# ABC Wife Swap Halloween family



## upNsmoke (Oct 9, 2008)

My girlfriend and I were watching wife swap last night and the preview for next week is for a family that loves Halloween! I thought there might be a preview on ABC.com, but no luck just a description of the upcoming episode.

May 1, Fri 8/7c

Young parents who celebrate Halloween year-round swap lives with older parents who believe in strict, traditional values.


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## 22606 (Aug 11, 2008)

Sounds cool. I remember there being an episode of _Extreme Makeover_ (I think that's which show) where the family was like that, but the kids were embarassed and wanted their parents to become less 'gothic'. It was a very amusing episode


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## Dalloween (Jun 25, 2006)

The description on the channel guide says the family owns/operates a haunted attraction. hmmm


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## hallorenescene (Dec 28, 2007)

oh man, i never watch that show, but this could be one to watch. hope to be there


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## naberhoodhaunts (Mar 13, 2008)

all set up on to dvr it. this is going to be good.


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## nightrideproductions (Jun 1, 2008)

haha. FINALLY!


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## TNBrad (Sep 12, 2007)

when does it air?


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## MLuther (Apr 8, 2009)

Currently : being recorded.


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## MLuther (Apr 8, 2009)

TNBrad said:


> when does it air?


8 p.m. I believe it was.


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## Dalloween (Jun 25, 2006)

TNBrad said:


> when does it air?


It's on this next Friday night at 7p (Central)


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## 13mummy (Aug 26, 2007)

Thanks for the heads up, I just set it up on my DVR.


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## Demon Dog (Feb 26, 2009)

hallorenescene said:


> oh man, i never watch that show, but this could be one to watch. hope to be there


Ditto, never watched it but this would be the one to catch (hey, if nothing else, they may have some cool props). Unfortunately I won't be able to see this showing. For those that do watch it, please post how it went. I'll bet it's hilarious.


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## Alucard888888 (Aug 10, 2008)

YES! I saw the preview on Friday for this episode! I'm so excited Haha


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## Junit (Sep 1, 2008)

I bet they will give us all good ideas for new props


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## Skulkin (Jul 27, 2005)

I've never watched it either, but I set my DVR. Thanks for letting us know it was coming up.


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## Deathtouch (Nov 19, 2004)

I am glad I cought this before it was too late. Thank you.


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## Loki33 (Feb 5, 2009)

So happy I have the day off from work friday, I am for sure gonne check this episode out! thanks for the heads up!


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## rockplayson (Jun 7, 2008)

Heck ya that is sweet! Thanks for the heads up buddy. Just incase there's anyone that may miss this, I'll TRY and record it for youtube.


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## upNsmoke (Oct 9, 2008)

Hopefully it ends up being worth watching  It would be interesting if it ended up being someone from here!


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## Deathtouch (Nov 19, 2004)

I did find a little bit more about it. It seems it is Kevin Schults who owns a pro haunted house in Iowa.


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## natascha (Jul 21, 2004)

Just wanted to bump this with the showing being tonight.

I don't watch Wife swap, but I am looking forward to this!

There was a Judge Judy show the other day that was listed as 'A fight over Halloween costumes' Turns out the fight took place at a Halloween Party and was over rude comments and saying things about an old boyfriend, it wasn't until after the trial in the hallway that one said ' She just didn't like it that we had the same costume on and I looked better'


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## Ween12amEternal (Apr 15, 2006)

Thanks for the heads-up, have been curious to see it.


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## Junit (Sep 1, 2008)

I have the DVR set


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## Haunter (Oct 12, 2005)

Locked and loaded!

Too bad it's not two families who are both interested in Halloween and they have to agree upon the haunting theme and types of props.
"We've always done pirates for Halloween! Now you're comin' into my house and tellin' us we're gonna do a haunted carnival theme!? And we can't use our homemade tombstones!? Are you frickin' crazy!?"

Speaking of which, has anyone seen the Trading Spaces with two Halloween-obsessed families (Rival Haunted Houses)? Not as good as I expected, but still entertaining.


