THE RECAPS
STORMSEEKER.COM RECAPS! Reality editor Gordon Pepper provides
recaps of each show.
October 17, 2003 October 24, 2003 October 31, 2003 November 7, 2003 November 14, 2003 November 21, 2003 November 28, 2003 December 5, 2003 December 12, 2003 December 19, 2003
Have you ever seen the ads for a show, and waiting for the premiere, and waiting, and waiting...only to find out that the premiere already hapened and you are seeing the second show? Well, that happened to me. Grrrrrrrr......nevertheless, we will be moving upward and onward, with a quick recap of what happened in the first episode - and a full recap of this one.
Here is your premise - we have 3 couples. each of them get a house to remodel and rebuild. Those rooms will be judged by 3 'experts', and they can win priozes based on the best ratings. The final vote comes from - YOU, the audience, as you vote on who moves into their dream house.
In episode #1, we meet Cindy and Bill Fernandez, Rebecca Stephens and Joey Smith, and Katie and Adam Wells. We also get our first challenge, which Rebecca and Joey wins - so they pick the first house. The Fernandez's get the second house, and Katie and Adam get the loser house - but they are not losers - they just want one win before the show ends...
We start with Bill Fernandez on the floor - and their first impression on the bathroom, Cindy wants to get rid of the ugly tub, and Bill wants to get rid of the ugly sink.
IvyWallpaper? Yuk. Rebecca wants it and the sinks gone. Joey just wants to Kaie and Adam both want to get rid of the closets, and they want to keep the tub - but realign it - Adam wants to set it up where you canlook out the window while bathing. Now why in the world would you want to do that?
After we hear the opening from the teams, It's time for the BUDGET CHALLENGE! The challenge is set up in 2 parts. The first part is a preview of the next room - the bedroom. Ashley Furniture has given the couples everything they need for the bedroom - the couples have to move everything into their 'corral', and anything they get in there within the next 5 minutes is theirs as long as they are in the house.
Each team has their own strategy - the Fernandezs put everything on the mattress and cart that over, whie the Adams move it in, piece by piece. They all get a lot into their corral. But that's only part one - part 2 is that there is a ticket somewhere in the furniture that they have brought into their corral. There is a riddle that will help them find the ticket - the amount of money that they get to budget their bedroom will be based on which couple turns in their ticket, first, second, or last. PLaying the role of the referee is none other than 'NOT Marky' Mark Wahlberg.
Here's the clue - 'Just take what Muhammad Ali used to do and simply add a season of the year'. Well, since you knew that they would all take the mattress, it would have to be there - that I knew without the clue. The answer, by the way, is 'Box Spring.' and all three couples get it quickly. Joey and Rebecca come in last, and they get a budget of $10,000 Katie and Adam get a budget of $13,500 and Bill and CIndy get a budget of $17,500 -but don't forget, the budgets can only be spent at Lowes (gee, I wonder who is sponsoring the show, eh?). In addition, the coupls also get cell phones, which they need to pay attention to, in case they get messages from their partners - or Marky Mark.
The couples come home, and they are greeted by a variety of tools. ALl of the couples get tools - but each tool gets 2 special tools. Rebecca and Joey get ajogsaw and table saw, The wells have a rotozip and a miter saw with a lser, and the Fernadez's have a router and a sledgehammer. They are suggested to borrow tools and strike deals, and Bill and Joey talk deals, but Joey goes to his real next door neightbor (not a competitor) and gets a hammer. 'That's how we do things in North Carolina.'
Bill and Cindy are worrying about their time, while The wells, who have only been married for a week, are worried aboutAdam, as Katie nails him with the hammer. Ooops.
Time to go to Lowes. It's obvious that these people have no clue how much things cost - we'll get more on this later. Meanwhile, we have the traditional angst on things getting done on time - and the biggest problem is moving the tub and the toilet. Bill gets toilet water all over the place, while Joey can't budge the tub. (Rebecca - 'He's a spaz').
All of the couples get a message from Mark 0 who tells them that the first prize up for grabs is ...the car that they have been driving in all week! The Kia Sorrento is up for grabs! 'The stakes are highr than ever' says Marky Mark. Indeed, they are, as they all start to work on the windows nd the restructuring of their room.
Adam is trying to figure out how to shut off the water so they can reinstall the water things. After going all around the house, he somehow gets help and they show him that the control is safely inside the house. Joey and Rebecca are squabbling on where to put things in the house.CIndy and Bill decide to live it up and get a jacuzzi for the bathroom. Now you're talking - but Cindy doesn't want to talk after they find that it's not compatible with the dimesions of the room that they have set up. Bill wisely defers to Cindy, and they get another one.
We also have problems with phone control. Rebecca drops her cell phone in some paint, which now gives it a nice coating of pink. They clean it up and it works. With 15 hours to go before judgee=ment, Cindy's sister-in-law comes over - and Cindy need to do a gig in a jazz lounge. Bill figures he's pulling the all-nighter. He;s not alone - the other 2 couples wqork furiuosly against the clock, knowing that the time of judging comes at 8am.
8am does roll around, and Mark calls up the 3 couples to introduce them to ther judges. Shad Boganty, judge #1, is a Realtor for the past 20 years. He's not into sugar coating 'I'm not just into effort - I'm into accomplishment.'
Kelley West, Judge #2, is a designer, and he's into the detail. Judge #3 is Steven Hann, He seems to be the ball-buster of the group. ''m a man of few words, but my words carry a lot of weight.' The judges score the work on workmanship, design, and presentation (from a scale of 1-10).
Bill and Cindy are the first couple to be judged. Cindy says that it's not complete, to which Kelley says 'Yeah'. Uh-oh. We see the new black marble top sink, as bill laid the tiles last night at 4am. Their budget was $17,500 - and they only spent $9,396. They ran out of time, and Kelley sympathizes with them - and she likes the choice of color and the countertop with glass bowls. Shad, on the contrary, is disappointed on the back end - especially since the toilet doesn't flush. Steve also doesn't look too happy that it's not complete. So it'a an A on effort, and a D on completion.
Joey and Rebecca ar next - and Kelley is blown away. 'There's o question that your bathroom looks great.' It does look nice - until they get to the shower, which they decided not to complete, because they wanted to make sure that everything else looks good. It does, and Kelley likes it. Shad thought it looks good - however, he also said that this bathroom was the easiest one to work with. Out of the $10,000 that they had, they used $7,729 of it. Steve thought this one was better, but he wasn't blown away...
Maybe he'll be blown away by the Well's bathroom. They made it a very open spaced areawith plans of a vanity closet. Shad was concerned about the tub - but he liked what they did with it. Kelley says that the tub, which looks like it's pedestalled around 10 feet in the air, needs to be smaller. Kelley thinks that this will be a hard decision, but Shad and Steve don't think that it is - and they are even lauging at Kelley as they are filling out their sheet.
It's time for the scores. The MAX score is 30. The Wells' score is 14.8. Yuck. Rebecca and Joe's score is 23.2 - and that looks like a wrap for them. The Fernandez's score is...17.6. The Kia goes to Rebecca and Joey, and Round 1 goes to them, too. The next room to start with, is, of course, the master bedroom.
The Wells were disappointed - and I was a little surprised that they scored too. Cindy, who is exhausted, is also disappointed, and we see the first tears moment of the show. Rebecca wants to go to bed early, while Joey wants to have a few beers with the guys.
That ends the challenge for the first room. Next up - the master bedroom. We'll see who gets to master the art of room building - and who just gets bedded.
ON the last episode, everyone had their first taste of getting down and dirty in terms of room building - fortunately, they can clean themselves up afterwards, as that first room was the bathroom. Next up, they can sleep well when thy are done, as the second room to be done is the Master Bedroom.
'I don't think money's going to be a factor - we can come in first, second or third - that said, we want a win.' says Bill Fernandez. Rebecca and joey certainly think that it's important - they got a car out of the deal.
We go to the challenge. Marky Mark asks, 'When you are in the bedroom, what would you like to do the most?' Uhhhh....sleep? 'Paint', says Mar, as he shows them their challenge, which consists of paint, a wall of tiles that's placed on the ceiling, and a trampoline. Each couple gets 3 minutes to bounce on the trampoline and paint as many tiles as possible. The budgets ($4,500, $6,000 and $7,500) will be distributed in terms of how many tiles are completely covered over in paint.
Katie and Adam go first, and they do a very good job. Over half of the tiles are covered in paint, and they set a decent bar. The problem with going first is that the other teams see what you do - and they can figure out their own strategy of how to do it better. Joey's strategy it to nail the squares in a sweeping motion, and it looks like they did indeed get more squares - though it looks very, very close.
Bill and Cindy are determined to not make it close - and they don't. Unfortunately for them, they get paint everywhere EXCEPT on the tiles. 'Once I missed the box, I knew I could not catch up.' says Bill, who couldn't hit anything. They switched partners, but all that did was to give Cindy a chance to paint herself. In the words of Mark, 'Bill and Cindy, out of 144 squares, 137 of them...never saw paint.' They can relegate themselves to the $4,500 budget.
