Love It or List It Vancouver

I'm a huge HGTV fan, especially Love it or List it Toronto. Hillary and David are great. They're not too plastic and fake and they feel comfortable ribbing each other. Todd is okay but Jillian is hard to watch. She's so busy flicking her hair and pouting for the camera (seriously, is she in high school?) it's really distracting. It pulls me out of the show because she's playing to the camera more than doing her job. Obviously someone who does a stint on the Bachelor franchises just wants attention. It's gotten her this show but I'm not sure she's got the goods to back up her ego. That $190k budget for one floor mentioned by another viewer is a joke. You can do a whole house for that even with contingency.

I have enjoyed this show quite a bit and it is very impressive how Gillian can transfer ugly houses into very welcoming homes. Todd is a hoot to watch with his witty comebacks and antics. What is getting frustrating is the constant repetitive theme of "hidden problems " that become major issues. I have never watched one episode where the homeowners get everything they asked for. Every show is scripted exactly the same where Kenny finds problems, Gillian pulls out her "acting" shoes and pretends to be shocked, disappointed and angry. It is always the same. Homeowners are providing renovation budgets of 120,000 and much higher, sometimes up to 200,00 but it's never enough. Shake it up a bit. How about the homeowner gets everything they asked for and there's money left over to do something extra for them or give the extra money back. It just seems to be that every show is predictable and never falls off script. Only difference is different homes and different homeowners. Getting a bit boring.

Is it fake? The home owners are real and so are their houses. Having said that, the rest is scripted for gawd sake. I've done renos. They really are a pandora's box - full of nasty surprises! And, these guys have to do it by code and often the labour aint cheap. That makes it much more expensive than you casual DYI'ers think that it should be. What makes it scripted is the fact that they often know in advance where some of these surprises might be and they make it seem like they found it in the middle of the reno for the dramatic effect. That's show biz.

The banter between Jillian and Todd is quite amusing. The show is true enough to life, that I disagree with its detractors. You never know what you're going to find when you open up a wall in an old home. Also have to take into consideration that building codes are regularly updated and changed. In Vancouver, if your reno involves more than 50% of the living space, you must install a sprinkler system. Obviously, the detractors haven't a clue as to the cost of such undertaking. The building inspector is the law, and your project is bound by the building code. I love this show, and hope it comes back in 2017. It's fun watching Todd and Jillian, they seem to have great chemistry, and I've learned a lot from Kenny's expert knowledge.

I love the program but I'm tired of seeing that they can never completely remodel something as designed, I should make a program that does not lack money to finish the entire project.