Where did HGTV go wrong?

Curbed

Ali Barthwell decided to watch a full day of HGTV because "I f*cking love HGTV." After two hours, though, she had had enough, describing what she had seen as "the unbearable tyranny that was HGTV." "The appeal of watching HGTV is that you can completely shut your brain off," adds Barthwell. "There is nothing challenging or difficult happening on HGTV. It demands nothing—so when Caribbean Life started throwing trivia questions at me about giant obelisks and forcing me to sit through segments with the couples exploring spice markets or going on pedal kayaks, it was really asking a lot of me. Yet after a couple hours of Caribbean Life, I found myself way too eagerly shouting out the answers to the trivia questions, as though I had contracted my own form of Stockholm syndrome. Pina colada! Flamingos! Liberty Day festival celebrated with beef and bread! I wanted to escape, but all that was left was the knowledge that Maho Beach in St. Maarten is famous for being at the end of an airport runway, so that planes land right over your head. The problem with HGTV’s newer offerings is that they want the viewer to care about the people and places featured on the show instead of the houses and gardens themselves. I did not come here to see Jocelyn and Justin swim with mermaids. I’m here for the granite countertops."