So who did win this? Katie and Adam cover 36 tiles, while Rebecca and Joey cover...76 tiles. They win the challenge, which makes them 3-0 and the team to beat.
For this weeks's competition, the prize is the cell phones that they have been using - and a year's worth of free celular phone service. I'd rather have that car that was won last week.
It's time to go back to Lowes, and the main discussion this week is painting. Katie and Adam also pick Brazillian cherry wood for the cabinets. Bill and Cindy want to build French doors and add some light to it, because, 'Our bedroom is dark and ugly.' It will also be without the nice doors that Cindy wants, because it will take them 14 days to get what they want. They decide that they will just go with the new windows instead. Rebecca and Joey want a rehaul, too, but they decide to be prudent because, in the words of Rebecca, 'We want to make sure that we will have time to implement that plan.' We'll come back to those words later...
Demolition time - and everyone is working hard. 'You just want to kill yourselves the first day, so you have time to get everything done.' Will they think the same after they get a visit fro mMarky Mark? He tells all of the couples that the show has 'made reservations for 2 at Mark's restaurant' and after eating, they can go to the Lancaster Hotel (one of the best ones in the Houston area) and spend the night out. It will be a night of luxury - but it will cost the couples a night of work.
I would figure that at least one of the couples will take the offer. ALL THREE of them do, which means that no one will have the edge over the other - and it also means that there will be some sort of angst with the losing team as they threw one night of work down the hopper. The angst will probably be coming from Cindy, who is already thinking that they could have been at work painting.
Fast Forward to Thursday morning - and all of the couples coming back from the hotel (which, not surprisingly, we don't get to see any footage of). After painting the room a shade of yellow, Katie doesn't like wht it looks like and she is the first person to whine that they shouldn't have taken the night out. The other 2 couples, who are also behind, soon follow suit and we have a bitching-fest between all of the couples.
Joey and Rebecca are arguing about the electricity. Cindy is having a problem using Bill's tools (no, I will NOT make a joke on this). Adam and Katie look like that they are the first couple to get their act in gear - until they get a visit from Kitty - who is Bill and Cindy's dog. How did that dog get into that house? No one knows, but Adam and Katie drive him back to Bill and CIndy, who ask Kitty what Adam and Katie have been doing to their bedroom.
The renovations continue, as the Fernandez's blow out a wall for their bookcase, Adam repaints the bedroom a darker shade of yellow and Joey gets help from Rebecca's mom on using a sweing machine. 'We have lots of skills in the bedroom - just not the ones we're using now.' says Bill. I guess we know why we didn't get any shots of their hotel activities now, don't we?
Adam and Katie don't get hotel time, but they get a new puppy, who they call Macey. 'Oh, he's soooo cute!' squeals Katie. AwwwwwBarf. Joey and Rebecca get their ceiling fan going, and they talk about how House Rules has finally gotten their long-dostance relationship together, which was huge for them, since they want to know how they would act together. Cindy and Bill, who have been there for 14 years, are slaving - and CIndy is wondering why Adam and Katie, who once again have put time away from the house to care for the dog, are not spending as much time on the house. 'If we miss first place by THIS much, then we'll feel guilty.'
All three teams once again pull the all-nighter before Judgement Day (where's Ahhhnoooold?), and they are done - but not before Macey does some decorating of their own, as she leaves a little pool of yellow in the center of the room. 'Macey', says Katie, who cleans up her mess, 'We are not the Osbournes.' OUCH.
Joey and Rebecca, the forerunners, go up first. Their bedroom is now a beige color with desks and lamps in the corner. and door pillows decorating the wall. Kristen plays Paula Abdul to the hilt, while Steve was not thrilled about the track lighting - but he likes the flooring and Shad liked the room, which Joey and Rebecca spent $6,990 on. Once again, they have set a high bar that will be tough to beat...
...but Adam and Katie are going to try, but Katie is afraid of Steve. She shouldn't be, as he is impressed with a much better job. They have a yellow and brown wall, with a built in white closet and a 'secret' panel into a leisure/tv room. Steve loves the design point - but he felt like the didn't have enough space in the closet. Shad thought it looked great - but he was disappointed that thought eir budget ($5,863) was almost completed, some of the interior was not completed. Could it have completed with an extra night of work instead of a hotel? Hmmmm...
Bill and Cindy has a 'studio' bedroom look, with no carpeting, but a solid white room with a new windoe with drapes. They also added wall space and created 3 closets. Inside the closet? 'What we wanted to do was to make our closet as messy as possible.'. They laugh, but they also feel the sting about not having enough time to complete their work. Steve seems to be much happier with them this week, while Kristen likes what they did with the room. It's Shad's turn to not be happy with the lighting - and he was disapppointed with their lack of time management. 'You've got to keep your eye on the prize.' Cindy? 'You can blame Mark for that.' Well, you can blame yourselves for accepting Mark's offer - though they did spend cloce to maximum ($4,468) on the room.
Was it enough? 'There was a little . Katie and Adam finished...in third, with a 26.2 score. Second place was a 26.9...to the Fernandez's. Rebecca and Joey, with a score of 27.3, wins it again, and they get the cell phones to go along with their cars.
Here comes the angst - 'I think the couples are really starting to despising Joey and I.' says Rebecca. I think frustrated is a better word - especially since the other 2 teams threw away the chance to beat them. Bill sums it up quite nicely - 'Screw this. Next time, we will complete a room.'
They will have to get down and dirty to do it next week - and I mean with real dirt. The front lawn is the next item that will be revamped. Hoe, hoe, hoe...
Trick or Treat! We await what wondrous treats await the three couples this week, as they are figuring out the trick to finishing their front yard. The other 2 couples are trying to figure out the trick of stopping Rebecca and Joey, who have won everything.
Could this be a chink in Rebecca and Joey's armor? 'I feel that the front lawn is a liability to our house.' says Joey, as he and Rebecca look at odd bedding to it. Cindy thinks that her and Bill's lawn is too linear, and Cindy wants to build boulders on the lawn as their 'secret weapon'. Adam wants to chainsaw their bushed down, and to put up a wall with a garden setting.
We'll see if they can afford to do that as we get our next budget challenge. This challenge takes place on a potential disaster in their home - an unwrapped garden hose. The team who manages to untangle the 150+ worth of garden hose will win. Sounds simple, right? Well, 2 problems - 1. The hose is turned on, which splashes water everywhere, and 2. the couples are tethered together, which will make the water splash around everywhere on both couples equally.
After a lot of untangling (and splashing) first place goes to...Joey and Rebecca, again. Adam and Katie come in second, and Cindy and Bill get a budget of $5,500. Adam and Katie get to spend $7,500 while Joey and Rebecca get $9,000 worth to spend. 'I Think the other couples are getting frustrated' says Rebecca - 'I think they want to see a victory for themselves.' Or at least tie them up in garden hose to delay them from starting the front lawn rebuild.
Back to Lowe's we go - and they don't tie Joey and Rebecca in hose because they get to the store first. Adam is eyeing a $2,999 lawn mower. Joey buys it, but as Bill says, 'It would be nice if he had grass to cut.' D'oh.
Tuesday comes, and everyone starts the arduous task of digging up their lawn. Adam doesn't get a lawn mower - but he does get a chainsaw and Katie knocks out the mailbox...and the shrubbery...and the plants. Joey does some waterhosing - and he prints up 'I (heart) Rebecca' Awwwwwbawf.
It's time to talk strategy. 'Our secret weapons is to make boulders from chicken wire and concrete.' says Bill - with Cindy adding that if it doesn't work, they will get rid of it.
Joey is using his brand new Kia to rope up bushed and drag them off the lawn. It works very well -maybe too well, as he wants to get rid of 9 shrubs at the same time. 'I have 8 cylinders, they have 9 shrubs. WHo do you think is going to win?' Joey almost wins - but he only gets 7 shrubs and a tongue lashing from Rebecca, who tells him not to do it again.
Katie may be telling Mark not to do it again, 'Alright Mark, what's up your sleeve this time?' What's up his sleeve is a girls date out - with shopping and foor from Cafe Adobe. He tells the women that they won't lose a day, because the guys will still be working. Katie talks to Adam about it - and he says to do it. Rebecca and Joey do the same, Rebecca's reaction? 'I guess tomorrow's going to be our hard-work day.' Joey's reaction? 'We're going to go undefeated', tongue firmly planted in cheek - we think.Joey says the same - but Cindy decides to stay and help out Bill, who offers to get her margaritas when the day is over.
While Rebecca and Katie are doing some shopping, Cindy is toiling around as she delivers mulch and dumps dirt on the lawn. Rebecca and Katie enjoyed it, 'I feel like a girl again.' As a good will gesture, they buy Cindy some shoes - and they stare out the progress that Cindy has made. Bill's wondering if the other 2 teams are nervous - and apparently, they are.
'This is the first time that we can say that we're on schedule' says Bill proudly. Well, maybe not - they Fernandez's will be having a dinner party, so they break a little early to set everything up. As everyone is eating, they get a knock on the door and receive three scrolls. The scrolls show them what the prize for this section of the house is - a trip to Jamaica!
Rebecca is having an anxiety attack - because she thinks that she does not have enough time to create the lawn that she wants - and she thinks that it's all her fault. Joey talks to her about it, and they discuss it in private in the other room.