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## rockplayson (Jun 7, 2008)

Haunter said:


> Locked and loaded!
> 
> Too bad it's not two families who are both interested in Halloween and they have to agree upon the haunting theme and types of props.
> "We've always done pirates for Halloween! Now you're comin' into my house and tellin' us we're gonna do a haunted carnival theme!? And we can't use our homemade tombstones!? Are you frickin' crazy!?"
> ...


 
I disagree lol. The fact that one family likes Halloween most likely means the wife that is swaping does not like it. (that's usally how it goes) I can't wait to see what they say about Halloween. If this lady is anti halloween and a high on jesus I think it will be worth watching over and over and over again.


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## nyhaunter (Apr 15, 2004)

Ok, I'll admit it, I watch "Wife Swap" almost every week. I'm probably way too young to be staying home Friday nights..but hey, the honeymoon eventually ends at some point right? I watch WifeSwap and Supernanny, and the husband watches ANYTHING else on the other tv. He doesn't know what he's missing ;-)


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## rockplayson (Jun 7, 2008)

Okay so there's about 7 minutes left in this episode and well it's not great but it's good to see diffrent views. Halloween still rocks my world.


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## Junit (Sep 1, 2008)

Just watched the wife swap with the Halloween house. The prof dad doing the werewolf was by far the best part in the entire show!! I have it saved so I can get a better look at some of their props. But, not suprising, they didn't spend too much time on the haunted house itself. Go figure


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## hallorenescene (Dec 28, 2007)

so junit, will you be able to post some of it. i missed the show and would love to see it. thanks


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## Ghost of Spookie (Sep 28, 2008)

*Heads up more Halloween related WifeSwap on LIFETIME*

After seeing tonights Wife Swap (season finale for 2009), I did a Tivo search and noticed that LIFETIME channel airs reruns of the tv show. 

Here are two episodes that might be interesting to watch coming up next week, Monday, May 4 and Tuesday, May 5. Check times for your area as your provider may air at a different hour from mine (*DirecTV Pacific):

Monday, 5/4: 1 pm* "Baur/Fine" (2006) The matriarch of a pirate family swaps places with a woman who organizes her home to perfection. Pirate family??? must be halloween related???

Tuesday, 5/5: Noon* "Zemanek/Brandon" (2006) A Florida executive who places great stock in a first impression swaps lives with a Halloween-loving woman who drives a hearse in Arizona. Sounds cool!


BTW tonight's episode was "Schults/Smith" (2009) Halloween-loving mom, micromanaging mom trade places. I thought it was interesting to watch and enjoyed seeing the non-halloween family get into the fun of halloween and doing a haunt. I made my husband watch the halloween parts of it. He needs an attitude makeover. I had to wonder however, when the show was filmed. Did the lady have the family going trick or treating on any old day of the year?? Can't imagine how they explained that to the neighbors!!


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## Haunter (Oct 12, 2005)

The quote from the prof dad shows that he just doesn't get the fact that Halloween is 365 days a year.
"It's fun for a night...But you don't run your life that way all year long. You're not a parent if you do that!"
(I'm guessing he hasn't visited our neck of the woods.)

They probably did not film it around Halloween. They probably set up everything for the show. HGTV's Extreme Halloween was filmed in late summer and the haunters depicted were asked to set up everything as if it were Halloween for filming purposes.

The "Baur/Fine" episode is a good one. Kind of along the same lines as tonight's episode. I'm sure you're familiar with John Baur - he's the co-founder of Talk Like a Pirate Day who just last year picked up and moved his family to St. Croix. (A true pirate in the Caribbean!)


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## upNsmoke (Oct 9, 2008)

Overall it was OK, but I was hoping to see more stuff as well. Scarecrow alley was pretty good. I agree the dad becoming the werewolf and letting loose was good to see. They needed more blood and gore though


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## LadyAlthea (Sep 11, 2008)

i saw this and tried to log in here but my internet was being foolish.

i loved that dad gave in and was the werewolf! He really was good too! 

I was also glad that it showed the haunt dad getting more involved with his kids outside activities. this can be an obsession but we all have to remember that maybe our kids are not quite as into it as we are. i mean, we are their parents and sometimes we just are not cool in our kids eyes.

