Hoarder's recent episodes

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Started 1 year ago by charmed2482
Latest reply from suzjazz
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charmed2482
Member

So I watched a lot of Season 2 of hoarders and I have been watching all by the first episode of season 3 and I'm noticing a pattern. I know mistakes happen, but it seems like they keep "accidentally" throwing away stuff that isn't supposed to be in the trash, or when they broke that woman's glass twin towers. I'm starting to feel like they are doing it on purpose for the show so that the person will get upset and make a scene. then they replay it a bunch of times with the dramatic music.

Has anyone else noticed this or is it just me being over critical?

we also need a season 3 section.

Posted 1 year ago #
Jillian
Member

This is why although I do watch on occasion, I don't particularly care for these "Hoarding" shows. I will say, watching one episode of that show is what kick-started my uncluttering, but after watching a few episodes, I feel as though the show intentionally portrays these people as horrible people. The show portrays these people as monsters. Some of them are, that's a given, but some of them have genuine issues and need more help than a TV show can give them, I think. I'd like to hope that the mistakes they make are genuine, but I think in some instances they probably do throw things on purpose. It is TV, and if there isn't drama, people won't want to watch it. :(

Posted 1 year ago #
RebeccaL
Member

I've also noticed these mistakes, but I think they are inevitable, due to the time constraints and volume of things the crew is dealing with. When you move, things are broken, no matter how careful the movers are- even if it's family. And some of the crew may not be respecting the owner's wishes, which is pretty sad. Although there have been episodes where one spouse says ok to throwing something out, which the other one will NOT be happy with.

Posted 1 year ago #
Zora
Member

No, I don't think it's on purpose. With such huge mounds of @#$#@, mistakes are inevitable.

In the last episode, one of the hoarders, George, was a model of good behavior. His only resistance was wanting to store some of his stuff to his brother's barn, and being mildly peeved when told that no, that was not part of the agreement.

There's someone on Facebook posting as The Possum from Hoarders and he and his followers liveblog the episodes. Possum and his friends are really funny! Sometimes people from the show, like Matt Paxton, drop by Possum's page. Matt was saying that George was one of his favorite hoarders. He and his family had accepted all the aftercare and George was doing really well.

Part of that may be due to the fact that George got a lot of help from his church and feels social pressure not to let the congregation down. Not wanting to act like a jerk in front of his minister may also explain his good behavior during the filming!

Posted 1 year ago #
Nithy
Member

I can't imagine a licensed therapist, especially one who wants the hoarders to continue with aftercare and therapy, would choose to create trust ("we won't throw anything away that you don't authorize") and then deliberately break that trust, or even authorize someone else to break it. They do spell out to everyone (whether it ends up edited out of the final show or not) that mistakes get made. My guess is that mistakes get made quite often, and they film all of it, and the footage of the hoarder's reactions makes the final cut when it is particularly emotional, or fits in with the 'story' they're telling about that particular hoarder.

The most cynical thing I can believe is that the editors/producers think that someone having a meltdown about a few possessions accidentally getting thrown away when their house is still full of things that need to be taken care of is a source for higher ratings.

Posted 1 year ago #
charmed2482
Member

I understand that a large part of the shows success is due to all the shock in gives people, but its turning me off wanting to continue watching it. My favorite part is probably when they show the before and after. I feel like they are just doing some of the stuff to show just how irrational these people can be about their possessions, but I think even regular non-hoarding people can feel the same way about things.

I remember throwing a complete tantrum when a glass table of mine was broken during a move due to my ex bf and relatives being careless and not making sure it was secure when they moved the truck to get it closer to the stoop. I threw a fit just like some of the people on that show. i am no where near being a hoarder. I had to much stuff when I moved into that apartment, but had no problem getting rid of a bunch so that I could fit into a small space with my current boyfriend b/c I hate packing things away, I would usually rather just get rid of it.

I know they are trying to help these people, but I feel like they are just taking advantage of them in the process and its making me not want to watch anymore.