Katie and Adam seem to be a little calmer on Friday, when everyone gets compost, topsoil and mulch.joey and Rebecca are still a little stressed, and Joey thinks that there may be some burnout involved. He talks to Rebecca on revamping what she's doing, and Joey is afraid that they will not do well at all for judgement.
It's time to see Bill and Cindy's Secret Weapon - and it's starting to look more like a scud dud. That looks like a futon god bad, and it just looks bizarre, 'You've got to understand, we're going to make it beautiful' says Bill - but it looks like a big ugly futon.
Everyone's reactions are mixed on the night before judgement. Bill, who thinks that they are set, celebrates by riding around in a lawn mower. Katie, who's not too sure, builds a fountain at 1:15 am. Rebecca drives around to look at everyone - and she thinks that they are all...well...different.
But who's different is better? Judgement Day is here, and Adam and Katie go first. They said that they opened it up, and they do get their mini-wall and rock collection up. The fountain also goes into place in some mini woods - but they lose points off of the lack of the base on the fountain. Kelley likes the flower arrangement, but Stephen wasn't too thrilled that the couples didn't keep the hedge. Shad says that the house looks much better - and they are all happy that they completed it. Kristen says that it's hard to judge them because they're 'so cute', which prompts Joey to say that 'I want to crush them in every event.'
Bill and Cindy are next - and Bill ha no problem showing them the secret weapon. The judges were more impressed with having their terra-cotta wall stand out against the lawn. Stephen says that the house looks 200% better - and he likes the rocks. Kelley says it's a 10 - so she has to like it.
Will she agree on Rebecca and Joey? They went for the conservative formal look. Kelley wasn't happy with the mulch arrangement, and she says that it's hard to judge because they set the bar too high. Shad doesn't think that everything is complete, and Rebecca's day off may have cost them this time around. Also what could have cost them? The fact that they did great work the first time around, and the judges may want more from them than the other 2 teams.
Will Joey and Rebecca's win streak finally come to an end? Joey and Rebecca score a 27.7, while Katie and Adam get a 27.6. That edges Joey and Rebecca - but Cindy and Bill win it with a 29.7, and they get to go to Jamaica. The hard work and the sacrifice pays off for Cindy, and Bill and Cindy finally get on the board.
Cindy is happy that they finally get one - since they think that they have the disadvantage against Katie and Adam, because they're cute. Katie, on the other hand, is getting frustrated that they can't win over it - and Katie starts to show tears. Joey doesn't think that they are into it as much as the rest of them, but they stare at their fountain adoringly. Bill takes the win in stride, and celebrates with a victory lap on Joey's motorcycle..I mean lawn mower.
Next up? The living room. We'll see who is living in the lap of luxury - and who will be making this a living nightmare.
The streak is over - someone else who's name isn't Rebecca and Joey has finally won something - and that team is Cindy and Bill. Can they win a second challenge? Or will things go back to status quo?
This episode features on the living room. Lots of things that need to be done - the fireplace, the sliding door, the Polo Horses...Polo Horses? Marky Makr brings us all out to play some polo for the budgets. But instead of horses, we're using horse power - in the form of lawn mowers. . Continuing with the theme, the role of the mallets will be played by garden rakes.
Joey, who already bought a lawnmower to ride, should have the advantage in this game, whose objective is to get the balls into their own goals. Whoever wins also decides who gets the decent budget and who gets El Crappo budget. Joey does get the win. 'When I heard the ball hitting the back of the net, it was sweet.'
Joey decides who gets what budget, but being the fair guy that he is, he decides that the other 2 teams will draw straws. Bill and Cindy win the draw, so they get $3,800, while Joey and Rebecca win $4,900 and Aram and Katie win $2,700.
The prize this week? All of the tools that they have worked with so far. You see that the further that this show progresses, the smaller amount of the prizes becomes? I wonder if that's the same theory for the people watching this show...
TIme to go to Lowes - and time for Katie, who only has the $2,800 budget, to argue with the Lowes people. They insist that she can do what she wants with the budget - but not by using the skill saw that she wants to use. They fight some more, and eventually, Katie gets her way. But she does not pay heed to the Lowes people
'Winning has lifted this burden from our shoulders - we finally got a win' says a happy Bill, as he and Cindy realize that the $3,800 is not a lot of money. Joey/Rebecca tries to get in some sliding doors - and they use Lorenzo (provided by the show to ensure safety) to help them out. Joey wants it - and he wants those tools. 'Taking the hammer from someone who will be using it for 3 monhts - that's the heart and soul.' Insert psycho music here.
Speaking of tools, BIll is telling CIndy that she is too scared to use the saw. She says she isn't, but she's moving the wood and Bill is calling her on it. Speaking of safety, Katie is telling Adam that the structure that he is on is unsafe and they have some words. She is finding both good and bad things about each other but it seems more like she's whining at him - which is a different tact for her - though she has been arguing with everyone this episode.
No sniping in Jpey and Rebecca's camp - they feel like they are working better now than on the front yard. 'As long as we are complete on Sunday, I think we have another victory for the All-American Amateurs.' Cindy/Bill are not nearly as confident - as Cindy tells Bill to stay focused. How focused are they going to be when Mark wshows up with another escape? This one is a trip to see the Houston Astros - and only the men, who don't get to ask the women - are invited. All of the men say yes, and when Bill comes in without him saying anything, Cindy asks 'Where are you going and when do you leave?' When Bill tells her, Cindy replies 'I thought this was only supposed to happen when Mark does it on Temptation Island.' Heh.
The men are taken via limo to the game. Meanwhile, the women get to work. Rebecca paints the room - and then realizes that the grey she is using is butt ugly. 'It looks ugly' says Rebecca, as she heads back to Loew's for an emergency paint job. 'Joey's going to kill me when I repaint the whole living room.' Meanwhile, Katie wants to kill Adam - and they continue to squabble.
Adam and Katie realize that they need help - and they get it, in the form of Bill an Cindy. This, of course, irks Joey and Rebecca, who don't ask - or get - help from the other 2 teams. Joey still swears victory, regardless of the odds - 'In the words of Kidd Rock - it ain't bragging if you can back it up.'
Twas the night before judgement day, and all through the house, there were people stirring, and Katie is griping some more at Adam. This time, she can't find any good lighting stuff, so she goes to the mall. Bill/Cindy are planning on getting everything done by the day, 'And if we're not finished, we're finished.' The lighing may be finished, as the wire that holds the lights snaps. Oops. Meanwhile, Joey is chroniclizing Rebecca's painting woes, and Joey decides to paint his nose. 'It will be 8 o'clock in the morning and Rebecca will have a paint brush in her hand.'
Things are starting to get together, as the lighting finally works for Cindy and Bill and things are looking good for Joey and Rebecca. '(cindy and rebecca) got a tast of what (winning is) like, so they have to be working hard. Getting caught in a hard place is Adam and Kaite, as Katie realizes that her hardwood floor isn't going to happen - so they decide to paint it. This looks just as lovely as Ivana Trump's floral pattern in an 80 mph hurricane - and they are bracing for the third place finish. 'We are frustrated that the floor idea didn't work out' and Katie look like that she wants to bury herself under the floor.
Joey is talking about how his grandfather gave him his first set of tools - and how he's pouring his heart and soul into it. How comfortable will he be when the judges show up? Joey/Rebecca kept the panelling, but changed the light fixture. They turned the 'bar' area into a workspace. Kelley loves it - but Steven is very disappointed because it would hurt the sale of the house. That, plus Kristen telling them that the painting hasn't been finished, gives Cindy a huge grin. Katie, on the other hand, says 'I think they got reamed, and her and Adam close their door and get ready for the storm. Joey - 'They didn't like it - that's fine. I don't like them.'
Adam/Katie try to defend themselves - andf they say that Bill helped them set up the flooring. 'Really? Contestant's helping contestants - and they didn't screw it up!' says Kelley. The look of scorn on Rebecca's face says all you need to know about Joey's opinion, while Bill gives a sheepish grin. Kelley is picking up a vibe is that they are discouraged - Kelley, sensing that, tries to be nicer especially with the painted floor. Katie, as can be expected, is emotional - but she'd be worse if she heard Kelley. 'That was horrible...I don't want to be a judge anymore. I hate making women cry.'
Mark - 'There's one more woman to makee cry' - but based on the judges reaction, tht won't happen as the judges are blown away - and when you look at it, it's easily the best of the three. Bill says that he took the old wood and turned it into a foyer closet. Kelley says that not everything is completed but she will overlook it because they worked hard and did a good job on the rest of the place. Joey, who was penalized for that, is seething. 'I feel like their judging us against ourselves - it's not right.' says Rebecca - but Adam and Katie realize that they did a better job. 'The should give first and second place to the people who have floors.'
Here comes the results - 17 points goes to Katie and Adam. 23.8 goes to Joey and Rebecca and 26.4 goes to Bill and CIndy - who win for the second straight week. Joey/Rebecca still rant out the judges - but I think that this time, Cindy and Bill deserve the win. 'As long as we execute, we're going to give them a run for their money.' says CIndy.
