Snarkette

A Vermont family builds 493 sq. foot Tiny House in their driveway. But they need a home that will work for 3 adults--Mom, Dad, and college-aged daughter--and they're arguing over how to divvy up the bedroom space. So our hosts John and Zack have to figure out how to divide and conquer the space with an innovative closet design. Rumor has it that Dad's a horder! All drama all the time, with less space! -- Too much drama, not enough architecture. The only feature this week appears to be the folding wall. (Plus the constant of "let's build an incredibly uncomfortable-looking couch that's actually storage"). I felt so bad for the dad, because it was all disrespect, all the time. Mom usually gets her way, and the daughters talked about him like he was a child. I don't think I'd want to rent a house in semi-rural Vermont where an entire other family is sitting 50 feet away. Surely there would be better options than that. The artists's house visit was charming. My new rule for tiny living is all full size bathrooms all the time. I don't think her main room was particularly well organized though. She's an artist, so where are her work supplies? Where is a big table? Plus, using the daybed as a big uncomfortable-looking couch? Does not appeal. Still, thought her garden was gorgeous.

But 17wheatthins, now they're CELEBRITIES! So fame and fortune await them and their blessed uterii

The Lottery has turned imbecilic into an art form

So what was the deal at the end with Peter's eyes changing color as the team held the big old purple stone of destiny?

OMG. This show just astounds me with its near limitless capacity of stupidity. Just when I think things can't get more stunningly incoherent, they do. I try to imagine the writer's room ("Hey, let's come up with even more senseless evil!") but my brain boggles. This show is like heroin. After swearing I'm done with it after each episode, I find myself tuning in again. Oh Lottery, Lottery, Lottery, why can't I quit you? "We intend to put them on a hormone regimen to induce early puberty!...We have a mandate Miss Keller. The more candidates we have, the more we can assure success."

A 500-square-foot house in Colorado is designed with two separate offices! Pay very very close attention this week. If you don't, you might miss that this "very special episode" of Tiny House Consternation is about a couple whose house burned down a few years ago and they lost almost all their possessions. It's mentioned almost in passing and very easy to overlook this detail. You might think instead it's about fussy people with a week to move into a house whose requirements and engineering they're still adjusting details, and who decide mid-project to build a B&B instead of a tiny house.

This show exists to make Dominion look logical and appealing.

A young Ohio couple builds a 220 foot long tiny house on a trailer so they can travel for work. ---- My favorite episode to date. Particularly because the couple themselves were so likable and the bathtub and kitchen were so liveable (even without an oven). The sacrifice was clearly the public areas -- no real den/livingroom space, more focused on each person having an individual zone. I think that was a pretty good solution for these two. Plus I loved the TV they added to the studio. Best part of the ep was the driving lesson and the music-studio reveal. I also enjoyed seeing that Hansel cottage. Update: The following also occurred to me. Couple 4 already had a tiny lifestyle. Everything they did in this house was to improve how they were living and move forward that way. Contrast that with Couples 1 and 3 who decided to downsize for economic reasons but wanted a tiny home that matched their social status, even if it meant abandoning their cats.

Doesn't this look...familiar?

I'm surprised at the overall lack of easy chairs. When the iPad gives you libraries without books, doesn't it make sense to fill up that space with better reading furniture?

I *hated* the bed result. I think a murphy bed, a pop-up bed, or even what they had but free floating into the room would have been an improvement. So low to the floor, looked horrible to sleep in, and I bet whoever sleeps closer to the "closet" gets to bang their head on sharp edges during the night. That couch looked horribly uncomfortable as well. The only things I really loved this week were the light overall, the 5-in-1 sitting solution (although no back support, ouch), and the screen for the projection TV system. (Although I think it might be annoying to have to close your main windows to have the TV on during the day). Once again my favorite bit of the show was seeing how the people adapted the tiny house for real world living, specifically creating a better closet system.

"A dance pole is installed in a 210-square-foot house in Rochester"

I am in love with this place

I hated this episode so much. Chris you moron. On the bright side? Nathan. Duke. Taco Tuesday. And maple syrup. Light. And dark.

A lot of people live in small studios, especially as students. Now that you mention your apartment patty1h, I should mention I spent several years living in one that was if memory serves just about 155 square feet. I had to climb over my bed to get to the bathroom (which had separate faucets for hot and cold, which was an adventure in itself) and my fridge was in a closet because there was no other space for it. I had recurring dreams about finding a door that led to the *rest* of the apartment.