I loved scarecrow alley. this was a fun episode


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## Chris in CT (Apr 27, 2009)

*Swimmers make good monsters*

Hey Ghost of Spookie, thanks for listing those upcoming Halloween-related episodes, you rock!

The show last night was awesome. Did you see the miserable lookS on the Halloween-family's faces when Christine was reading her "new rules" of the house, and how the swimmer-family's faces totally lit up and excited when the Halloween woman listed her rules of decorating the house for Halloween and trick or treating? That was awesome! It totally showed how Halloween brings so much fun and excitement into our lives.

Some friends that I watched the show with last night posed a good question - does anyone know if that family will be attending MHC??


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## Madame Leota (Sep 19, 2005)

OK, I really wanted to like the Halloween family, obviously, and the mom was pretty cool, but Halloween dad was, for the most part, a big jerk! How he kept harping on the other mom's _age_, of all things! Very childish and rude.

I loved when Prof. dad learned to do the werewolf! He actually seemed like a pretty good guy, just scared of his drill sargeant wife!


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## rockplayson (Jun 7, 2008)

Madame Leota said:


> OK, I really wanted to like the Halloween family, obviously, and the mom was pretty cool, but Halloween dad was, for the most part, a big jerk! How he kept harping on the other mom's _age_, of all things! Very childish and rude.
> 
> I loved when Prof. dad learned to do the werewolf! He actually seemed like a pretty good guy, just scared of his drill sargeant wife!


 
I agree with you about the dad. He was a d-bag in my opinion.


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## Alucard888888 (Aug 10, 2008)

I saw Donna The Dead and Animated Hex in the episode  That was fun.


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## nyhaunter (Apr 15, 2004)

I predicted I would probably LOVE this episode...but it pretty much sucked IMHO. I agree w/ Madame Leota & Halloweenrocks08, the dad was kind of a jerk. I thought we'd see more props and things. From what I saw it was mostly H'ween home decor, although I may be wrong..I was cleaning out my closet as I watched, so maybe I missed the better stuff.


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## Junit (Sep 1, 2008)

I agree the Halloween obsessed dad was childish and acted like a jerk. 
hallorenescene - I tried to find some clips on youtube, but no luck  I'm sure it will air again, I hope you get the chance to see it!


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## Deathtouch (Nov 19, 2004)

Junit said:


> I agree the Halloween obsessed dad was childish and acted like a jerk.
> hallorenescene - I tried to find some clips on youtube, but no luck  I'm sure it will air again, I hope you get the chance to see it!


I agree. Just seemed to care about the Halloween stuff more than his kids at first. And he even says that Halloween comes before Family.(Which sometimes that might happen to me) But I agree that family comes first. They mention that he would drop his girl off and then go do his Halloween stuff. Always time to do that. Kids grow up too fast.


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## hallorenescene (Dec 28, 2007)

i went into utube to see if anything was posted. nothing yet. there was an old one about a magic family. the magic family had it going on to an extent. the family they traded with were scary. did anyone catch that episode?


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## Deadna (Oct 19, 2002)

I couldn't figure out where this haunted house actually was? Was it in their garage? I thought when they were all setting off to go work at it they looked like they were heading across the street where I also thought I saw a tent set up.
My husband commented on the rude behavior of the halloween guy and wanted to know if that was the kind of people in this group...LOL!
Also strange was the older man at the meeting going off and having to spray his throat???Not good editing since it was so out of the blue and the halloween guy didn't fight back after making him look like a jerk the rest of the show.


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## Ghost of Spookie (Sep 28, 2008)

While I was watching the show last night, I think what I really liked and identified with the most was that like the kids of the Prof family I would have loved to see my dad loosen up and get into Halloween. Dad would stay home while mom took us ToTing. Dad wasn't a professional business person but his background was as a machinist and electrician also had a background in mechanical engineering. He was great at building and fixing things, repairing his car. He had a pretty decent workshop downstairs too. I would have loved it if he would have taken an interest in doing Halloween projects with us kids. Honestly though where I grew up I don't remember anyone in the blocks that I ToT'd that did much more than give out candy. Kind of sad. I hope the episode sparked something for families watching the show. It would be nice to think it could have that effect.

BTW, you're welcome Chris in CT!


