|
|
|
|
Wife Swap
|
| |
|
| |
Wife Swap is a reality television programme, produced by UK independent television production company RDF Media and created by Stephen Lambert. It was first broadcast in 2003 on the UK's Channel 4, and since 2004 a US version has also been broadcast on the ABC network. On 28 February 2008 ABC announced that it had renewed Wife Swap through the 2008-2009 period. It is now in syndication in the USA on Lifetime Television.
families, usually from vastly different social classes and lifestyles, swap wives/mothers (and sometimes husbands) for two weeks.
Discussion
Ask a question about 'Wife Swap' Start a new discussion about 'Wife Swap' Answer questions from other users |
Encyclopedia
Wife Swap is a reality television programme, produced by UK independent television production company RDF Media and created by Stephen Lambert. It was first broadcast in 2003 on the UK's Channel 4, and since 2004 a US version has also been broadcast on the ABC network. On 28 February 2008 ABC announced that it had renewed Wife Swap through the 2008-2009 period. It is now in syndication in the USA on Lifetime Television.
Synopsis
Two families, usually from vastly different social classes and lifestyles, swap wives/mothers (and sometimes husbands) for two weeks. In fact, the programme will usually deliberately swap wives with extreme, polar opposite lifestyles, such as a dramatically messy wife swapping with a fastidiously neat one. Despite using a phrase from the swinging lifestyle, couples participating in the show do not share a bed with the "swapped" spouse while "swapping" homes.
During the first week, the new wife must adhere to exactly the same rules and lifestyle of the wife she is replacing. Each wife leaves a house manual which explains her role in the family and the duties she holds. This almost always determines what rules the wives will apply at the "rules change ceremony".
During the second week, the new wives are allowed to establish their own rules, and their new families must adhere to these new household rules. It usually takes a while for the families to adjust to this policy.
At the end of the two weeks, the two couples all meet together for the first time, and the wives, along with their husbands, discuss how they felt about the two weeks. This often descends into personal insults and has degenerated into violence at least twice. More often than not, however, both families reach toward a middle ground and express that they have learned from the experience.
In 2006, in the USA version, a new twist was added whereby the wife can bring in someone to help her (a family member or a friend) to help on one day of the swap. The twist was not quite twisted enough, and consequently only appeared in a few episodes before being discontinued early in the third series.
Spin-offs
Other countries and versions
Localised versions of Wife Swap were produced by Viasat and broadcast in Croatia, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Romania. Viasat was the first company in the world to adapt the format locally.
The first adaptation was broadcast in Denmark in Autumn 2003. A version in Serbia is shown on RTV Pink, called Menjam ženu, which premiered in July 2006. Also, Chile premiered its own version of Wife Swap called "¿Quién cambia a quién? Intercambio de Esposas" (Who changes whom?: Wife Swap) on 14 March 2006. The series is produced by Canal 13 and hosted by Cecilia Bolocco. The Croatian version is broadcast on RTL Televizija.
There is also a Dutch and a Belgian version of Wife Swap. The version shown in the The Netherlands is called "Jouw Vrouw Mijn Vrouw" (Your wife My wife), and in Belgium, it's called "De Nieuwe Mama" (The New Mum/Mam/Mom). There is also a Czech Version, hosted by NOVA TV, called Výmena Manželek (Wife Swap). In Germany Wife Swap is called Frauentausch and premiered on 14 July 2003 on RTL II.
Trading Spouses
In the USA there are two versions of the series; "Wife Swap", which is nearly identical to the UK one, and "Trading Spouses", which had two episodes per trade and also awarded each wife US$50,000 to allocate to the other family as they saw fit. The show is no longer owned by FOX, but did cause some legal issues in the past.
Celebrity Wife Swap
There have been some celebrity versions of Wife Swap produced on the UK version of the series:
Other Special Editions
Wife Swap has aired several unique episodes in its history.
For their hundredth episode on March 13th, 2009, the USA version selected 24 families to participate in a contest to reswap. Viewers voting in October 2008 picked the artistic/psychic Silver family of Florida and the storm-chasing/UFO hunting Heenes of Colorado. According to Denver Blogger Bill Husted, "It sounds like a good match." But, "distressingly," LA Times Writer Jon Caramancia wrote, "it's clear they haven't learned a thing."
In 2005, Channel 4 had broadcast two international versions of Wife Swap, one where a British family had changed lifestyles with a German family, and then one where a British family changed lifestyles with an Australian family.
In 2008 Channel 4 broadcast a version where two British families who happened to be living in Spain at the time swapped with one another.
Boss Swap
A spin-off, Boss Swap, was broadcast as a series in the UK. A pilot for a US series was shown on ABC but was not commissioned. Husband Swap and Vacation Swap pilots were also broadcast in America, but were not picked up for series production. At least once, however, a husband and a live-in boyfriend swapped while the women stayed with their families.
Parodies
Legal issues
Trading Spouses
In early 2004 ABC in the USA announced its version of Wife Swap, to be called Trading Moms, having outbid the Fox Network for the USA rights for the format. In June the same year the Fox publicised a programme with an almost identical format to Wife Swap entitled Trading Spouses, which it began broadcasting on 1 July.. ABC then reverted to the original UK title for their series, which began on 29 September. In December 2004 RDF Media sued Fox for copyright infringement for reproducing the Wife Swap format without their permission. In 2008, FOX sold the rights to the show to CMT, ending the run.
Fraudulent activity
In her 2003 appearance on the programme Lizzy Bardsley was shown to be living entirely on state benefits, which she continued to do without declaring payments she subsequently received for media work. Prosecuted and found guilty in 2005, she was sentenced to 80 hours community service and ordered to repay £4,879 in overpaid benefits. In February 2007 she was convicted of child cruelty charges, receiving an eight month suspended sentence and a two year supervision order.
Gay Swap
In November 2005 Jeffrey Bedford, a participant in the American series, sued ABC network for trading his wife for a gay man. He accused ABC of being dishonest, not allowing him contact with his wife, and making him miss his lessons at college. He claims that when he ceased participating with the production of the episode ABC threatened that it would not tell him his wife's whereabouts and would not pay for his wife's return home. He is suing for over USD$10,000,000. The producers of the series and ABC have dismissed the allegations and claim that his argument was simply homophobia.
See also
External links
|
| |
|
|