I found this family so unrealistic. Three people in under 180 square feet, with so much emphasis on looking pretty and less on livable solutions and space. Just wait until Mom & toddler are snowed in for a few days. And they don't even have a normal flush toilet? Unlike week #2, where the solution really fit the family, this one really would have done better with less design and more space. I couldn't figure out why they didn't just buy/rent a double-wide and save a lot more money, have real utilities, flush toilets, washing machines, and safe inside space for the toddler that was bigger than a closet during bad weather.

I couldn't but there's something really aesthetically pleasing about trying to figure out the details of how to optimize and simplify your life. Interesting coverage: http://www.oregonlive.com/hg/index.ssf/2013/01/from_the_home_front_are_tiny_h.html

I thought this ep was so much better than the first one -- and the space so much more liveable. And what I liked most of all was how they adapted the space for their needs. Having a proper pantry makes a lot more sense than extra clothing storage. I love how they added a off-the-shelf outdoor storage shed to the deck. And having the girls over for a sleepover really showcased how adaptable that space was. I was really surprised the boy could use that desk space and get work done, but apparently with him sitting, that worked out. In fact, both loft bedrooms felt surprisingly spacious. The clothing over the stairs was ingenious but ugly. I'm thinking that if the family could live with it, it was a really good solution but couldn't they come up with something to make it a little less in-your-face? Not sure why they were stuffing things like bicycles (which can easily live outside) and boat gear (ditto) into the boat other than to provide filler for minutes that could otherwise go into the building story. I also wish they'd show what that place would look like in severe weather and how they'd respond to those conditions and potential high water situations.

No idea, but he's certainly in charge of the scripts.

Hated the Tims, loved Jet & Dave, wanted the brothers to win, was astonished the sisters made it so far. Perhaps due to the luck of the brain dead?

ParadoxLost: I love that theory -- especially since I'm just hatewatching along and there is no way to make that storyline work and give Alex an internal life at the same time. (Well there is: make him fight the takeover instead of suddenly discover he's allknowing/allpowerful/etc, but no way would they go there). Just as long as he doesn't raise Bixby from the dead.

I can't get enough of this show. It's so bad. Poor acting, poor plots, poor characters, just poor all around. And killing Bixby was just icing on the cake. BRING 'ER ON!

This show is *spectacularly* awful. I find myself liking it more each week just because when I think it can't get worse, it does. This week's "But in the meantime, of 18 hours or so, PPPrincess has felt abandoned enough to agree to marry Traitorous Bastard" plus roadtrip just adds cherries on top

The scene that made the show for me was the one where Barry suggested an entire family act as hostages for safety at the wedding. Jamal is a thug, but it should have been Barry because he has the skill set and strength to be the tyrant that goes for another generation, negotiating with the press, with the revolutionaries, and so forth. If the show continues with that evolution, it's a really promising place to go. Most of the rest of the episode fell between so-so and ridiculous. I couldn't stand any moment Molly and the kids were on-screen (except for that one brief "this isn't America" exchange). It's like they're trying to play the culture shock, fish-out-of-water, and princess diaries tropes on top of a psychodrama and that just doesn't work. The repeated scenes with "Oh yes, Jamal is crazy" felt overplayed. I wonder if the kids are even nominally muslim (i.e. some identity, background, schooling, training) because that would be a really interesting novelty on TV. I suspect not since Mollycoddled didn't have enough sense to have the kids dress more modestly or wear even a light scarf. I'm also glad they stuck to English, as that makes it much easier for me as a viewer and in my head, I assumed they were talking Arabic. As pilots go, this one felt good enough. There's enough grit story-wise to power what could be a really compelling story about Barry/Bassam, especially if he sticks around and his daily doesn't, or it could go full-trope really badly really quickly. Visually, I liked the style quite a lot. And the location shots really felt like we had left the US. (Where is this filmed?) But I can't wrap my head around the basic premise, because unless it was in the script, everyone had to be a moron to get where they were. I'm willing to forgive the pilot however, if they give us a good psychodrama moving forward.

Especially in a strong finale that focused so clearly on agency and abuse. I suspect that the male clones will never be emotionally central to the story they're telling here.