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## Ghost of Spookie (Sep 28, 2008)

Haunter said:


> The quote from the prof dad shows that he just doesn't get the fact that Halloween is 365 days a year.
> "It's fun for a night...But you don't run your life that way all year long. You're not a parent if you do that!"
> (I'm guessing he hasn't visited our neck of the woods.)
> 
> ...




Thanks for the background on the "Baur/Fine" episode. I didn't know that.


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## TK421 (Mar 27, 2009)

Madame Leota said:


> OK, I really wanted to like the Halloween family, obviously, and the mom was pretty cool, but Halloween dad was, for the most part, a big jerk! How he kept harping on the other mom's _age_, of all things! Very childish and rude.
> 
> I loved when Prof. dad learned to do the werewolf! He actually seemed like a pretty good guy, just scared of his drill sargeant wife!



I gota agree! I don't usually watch this show, I've always felt the families were way too extreme, but I thought I would give the "Halloween" family a try.

But the Halloween dad (Kevin) was a bit of a tool. Just a smart-a$$ that doesn't really listen. Childish and rude, yup.


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## Front Yard Fright (Jul 7, 2008)

The name of the haunted house is The Heart of Darkness and it's located in Waterloo, Iowa... about 20 min away from me!

Their website is Heart of Darkness Preload (there's even a link to my site on their links page! lol!)

And I actually know and am good friends with Kevin and Dolly!

I missed the first 15 minutes of the show, but I thought it was pretty interesting!

They filmed the show in February, and I too was confused about the trick or treating!
Hahahahaha
.


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## Front Yard Fright (Jul 7, 2008)

Oh! And as far as where the haunt is located. It's located in rural Waterloo. I don't believe they live on the farm that the haunt is located, but I think Kevin has a workshop at the house.
.


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## Haunter (Oct 12, 2005)

While watching this episode, did anyone else think, "My neighbors know that I, too, am obsessed with Halloween. But, boy, I hope they don't think our family falls into that same category!"?

Sometimes, I won't be able to start or finish a prop because family comes first and foremost, but come the week of Halloween, my family knows that I may not be able spend quality family time until everything is completed.


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## Chris in CT (Apr 27, 2009)

*Cool T-Shirts*

Front Yard Fright, thanks for the info on the family's haunt. They have a lot of good merchandise through Cafe Press!


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## DaveintheGrave (Feb 12, 2004)

I had never watched "Wife Swap" before, but I taped this episode. (Thanks for the heads up!)
I expected it to be lame, but I was wrong. It was really fun to watch! If that Halloween mom from Iowa is not a member on here we need to get her to join. She was an absolute hoot!!
The Halloween Dad was kind of immature, but he did turn around somewhat in the end. But I agree he shouldn't go straight to the workshop after getting home from work. Spend some time with the family and work on props after they are in bed or occupied in some other way.
I liked when the Halloween mom mad the "dummy" of the Florida wife out of trash bags. (I don't want to know what kind of things the husband did with it after the camera was off.)
The Halloween wife's motto of "life should be fun" is the moral to the whole story. Who wants to spend their life running from one event to another--same routine over and over?
I guess it's true the most horrifying things are the ones you don't see. That Florida Mom was turning her kids into living dead Zombies without ever realizing it. That's much worse than having a 
Halloween obsession in my opinion.
This episode is really worth watching if you haven't seen it. It may be online at ABC.com.


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## Ghost of Spookie (Sep 28, 2008)

TK421 said:


> I gota agree! I don't usually watch this show, I've always felt the families were way too extreme, but I thought I would give the "Halloween" family a try.
> 
> But the Halloween dad (Kevin) was a bit of a tool. Just a smart-a$$ that doesn't really listen. Childish and rude, yup.



Although Kevin did say that actually the swap mom did have some good ideas but he wouldn't tell her that. Guess she knows now.

And who knows maybe Kevin was the way he was because so many put down a hobby like Halloween props and haunts and maybe the swap wife did too. Like we haven't all gotten that from people we know. It was obvious to me that Kevin and his wife loved Halloween, but I didn't get that from his kids. Maybe just the editing. I would hope that Kevin would try to get his kids involved in some of what he does. Sometimes parents can be such perfectionist with things they do that they kind of kill any excitement that the kids might have had helping out--you know, it's not straight, too much glue, slopping painting...like any of that will be noticed in the dark on Halloween anyway.


