BY LINDSAY HURD
Daily Arts Writer
Published March 21, 2010
Most people hava a favorite item they just can’t part with, whether it's a childhood teddy bear or a favorite shirt. But “Hoarding: Buried Alive” exposes people who exceed the sentimental limits and have literally filled their houses with endless amounts of junk they just cannot give up.
"Hoarding: Buried Alive"
Sundays at 10 p.m.
TLC
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The TLC reality show takes a dull peek into the lives of people who never throw anything away. In the series premiere, “Hoarding” follows single man Chris, a Navy veteran and active member of his church who seems to have it all; and Laurie, a grandmother who has filled up her large cottage with crap. Both are aware the habit is crazy and is affecting their families, happiness, health and overall well-being. This obsession with hoarding is a clinically recognized condition, and while TLC's series tries to genuinely help people suffering from it, there's no resolution shown for these real people's problems.
At the beginning of the premiere, Chris could hardly open his front door and had to crawl over his junk to get to anywhere in his house. He hadn’t used his kitchen in at least three years and hid his problem from his family, friends and girlfriend.
Laurie started collecting stuff to donate to people in need. Only instead of giving away her things, she has kept everything to make herself feel more secure. Her addiction had gotten so bad that her daughter wouldn’t bring her children over.
Both contact a psychologist and a professional organizer to help sort their stuff and get to the bottom of their addictions. At the end of six weeks, Chris made enough progress to walk into his kitchen and Laurie could throw a dinner party.
Overall, “Hoarding” draws out these people’s problems and bores us to death as nothing happens. There's just an endless amount of junk everywhere that never gets totally cleaned up. Different from other shows about hoarders, this team of experts never actually helps to solve the issue. The only entertaining moments are those revealing how much crap people can actually keep collecting. To see mounds and mounds of stuff piled on top of each other is slightly fascinating, but in a grossed-out kind of way that makes you want to throw out everything you don’t need.
While the show does reveal why both hoarders have developed the habit, it never does a follow-up with Chris and Laurie at the end of the hour. It fails to deliver the crucial moment where we see whether the hoarders broke their habit. Unlike other reality shows, you never feel connected or excited for the person who finally conquers these fears. For all we know, Laurie’s clean dining room could be back to resembling a storage bin and Chris could have bought even more clothes to store in his house.
There is no resolution and that sucks. These people have secret lives that affect the way they live, but there is nothing that experts on a TV show can fix. Not only does TLC waste our time, but they pretty much wasted the hoarders' time. “Hoarders” basically disgraces and embarrasses its cast and then peaces out, serving only as a reminder that you need to throw out your junk and clean your house.
