Format
ABC receives thousands of applications from families in need, and the team says that it is extremely hard to filter through the stories and choose only one of them. The families they look for must meet two criteria: first, they must be truly deserving and in need of the makeover, and second, they must be the kind of people who give something of themselves back to their community. The main theme of the show is advocacy, as each family that is selected helps to address a wide range of issues in American society. The show has helped families who have been victimized by a form of loss or tragic event, experienced a certain hardship and most of all, advocate on ways to treat, face and prevent such losses. The show has helped families of veterans, single parents, and families with children who have illnesses ranging from childhood cancers to HIV/AIDS, as well as children with mental illnesses and disabilities such as autism. The show has helped families victimized by natural disasters such as tornadoes and hurricanes, as well as families who have dealt with house fires and mold contamination. Other instances include families who have either lost loved ones or had loved ones injured in car accidents (including alcohol-related incidents), domestic violence, gang-related crimes and drug abuse. Every episode makes a family stand as an advocate of awareness of such problems.
The majority of episodes are one hour; however, in some instances (mainly if complications are involved, or if the makeover involves more than just the family home) the episode will be a two-parter and will start at 7 PM Eastern Time (one hour ahead of its normal 8 PM Eastern Time slot). In the UK, some of the two-hour episodes air as one single program instead of as two separate parts.
Most shows in the first three seasons begin with a shot of Pennington in the team's bus saying, "I'm Ty Pennington, and the renovation starts right now!" The exceptions are those episodes which feature a guest host in his place.
In the fourth and fifth seasons, the opening shot is of Ty in a location iconic of the state the episode was in, and a declaration of what state the episode is in is added to the tagline. Then, the chosen family is briefly profiled; their nomination video is shown to the team (and to the television audience).
Ty then brings the team together in a huddle and leads them in a chant of "Let's do it!" Next, Ty and the design team visit the family's home and proceed to give the family a "wake-up call" (courtesy of Ty's infamous bullhorn) by shouting "Good Morning family!" then introducing each family member. The team will then go throughout the house, finding out about the family's interests as design inspiration.
The family will then be sent off on a one-week vacation (where applicable, airfare is provided by Southwest Airlines, whose involvement is noted at the end of the show) while the house is renovated or demolished, depending on its condition and the family's needs. One episode in season three did not include a vacation because a family's daughter was in isolation at a local hospital. As the family is taking vacation, they receive video messages via computer laptop from Pennington's camera. The videos displayed on the laptop are superimposed on broadcasts to avoid both screen glare and the requirement of paying advertising royalties on the software used in the videos.
Beginning with Season 3, the demolitions have become quite creative; the team has used falling trees, tanks, and even monster trucks to accomplish the task where needed. In 2007, they used dynamite to blow up one family's old house in Wyoming. In 2008, a rather innovative episode showed Ty and his team rolling a five hundred pound bowling ball through the house to eventually demolish a family's "bowling-themed, Big Lebowski inspired" bathroom.
A local home builder (sometimes two builders) and community volunteers begin basic work (electrical, plumbing, roofing, and, if the house is demolished, framing a new one) while the design team begins designing the creative aspects of the house. Once the basic work is completed, the design team then will add the finishing touches. Ty selects a portion of the house to be his "secret room" (except in the case when the secret project takes place in the backyard), which no one is allowed to view prior to final reveal (with one exception in Season 4, which involved a commercial kitchen; the health inspector had to approve the kitchen and issue the permit before it could be used). Shows often feature design team members making a trip to a local Sears store as well as special guest appearances.
At the end of the week, the family returns to their home to see cheering crowds and the view of their home blocked by a bus (for larger projects, two buses would block the home). When Ty and the family give the order, originally, "Bus driver, hit it!" and later the much more famous, "Bus driver, move that bus!!" (or "those buses!!"), the family sees the end result of the team's efforts. Pennington's secret room is usually the last item featured on the show. Often, a child's bedroom, the parent's master bedroom or a business room receives Pennington's special attention. Some episodes feature special gifts given to the family by outside parties. The show always ends with Ty saying, "There's only one thing left to say. Welcome Home family, welcome home." This is often followed by applause from the family, design team, and whoever else is there.
Read more about this topic: Extreme Makeover: Home Edition