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## Glass 'eye' (Jul 22, 2007)

I agree that the Halloween dad was quite rude and childish. I know that the editors can make things look better or worse for the show; however, I really did not like the comment of putting halloween before family. That is one of the main reasons I love this holiday. The wife and kids are almost as involved as I am, and I know my kids have as much fun as I do scaring their friends and neighbors.


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## donitadoll (May 4, 2009)

Hey everyone... Im Dolly from Wife Swap (o: Just was reading all the comments about our show. As far as our haunt goes anyone is welcome to visit us in october if you get to waterloo ia we will be happy to get you in. If anyone wants to know more about the haunt or the show, drop me a line. Thanks again!! Happy Halloween!


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## Deathtouch (Nov 19, 2004)

donitadoll said:


> Hey everyone... Im Dolly from Wife Swap (o: Just was reading all the comments about our show. As far as our haunt goes anyone is welcome to visit us in october if you get to waterloo ia we will be happy to get you in. If anyone wants to know more about the haunt or the show, drop me a line. Thanks again!! Happy Halloween!


Thank you Dolly for leaving a comment on my blog. And thanks for showing that Haunters are people too.


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## Haunter (Oct 12, 2005)

Hello, Dolly! Welcome to the forum.
Thanks for representing us haunters.
BTW, whatever happened to garbage bag Christine? Is she also part of your haunt?


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## donitadoll (May 4, 2009)

her husband keep the garbage bag chris, however, my husband made a prop of her thats now in our bathroom (at the haunt). You can see this at the very end of the show.


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## ComedyOfFears (Apr 17, 2009)

Hi Dolly, 
Greg here... I was wondering if you and Kevin would like to do a phone interview about the show and your haunt?

Would love to help promote your haunt and have some fun talking about Wife Swap experience...

best to reach me at [email protected]

thanks...


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## 13mummy (Aug 26, 2007)

Welcome donitadoll, loved the show. You guys were so sweet. I'm glad you are on the forum now, hope to share lots of ideas.


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## donitadoll (May 4, 2009)

sounds good to me. I handle most of the business end (sponsors, ads, finance, etc) kevin (my husband) is the brains behind the construction of the haunt and the props. so if you need any ideas give me a shout.


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## Lot27 (Apr 15, 2009)

Ha. Check it out. Cool to see ya here.
My wife had it on the DVR for me when I got home to watch. I thought it was a great episode. 
We laughed our way through most of it. Sometimes I wanted to crawl behind the couch cause I could relate to Kevin. I get home from out of town all week and start in making masks. Overall it was cool and to this day, the only one I've seen of that show.


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## Front Yard Fright (Jul 7, 2008)

Hi Dolly!
Welcome to HF!
.


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## hallorenescene (Dec 28, 2007)

well, i unfortunatly didn't get to see the show. i keep checking out utube, but nothing up yet


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## donitadoll (May 4, 2009)

MovieWeb Search for: wife swap schultssmith season 5 episode 22 this link shows some clips of it


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## hallorenescene (Dec 28, 2007)

thanks donitadoll, i guess i can relate to the halloween family more than the other family. but boy have i known some like the other family. his comment about her being a fossil maybe was rude, but the other guys comment about having attitude was what, sweet?


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## donitadoll (May 4, 2009)

ahh its ok i do have attitude (o: i just wish everyone could hear the way she talked to and about my family ALOT of things ended up on the cutting floor


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## Madame Leota (Sep 19, 2005)

donitadoll said:


> ahh its ok i do have attitude (o: i just wish everyone could hear the way she talked to and about my family ALOT of things ended up on the cutting floor


Yeah, I wondered about the editing. It would be so easy to slant things to make either family look worse (or better) than they really were. Which reminds me, during the table meeting, what was really said that set the prof dad off on his rant? That just seemed so random. I kept rewinding to see if I missed something!

Hope your swap kids are still being "allowed" to have fun!


