Anyone see Wife Swap tonight?? A little TOO OS i think!

Solomon_Broad

I think it's one thing for the parents to do it, because they made a choice, and it's their bodies, etc. But I do think it's wrong to force the kids into it. It's cruel to prevent the from socialising with other children, and while I'm no fan of the current schooling system, it's still better than nothing. Making them work 10 hours a day on the farm (if I heard it correctly) is also wrong - when are they supposed to be children? Some people shouldn't be allowed to breed. Not if they are going to play with their children's minds like that.

As my great grandmother would have said, "Why should England tremble?".

competitionscafe

Churchmouse wrote: »

I didn't see this, but DH drew my attention to the write-up in the Radio Times, and like him I have to wonder how/why the farm lot got involved in this sort of program Call us cynics, but doesn't it just make for too good television? Smells of a set-up to us, just like too many of the "reality" chat shows of the past.

I agree - or if it was genuine the programme makers must have been thanking their lucky stars for hitting the jackpot on finding a family like that who wanted to take part!

Progs like Wife Swap don't want ordinary everyday families - the more extreme or out of the ordinary the better and the more they can pit two opposites against each other (sparks guaranteed to fly).

They would say it makes 'better' television or that people would not watch otherwise but I think programmes like this were best when both sides learnt from each other and found small ways to change their lives for the better by being opened up to new ideas or being made to realise where they were going wrong.

I got bored with Wife Swap but one that sticks with me is the dad who locked himself in a room at night to play on the Playstation by himself when his young son craved attention from his Dad. I think going on the prog made this father realise how precious kids are, how fast they grow up and how rewarding it was to spend time with his son while he could - basically learnt some lessons about what is inmportant in life to the benefit of both father and son (and mother too). But more recently the prog seems to have just thought lets find the two most opposite couples/families we can and pit them against each other!

Never understood why anyone would want to go on the programme but I guess people have their reasons!?

Horasio

Sounds rather extreme - typical Channel 4:(

livalot

I agree with everything that has been said so far.... the farm family was totally over the top in many respects, but they did have a few good ideas, although being a veggie means you would never in a million years get me eating meat let alone raw meat ugghhhhhhhh!

However can some of you out there please tell me why:

it is OK and very trendy to eat raw fish (sushi) ugghhhh!

Why the top chefs in the world always tell you that meat is best when it is "pink" in the middle (so cooked as little as poss)

Why it is OK to eat to eat cheese with mould on it (Gorgonzola etc???????)

Why is wine that has been aged for years and and years is so expensive and considered the height of sophistication?

What is so nice about eating SteaK tartare (raw steak)

Why peolple used to include raw eggs in hangover cures?

Why Tiramisu (one of the best desserts ever invented) tastes so wonderful when it includes raw eggs .........

I could go on.... but the programme defintely got me thinking along these lines and asking the above questions ...... I am sure that a lot of things we do must appear strange/extreme to others! At the end of the day it is just a matter of what you are used to.

One thing I am sure we all agree on is that we want food that has been mucked about with as little as as possible and also we have some idea of how it got onto our plate in the first place!

livalot

I find it really strange when people tell me they only give their cats and dogs cooked meals usually from tins and sachets and dry pellets to eat??????????? Since when did animals learn to like cooked meals especially in gravy and jelly????? My dad is a true moneysaver and he will only give Daisy his dog leftovers from lunch/or dinner and will give her a tin once in a blue moon.... but even he knows that given the choice between leftovers, tins, sachets or raw meat..... the dog will always always choose raw meat

competitionscafe

livalot wrote: »

However can some of you out there please tell me why:

Why the top chefs in the world always tell you that meat is best when it is "pink" in the middle (so cooked as little as poss)

Only some meat (eg: beef, lamb, venison) not pork, chicken..
It tastes better because cooking it all the way through would cause more of the moisture to be lost and it would be dry (and the outside would be overcooked by the time the middle was no longer pink) Its personal preference too - some people like their steak 'blue' which is virtually raw, I like it just medium rare and some people like it well done (no idea why). If beef or lamb is cooked slowly for a very long time (eg in a casserole) then it will also be very tender (and not pink inside) because of the long slow cooking and the moisture in the casserole (stock/wine/water).

Anne_Marie_2

Aside from all the raw meat eating and other weird and wonderful things from the farm family. Did you see the bit where the farm husband collapsed in tears, and I mean collapsed, he was writhing about on the bathroom floor crying, because the other lady had taken the family out for a meal, where they had cooked food?????
Then the children and himself were all suddenly ill, all of them, despite eating completely different meals.....okay, I concede this could happen, if eating something totally different to the way you are brought up. But the whole thing was OTT, and did smack of the kids being brainwashed.

I am just trying to picture my husband's reaction if someone had tried to force our daughter to eat something that we disapproved of.....probably more likely to be the raw meat scenario...and the last thing he would do is writhe about crying his eyes out, likewise myself. :rolleyes: