SyFy's "Collection Intervention"

newworld said:

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It's fascinating to hear directly from someone who was on the show. Thanks for posting, Joe.

Now that I've read your take, I'm fundamentally confused by something. It sounds like your wife doesn't really have a big problem with your collection, is that correct? If so, then why would you two participate in a show with the word "intervention" in it? That term is highly charged and denotes a behavior that is way out of the norm and is extremely disruptive to the lives of the people involved. If your wife didn't feel an intervention was needed, why do the show?

Not sure if I said it here, or only on my Twitter, but when we saw the ad for the show, it asked for "you or a loved one with an amazing collection?"

Then when we signed documents, it said it was called "MASTER COLLECTOR".

With each subsequent meeting, they would tease us with a bit more...

"Well, they might want you to sell some stuff, would you be ok with that?"

and so on.

Only after taping, and once promos started airing, did we learn it was called "Collection Intervention".

So no, we never signed up for an intervention show, because I don't need one.

MegaPrime33 said:

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At the end of the show, they showed you guys in your dining room with a table with no boxes. Where did you end up moving them to? It's funny how they edit it as to make you believe you got rid of everything.

The boxes were sitting 4 feet away in our living room. Why do you think that camera shot was SO tight? When the boxes aren't neatly put away like they ALWAYS are, they will clutter a home.

Also not our table, they didn't even give it to us. Tho Rebekah tells me they offered it to her to keep, she declined because it was kinda ugly.

I would have kept it, if only to flip it on craigslist.

Fair enough.

All my toys are relegated to the basement. I know the boundaries!

That said when I got two of the large tennis balls from House my wife asked if she could have one. I'm slowly winning her over.

Moviefreak said:

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Here was the sign up form...

https://ccasting.wufoo.com/forms/master-collectors/

They totally planned to con people into signing up, then blindsidding them with the real intention of the show. They knew that no collectors would sign up if they knew the spin and direction they were going for, so they suckered people into thinking they were going to be on tv to SHOW OFF their collection and get praised for their big collection.

Hah! That's what I'm talking about.

Master Collector is a far cry from Master Hoarder.

Orange_Blend said:

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Fair enough.

All my toys are relegated to the basement. I know the boundaries!

That said when I got two of the large tennis balls from House my wife asked if she could have one. I'm slowly winning her over.

Oh.... I use the loophole theory. She said all my props get the home theater room... And that is where I keep them

But, my office contains stuff that is not movie related. And my back porch was turned into an arcade. I have arcade games, vintage signs, Air hockey, etc...
And when she comments about taking over more space, I say....
"hey, those aren't props and you asked that I keep all props out in the home theater".

So far so good!!

Moviefreak said:

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I think, when the producers call the spouse, if they don't get any signs of the collection being a problem, they won't pick you for the show. They are pouncing on the ones where there is an issue.

I would not even give them that much credit though.

In our casting video, the girl (who worked for the casting agency, not the studio) turned off the camera and started coaching us.

"Why don't you say they're taking over my house!"

stuff like that. We told her that we didn't feel that way, she said and this is almost a verbatim quote...

"Oh, this is just for the audition, once they pick you you'll be able to be your honest self"

or something along those lines.

We never saw that girl again, because once they cast us, the agency got paid and it wasn't their problem.

This type of "Say it now and we'll change it later" type of cajoling was rampant.

Eventually, we twigged onto it and started saying "NO" to their requests for sound bytes.

Example, they asked me to say "I would NEVER put them in storage".

I said I couldn't say that, because they were in storage back in Chicago.

And so on....

You've all been great here, I appreciate the interest and if you have any more questions, feel free to send them my way.

Moviefreak said:

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Here was the sign up form...

https://ccasting.wufoo.com/forms/master-collectors/

They totally planned to con people into signing up, then blindsidding them with the real intention of the show. They knew that no collectors would sign up if they knew the spin and direction they were going for, so they suckered people into thinking they were going to be on tv to SHOW OFF their collection and get praised for their big collection.

TheJoeSlepski said:

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Not sure if I said it here, or only on my Twitter, but when we saw the ad for the show, it asked for "you or a loved one with an amazing collection?"

Then when we signed documents, it said it was called "MASTER COLLECTOR".

With each subsequent meeting, they would tease us with a bit more...