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## donitadoll (May 4, 2009)

thanks daveinthegrave. I did try. Those kids and dad just needed a kick in the butt in the right direction. Yes I will admit Kevin is obsessed with the haunt and sometimes it does come first (like in october), however, as far as dance class go, the teacher only has us there once a month so the kids dont act up, and we always make sure to go to the recital. He most of the time carves out a time for him and the kids (even if its them all painting a prop or room) Me on the other hand, I run a daycare so I am with my kids all the time and take care of the whole house (also run the business end of the haunt) so he dont have to worry about it. Yep im raising three kids!


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## donitadoll (May 4, 2009)

not sure, i think it was kevin going on about his wife (think he just his is breaking point with the negitive comments) or he wanted to get into good graces with the woman? it was pretty random. Yep they are, i still text and facebook them. They are great kids!


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## Stranger With Candy (Oct 29, 2007)

I always watch Wife Swap...can't believe I missed this one!


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## DaveintheGrave (Feb 12, 2004)

Thanks, Dolly! And welcome to the forum, we're glad to have you here.
I think we've all been in Kevin's shoes at one time or another. I can become obsessed with building a new prop or trying to figure out why something doesn't work that I ignore all the things I should be doing instead. Luckily, that's a temporary condition (normally).
You guys are doing a great job and I wish more people had your attitude about life.
Don't ever change!


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## 22606 (Aug 11, 2008)

Welcome to the forum, donitadoll. The episode was very enjoyable, and it's cool to have a real, live 'celebrity' among us


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## TK421 (Mar 27, 2009)

donitadoll, love what you're doing. I don't usually watch the show, but thanks to this forum, I saw that it was going to be one and went ahead and watched it. Mainly, I am greatful I don't have to deal with militant "hall monitor" type people in my day-to-day life.

I just feel really lucky. In our neighborhood, we're known as the "Halloween House" and I think it's great. My neighbors love the set up and always look forward to seeing what comes out, and when. In recent years, I've even had other homeowners come by and offer to help!

I really try to give back to the neighborhood, I'm on the Homeowner's Association, I head up the architecture commitee, and I try and pitch in when community clean-ups are scheduled. 

I think being active in the neighborhood really helps people feel safe and comfortable when it gets to be October. Also, I go for more of the fun and whim, rather than the blood and guts.


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## upNsmoke (Oct 9, 2008)

My girlfriend always wants to watch it so I usually watch it with her. From all the episodes i've seen they seem to try and paint a good guy bad guy routine from each family and have everyone learn something in the end. I would hope it's a good experience for everyone and better off afterwards, but man it's usually the uptight,snooty, rich, PETA extremist etc families that end up looking like asses on TV 

No offence intended for anyone I just lumped into a general category without knowing you personally 

There is one question i've always wondered about Wife Swap though is do the families get paid somehow like on Trading Spouses? where each family has to tell the other family how to spend the $50,000 they get for being on the show.


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## Lot27 (Apr 15, 2009)

My buddy is a reptile breeder and in the running to be on an episode. You must get paid cuz this cat wouldn't do something like this otherwise.


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## Stranger With Candy (Oct 29, 2007)

upNsmoke said:


> My girlfriend always wants to watch it so I usually watch it with her. From all the episodes i've seen they seem to try and paint a good guy bad guy routine from each family and have everyone learn something in the end. I would hope it's a good experience for everyone and better off afterwards, but man it's usually the uptight,snooty, rich, PETA extremist etc families that end up looking like asses on TV
> 
> No offence intended for anyone I just lumped into a general category without knowing you personally
> 
> There is one question i've always wondered about Wife Swap though is do the families get paid somehow like on Trading Spouses? where each family has to tell the other family how to spend the $50,000 they get for being on the show.


haha, I totally feel ya on this one. A couple weeks ago there was a snooty chick from Jersey, plastic to the yards but somehow convinced she was "holier than thou", she literally made me naucious.

I don't *think* the families tell each other how to spend the money, but I don't know. I've personally always wondered if they're told to make nicey nice and act like the new mom has really brought something to the table because one minute a dad can be screaming and protesting at the absurdity of it all, and the next minute he suddenly sees where "new mom" is coming from and incorporates her ideas in to the family lifestyle. It often ends abruptly and seems very suspect.


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