Comments on: Wife Swap

By: Del Cotter

Del Cotter — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 15:52:33 +0000

This is where they put your wife’s brain in a tank for a week, feeding her the sensation of being in another household.

In return, you get a philosophical zombie.

By: Kathleen

Kathleen — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 09:34:33 +0000

I think David Lodge already wrote a novel about that.

By: lisa

lisa — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 03:10:30 +0000

They fail to see the drama really lies in swapping wives of different disciplines: A Philosophy wife for an English lit wife. That would be far more entertaining.

By: mollymooly

mollymooly — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 02:06:52 +0000

The ABC version was to be called “Trading Moms” but was changed to the original UK title “Wife Swap” when Fox brought out a clone called “Trading Spouses”.

I guess the email, if not a pure joke, was generated from the preceding episode’s via a search-replace of “vegetarian” with “philosopher”; so the “cattle farmer” email now reads “marine” or some such.

By: Bruce

Bruce — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 20:10:22 +0000

” …she introduces a “rule change” where she implements rules and activities that her family has.”

Is this a reality show, or is this Coraline? Buttons anyone?

By: ddt

ddt — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 19:57:13 +0000

(I’m not condemning Freddie for it, by the way. It was all quite charming.)

By: ddt

ddt — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 19:56:37 +0000

Awesome suggestions—sounds like homemade webisodes could be in the offing.

Having taken Freddie to dinner while my mother was visiting, and watching him pitch charming woo to a married woman whose won was sitting right there, I do think he he himeself would be quite open to participating in this program… .

By: American Citizen

American Citizen — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 18:39:02 +0000

$20,000 to suffer some televised humiliation? Many people with some component of their income tied to the economy would take that.

By: ajay

ajay — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 14:26:44 +0000

Surely “Rawlsian Survivor” is the way forward? Each contestant gets 24 hours’ notice to design their vision of the just society, which is then created in the Bornean jungle with a cast of unemployed financial analysts; the contestant then has to live in their society, without knowing in advance which place they will have in it.
In the series finale, all the different societies fight with spears.

By: Alex Prior

Alex Prior — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 06:16:01 +0000

Can I volunteer Alain de Botton?

By: 'As You Know' Bob

'As You Know' Bob — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 05:40:01 +0000

[A] tempting alternative (though clearly one with no viable TV market at all) is to recruit families comprised of different sorts of philosophers.

I beg to differ: I’d certainly watch that.

By: salient

salient — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 03:45:10 +0000

There is another show that copies ours.

Something about this sentence in particular reeks of Ted L. Nancy. It took me half an hour to finish re-folding the giant red flag that unfurled upon first reading it.

Though, it is in iambic pentameter. Pity the rest of the email wasn’t.

By: Dave Maier

Dave Maier — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 00:50:34 +0000

Now, of course, someone is going to say this is accepted usage. Indeed.

By: jim

jim — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 00:48:47 +0000

Do philosopher-wives actually set rules for their households? On what basis?

By: LFC

LFC — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 00:41:30 +0000

@14: How could the children believe in the discipline?
B/c the letter is written by a semi-literate TV executive. Instead of “I appreciate your taking the time to read this,” he writes “I appreciate you taking the time to read this.”
Now, of course, someone is going to say this is accepted usage. Language evolves, etc.