Posted 1 year ago #
Stacia
Member

I have to say I had the same feeling as charmed the last few times I've watched -- that a few things are tossed on purpose, just to get a reaction out of the person.

I realize that w/ so much stuff, mistakes will happen (and I'm sure they happen every time). I don't think it's the therapist doing it (as mentioned, it breaks trust); however, the lady organizer (who was on last night w/ the lady in stage IV cancer) is the one I've noticed who does it (or, at least, her footage seems to be the stuff that makes it on air). I just get a gut feeling that she does it on purpose to have a showdown w/ the hoarder, that it's a way that she thinks she's helping w/ their therapy, kwim? I could be totally wrong, but my gut feeling was the same as charmed's during the last few episodes....

Posted 1 year ago #
tmichelle
Member

Hmm, never thought about it. But they do look like completely out of control children with some of the tantrums they throw. It makes it hard to sympathize with them.

Posted 1 year ago #
dlcohiorn
Member

Hi everyone
I am Debbie George's wife.
I can tell you with all honesty that the A & E crew treated us with respect and they really helped to restore our lives
We are still going to therapy almost six months later and we are still getting two organizers that come and help us organize every couple weeks
This was an awesome gift when they showed up to film us until up to right this minute. George is still organizing his things and he is putting a new Garage door on. We have finished more projects than we can count. Over 60 out of more than 100 projects are done. And about 50 of them happened to be done that weekend the Hoarder show was there. So imagine all them people there and some mistakes not being made.
I can assure you that they did not throw things out we wanted at least not on purpose They did not try to cause any type of problem. In fact it was quite the opposite. They treated us better than I expected and George and I both feel this was one of the best and biggest things to happen for us.
The whole thing about our show was that with all the love and faith put into helping us we could not help but be grateful. Don't think for a minute that there were not times I wanted to say something to someone but it was not any of the tv crew. It happened to be one family member but then I kept remembering our church motto: loving God completely, loving people unconditionally, and loving life enthusiastically. When that came to my mind I realized that my faith was on the line and I refrained from any backlashing.

Posted 1 year ago #
SunshineR
Member

Hi, Debbie. Thanks for your post. (I didn't see you on TV.) Those two days of having the crew at your place must have been filled with ups and downs.

It surely would have been stressful for me, if I had been in your shoes.

I appreciate having the chance to hear from someone who has gone through the experience of having a group of people to assist in their project.

Posted 1 year ago #
bandicoot
Member

hi debbie....it is so cool to actually hear from a real person involved with the show.
it makes me very happy to hear that the whole thing was such a terrific experience for you guys!
i watch that show sporadically and i feel so sad for so many of the people on the show.
hearing about light at the end of the tunnel is just amazing!
i haven't seen your episode, i'll have to go for a peek now.
congratulations to you both for all the work....and good wishes for a brighter better future.

Posted 1 year ago #
ClutterPounds
Member

I've worked behind the scenes in television and the producers are the ones who set up stints like you see on Hoarders. The organizers/crew are just doing what they're told to do. What producers love about hoarders is the fact that they supply their own drama by not wanting to get rid of possessions. It's a producer's wetdream and I often found myself sickened by working in television, especially reality shows. Everything was hyperfocused on ratings and not genuinely wanting to help people.

dlcohiorn was lucky to not get taken advantage of. I left that job and I'm much happier for it.

Posted 1 year ago #
charmed2482
Member

one thing that really stuck out with me was the woman who had all the 9/11 memorabilia. She had those glass twin towers. You would think for them to know that someone had all that stuff b/c her cousin died on 9/11 and that those glass twin towers meant so much to her that they would be more careful. Then she came in at the end of the show and found it. Why didn't someone own up and tell her before hand? That's what really made me feel like they were doing it on purpose. Maybe it is the producers, maybe someone saw it broken and told them not to say anything. But i know if it was me I would have went to her and apologized and offered to replace it, not just kept my mouth shut so they could tape her having a tantrum over it.

Posted 1 year ago #
jbeany
Member

charmed, one of the posters on A&E's discussion wondered if the woman had broken them herself. I won't get started on whether it might have been on purpose, but that struck a true note for me. I see a pattern among all the hoarders of blaming everything on someone else. Nothing is EVER a hoarder's personal fault.

Really, if you were trying to sort that much stuff, how could you possibly know which piece was the most important one? I had that problem sorting my grandmother's estate. How could I know if I tossed something that was truly important if it was covered in a hundred pounds of useless trash?

Posted 1 year ago #
SunshineR
Member

jbeany, I hear you: "a hundred pounds of useless trash"....versus "the best of the best"....

It's a journey that I choose to start now to make room for my present and my future.

Yes, there have been some posts on this website, including yours, that really have made me stop, think, empathize, and then decide to change now. A step at a time.

Posted 1 year ago #
tmichelle
Member

jbeany, that's what gets me, it is NEVER their fault. I usually feel for them at the beginning when they describe how their hoard is eating their life away. Once they get into the clean-up, most of them are mean to everyone and then they put trash above people and it just turns my sympathy to disgust.

Mistakes can be made, but the Hoarders never say, "well, if I didn't put myself in this situation than the one most prized possession wouldn't have accidentally been thrown out."

Perhaps I should stop watching the show as their out of control behavior just turns me off.

Posted 1 year ago #
ari_1965
Member

These hoarder shows are another version of a circus freak show. I don't understand why we think this is fitting entertainment.

I think these hoarder shows are no different from the Big Brother shows or any other so-called "reality" TV--if the hoarder isn't "entertaining" enough, the producers will make something happen to stir things up. Manipulation is the name of the game.

Also, I don't think any therapist who is truly dedicated to the health and well-being of his/her clients would think it's a good idea for those clients to go on television and expose their problems and foibles so that strangers can gawk at them.

Posted 1 year ago #
chacha1
Member

Interesting discussion. I like to watch the show once in a while, but not as a steady thing because it sets off my MUST GET RID OF THINGS NOW!! alarm when it's not really helpful. I'm plugging away at my own crap, and I'm not going to wreck my relationship by messing around with DH's crap. (Yes of course I'm going to try to *influence* him to deal with his crap! LOL)

But on the whole, I think Hoarders is like Biggest Loser: it's essentially the most public version of an intervention. Interventions have been shown to work, especially when you have buy-in from the whole community and family around the person with the problem.

And when you have a problem that severe, the measures needed are often fairly drastic. Many of the people I've seen featured are in real danger of losing their homes. Would they be better off homeless than (temporarily) embarrassed or infuriated? I don't think so.

Posted 1 year ago #
bobbinalong
Member

I watch Hoarders. Perhaps it's self-serving, but I do gain some small level of satisfaction in comparison, makes me feel like my house is spotless (which its not, two small kids and multiple pets - all accounted for, by the way, so I don't have to worry about squished animals). Before this show aired, we watched Clean Sweep, and my husband said it was staged, that no one lived with that much stuff. I laughed at how naive he was, and then when Hoarders started, I sat him down and said, "Look. You have noooo idea". He can't stand to watch it.

Debbie, I have to say I really enjoyed your episode. George seemed like he was very willing for the help, and you have a lovely home and family. I'm glad that the show helped you to be able to enjoy each other more without the clutter hanging over your life.

Posted 1 year ago #
pb
Member

I have only seen two episodes of this show, and that was enough. Not a big TV viewer anyway, I found the whole thing really disturbing. I think people like George's family are in the minority, as they approached the whole thing with a far different attitude than most, leading to their wonderful success story. I think that spotlighting such vulnerable and emotionally unstable people, as the hoarders I saw were, is simply painful to watch and so distressing for the people. It would be nice if there were a way in our system for these people to get the help they need without being exploited for the entertainment of others.

I know the show has done some good for some people, but has also brought others to the breaking point.

Posted 1 year ago #

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