Next time around - we get to see the kitchen - and we get to see what's cooking.
What's cooking? Not the ratings, apparently, as we get an unannounced double feature. Joe Millionaire, anyone?
But, we have a show to get through, and gosh by golly, we will get through it. It's Week 6 - and the room in question is the kitchen, which Cindy says is a disaster. Joey needs to win, as they are ow on a 2 week winless streak. Adam/Katie want to redeem themselves - but they have a lot of redemption time, since they haven't won squat.
Mark says that the kitchen is the biggest job - and they will have 2 weeks to remodel it (though the judges will give you a halftime review). The Budget Builder for today is to see how tall the couples can build a mini-skyscraper using different sizes of paint cans. The highest sculpture wins the challenge.
The 'crap' budget is $19,000 second place is $25,500 and the best budget is $35,000. Hey with that, I'll just but a Subaru, stick it in my kitchen - and hey, it would look better already. Now in terms of getting it through the front porch...
After th traditional coaxing and squabbling, we see time winding down as Adam hesitates in putting the last can on the building. Would it have mattered? No - they were at 9 feet, 6 inches. Back to the low budget they go. Joey/Rebecca get it up to 10 feet, 8 inches, and Cindy BIll get a building of...10 feet, 2 and a half inches. So close, so far, so what. The quick summary - Joey/Rebecca - Great, Cindy/Bill - Good, Adam/Katie - the usual.
Rebecca asks how to spend $35,000 on a kitchen. Simple - give me the budget - or go to Lowe's, where they help the couples revamp the kitchen. Joey, who's looking for a beer shelf in the fridge, needs to get rid of their floor - as does Bill/Cindy, who wants to use slate instead of wood. 'The biggest challenge of my kitchen is that it's not functional.' Uhhhh....yeah.
Adam/Katie has seen their layout - but they want to make sure that they ar under budget. They are - with plenty to spare, so he wants to add windows and other goodies.
Remember when Joey and Rebecca got pissy that the other 2 couples didn't call them? Well, all 6 people decided to help each other demolish each other's kitchen - starting with Joey and Rebecca. 'It was carnage in the kitchen....I think Bill was taking out some frustration on our house.' After getting it done, Rebecca is still complaining that they didn't get all of the tiles done. Sheesh.
'I think that when we took the (ceiling stuff) down, we were guaranteed third place.' laments Bill, who realizes that it will take up too much time to ge rid of the fur down - but the stuff that they ordered requires that stuff to hang form the ceiling. 'If only I'd known what I know now.'
The more work that the couples do, the more depressed that they are - and it definite looks by the editing and the quotes that this was supposed to be a week long - then they realized that it would take them 2 weeks to do it, so they got an extension. We also see stupid moves - like Joey and Rebecca trying to take out the tiles - which Joey says is the dumbest thing he's ever done.
The dumbest thing that Adam may have done is use the toilet - because now, water is leaking everywhere in the kitchen - and there's only one area where the water could have come from. Ewwwwww.....Adam thinks that it's the AC, but Katie isn't buying what Adam is selling and she doesn't think that it's a coincidence. Adam says to compromise and they get into a hissy fight.
Joey doesn't know what's going on with his electrical, either - and he doesn't want to take the chance - so he alls Lorenzo for help. Rebecca - 'The problem is that we don't know how to rewire it - and I bet that no one else knows about it either...We've met our match in the kitchen.'
Adam and Katie finally realize it - and it looks like Lorenzo will be working overtime. 'I think all 3 couples...realized that they were going to have a lot of problems.' says Lorenzo, who gives them professional help because the show is not really interested in having Kentucky Fried contestants. He says that it will take a couple of days to get everything done, and that's why it's going to take 2 weeks instead of one.
Cindy bets that something exciting will happen while they are waiting for their kitchens to be worked on. Cindy is right - they are all invited to go out for dinner at 6pm - you don't need to bring any food. 'That's good' says Katie, 'because we don't have a kitchen.' Heh. They all convene at Bill's, and we see that the food is indeed catered.
Joey/Rebecca realize that Cindy and Bill are playing to the judges. Cindy/Bill know this - and they are doing it purposely - since it's the best way to win the house (well, the audience decides, but what do we know). Needless to say, there is no Judgement for the first week, and they are invited to dinner on Sunday instead.
We have more hijinks at Lowes - Joey challenges Leon to a race - and Leon is competing fo the Olympics. Damn, is Joey competitive at EVERYTHING? Adam doesn't have his running shoes - and Bill - well, let's just say that he's around 150 years old. Leon spotted Joey 15 yards - and he still caught him at the end. Joey gets his first running loss to go along with his 2 house losses.
Sunday comes around - and there's no judgement. We are all at the halfway mark as everyone goes to Bistro 829. The judges, meanwhile, are all watching them from a monitor in another room. Joey thinks that she will be great and a hard worker in a relationship - and Rebecca is very happy, and tearing about it. AwwwwBarf.
Mark also talks about the judging - and everyone complains about it. As the judges are watching, the couples say that they are taking it personally, 'When the goal is for you to create a house for you to live in...it's like great, I'm living here - you're not.' They add that they think that the judging isn't fair. They say that Kelley needs to be more realistic, Shad needs to be more constructive and Steve needs to explain himself.
Here come the judges - and they are serving the desserts - or getting their just desserts. Kelley says that she is compassionate, but 'Busting Your Butt' isn't one of the categories that she can grade people on. Stephen says that he won't change his judging and Shad says that he is not holding a grudge against everyone. Everyone says that it was a good time to speak to the judges, but it looks like the judges were as comfortable as fleas at a bathing convention, and it doesn't look like it will get any easier.
The contestant's also get a gift - a point. The contestant's get a point token that they can use at any time - but only one time for the competition. Strategy....hmmmmmmm. We end this episode with the couples at the halfway mark - and the renewal to fight for the house.
Next week - we find out who wins the kitchen - and we see a chance for the teams to finish up some work that they should have finished - for cash.
Wait - it's next week already? Well not really, but we get the 2, 2, 2 shows for the one night marathon. Ok.
PART 2
We start this episode with the couples convening at an escalator and having them chat, Fear Factor Style, on how they will beat the other teams. This allowance competition is different - Bathroom, Bedroom, Living Room and Front Yard. The budgets will be $2,500, $3,500, and $4,500 - and to get the money, the teams need to create a jigsaw puzzle and solve a word problem that's on the pieces. The word problem is based on the facts that Marky Mark says in a story based on what the couples have done so far.
CIndy and Bill get their pieces first - but Adam and Katie get the puzzle completed first - and they are the first team to honk that they have the right answer - and...the are the first team to give Mark the wrong answer. Bill and Cindy also give out a wrong answer - but Adam and Katie's second answer is right - and they finally get a win. Joey/Rebecca come in second, while Bill/Cindy are in last.
Rebecca says that her and Joey has less things to do - and they are more of the 'Touch Up' variety. Bill and Cindy work on the Bathroom - raising the tub, reworking the plumbing and giving a new facelift to the bedroom. Adam and Katie need to redo the floor - and redo the bathroom. 'The bathroom looks nice, but nothing's working in it.'. They also resolve to finally win a challenge.
The biggest resolve? Refixes. 'Katie was on fire last night.' says Adam, and she was cleaning stuff up like a mad woman. CIndy is glad they won - and Bill is happy about their attitude that they have been working hard, 'They can lose every competition and still win the house.' Yep. Well, the attitude is waning from Adam/Katie, as we get another fight and Katie whines some more.
Speaking of whining, 'Bill looked at the watch and just about had a panic attack, 'says Cindy, who wants to get to a stopping point.
Meanwhile, according to Joey - 'Three perfectionists in the world - my mom and Rebecca are 2 of them.' - that comes from Joey, as he is frustrated that Rebecca's quest for perfection is costing them time to do other things.
It's 4 days to judgement - and Bill and Cindy's Dog has already had enough of the competition. He hurt his paw, and Cindy takes the dog to the vet while Bill works on the plumbing - or tries to , as he has water doused on him. Meanwhile, the dog has a fracture, and the dog will have to hang out for a week. Cindy comes back - and she sees the water all over the place.Maybe Bill would have been a better choice to send the dog to the vet.
Adam would probably like to go with him - he is struggling with the plumbing as well while Joey is making food for a grumpy Rebecca. Joey slow roasts a fish and veggie medley for Rebecca, who is acting just like Charla is. There is no pleasing Rebecca and Joey consoles her as she just vegges out with her veggies on the outside swinging bench. 'Today was bad karma day' says Bill, who is consoling Kitty the dog.
The next day, Katie goes to Lowes to try to make Adam happy with a sheet rock gun. Adam is happy - but the happiness is short-lived as we have 2 days left to go before the second Judgement Day. To take the tension off, Joey and Rebecca take the half-day off and do some skeet shooting. That seems to do the trick for Rebecca - and she is geared up. Eating nutritional food? No. Shooting the crap out of anything that moves? Sure.
