one of the "Queer Eye" guys. "We don't want to steamroll people into something that's not them. It's a make-better show. It's you, only better."

And some of those being made over seem happy with their transformations.

"Four years of being single definitely wasn't working for me," says Jeff Morton, a "Date Patrol" target. "I had no idea how I was coming across to other people."

Siobhan Lynch, one of the clients from "Buff Brides," is also happy with the change her workout gurus performed on her. "My dress was custom-made for me," she says. "(Originally,) it was designed for literally a size 14, It was finished two days before the wedding to a size 8."

As these shows pile up people might assume they'll soon collapse.

"The television trend — as all television trends, we assume — will burn itself out," Jablin says. "There will be a saturation point."

Americans hooked

However, there may be something more here, he says. "It's important to distinguish between a television trend and a true societal interest."

Americans have always been interested in transformations, says Paul Lee, chief executive of BBC America. Most shows, however, were slow-paced ("This Old House") or authoritarian.

Then the British came up with a quirky alternative called "Changing Rooms." Viewers never knew if people would love or hate the results, Lee says.

He put the show on BBC America four years ago to quick success. Soon, TLC was buying the rights to do an American version.

" 'Changing Rooms' is clearly a brilliant format," Marmet says of the forebear of "Trading Spaces." "We saw it as a show that reinvents the how-to show, (making it) a broader entertainment show."

The American version is 30 minutes longer and the designers are more restrained than their British counterparts. Still, they're daring souls, a trait that viewers liked.

"Trading Spaces" continues to soar. It is frequently the highest-rated show on basic cable, often toping a 3.0 Nielsen rating, which represents 3 percent of homes that can get TLC.

Its timing was perfect, network insiders say. Americans had money, aesthetic taste and a desire to cocoon.

Looking mahvelous

A list of makeover TV shows:

"Trading Spaces" empire

• "Trading Spaces: Family," 7 p.m. Sundays, TLC; reruns at 6 p.m. Saturdays.
• "Trading Spaces," 9 p.m. Saturdays, TLC; other episodes rerun often, including week days 5 p.m., 1 p.m. Sundays, and 8 p.m. Saturdays.

Room makeovers

• "House Invaders," 8 p.m. Thursdays, BBC America (digital cable channel 341).
• "While You Were Out," 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. Saturdays, TLC.
• On HGTV: Wide range of shows, including "Design on a Dime," "Divine Design," "Designers Challenge," and many more.
• "Changing Rooms" reruns often on BBC America (digital cable channel 341).

Houses

• "Sell This House," 2 p.m. Sundays and 11 a.m. Saturdays A&E.
• "Makeover Mamas," 2:30 p.m. Sundays and 11:30 a.m. Saturdays, A&E.
• "This Old House," 8 p.m. Thursdays and 3:30 p.m. Saturdays, KHET; also noon Saturdays, KHNL, and 6 p.m. weekdays, HGTV.
• On HGTV: Broad range of shows, including "Curb Appeal," "Before and After" and "Building Character."

Yards, patios, etc.

• "Outer Spaces" premiere scheduled for Sept. 30, HGTV.
• Other HGTV shows, including "Ground Rules," which airs 4 p.m. Sunday, HGTV.

People

• "What Not to Wear," 8 p.m. Sundays, 2 p.m. Saturdays, and 10 p.m. Fridays, TLC.
• "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy," 7 p.m. Tuesdays, Bravo.
• "Extreme Makeover" returns at 8 p.m. Thursdays this fall on ABC.
• "Style Court" premiered yesterday on Style; it will air at 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. weekdays.