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11/15/2007: "Trading Spaces Fan? Got Good News And Bad ..."

I'll admit it - I'm addicted to home improvement shows. With as many projects as I have going at any one time here at the Home Office, I'm always looking for inspiration - especially on the cheap.

That's why I was an early fan of Trading Spaces, the British import that stormed the airwaves back in 2000. Before TS, all there really was in the home improvement genre was Bob Vila and This Old House, and let's face it - not a lot of appeal there for anyone but the hard cores. Then along comes Trading Spaces and their secret weapon - the perky Paige Davis. A stage actress and dancer by training, Paige didn't know which end of the hammer was which - which was half the fun! She was the glue that kept the show going, and it rocketed to the top of the cable ratings, leading literally dozens of shows that owe their existence to its success.

Along the way, though, Paige hit a bit of a bump in the road. Back in 2005, she got the boot from TS. At the time, it was announced that the show simply wanted to "go in a new direction" and would become hostless. But we all know what really happened. Pictures came out of Paige doing an impromptu striptease on stage at a charity benefit for the theater, and the folks at TLC panicked. They couldn't risk their perky host being seen in this way (never mind that she'd starred in the stage version of the raunchy musical "Chicago" ...) Paige was shown the door and the show went promptly in the toilet.

So once again, TLC is in a quandry ... do we cancel TS or simply revamp once again. Apparently, they've opted to return to the past, as it was announced today that Davis would return once again as the host of Trading Spaces, ending her 2-year exile. But fans looking for a return to the happy little show of the past are in for a surprise. Along with the return of Davis, it was also announced that production would be transferred to a new company - one known for producing some of the nastiest reality shows on TV. This quote should tell you all you need to know:

Trading Spaces' core concept -- two teams swapping homes and performing single-room makeovers on a $1,000 budget -- will remain the same. What will change is the types of teams that will be doing the swapping.

"The big difference will be in the casting," Smith, citing "a divorced couple" or "dueling mothers-in-law" as potential swap examples, told Variety. "People want to be more vested in the people they're seeing. The couples may not be next-door neighbors all the time. You might have a little more conflict and drama than you had before."

Among the other shows produced by A. Smith & Co. are Hell's Kitchen, Kitchen Nightmares, Paradise Hotel, Forever Eden, The Swan, and Skating with Celebrities - all on Fox. Should be an ... interesting ... ride ...