Adam calls over Bill - and they have an alliance going, which is cool, since they are in direct competition with each other. There will be no competition as they meet for a tailgate party - but they have to bring their own side orders. The meeting point is actually a bar - and we have a little dart game going. During that point, a grill is wheeled in, and we find out that the winner of catch up week gets a grill and a years supply of steaks. You know, if you ask me, I'd rather have that than the tools that they were playing for last episode. Everyone chills and eats together as the sun goes down...
...and the morning comes up - and with 23 hours left, there's a lot of work left to do. 'It's not like we threw in the towel on catch-up week, but we did a lot of stuff besides catching up,' says Joey, who apparently preferred the tools to the grill. Adam and Katie are working hard, and as BIll calls Adam to do some work, I have the feeling that this may be Adam and Katie's episode - just simply because of everything that they had to do for these past 2 episodes.
After the tongue lashings for last episodes, the judges are back - and the new judge criteria is priority, level of work and design. Basically - the question is how much did you actually get done on the week of redemption? We also find out that whoever wins the house gets an additional $50,000 for goodies - and more renovations for the stuff they didn't get done during the competition.
CIndy and Bill show up - and they spent most of their time on the bathroom. They got the light fixtures done in the closet -but they didn't finish the closet - and they didn't complete the living room. Stephen was happy on the priorities level and Kelley was very impressed on the color and style. Cindy is crying - but this time, from exhaustion. Mark - 'You'd sort of rather be in the jungle, eating bugs, wouldn't you?' Cindy - 'Yes.'
WOuld Joey/Rebecca feel the same way? They reset the living room, retiled the shower and fancied up the bathroom. They also did some closet work - but they didn't complete the closet. Rebecca was happy that it went better than they thought - but that being said, Stephen still isn't too happy with them. Kelley also notes that they didn't have as much to be fixed as the other 2 couples. You can see Shad giving them a 9 on something - is this a good sign.
Finally, it's Adam/Katie's turn. They get slammed right out of the gate from Kelley for not matching the bedroom colors. They completed the plumbing in the bathroom, and they fixed the marble. They also finally got flooring for the living room and the judges are very happy about the room. Kelley said that there is a huge change in the quality of work. Shad is still not happy with the workmanship - 'but you're getting there.' Is getting there enough?
It's time for the results - but before we get there, Mark reminds everyone that they do have a bonus point that they can use - or hold onto - in a private vote. None of them uses the point chips - and Mark says it was a good decision, because the point would not have mattered. Adam and Katie get a 24.9, Bill and Cindy get a 27.0, and Joey/Rebecca get a 24.7 Cindy and Bill win the grill and steaks - and are also up in a 3/2 decision.
Adam and Katie come in second - but they still are ticked that Joey/Rebecca, who admittedly didn't do much, were that close behind them. Still, they are happy about second - and they say that they will try to move up another notch next week. As for Cindy and Bill? I'm so hungry', says Cindy, 'That I can eat a steak.' Come and get it...
Next week, we get the dining room and Foyer done - but the kitchen hasn't been done yet. Mark reminds them this - and also says that some multi-tasking needs to be done. We'll see if the Kitchen will be ready - and who cooks up the win.
Will we see a completed dining room? Will we see a completed kitchen? Will we see anything completed this week? We will find out, as the key word is 'Multitasking'.
The couples will be multitasking over drinks, as they go to a bar. Adam and Katie are depressed enough to go to the Sky Bar, while Joey wants it to be a drinking contest. They are at the top of the roof and we find out that they are not competing for money - they are competing for labor.
All 3 couples get $5,000 equally to work on their room - but the winning couple gets 3 days of labor, second place - 2days, and third place - 1 day. The stunt is a House Rules breakfast buffet, as the couples have to create their meal, House-Rules Style. Station #1 - making orange juice with a vise and screwdriver. Station #2 - cutting bread with a saw and stuffing them in a toaster. Station #3 - using a paint roll to spread the jelly on the new toast. Station #4 - Using pruning shears to slice 6 grapes off and put them in a bowl. Station #5 - finding a hard boiled egg and smashing it with a hammer. Of course, you have to finish it off by eating the meal. The quicker you are, the better chance that you will have some days of labor.
Joey and Rebecca do as can be expected - quick and efficient. Cindy and Bill are also as you can be expected - slow and messy. Adam and Katie are also quick - but are they quicker than Joey/Rebecca? Here comes the times - 6:07, 8:24, and 9:02. Bill guesses correctly that they are 9:02 - and Mark tells them that they were entertaining, Adam and Katie come in second, which means that Joey/Rebecca come in first.
And the labor turns out to be - their mommies! Katie's, Cindy's and Joey's mom, respectively. Bill may be happy to know that the 'labor' is only around for one day. Adam immediately puts Katie's mom to work as they plan on designing the dining room. Cindy and Mom talk about keeping the floor and repainting the walls. Joey says that he has the hardest house, as they want to take out the floor tiling and refloor the foyer.
Joey realizes that it runs in the family - Rebecca and mom are up at the crack of dawn and they start moving the appliances around. Joey speaks to Bill, who is out of his house because CIndy and her mom have taken over. 'Now that she's here, I'm out of the picture.' Adam, Katie and her mom run to Lowe's to buy things for their place. Mom gives them tips - like not putting in florescent lighting in the foyer.
After the design, it's time for the execution. Joey's mom starts painting white, as CIndy's mom and Cindy paints it in silver. Katie, who likes it in red, argues with Adam, which prompts katie's mom to ask him how he likes the first few weeks of marriage. Touche'.
It's time for dinner at 6pm - at Adam and Katie's - but it's Joey's mom who was protesting that they have to stop work. Joey/Rebecca tell her that it's part of the game, and she acquiesces. Adam and Katie starts the barbecue - but the grill isn't really grilling and Bill whispers that he should go to Boston Market and get chicken. They all agree, and they finally eat - only 2 hours later than scheduled. They all leave with full bellies - and the chicken, still outside, still hasn't cooked yet.
Anne Scott, Cindy's mom, has to go, so she leaves - but not before she does some painting in the foyer, which makes Bill happy. Joey is happy that the carpentry is being done - and mom is now moved from painting to fabric creation. She wants to give Joey and hug and tell him 'Thanks for including me' AwwwwBarf. No such love at Adam/Katie's, as mom talks about the contrast of paints - but she is contributing well.
Cindy wants the dog to contribute - by biting Marky Mark as he comes into the room. Mark's escape is for the men - and the guys are offered to go on a 2 hour paintball excursion. Joey says no (his mom's there, for crying out loud), Adam says no (which makes Katie happy), but Bill says yes - and Cindy gets steamed at him. 'If Cindy's not happy, I'm not happy' Bill says in despair, as he ponders about his decision.
Katie is happy -= and she's happy that her mom is helping her with the hardwood floor. Bill probably feels as low as the floor - he is paint balling while Cindy is laying out the floor and shaking her head in disgust. Fortunately for Bill he wins the game - which is no consolation to his wife. It's also no consolation to Rebecca that Joey is teasing her about the coating of paints - but she admits that she is less stressed - and that may be because of the parental influence in the air.
2 days left for judgement - and Joey looks like a hippie. Rosemarie's (Joey's mom) has to go as we are now back to 6 contestants. Joey and Rebecca want to pull out a win today for mommy. Bill and Cindy have installed 95% of the flooring, and now they are working on installation -= and thinking what the other teams are doing. 'Joey and rebecca are going to have molding over molding over molding - and Adam and Katie are going to paint.' Adam and Katie aren't painting - they are actually confident that they can be done by midnight. It's Joey and Rebecca who are painting and changing colors.
But there is no more time to change colors - because time is up. It's tie for the judging. Adam and Katie don't do anything too bold or brash - but they get everything completed and the judges seem to be happy with it. Joey and Rebecca think that they are better than Adam and Katie's - but they are concerned about Bill and Cindy.
We get to see if their concerns are justified, because they are up next. They make the room more colorful, and they did get the slate covering down on the foyer. They didn't paint the light on the floor - and Shad doesn't like the wood flooring - he prefers the slate. Kelley did not like the paint 'It seems like there were prisoners who on latrine duty doing this.' Well, that's not too good, and Joey and Rebecca must be feeling pretty good.
They feel better after the judges get through with them. Kelley thinks that it's beautiful, Shad thinks that it's completed, and Steve didn't think that they could do better from a design standpoint. Mark says that he's happy that no one has cried during the competition.
It looks like this one could be close for the race to win a washer/dryer - and 16 pairs of jeans. Does anyone want to use their free point? No - JOey and Rebecca think they have it clinched, Adam and Katie think that they want to save it for the kitchen, and Cindy and Bill think that they are too far away for it t make a difference. Nice show of confidence there.
Should they have? Mark says that it was a close contest. Uh oh...Adam and Katie had a 27.0. Bill and Cindy had a score of...27.1. Joey and Rebecca's score was a 28.6 - and they win the contest. So the extra point wouldn't have mattered and no one is kicking themselves in the butt.
Next week is the last chance to finish the kitchen - and the first chance to move on a new room. The couples didn't mind losing - but they all want the kitchen. We'll see who gets it next week.
We FINALLY get to see a kitchen - maybe. This has been a monumental struggle, as people realized with the wiring, and the professionals being brought in to fix the wiring, that this would take a lot longer than planned. We get the final makeover of the kitchen this week, as the long overdrawn saga comes to an end.
