In television’s grand tradition of running good ideas into the ground, Fox is playing off TLC’s popular “Trading Spaces” with its own “Trading Spouses,” a mom-swap reality show that debuted in July.
In the first episode, a well-to-do mother from the real “O.C.” (a.k.a. California’s Orange County) swapped homes with an overbearing consumer of heavy carbs from Massachusetts. But that culture clash could just be the start of a tidal wave of TV trades. The Tempo Subcommittee for Swap-o-rific Shows suggests:
– Trading Bases. In a bid to woo younger folks and reality fanatics, Major League Baseball will unveil a new game plan by which players swap positions each inning, based on live fan feedback. In other sporting news, our sources could not confirm whether a go-for-broke tennis tournament, “Trading Aces,” has gotten the green light.
– Trading Graces. With sliding ratings last year on “Will & Grace,” its second-biggest sitcom, NBC has decided to replace actress Debra Messing with Grace Slick (Topher Grace of “That ’70s Show” was unavailable).
– Trading Faces. A new Hollywood version of “Extreme Makeover,” with Michael Jackson and Joan Rivers starring in the premiere. Doctors morph Mikey into the acid-tongued queen of QVC, and Joanie into . . . whatever it is Jackson is. Surprisingly, this was not difficult.
– Trading Cases. With public interest in big trials at an all-time high, the networks have gotten big-name defense attorneys to pull last-minute switches of their cases and clients. First up: Leslie Abramson trades Phil Spector to Mark Geragos for Scott Peterson.
– Trading Oases. The security is unprecedented when the Sultan of Brunei and Osama bin Laden swap desert hideaways. The Sultan wanted to sample the simple life, while bin Laden just wanted to get out of his cave for a few weeks.
– Trading Races. No, we’re not talking about ethnicity here — but campaign charisma. If the presidential race remains as tight as it is, determined Democrats are ready to switch Barack Obama out of his U.S. Senate race and into the John Kerry spot on the White House ticket.
