There's so much to like about ABC's award-winning new sitcom 'Modern Family' that it seems almost curmudgeon-like to complain. Nevertheless, you have to wonder where in the world 'Modern Family' is located. No, not the place; it's clearly Southern California. No, it's the economy. 'Modern Family' resides in an economy unaffected by the recession. Everybody is doing well. Nobody's worried about paying the mortgage, or – God forbid – facing foreclosure. Things are going so well in 'Modern Family' world that the entire clan is heading to Hawaii for a family vacation.

Wow, remember when your family could afford to fly off for a holiday? It was probably some time around the turn of the century ... 2000. Maybe 'Modern Family' is in a time warp because they're all checking into the Four Seasons Maui. It'll be the May 12 season finale, so tune in if you want to live vicariously.

Sometimes I like to indulge in my guilty pleasure of watching several hours of the Bravo channel all at once. I can't say I'm hooked on the network -- it's mostly reality shows -- but sometimes it's fun to just watch something totally mindless. In Bravo's case, I usually end up feeling much better about my own life.

This afternoon, I watched a few episodes of Million Dollar Listing, the show about three real estate agents in Los Angeles. Season three premiered last Monday, and I feel for these guys -- Josh Flagg, Madison Hildebrand and Chad Rogers -- because it can't be easy trying to sell homes in this market. It seems like a tough business to be in anyway, and they have to deal with bleached blonde Hollywood types, many of whom think they have all the answers.

Bravo's resident house flipper, real estate guru and OCD interior designer, Jeff Lewis, is a very complicated guy. When I spoke to him recently, I was actually a little concerned. If you've seen Jeff on Bravo's Flipping Out, you've seen him lose it on occasion. Would he yell at me on the phone if I asked the wrong question?

In fact, Jeff Lewis was extremely friendly and funny. We had a great talk and he couldn't have been nicer. He was also really forthcoming about the past seasons of Flipping Out, including this one that's concluding tonight.

What has it been like to be turned into a reality TV star?
Because of the reaction of the show, some people see me as a villain and that could be the way I do business. I handle my employees in a rather non-traditional way. I was concerned about how people would react in public, but it's actually been pretty positive. Overall, it's been a very positive experience. Many people are very nice and complimentary and supportive.

Last night, everybody's favorite obsessive compulsive decorator and house flipper, Jeff Lewis, was back on Bravo, and the ratings for Flipping Out were through the roof. The Season Three premiere was the highest ever for the reality show, up 53 percent from last season's opener.

More important than the numbers, though, was the show itself. If you want to see how the recession has hit the real estate business, check out this show. Instead of flipping million dollar homes in Southern California, Jeff is now reduced to taking renovation jobs and working for other people. He's not used to having to work for others, but it's great to see it happen.

TLC is adding to their real estate reality slate once again with Hope for Your Home. The show, hosted by Kristen Kemp Becker (Property Ladder) will feature families who are trying unsuccessfully to sell their homes. Each half-hour episode will showcase one family facing tough financial circumstances. Kemp Becker will advise the family as to what improvements they can make, a contractor will help them make said improvements, and a real estate agent will come in after and assess the home's value and how quickly it could sell.

While Hope for Your Home sounds informative (especially for families looking to make cost-efficient changes to their properties), it sounds really boring. I find Extreme Home Makeover annoying but at least we get a bunch of quirky personalities ("quirky" is probably the most generous adjective I could think of) and we get "extreme" changes to the homes. It's interesting to see how the team does a complete overhaul on the house. This show? I'm not so sure. What do you think?

Hope for Your Home premieres on Saturday August 9th, at 8:30 p.m. ET/PT.

In this struggling real estate market, HGTV has a new series that will focus on the newest trend in selling homes: home staging. Viewers will get a first-hand look at the work of Canada's premier home-staging company Dekora. In each episode, audiences will see innovative ideas and techniques that Deroka uses to prep a home for a quick and profitable sale.

In the first episode, we'll meet a recently-divorced homeowner whose home is terribly dowdy and outdated (think wood paneling ... everywhere). Matthew, one of the show's professional home stagers, transforms the living room into an inviting, modern space.

(S02E01) I watched the first season of Flipping Out on Bravo last summer based on a teaser I saw during Top Chef 3. The show is about a real estate "flipper" who buys properties, fixes them up and then resells them for a profit. You might say, "Yawn, that's just like a bunch of other shows on TLC, Discovery, et al." Well, yes, that's true.