"Well, they might want you to sell some stuff, would you be ok with that?"

and so on.

Only after taping, and once promos started airing, did we learn it was called "Collection Intervention".

So no, we never signed up for an intervention show, because I don't need one.

TheJoeSlepski said:

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I would not even give them that much credit though.

In our casting video, the girl (who worked for the casting agency, not the studio) turned off the camera and started coaching us.

"Why don't you say they're taking over my house!"

stuff like that. We told her that we didn't feel that way, she said and this is almost a verbatim quote...

"Oh, this is just for the audition, once they pick you you'll be able to be your honest self"

or something along those lines.

We never saw that girl again, because once they cast us, the agency got paid and it wasn't their problem.

This type of "Say it now and we'll change it later" type of cajoling was rampant.

Eventually, we twigged onto it and started saying "NO" to their requests for sound bytes.

Example, they asked me to say "I would NEVER put them in storage".

I said I couldn't say that, because they were in storage back in Chicago.

And so on....

You've all been great here, I appreciate the interest and if you have any more questions, feel free to send them my way.

My god....that's DISGUSTING.

Dude, unless you signed an NDA (and I'm assuming you didn't, if you're coming here and telling us about the experience), I say blow the lid off of this.

You're sitting on a seriously good story here and one that really SHOULD be told. These kinds of "Schaedenfreude Theater" reality shows disgust me, and doubly so if it's because of lying editing and intentional manipulation of the subjects of the show.

If people knew how awfully constructed these so-called "reality" shows were, and how they sandbag the people on them, maybe they'd start tuning out and we could get some REAL damn shows on.


I might not be interested in watching it myself, but "Master Collector" where they showcase a collection, offer tips about how to maintain it or improve it, as well as maybe tips on how to avoid going overboard, THAT would be a WAY better show than "OMG look at these FREAKS!! who...um...by the way aren't actually freaks...we just made 'em look like that..."


Disgusting. Just f**king disgusting. Burn these bastards. That's what I say. And you know the best part? It'll all be true. They can't say you're badmouthing them if you're just telling the truth. I'd bet you aren't the only one who went through this experience, either.

Seriously. Go public with this. Although -- one thought -- write up your side of the story as a separate blog post FIRST, and THEN take it elsewhere if you're gonna do so. That way when some unscrupulous news reporter spins the story of your story being spun, you can say "And THAT a-hole lied, TOO. Here's the story. Check out my blog post."

Feraud said:

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The more I learn about the production of these television programs the less I like them.

My son (18 yrs old.) is a talented singer/guitarist who expressed interest in trying out for American Idol. They held try-outs this year in Newark, N.J. and we took a trip intending to give it a shot.
I took one read of their release form and scrapped that idea.
They make you sign a brutally one-sided release form stating you turn over everything about yourself, to be used in any way they choose, now and forever, throughout the universe, and in every media known and un-known! It's awful how these production companies exploit people.

One thing about that kind of release -- it might not be enforceable to the full extent they claim. "WE OWN EVERY ASPECT OF YOUR SOUL IN THIS LIFE AND THE NEXT!!!" probably won't hold up in court, ya know? That said, they craft these things this way so that a judge will give them the maximum legally allowable, and YOU bear the burden of requesting the judge to pare it back. And they're counting that the onerous nature of the release will scare you off from even trying to do so.

Oddly (and this may betray my own professional biases), I don't have as much of a problem with the overbroad contract clause as I do with sandbagging people and goading them into "Just say this on camera SO WE CAN MAKE YOU LOOK LIKE A GREAT BIG FREAK!!! MWAHAHAHAHAH!!!" Mostly because I figure a competent lawyer can blow holes in a poorly drafted, overbroad release form, whereas once the lying show airs, you can't put the genie back in the bottle.

Well, I don't think I'll be watching this show anymore after the direct comments from "The Comic Collector." I was going to ask what comics were traded for the first appearance of Wolverine. Especially since I noticed some classic Uncanny X-Men titles. But since this show just lies now to make a show under the guise of "reality" what's the point?

I will say that I thought stacking 5+ comic boxes is asking for a disaster. Unless those boxes are stronger than normal. But I use acid free boxes...Also, the way that dealer flipped through comics does damage too. I've read that a few times in the Price Guide.

