Did anybody see Wife Swap last night?

echelon · Post by **echelon** » 03 Jan 2009, 10:08

One of the families were very rich and lived in a huge house and the other were living in a leaky camper van and collected their food by raiding bins every night. They had a 13 year old son and didn't believe in having birthdays. They had religion and handed out religious tracts on the street in return for donations.

The mother of the camper van people forced the daughter of the house people to eat a black banana and made her eat soggy cereal that she'd left that morning.

I thought it was kind of cruel and extreme to be like this. The son was so thrilled to have a birthday cake - provided by the house people mother and she also rented them a flat for a week to give him a taste of having a little more room.

I think that alternative living is okay, but you still have to provide properly if there's children involved - not going overboard, but just providing somewhere warm and comfy with proper food.

any opinions?

jo68 · Post by **jo68** » 03 Jan 2009, 10:19

hi what religion where they,

it does sound a bit extreme they are not meeting the needs of the child really but was he happy

jo x

echelon · Post by **echelon** » 03 Jan 2009, 12:33

They were 'Jesus Christians' - this group started in the 1970s I think and used to be headed by David Berg - if you google it you'll find out about the group's dubious past.

Their son wasn't really happy. He did say that he was embarrassed to invite school friends home and that there wasn't enough space. He had a pet gerbil, but not many other possessions as his parents didn't believe in them. They did provide him with a laptop at the end of the swap though and bought a bigger camper van, which presumably didn't leak.

kate egg · Post by **kate egg** » 03 Jan 2009, 13:20

Its all good for entertainment value, but its not fair on kids not to have proper food and a dry roof over their heads. Sounds like the end result was a better home for the lad at least.

echelon · Post by **echelon** » 03 Jan 2009, 14:02

Yeah, he seemed a bit happier at the end.

bookbinder · Post by **bookbinder** » 05 Jan 2009, 13:09

Didn't see the programme so not really able to comment on the "christian views" but as a lay minister in the church of England married to a vicar I would say that it all sounds a bit unkind....

I think we should aim to provide warmth, shelter, food, love (choose your own order) all the simple basics of life, I do not think there is any compassion in making children eat bad food or live in uneccessarily poor conditions.

I know that for people in many countries a leaky camper van and a rancid banana would be considered luxury... for most people in England...NO

Don't like to use forums such as this to bang on about God and my faith, but sometimes I just have to say something!

lou · Post by **lou** » 05 Jan 2009, 15:26

I didn't see that one but i have seen a simalar one in the past when they did "american wife swap" A rich and over the top clean woman swapped with "eco warriers" who had a son. Trouble is they find the extreme of each end of life and it's bound to be explosive!!
It is good though when they take on board what they have learnt, at the end of the day iot is an experiment but t.v rating becomes more important.

)ot:

Anyone watch the family which was on recently? They live 20mins from me so i thought i would watch it out of morbid interest, and was totaly hooked - it wasn't glamed up anyway it was just 6 weeks of a normal family and as boring as it sounds i was was so hooked on it!- Then i saw the parents in bluewater last week! (had to add that bit sorry)
sorry )ot:

Meanqueen · Post by **Meanqueen** » 05 Jan 2009, 15:35

You are not )ot:

Lou, you're following the original topic of Wife Swap )t'

Ilona

Evie · Post by **Evie** » 06 Jan 2009, 22:51

We met one of the production team from wife swap out in Bulgaria a few years back and he said that its all about money. The entertainment value makes huge amounts. He was on his way to New York at the time to start filming the American series. He was very embrassed telling us he had once worked on Fantasy Island as well. For anyone that has seen it, he had fallen in love with one of the models that had to try to get one of the boys to become unfaithful to his girlfriend. Which by the way was being recorded for them to watch their boyfriends every move and visa vera. But because that was not allowed they saw each other in secret. He reckoned he was paid 250,000 per episode
3years later he was still with her.

He said he hadnt started out wanting to do these types of programmes but the money was too good to refuse.

Evie

Chicken on the Hill · Post by **Chicken on the Hill** » 07 Jan 2009, 14:22

I think the cruelty issue as regards the young lad was possibly mainly due to the fact that their particular group is such a minority,25 members worldwide! If there were hundreds of them, and lots more children,not so much of a problem. On the plus side, just think how frugal and resourceful that young lad will be when he's all grown up. But I do think the family could cut themselves some slack and fit in with society just a little,as it is a meansof communication in itself if you can relate by means of behavior traits. The food they got out of bins, what a waste. Those bananas they had in the campervan looked just about ready to eat. The rich family kept on asking how the Jesus group contributed to society,meaning taxes etc. But they probably contributed by reducing the amount of vermin in the towns, and although they used the NHS, there was no mention of them claiming other benefits, just public donations. It was a very interesting programme.