Joe says that the whole house is based on the kitchen (not my house, but that's a different story). Adam thinks that the professionals, who laid everything out, could do much better than he could have - and he wants an island. Joey is looking for sheet rock, while Bill, who wants to set up the appliances, is wondering on how those top cabinets will affect what the new renovations did to the kitchen.
With a month left to go in the competition, how has House Rules affected the couples? Joey says that this has been a wonderful experience, and it's brought them together. Meanwhile, Bill, who doesn't really think it's changed much, will now be building a wall to they can move the cabinets to the other side of the room - and the ceiling, which hasn't been affected by the renovations and the wire. After creating the wall, Bill thinks that they are in pretty good shape. Adam and Katie are planning their new kitchen by sticking the major appliances in one corner - which they do, but not without their squabbling on the cabinets.
There will be more squabbling when Mark shows up - and he says that there is no choice this time around. The mandatory Escape is that they will be spending an overnighter and having the day off. That's all Mark will tell them, as the couples are forced to stop work in the kitchen.
They all check into their hotel suites - and they immediately notice how the rooms look like their houses. Joey even goes as far as to want one of the glass doors from the shower. The itinerary includes lunch, rock climbing, kick boxing then dinner.
During lunch, we find out that for one of the couples, the itinerary has changed - one of the couples will be going to a massage instead. The ticket to the massage is hidden under one of the plates, and if you win it, you can pass it to one of the other couples - though looking at the women's faces, you knew that there was no way that it was going to happen. Everyone wants a massage - and it's under the plate of Adam and Katie - who don't give it to anybody.
After lunch, The couples all go and do their respective activities - with the appropriate results, Adam and Katie are relaxing, while all of the other couples are feeling pain. CIndy - 'I didn't know my body could be more sore than it already was'.
After they do that, the couples go for dinner - and meet a relaxed Adam and Katie. During dinner, they see that this week's reward is a week's trip to Montego Bay. That, plus the feeling that Adam and Katie, who haven't won squat yet, got the free massage, brings out the green-eyed monster, and Bill/Cindy and Joey/Rebecca leave Adam/Katie out of their dinner discussions, which didn't make Adam a happy camper. 'I told Katie when we left that it was the most annoying dinner that I've ever had.' Meow, meow, meow.
They go back - and Rebecca thinks that they will have to work overtime, while Cindy thinks that this is going to be a race to completion. JOey/Rebecca decide to use acoustic tiles to decorate the ceiling. Joey thought that it would be quick - but they realize that it could take the whole day. Adam is spending his day trying to get the appliances into the room - and then realizing that when they didn't fit through the front door, loading everything back in the car and driving it around to the other side of the house.
Cindy is already at Lowe's buying slate flooring and Bill is trying to have the tiles settle on top. He gets that done - and Adam and Katie finally get the refrigerator into their house. Rebecca gets the island into her house - and she's second guessing herself. 'I don't want my $35,000 kitchen to look like crap.' Speaking of which, Bill thinks his ceiling looks like crap, and he and Cindy are trying to figure out how to deal with it.
Friday has the dinner - and all of the couples are dreading it - especially since everyone is on pins and needles, worrying about the kitchen. The idea is that the couples are to come to Joey and Rebecca's house and eat food - though they are also forced to show the other 2 couples their kitchen - and what they've done with it so far. Adam and Katie don't want to steal any ideas - but when they see Joey and Rebecca's kitchen, Adam is getting evil thoughts - especially when they saw the tile-laden ceiling. Rebecca thinks that Bill came over to spy on their kitchen, and we are back to the days of espionage and the cold war.
Saturday - Adam and Katie are still squabbling - this time on the sink. Joey - 'I will be in bed by 10 o' clock' Rebecca - 'I've heard this before.' I'll side with Rebecca as they are arguing about the paint color. Bill and CIndy are working on the tiles for both the floor and the ceiling - and they have to install the oven and finish the lights. I don't see them getting done at 10pm. Joey may be true to his word - he is doing superficial corking work on the walls.
12:53 am - and Bill and Cindy once again have to pull an all-nighter with the lighting and the grout. They will be joined by Adam and Katie, who have a ton of things to do. Joey and Rebecca continue to paint, so there goes the 10:00 pm curfew out the window...
...but 8:30 am arrives, which means that it's time for the judging. Bill and Cindy start it up - and they have an unconventional kitchen. They created a smaller eating room right next to it. Steve is not nuts about the flooring choice, but Kelley prefers the stone over the wood - and she loves the floor color. Shad isn't happy about the pantry area - and he would like a better eating area - but he was happy on the overall effort. Bill thought that they had design won - but he's concerned about the workmanship and completion. He should be - as Shad nails them on the lack of a breakfast area.
Next up is Joey and Rebecca. They hoped that the ceiling tile would give them bonus points - and Shad goes after their breakfast island, which Joey lovingly calls 'Greenland'. Both Shad and Steven don't like the area - but Steven likes the workmanship. Kelley says that Rebecca should become a professional decorator - which is nice, because that's what Rebecca wants to do. Shad savages the kitchen, and that concerns Joey/Rebecca as well.
Finally, it's time to see Katie and Adam's kitchen. They show off their ceiling - and Joey is certain that they stole the ceiling idea from them. Shad isn't happy with their breakfast area, but it's better than the other two and he likes it, adding that he thinks that it's completed.
It seems like each judge likes a different couple the best - Kelley likes Bill/Cindy, Steve likes Joey/Rebecca and Shad likes Adam/Katie. Will this convince the couples to use their points? It convinces Katie and Adam, who want to go to Montego Bay. Bill and Cindy hold off on using their point - and Joey and Rebecca also hold off from using their point.
Adam and Katie's score was 27.5, Joey and Rebecca had 27.9, Bill and Cindy had 28.9. Adam and Katie's score gets moves up to 28.5 - which still isn't high enough. If Joey and Rebecca use their point, they would wind up in a tie, which means that they would give away tips to both couples! However, they didn't use their point, so Bill and Cindy will be going to Montego Bay by themselves - which is fine for them, since they didn't really want to share with Joey and Rebecca.
Next up - the back yard. In life, a little rain must fall - and a lot of rain is falling on the competitors next week.
We get not one, but 2 hours of this show as we start to wrap up the series - and the final voting. But first, we get two more rooms to work on - and the first one, the back yard, takes place now.
Bill immediately jumps on the opportunity and stasrts trimming the big tree. He wants to slate the patio area and bring back the secret rock weapons for a rock garden. Rebecca will be working on the pool - and create an outdoor kitchen. Adam wants to renovate the outdoor jacuzzi - or pull it out if they can't do anything with it.
Rebecca asks Joey what he would want as a prize for the Backyard - and Joey immediately says the riding lawn mower that he's been in love with. We'll see what the prize is later - but first is the budget challenge.
It's a newlywed-style game that takes place at a pool. If you get a question wrong, you have to take a dip into an algae-filled pool and find one of 20 paint lids. 18 of them say 'Still Breathing' - and 2 of them say - 'Dead in the Water'. If you find the 'Dead in the Water' lid, you are out, and the last team who's breathing wins. There's a truly tasteful game for you.
Since it's a game based on intelligence, Bill and Cindy think that they will suck - and they do - with a budget of $5,000. Joey/Rebecca come in second with a budget ofo $6,500 and Adam and Katie, who are finally starting to win budget challenges, win $7,500 for the best budget.
Can they parlay that into a judge win? They are working it as they go to Lowes. Joey lets Rebecca call the shots on the landscaping. Rebecca tkes it - and tells Joey what to do. Meanwhile, Adam wants to build columns and dress up the jacuzzi. Here's the difference in styles - Adam and Katie like to make stuff fancy while Joey and Rebecca likes to be creative and rebuild.
Cindy and Bill, meanwhilt, are tending to a mess in their backyard. Earlier, Bill accused Cindy of not doing as much work this time around - now, he's making fun of her while she's in a tree. She gets the tree pruning done, and while they are getting branches done, they are interrupted by Marky Mark...
Here is the temptation...'Cidy - 'If you say Spa, we're in trouble.' Mark - 'Spa'. This includes a facial, a 1 hour massage and a haircut. It didn't take much persuasion, as all 3 women go and have the spa treatment. The men vow to work hard while the ladies are away. As for the ladies, we get the gratuitous video of them getting all pretty - and they do look all pretty when they get back.
Things get prety ugly, though for Adam and Katie - Adam tells Katie that he wants to go out for her, but she declines, saying that she wants to get more work done. Adam then asks her to get him a chicken sandwich. Real smooth, Adam. The seem to make up the next morning, as Adam finishes up the entrance to the jacuzzi and Katie lays down the grass.
It's also getting ugly outside. Rebecca wants to try to get the painting done, because once the rains come, they will be going all weekend. Rebecca doesn't get the painting done - but Cindy does get the slating done before the rain, and that gives them an unexpected break. Bill takes the spare time to go to bed.
