Just jumping on the hijacked bandwagon, can I point out that the good guys aren't always the success stories, and they don't always have to be?

I hear a lot in this country (via the Conservative media) about pensioners, poor old pensioners, served their country, don't get what's due them, might as well have sat on their arses all their lives, not rewarded for their work ethic etc etc etc.

My Grandad worked hard all his life. He did a number of jobs, all reasonably low paid, all effectively in the service industry, all necessary to the industry he worked in. I'm not claiming being a stagehand at the Royal Opera House is the same as being a policeman, but it is essential to the Opera House and a man of little education will do it for a price they can afford. He lived in council housing all his life (home ownership was not an option for the owkring class until the late 20th century here - far too late for my Grandparents) and put money away in a pension scheme which collapsed in the 80s. By all accounts he didn't lose much, but then he believed the Welfare State would look after him - as many of his generation believed - he paid into it all his life.

Anyway, he ended up his days as a hospital porter (cross between a bell boy and a janitor, but in a public hospital). He retired when he was 67.

At 86, he lives in council housing still. No property to leave. He gets a visit twice daily to help him wash and dress. He has a cleaner 3 times a week. he has a day out at a social club once a week - door-to-door service and they have a dentist, barber and optician visit. Oh - all prescriptions free, same with dentist & optician. He gets a heating allowance, TV licence reduction and I have a feeling he doesn't pay council tax, or gets another healthy reduction. He technically pays for some of the above out of a Social Services allowance, to give him more freedom on what he needs. My Mum picks up all the slack i.e. washing, ironing, shopping, taking him to the Doctors etc.

All of the above is just to say - so many people here have an ant and grasshopper thing going on. Grandad was never a grasshopper. He was a decent, poorly educated man doing mundane jobs at the bottom of the pile and never complaining. My Dad is a similar man. Don't assume that "bettering yourself" works for everyone, or is indeed necessary. Someone has to mop Ward 17 when there's shit on the floor.

Sad. Those people at Extreme Makeover (I believe) , really try to do good work for people in need. I have seen few shows that I did not hold back a tear or have to let them go. I chaulk this up as another sign of the times.....

We get this show on cable over here and I've watched it once or twice. I haven't had the same impression you've had glatt. I look at it more as lookout does.

Sure the tv company is earning a buck. Why bother with the show if they don't? What makes this show any worse than all the other crap we all watch on tv from time to time? What's the outcome of watching the Simpsons for example? You get entertained. The production company makes money. The tv station makes money. The advertisers make money. No one else gets any benefit though, but it's still a program which consistently rates in every country it's shown.

TV shows are for entertainment as far as the viewer is concerned. The people involved in producing the show want to make money. If they can make money by helping someone else, then why is it so wrong?

As far as the people who are going to lose their new home...well, I guess it's their own problem and no one elses. To the volunteers it probably does suck dogs balls, but I guess lots of people who volunteer for things end up seeing their efforts go down the tubes anyway. Does anyone feel sorry for political volunteers when their candidate is not successful? My guess is probably not.

That's fine as far as it goes, but the difference is for this they actively solicit donations and volunteers.

I understand that. But the people/businesses who donate are getting some pretty good advertising for their effort, and the volunteers are just that. They're volunteering, probably because they want to help the family in part, and also because it makes them feel good about doing something for someone else. Also they might get their noggin on tv! yehaaa!

Well yeah but when you make a donation of time or money you expect it to be put to the advertised use. If my employer convinced somebody to make a donation to make a classroom all high-tech and up-to-date, and we ended up spending the money on carpet for a hallway.. well, I guarantee you, no matter how badly that carpet needed replacing, the donor is not going to just shrug and say, "Oh well, at least we got us a tax deduction."
Precisely why they have a right to be miffed when the family essentially wastes what they've volunteered to provide. When I donate food, time, or money to my congregation's efforts to serve meals at a local homeless shelter, I expect that the food will actually be eaten by people at the shelter, and not thrown out.

I absolutely agree with you Steve, the volunteers have every right to be pissed at this family who is a part of their community. I just don't get the animosity directed at Extreme home makeover.