I kind of figured it was something like that. I don't think any of the "reality" shows aren't scripted. It's still interesting to see the collections, so I don't know why they thought they needed to frame it this way.

Sluis Van Shipyards said:

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I kind of figured it was something like that. I don't think any of the "reality" shows aren't scripted. It's still interesting to see the collections, so I don't know why they thought they needed to frame it this way.

Scripted? No. Manipulated to the point that it's no longer reality? Hell ya.

Just watched the show and thought you were very impressive Joe, to an outsider in the field, your passion and knowledge really came through. Could tell by the look on ya mug at the end that something was up with that table.

Finally watched an episode (the Star Wars one). This woman is a total tool. "I know what's valuable and what isn't" BULLS**T. She's an accountant, she knows the cost of everything and the value of nothing.

Completely disgusted with this ****.

Oh, and I almost forgot to mention. Steve Sansweet is an AWESOME guy. I had a big smile on my face when I saw he bought Rex.

Im assuming that the cost of renting off site storage units etc is expensive in the States.

Mr Webber said:

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Im assuming that the cost of renting off site storage units etc is expensive in the States.

I store holiday decor at a storage unit, and it is a decent sized unit for around $125 a month.

I just get very annoyed how hard they have to try every episode to make the host seem like she knows alot. "I worked at so and so auction house and we had an (insert collectors items) auction once so I know all about these things." Really? One auction and your now an expert.

Bassket said:

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I just get very annoyed how hard they have to try every episode to make the host seem like she knows alot. "I worked at so and so auction house and we had an (insert collectors items) auction once so I know all about these things." Really? One auction and your now an expert.

Yep. And you know how often you'll go to an auction and they'll give you an estimate of what it'll go for and they're WAY off? Like nowhere close?

Jerks.

Moviefreak said:

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I store holiday decor at a storage unit, and it is a decent sized unit for around $125 a month.

Thats cheaper than where Im from but I can see how even that would be restrictive to a lot of peeps, thanks.

I just get very annoyed how hard they have to try every episode to make the host seem like she knows alot. "I worked at so and so auction house and we had an (insert collectors items) auction once so I know all about these things." Really? One auction and your now an expert.

If the blurb about the host appraising The Lucasfilm archive is true, then by any standard, shes qualified.

Like most, I watch just to see other people's collections. I do not like the fact that they switched up the name of the show and manipulated their way into peoples homes under false pretenses. It will be a little different now when I watch. I believe she is qualified as an appraiser but that's not why people contacted the show. They wanted to show their collections. I don't like how she only respects the stuff that is valuable and looks at the rest like its junk. A few of my favorite pieces are the least expensive of my collection. The things I've had since I was a kid. I do think the people that can't move around in their own home could use some help but now I wonder if thats just editing. Maybe they could just use some help with organizational skills not fire sale all their stuff they took years to collect.

I think the Collection Intervention team needs to go to Jay Leno's place and tell him he has too many cars.
He needs to get rid of the recent stuff and only concentrate on antiques....

Mike
My Firefly/Serenity Collection:
SerenityMovie.net :: View topic - Firefly/Serenity Weapons Collection

pennausamike said:

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I think the Collection Intervention team needs to go to Jay Leno's place and tell him he has too many cars.
He needs to get rid of the recent stuff and only concentrate on antiques....

Great example!


The dumbest part of this is that they are dooming themselves to one season by how they handled the whole thing. If this info goes around all the collecting sites, who's going to want to be on their show?

pennausamike said:

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I think the Collection Intervention team needs to go to Jay Leno's place and tell him he has too many cars.
He needs to get rid of the recent stuff and only concentrate on antiques....

Mike

pennausamike said:

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I think the Collection Intervention team needs to go to Jay Leno's place and tell him he has too many cars.
He needs to get rid of the recent stuff and only concentrate on antiques....

Mike
My Firefly/Serenity Collection:
SerenityMovie.net :: View topic - Firefly/Serenity Weapons Collection

pennausamike said:

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I think the Collection Intervention team needs to go to Jay Leno's place and tell him he has too many cars.
He needs to get rid of the recent stuff and only concentrate on antiques....

Amen! People like her don't understand that we're not collecting this stuff because we think we'll retire on it. WE LIKE IT!