First, this news item from the Albuquerque Tribune:
Police say somebody stole an “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” utility truck from the parking lot of a hotel near the Big-I on Tuesday night — the same day the crew unveiled a new home to a Southeast Heights family.
The show was in town to build a home for the Martinez family, who live in the Trumbull Village neighborhood, known for its history of crime and poverty — a fact mentioned repeatedly on promotional material for the show.
Here’s my idea — Extreme Makeover: Cops Edition.
Bad boys, bad boys, what’cha gonna do
What’cha gonna do when they come for you
The problem with my idea is that four years ago Mayor Marty banned Cops from filming in Albuquerque. “The city’s police officers are portrayed in a good light, but the rest of the city looks horrible. That has a real impact. That’s all people see, and that’s not who we are.”
Tell that to the Extreme Makeover guys.
Y’know, being a faithful COPS watcher (both on FOX and on TRU-TV), I tend not to associate what I see on COPS with the rest of the city. Any city large enough to be featured on COPS will have the same kind of areas — low income, high poverty, high crime. Although, I do especially like the episodes from cities in the northeast (Boston, Providence) because I see the officers driving through the neighborhoods, see the real estate, and think, “What great old housing stock.”
Living in Indianapolis, I do like seeing those episodes only because I can place the streets they talk about.