Just last week I was bemoaning the fact that shows featuring abnormally large families, at least by today's standards, such as "18 Kids and Counting" and "Jon & Kate Plus Eight" are sending irresponsible signals in an era striving for sustainability. I hoped that Discovery Communications, owner of both TLC and Planet Green, would formulate some kind of crossover event between the channels to make not only the Gosselin and Duggar families more eco-conscious, but also to educate the huge audiences that watch these shows.
From my lips to Discovery's ears, as the saying goes.
Last night, Jon and Kate went green with the help of "Renovation Nation" host Steve Thomas, just in time for Earth Day. In between installing solar panels for electricity, solar thermal panels to heat the gallons of hot water they use for laundry and bathing, and LCD lighting to conserve energy, Steve and crew elaborated on the natural resources needed to maintain a family the size of the Gosselins, and how to reduce their carbon footprint.
In fact, the advice applied to families of any size or shape, and the episode was full of wonderful hints and tips, but Kate's grudging attitude toward the project really diminished the effectiveness of the show. Kate states very firmly at the beginning of the show that she's "all about the bottom line" and if this project will help them save money, she's all for it. But she hates "dishevelment." And she means it, telling Thomas at one point that she'd rather have a root canal than any renovation done to her home.
At times, the jovial Thomas doesn't seem to know how to respond to Kate's cynicism and several times gently chides, "That's angry talk." But in the end, Kate's passive appreciation comes through in the form of baked goods for the crew.
I'm glad that Discovery Communications decided to do this show, but I just wish that Kate had been more excited about it. So she has some emotional baggage from her father never completing home repair projects, but try to show a little enthusiasm about helping the environment so that those of us at home might be inspired to go green like the Gosselins.
"Jon & Kate Plus 8 Go Green!" airs tonight at 10:00 p.m. ET on TLC.
Add to Del.icio.us
Add to Technorati
Add to Digg
Add to Newsvine
Add to Facebook
Add to StumbleUpon
Subscribe
Wow. It seems to me we're overlooking the obvious: this is a family of 10 people, and 8 children and a TV crew. It probably runs at a fairly high level of chaos on any given day. Kate's preference for the "bottom line" and resistance to "dishevelment" may not be any ominous psychological shadow from her past as much as simply a need to maintain at all costs some sort of order in their home that makes daily life manageable. She just has different priorities/values than others, because her life is very different than others.
Considering this was a going green episode one would tell Kate to break out plates and real cups.
All the paper plates and STYROFOAM cups show how much Gosselin family cares about the environment, not at all! The only green they care about is money!
Kate has gone over to the dark side and she has no friends or family left to reel her back in to reality. She is clearly narcissistic and over the edge of balance.
They are taping 40 episodes this year!! She is on book tour for weeks and weeks at a time. 3-4 episodes a year would nicely complement their income and still generate ratings. This Gosselin oversaturation is destined for burnout soon and I sincerely hope it happens before the children are old enough to google their names and read the blogs.
This family is in a lot of trouble and the stress is clearly evident.
Kate has chosen the life she is living, and that life means filming will be done in and around her home. If she doesn't like the chaos, she should not have signed for another season. Certainly, Jon didn't want to do it. Considering they are being paid well, the least Kate can do is to pretend she is enjoying it. Her 'attitude' is spoiling everything. (Notice how Jon enjoyed doing the episode? Maybe because Kate wasn't!)
I wonder how Steve felt about the Hummer and the new sports car in the garage? What does a Hummer get? About 12 miles to the gallon? How eco friendly are the styrofoam cups she served the coffee in? Or, the 1300 paper plates she goes through a month?
Post a Comment
By submitting these comments, I agree to the beliefnet.com terms of service, rules of conduct and privacy policy (the "agreements"). I understand and agree that any content I post is licensed to beliefnet.com and may be used by beliefnet.com in accordance with the agreements.