Bill gets his water fountain column up. Meanwhile, Adam realizes that he doesn't have the right stones to finish the jacuzzi, and he's getting frustrated. Bill talks to Adam and he gets the impression that Adam isn't trying so hard in the backyard - so him and Cindy sneak to their backyard and take pictures of what they are doing - and then laugh at what they are not accomplishing. Nice.
That being said, they are right - Adam is getting frusrtated and he is willing to jettison the whole place - but Katie is there to tell him to perservere with his work.
After the rain - and the tears - are gone, it's back to work. Joey has some light construction work to do. Cindy is working on the fake boulders - the same one that they used for the win on the front lawn. 'You want to put Cindy Loves Bill on it?' asks Bill - but they decide to put 'House Rules 2003' on it instead. Adam and Katie have more substantial work to do - the outside is still a mess and the painting isn't done as nothing has completely dried out. I see a third placed spot in Adam and Katie's future.
Joey likes Rebecca's rock - and he gives us a solliloquoy on the value of rocks. Thanks, Joey. Cindy is happy with their completion, and they both decide that they can go to bed and get a decent amount of sleep. Would they wish that they would have had that time back? Mark says that the Lawn Tractor that Joey was drooling over is indeed the prize, and Joey is having dreams about it already.
Here come the judges - and Adam and Katie are first to show the judges the marsh...I mean backyard. The judges are happy with the jacuzzi - but much less so on the swamp in the back. They do like the patio and the grill - but is it enough to counteract the flood in the back?
Bill is next - and him and Cindy slated everythin - much to Rebecca's dismay, as they wanted all of the slate. They like the front - but they do nothing with the back of the house, and that will cost them some points. The rest of the house looks good, but like Adam and Katie, they have a part of the yard that they would rather ot see judged.
This opens the door for Joey to get his beloved lawn mower. They really did a nice job with the cutting of the brush - and they did add seating and the outdoor areas. They also added rocks and the outdoor kitchen. The judges are blown away - and so am I. Kelley gives Joey and Rebecca a 10 and they should win this one in a rout. Bill and Cindy and Joey and Rebecca can use their extra point. Bill and Cindy think like I do and don't use the extra point. Joey reaaaaaallllllyyyy wants that motor scooter and they do use the extra point.
Here are the results. Bill/Cindy get a 27.9, Katie/Adam get a 28.1 and Joey/Rebecca get a 29.3. With the extra point (which they didn't need), Joey/Rebecca get a better than perfect score of 30.3. Joey gets his dream lawn mower - and they believe that it was the outdoor kitchen that put them over the top. Mark tells them to get some drinks from the outdoor kitchen to celebrate. Heh.
Next up is the room of choice - but it's the judges choice. Bill/Cindy have to do the fmaily room, Adam/Katie do Macy's room in the master bedroom, and Joety/Rebecca have to do the garage. Bill and Cindy are disappointed in third - but they like to take risks, and they will continue to do so.
We will continue this recap for the second episode, where we get to see the room of choice, in 5....4....3....2.....1....
Joey, who calls the garage 'The Men's Den', is pretty on target; looking like a disaster, the men's den looks like a fraternity has gone nuts. Bill is going nuts to try to figure out how to wow the judges this week, while Katie is trying to figure out how to make their room adapptible for guests.
Perhaps if they knew what their budget would be, it would help. For this budget competition, they will be playing miniature golf with plungers, rakes and frying pans. The team with the lowest score wins.
The first hole is 'The Bathroom', where you have t o go through a maze of scales and put the ball in the toilet. Rebecca says that she isn't a good golfer. The 14 would attest to that, while Adam/Katie hit a 7 and Bill/Cindy are in between with 10.
The second hole is 'The Kitchen', where they have to put the ball through the blender and into the kitchen sink. Joey/Rebecca hit a 7, Katia/Adam get a 6 ad Bill/Cindy get a 3. Totals so far - Joey/Rebecca 21, Adam/Katie - 13 and Bill/Cindy - 13.
The Final hole is 'The Back Yard', where the teams have to go under a swinging bench, through a sea of lawn trolls. and into a hen house. Joey/Rebecca are far back with a 12 (Total - 33). Adam and Katie hit an 11, which leaves th door wide open for Bill/Cindy. They get it done in a quick 6 strokes, and Bill/Cindy get the win. The final totals - Joey/Rebecca - $3.000, Adam/Katie - $4,000, and Bill/Cindy - $5,000.
Joey's looking for the den to have a men's shop, along with a tv. Bill/Cindy want the auxilliary room to have an eating room, a den, and an entertainment area - with lots of slate, of course. Katie and Adam aren't really sure what they want to do - and he who hesitates will once again be in third place.
Joey wants to go gladiator - but his stuff won't come in for 5 days - which would be right before Judgement. Adam and Katie still don't know what they want to do - but Katie is thinking game room and Adam wants to play with the dog.
Joey and Rebecca have a long-distance relationship - and Joey, who works on an oil tanker, knows that after the competition he has to go back. Rebecca is aware of that too, and she turns on the water works realizing that they will soon be seperated. AwwwwBarf.
Cindy and Bill have run into a snag - for the first time, their slating pattern isn't working, so Cindy tells Bill to scrape it off and redo it, which will cost them valuable time. They get into a water fight, whichhas them waste evenmore time, but at least they are having fun.
Adam and katie finally get to Loews - and Katie decides to make it a guest room/vanity room combo. Joey realizes that everything that they haven't wanted has gotten thrown down here, so they will relive the memories and nostalgia of the 3 months that they have had together. I also have to get every single story of their experiences with painting and their first room together. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz....
Bill and Cindy decide to make fun of Adam and Katie while they are workin on their room - and then Joey and Rebecca. Heh. Meanwhile, the real Adam and Katie are putting in little wood squares on the flooring. Joey and Rebecca realize that their time together was short, so they take a half-day off and float doen the river in a canoe. They are also talking about priorities and Rebecca is clearly falling for Joey.
The couples get an advertisement in their mail on the front. On the back of the ad, the couples find out that they are playing for an entertainment center, complete with dvd player and 55 inch screen TV. All of the couples are making progress - albeit slowly. Joey wants to add a card playing table and dart board to his men's room, while Bill is arranging the cabinets. Cindy decides to unleash the new secret weapon - a mural for the wall, though Bill reminds her of the wall space - or lack thereof.
Adam finds the plumbing and fixes it - or so he thinks, because Katie tells him that it's leaking. He fixes, and this time, it works. CIndy is working on her mural - and Bill is fixing her lines.
With 10 minutes until Judgement, everyne is getting the final touches going. This time around, no one is freaking out, as this is calm time for Mark, who explains to everyone that this is the last Judgement Day for the couples. There is only one more judging - and that's from us, the audience, who decides who wins their house.
We start with Joey and Rebecca, who shows them all the Gladiator System - as each item has wheels under it. That's good enough to move anything as needed. Kelley is happy with the tool belt that they have been using, Shad is happy with the design, and Steve will hold his tongue this week. That's good enough for Joey and Rebecca, and we move on...
...to Bill and Cindy and their family room. They continue to use the durable slate, and CIndy shows off the mural. Shad thought that this was the best room that they have done - but he also thought that this was the easiest room of the three to do. Kelley liked the slate continuation. Steve thought it was cool - but they never signed the mural. Oops. Cindy is a little ticked that the judges said that it was the easiest room to do - and she's worried that it could affect their judgement.
We didn't really get to see what Adam and Katie did - and that's because the room is mostly empty and some parts of the room isn't completed. Their not knowing what they wanted to do did come back to get them as they needed more time. The room looks nice and painted, though - but Shad isn't a fan of that either (though he liked the molding). Steve says that he wouldn't feel comfortable in the room and I see yet another third place standing for Adam and Katie in their future.
Bill and Cindy still have a point to use, and since Mark tells them that it will be the last time that they can use the point, they may as well use it now - which they do. Joey and Rebecca are in third with a 27.2. Adam and Katie come in a surprising (considering that the judges savagedg them) second with a 27.9 and first place - without the point - goes to Bill and Cindy, with a score of 29.2. Add the extra point, and it's a 30.2 win for Bill and CIndy who get an entertainment center.
It's time to go down the homw stretch - and this time they have one last groupto impress - us, the viewers, and potential voters. The budget competition this time around will be for final renovations and to complete unfinished projects. Whoever wins the audience vote will keep the house - and win $50,000 to boot.
Katie is surprised that they came in second. Rebecca will be surprised by something else - Joey with a engagement ring. He says that the most important thing was his relationship with Rebecca. We get a montage of Joey and Rebecca working as a team - and Rebecca explains that he proposed to her while working on the pool - and she says yes. AwwwBarf. We see a final kiss and that ends the episode.
Next up - the final vote - and the last chance to impress us. We'll see who does the best job on that next week.
This is the last episode to happen before the audience judges on who wins the house. This could beone of 2 things - either a real show with a competition, or a show stocked to the rim with space filler.
This does seem to be like a normal episode - it's redecoration week. Cindy weants plants and chachtkes, Rebecca thinks that this will bring them closer to marriage and Adam and Katie, who haven't won a single thing on the show, just want to make the house look nice.
