Wife Swap

Series on ABC based on a programme of the same name from the United Kingdom whose premise involves two wildly-different families swapping wives for a two-week period.

Or at least, that should be the premise. But, since the series producers really went out of their way to find the most hideous examples of whatever differing ideologies they could find, things are a little...different. Your standard setup went something like this:

"Two moms, with wildly different parenting styles, are swapped between families! Watch the hilarity as the mom who's been used to a harsh militaristic setting all her life is swapped with the mom who lets her kids talk to her however they want! Marvel as the excessively-clean mother puts up with a family who barely ever cleans! Be amazed as the industrialist's family meet their new mom, a nonconforming vegetarian who thinks all corporations are evil! Gaze in wonder as the super Christian mother who only wears black skirts swaps with a vehemently-atheist tattooed stripper!"

And so on.

This is one of the most extreme cases of Bigot vs. Bigot you'll ever see on primetime television. To be fair, plenty of episodes do end with one or both families changing a little (e.g., an extremely rules-oriented family becoming a little more relaxed and an extremely laid-back family becoming a little more organized)...but this is of course after a lot of screaming and yelling.

It's also particularly amusing to watch the gender role debates. Pair a highly-conservative, husband-is-king family with a "get with the times" wife-is-queen-bee family. Swap the wives and you have, on the one hand, a man and woman both prepared to hold their ground to the last bloody inch (and both used to being waited on hand and foot), and on the other hand, a pair of domestic servants who have never stood up for themselves in their lives. Then you have the housewife tell the House Husband that he should stop being lazy and go get a job (since obviously people at home do no work of value at all) while the househusband tells the housewife that she should stop letting her mate walk all over her (since obviously staying at home is a nonstop drudgery that no free human soul would willingly accept...wait a minute).

The other thing that is unusual about this show and those who choose to appear on it is that there's no visible reward for participating. Part of the formula is having each wife say what her reason for doing it is, which may or may not work out, but ABC offers no direct financial incentive — they just say "If you want to appear on Wife Swap, write..." There actually is a financial reward, but they seem determined to avoid mentioning this in-show.

That said, anyone who applies to be on the show is pretty much completely insane, extremely stupid, or some combination of the two.

In early 2009 it featured Stephen Fowler, a San Francisco resident who got some notoriety after spending two weeks berating a Midwestern woman. Also featured (twice!) were the Heenes, who went on to greater infamy after their two shows by "accidentally" sending up their son in a homemade balloon, only later to confess to lying about it. There's also the extremely-infamous Christopher Childs, who got an entry below.

The series ended in August 2010 after 123 episodes, only to return in January 2012 as Celebrity Wife Swap.

Tropes used in Wife Swap include:

Bigot vs. Bigot
Celebrity Edition: Celebrity Wife Swap, obviously. Surprisingly, the drama on the celebrity edition seems to be toned down a bit compared to the regular version.
Cloudcuckoolander:
- The Heenes, even if not especially after the show.
- One family had a psychic for a wife who believed that one of the other family's children was actually a reincarnated alien.
Enfant Terrible: More disrespectful than psychotic, but yeah.
Follow the Leader: Copied blatantly by FOX into Trading Spouses: Meet Your New Mommy (although, due to that premiering in the United States before the US Wife Swap, plenty of people think it's actually the original). This one had open financial incentives, with the catch that it's the visiting mother who picks how the family spends the money.
House Husband: As noted above, the Double Standard involved in this trope was starkly illustrated on an episode where a conservative, very religious, "traditional" couple (husband worked, wife stayed home to run the house and care for the kids) switched with a non-religious, more liberal, "unconventional" couple (husband stayed home to run the house and care for the kids, wife worked). The "traditional" housewife almost immediately started berating the househusband (just as competent as her in taking care of a home) for being a "lazy deadbeat" and kept insisting that he "get a job". Surely, if anyone would know, she should have that staying at home and taking care of the kids is a job and anything but lazy.
Knight of Cerebus: A rare nonfiction example, but Christopher Childs certainly qualifies along with filling the Jerkass and Complete Monster tropes (as you'll see below, he long since passed the Moral Event Horizon). His family's episode caused things to, rather than be funny Bigot vs. Bigot comedy that's usually the standard, contain little to no laughter but considerably more tear-jerking and/or rage-inducing moments. See for yourself.
- First, he brainwashes (and admits to purposely doing it) his children into believing his crazy "Christian" lifestyle where women should stay in the kitchen and men rule.
- Dread sets in when halfway through, it becomes obvious that his replacement wife (Kim Beckman-Heskett) won't be able to fix his family while Lee-Ann Childs introduces rules that negatively impact the Beckman-Hesketts.
- Christopher's real dark moment is after Kim tells his rebellious daughter Columbia to follow her dreams of becoming a successful woman (specifically, doctor) rather than a housewife. He takes Columbia away in his car (off-camera) and forces Kim to promise not to influence Columbia; when Columbia comes back, she's been brainwashed by Christopher into not only giving up her dreams and becoming a housewife, but also believe that Kim was trying to manipulate her.
- At the end, it's revealed that neither family learned anything (although the Beckman-Hesketts were nowhere near as screwed up as the Childs') and have come off worse as a result due to Lee-Ann's rules being horrible and Columbia being successfully brainwashed.
In Another Woman's Shoes
Large Ham: Richard Heene is a big one.
Manipulative Bastard: Christopher Childs, see above.
Money, Dear Boy: Averted, as none of the families seem to apply for the money. TV Tropes advises all viewing this page not to apply for Wife Swap just for the financial incentive.
Odd Couple
Parent Produced Project: Alicia Gustaferro's parents did all her homework for her.
Poe's Law: A lot of families are so extreme, they seem like parodies.
Complete Insanit- uh, Reality Show Genre Blindness: Anyone who appeared after Season 1. The first thing on the questionnaire must be "Have you seen Wife Swap prior to beginning this questionnaire? If yes, don't bother filling out the rest of the paperwork. And get the hell away from us."
Strictly Formula
The Bad Guy Wins: Christopher Childs. He kept his family's twisted lifestyle unchanged despite the replacement wife's best efforts, while his actual wife "infected" the other (considerably more sane) family.
Too Dumb to Live: Anyone who goes on the show. Then again, see "the first thing" above (or its own entry in Reality Show Genre Blindness).
- "King" Curtis' father once said "If we can find a way to fry salad, we may try it." Enjoy your obesity.
Trans-Atlantic Equivalent: Localized variations sprouted in various countries including Sweden, Norway, Croatia, the Baltic States, and others.