''House Detective'' is a
television program
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...
on
HGTV from 2008-2012, based on an original concept proposed by nationally syndicated home inspection columnist Barry Stone. In its original format, the program featured two home inspections per half-hour installment. The inspections typically took place in a particular greater metropolitan area, such as
Washington, DC
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan ...
;
San Francisco, CA
San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...
;
Los Angeles, CA
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
, or far
Upstate NY. In a typical installment, a young couple foolishly purchase a house without requesting a home inspection and experience problems. HGTV's producers then appear, accompanied by a professional home inspector. The inspector inspects the house and systematically find problems. The problems were revealed in a fashion calculated to maximize drama and opportunities for
pun
A pun, also known as paronomasia, is a form of word play that exploits multiple meanings of a term, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from the intentional use of homophoni ...
s (usually related to the occupation(s) of the home owner(s)). The discovery of dangerous problems was accompanied by frightening mood music, even if the problems could be repaired easily and inexpensively. In the end, the condition of the house nearly always turned out to be better than feared, and the featured homeowner would rally to the cause of fixing the problems. After each inspection, a brief segment called "Inspector's Notebook" offered viewers helpful advice on specific topics mentioned in the preceding inspection.
In a later incarnation, ''House Detective'' was changed to a one-inspection-per-show format, with the latter half devoted to fixing problems discovered in the first half. The show's format was changed to target a wealthier, more contemporary audience, with the show featuring more style and less comedy.
External links
HGTV House Detective Show (Internet Archive capture 2007/02/21)CA Inspector Barry Stone's House Detective WebsiteUpstate NY Inspector Tom Sherman's Website
HGTV original programming
{{US-nonfiction-tv-prog-stub