But Flipping Out isn't really about the flipping, it's about the flipper -- Jeff Lewis. This guy Lewis is not normal. I mean it, he's not. He says he's not. He's obsessive compulsive and it comes out in everything he does. It makes him a better flipper, because of his attention to detail, but it also makes him really hard to take if you're his employee, partner or contractor. But, boy, is it fun to watch Jeff Lewis's life! That's what Flipping Out is really all about and it's back.
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Yes, for everyone who has been waiting for a network devoted to nothing but skiiing (I'm one to talk; if I had The Tennis Channel I'd watch it 24/7), this is your lucky day. Or, to be more exact, some day in 2008 will be your lucky day.

That's when The Ski Channel launches. It's a new network devoted to, um, skiiing. I can't tell if it's going to be a regular network or something else, because it is described as a "network with distribution on video-on-demand and multimedia platforms." OK.

I was wondering how they'll fill the time with just skiiing, but they have that covered. From the article:

I have a season pass to A&E's Flip This House, but this weekend my TiVo suggested I watch TLC's Flip That House. So I did. Besides the length-- This is one hour, while That is 30 minutes -- the differences between the two programs are subtle. A&E's program really digs into problems with contractors, negotiating prices, and time crunches. It's definitely more stressful to watch than the TLC version. I also think it has a different mission: to show exactly how hard it is to flip a house in a short amount of time and make money off of it. Whereas, Flip That House is less about the reality of being a house flipper and just more about the upgrades or fixes you can make to a house to improve its value. That said, I still like TLC's version better. I think the A&E version is way too long and I really hate some of the recurring flippers. Plus, I'm not considering going into the house flipping business but I would like to know how to get more money for my home someday when we do sell.

Which one do you like better?

$25 million may seem like a lot of money to pay for the home of a former wrestler. Until you hear a little bit more about it. According to the St. Petersburg Times:

"The roof tiles are imported from France. The floors are center-cut oak that's hand-carved in a basketweave pattern. The windows are handmade leaded glass. The kitchen has custom copper sinks, hand-carved limestone and steel countertops, and a fireplace, one of seven in the 17,000-square-foot house."

That's mighty extravagant, Hulk. The grounds are 2.3 acres overlooking the Intracoastal Waterway. Hulk and the fam damily moved to Miami Beach last month. The home is actually appraised at $6.4 million (with $126,000 in property taxes last year!), but Hulk's real estate agent evidently thinks his celebrity is big enough to push that price up nearly $20 million.

Donald Trump is ready to executive produce another reality show. This one is based on the All-American, Parker Brothers game of Monopoly. Details are scarce, but it sounds like the show is going to be some sort of a competition involving real estate. Variety reports that contestants will somehow acquire run-down real estate and revitalize it (like Flip This House?). Of course, remodeling real estate is where Trump initially made his money. He started out renovating Manhattan's Commodore Hotel into the Grand Hyatt and then, of course, he went for broke with the gold trimmed and peach-marbled Trump Tower.

It's not yet clear whether Trump will host or just be a background player, but considering how much he's a whore for the camera, I'd say it's a pretty safe bet his combover will be on TV again.

The Queen of All Media (Howard Stern holds the King title) is selling her well-known Turkey Hill home in Connecticut for $9 million. It has 9 rooms, 3 bedrooms, 2 full baths, a heated pool, a barn, and large gardens (duh). It's on 4 acres. (I know nothing about real estate, is this a good price?)

I think that everyone here should pitch in and we can buy it and make it the official TV Squad headquarters. We can all live there together, Real World style.

[via Gawker]

Winning The Apprentice isn't what it used to be. The season three winner, Kendra Todd, is judging a 'Donald Trump Look Alike Contest', as part of a real estate expo in Los Angeles. Poor girl. I'm sure just being close to the real Trump was creepy enough. Imagine a room full of him!

The winner of the contest actually gets to meet The Donald, plus gets free passes to this real estate thingy and $1,000 cash. Details are here.

If I looked like Trump, it would take a lot more than $1,000 to get me to admit it to a national audience (what? you don't think this is going to be publicized up the wazoo?).

5. Design on a Dime. I've lost track of how many hosts and designers they've had on this show, but it's still entertaining. I get inspired by their do-it-yourself projects, even though I know I do not and never will have any crafty skills. The crew tends to successfully pull off a $1,000 makeover that seems within reach, for those of you with actual skills.

4. Curb Appeal. Being a homeowner, I find inspiration in this show. It's amazing what some planters and a little landscaping will do to improve the look of a home. I also like that they have the homeowners pitch in to do most of the work, which makes the show more accessible.