Here's the final competition - the couples have to wheel down a grill to the hoe plate on the baseball diamond. On first base are soda cans with numbers. On second base are steaks locked in a box - the combination of the locks are the same as the numbers on the cans. You then have to throw the steaks from the pitchers mound to home base. Whoever gets both steaks in the grill wins.
It's a very close race and everyone is even on the locks. Cindy and Bill get the locks on the very first locker combo - and that's the difference. They win first, while Adam/Katie take second. Joey and Rebecca are still on the locks when everyone is done, but they finish the stunt anyways - and get rewarded with a budget of $15,000. Adam and Katie get $16,000 and Bill/Cindy win $17,000. This is the most important budget - because this time, the judges are the audience, and the winner this week gets the home.
CIndy, including plants, also wants fabrics to soften up the house. Joey and Rebecca will be working on the caulking and painting while Rebecca wants to accessorize the house. Joey talks about him leaving Rebecca after the contest, regardless. Adam and Katie, meanwhile, work on the hard stuff - like the floors and reformatting some of the ceiling.
CIndy goes back to her house in Houston to pick up some of their old pictures and candles and other things that are from home. Katie is making Adam reposition some of the furniture - but without scratching the floors. We get yet another scene of Rebecca worrying about Joey leaving her and she starts tearing when she says it. ENOUGH ALREADY! Cindy is happy that she and Bill got through the whole thing. Katie will be upset that it ends - but she enjoyed the experience.
We get the obligatory Lowes love moment, as they all appreciate what they have done. As a reward, we get a montage of all of their Lowe's experiences - and here comes the space filler. Yuck.
All good things must come to an end - and Bill and Cindy shake hands and declare their love with 5 minutes left to go in the game. We get a final lawn mowing from Joey and raking from Rebecca, with yet ANOTHER we're leaving when this is over spiel. Adam and Katie finishes with them painting.
it's time for the final judgement - and we end it with each couple explaining why we should vote for them. Bill and Cindy goes first - and here comes the montages. While they are doing that, I will go into their chances.
Let's start with Bill and Cindy - They were sad sacks after the first 2 episodes, but then they went on a tear and strutted their stuff. They are certainly the most improved couple and will give Joey and Rebecca a run for their money. Their team work has paid off and if they do win the competition, they deserve to, as they went from no where to serious threat.
Adam and Katie - well, they didn't win anything during the entire show, and they were only not in last three times during the whole series. That could work for them, as they are truly the underdogs in this competition. That could be a plus for the voting public - Dat Phan, anyone?
Finally, it's Joey and Rebecca. They were the best team going into this, and they finished head-to-head with Bill and Cindy. Forget the schmaltzy I'll never see you again angle - they were, week in and week out, the best team in this competition. Cindy and Bill were the more charismatic team, but if you talk about who should wni this event - it should be Joey and Rebecca.
Any of these tams could wi - and becuase the audience votes on it, it is truly anyone's game, Who wins the deed to the house? Vote (I voted for Joey/Rebecca), and then tune in next week to find out - for the finale.
When you have a one hour shoe dedicated to a 5 minute decision, you get that feeling that this episode will be screaming for space filler. One of the three couples will be screaming, as they find out if they have won the house that they have spent months to create.
But we are not talking pain - we are talking party! Each house has a party going on as each couple has their own celebration. Onf of the houses will be partying hardy for the whole night - the other 2 houses of partygoers will be helping the couples pack all of their stuff.
Just wondering - if they are [packing up, can't the losing couples sneak in a couple of 'souveneirs' from their trip - especially poor Adam and Katie, who if they don't win the house, will not be getting squat for their 3 months worth of work? Just wondering...
This now turns into Montage #1 - which is the story on how this has all happened. Snort.
So that this doesn't turn into 45 minutes worth of filler, Marky Mark lets us go into each house. Since the show's taping ended in October, Joey has been away from Rebecca for 2 months - and this is their first time back together. Adam and Katie has been together in the house for 2 months - and they are having fun in their house. Bill and Cindy say that the 'celebrity-ism' hasn't changed their lives.
We are up to Montage #2 - the contestant's quirks. Adam likes to yawn alot, which, strangely enough, has spread to me as I am watching this. Bill likes to sporadically sing - well, if you call that singing. Joey likes to play with his tools - and Rebecca is thrilled about it. No comment.
Mark visits Adam, Katie and Macy. This turns from a nice discussion on Katie getting her feet wet in the world of construction to a montage on the women working (#3, if you are keeping score at home). It turns out that Cindy has been doing this sort of contruction before, while Rebecca is more into design and Katie is the newbie. She now knows what a miter saw is - and she knows how to set up floor with her eyes closed.
Mark has a surprise for Katie and Adam - he has a limousine for them - but it's only for them to go to the next house. That house belongs to Bill and Cindy. They won the most judgements, so they win the most prizes - 2 trips to Jamaica, all of the tools used, a home entertainment center, a grill - and maybe a house. Adam and Katie, conversely, have won squat.
When it comes to the budget competitions, however, well, Bill and CIndy....sucked. Pan to Montage #4 - the highlights of the budget competition. They only won it 3 times - but it's still better than Adam and Katie's 2 wins. Joey and Rebecca cleaned up here - with 6 wins. Their total budget spending for all 3 teams combined? over $200,000 worth of trips to Lowes. That leads to another montage (#5) on how 'helpful' the lowe's people have been. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.......
Mark takes the 2 couples and brings them over to Joey and Rebecca's place. While the other 2 couples get some food, Joey/Rebecca say that their lives have changed - and that the judges have helped them - but not all of the time. Anyone want to guess what happens next? Yep - it's the JUDGES MONTAGE! (#6), but at least they bring someting new to it - They say that the most improved couple is Katie/Adam, and that all three couples are worthy to win their house.
They all have praise for all 3 couples - and they an now tell them live, because there they are! When asked for who should win, Kelly says she would have voted for all three. Mark 'Whatever.' Heh. Stephen is more straight-forward and says that although Bill/Cindy gets most-liked, Joey/Rebecca would have gotten his vote. Shad will also take the easy way out ad voted or all three couples. Mark says that Steven is the man, while the other 2 couples are 'scared to death'. Heh.
Mark says that it's all about who the audience picked - and he talks about how far everyone has gone. He says that 2 of the couples will be disappointed - but he hopes that they will all be happy becuase of the experiece - and the journey that they have had. 'I bring that up now - because now the journey ends for one couple.' The third place couple is.....NOT Adam and Katie. Wha? They get to go to the limo, and the couple who is eliminated is...JOEY AND REBECCA???? WHA?????? This was the best technical couple, and they come in third????? Mark was inspired from them - and Joey and Rebecca still have each other - and their gifts - and another montage (#7) to go home with. Marky Mark hugs Joey and Rebecca as they go inside to commiserate with their friends and family that are in the house.
While the montage is playing, I go back to what I have said for a while now - when you bring it up to the audience, it's the most likable team, not the best team, that wins. Joey and Rebecca were arguably the least likable couple, and that may have been their downfall - that and the fact that the marriage part was shoved down our throats. So who wins? It depends on the mood of the audience - if it's most likeable, then Bill/Cindy win (a la Reuben Stoddard). If it's the underdog who the audience voted for, then it's Adam and Katie who wins (a la Dat Phan).
We come back to the show with Marky Mark =, outside the limo, with Bill and Cindy and their montage (#8). Aftert theirs, of course, is Adam/Katie (#9). After all of that, it's time to announce who is the winner. The limo will take both couples to the winner's house - and Mark will blindfold everyone just to make sure that no one knows before we do. In addition to that, the limo driver will be taking a funky rout just to confuse everyone. you confused yet?
Mark tells everyone on the winning proprty to be quiet so that there are no noises that will give it away to the winning couple. Mark escorts everyone out of the lime - and almost takes off Cindy's dress in the process. Nice. After Mark's spiel, everyone takes off their blindfolds, and you can see it right on the expression of the faces. One of the couples has their head bent back in frustration, the other couple is screaming. The happy couple is...
BILL AND CINDY!!!!
They have won the home, and Mark continues to spiel. Not only do they win the home, they also win $50,000 in cash from Bank of America. Finally, they get a winning plaque from House Rules.
You have to feel for Katie and Adam. At least the other 2 couples won individual prizes. Adam and Katie don't get any prizes, they don't win the $50,000, they don't win the house, and all they get is the experience. I really hope that they get a nice concolsation prize.
Cindy didn't think that they would win, while Bill thought that they would either win or lose. Marky Mark thanks everyone, wishes you all a happy holiday, and go inside BIll and CIndy's house to celebrate. Fade to black.
My Take? I liked the show and how it played out. There were a few quibbles that I had, though - Adam and Katie were just outclassed by the other 2 couples, and they didn't win anything, which wasn't too fair. I also thought that there should have been some long lasting implication for winning - or losing - an event besides just winning a prize.
The show that they took this idea from - The Block - will be coming to the states in 2004, and their way of finishing the show - via a public auction, should be really interesting. This was still an enjoyable show, and even if it was a pale imitation of the original (which we will get to see in a few months when it comes to play on FOX), it was still a fun imitation that was worthy of a B effort.
So that ends the recaps for this show, and thank you for following the recaps. Have a safe 2003, and I will see you all in 2004!
