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Abby and Brittany Hensel Reality Show premiering MERGED


Mela99

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I really hope they turn out better than most of the families who get spoiled by TLC. And as someone who actually watched that hot mess that is Honey Boo Boo (I know, I know), I would much rather watch a show about them being normal.

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I feel sorry that exploited themselves on tv is their best recourse for steady source of income. I can sneer at the duggars and gosslins for being fame whore but their situation is so unusual it does not give them many options.

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I really hope they turn out better than most of the families who get spoiled by TLC. And as someone who actually watched that hot mess that is Honey Boo Boo (I know, I know), I would much rather watch a show about them being normal.

Honey Boo Boo apparently now has her own show on TLC. And from what I've seen of the girl on Youtube, she is quite the six-year-old hot mess. My mother would have spanked me if I acted like that.

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I miss the days when TLC had interesting documentaries and A&E would feature cultural programs, biographies of interesting people, and America's Castles. I knew it was starting to all go downhill when the biographies of interesting people with ones of rather dull hollywood stars (usually being divorced or having some minor trauma was as interesting as it got).

The only way to get any kind of real history or science programming or anything cultural is to find it online or on Netflix....

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My one friend likes to joke about how I need a reality show because I have so many weird/rare medical conditions. Not that I am ever going to be offered one but thinking about it, I would HATE it. I really enjoy my privacy whether it is about my personal life or medical history or whatever. I feel like if I were to be in a similar position to the girls getting a reality show would only be a last financial resort, personally. I agree it is likely a financial decision, and I accept that it is their decision to make, but it makes me a little sad because they have previously expressed how much they enjoy their privacy/normal lives. Maybe they have changed their opinions. I think it could be interesting if done well, and I hope it does bring them some income, but I also hope it doesn't last long enough for TLC to become desperate and screw them over like they have done to others.

ETA: I totally agree with others that it would drive me crazy to be that close to my sister. My sister and I get along fairly well because we are 8 years apart, but we have total opposite personalities and she can be a little tiring to be around 24/7. LOL I'm really glad they seem to have pretty compatible personalities and get along fairly well.

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Honey Boo Boo apparently now has her own show on TLC. And from what I've seen of the girl on Youtube, she is quite the six-year-old hot mess. My mother would have spanked me if I acted like that.

Never heard of this kid, so I googled it, and... what did I just read???

Give me a marathon of "How It's Made" any day of the week.

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Never heard of this kid, so I googled it, and... what did I just read???

Give me a marathon of "How It's Made" any day of the week.

You read the beginnings of the down fall of society.

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Apparently OWN (which is also a Discovery channel-when did that happen?) is doing a special on a gay mega-family "10 Kids, 2 Dads" It should be interesting to compare this family to the Duggars, Bateses, et al.

http://press.discovery.com/us/own/progr ... ds-2-dads/

I will definitely watch this special. I like a lot of stuff that has been airing on OWN.

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Yeah, that's my take on it. There's no way they don't get stares and worse everywhere they go, and it's going to be tough for them to find a job (jobs?). There are a lot of things in life that they've said they want to do but they because they're conjoined - they've said before that they want to marry and have children, but I really doubt it would happen. They might as well try to make some money from the situation.

Their parents very carefully protected them from the media when they were minors, and probably for very good reason. They agreed to media exposure in only a limited way and I'm sure in a manner of their choosing. I saw the earlier documentaries on these girls (I think there were two, one when they were just starting school and another when they were learning to drive). The Hensels seem like decent, bright young women who can decide for themselves if they want to be on TV.

As for TLC, they've been owned by Discovery since the mid-90s. They used to run what seemed like non-stop episodes of "A Wedding Story", "A Baby Story", "Bringing Home Baby", and "Trading Spaces" - they wanted to appeal to housewives. That all really started to change with Jon & Kate and the Rolofs. My coworkers and I were just recently discussing the fact that TLC has become the trailer park trash of what used to be a decent channel lineup, and there hasn't been any real educational programming on TLC in years. It used to be that the History Channel was the one you watched for cheesy documentaries about Nazis and/or aliens, but now TLC is an utter trainwreck between the Duggars, toddler pageants, insane couponers, and "gypsy" weddings.

I do dig the Science Channel (owned by Discovery) along with a few Discovery Channel shows. I admit I'm a sucker for the gypsy wedding show, though. :oops:

I agree. As awful as some TLC shows are for the people involved, they may not be bad for others. Honey Boo Boo is a problem because it's an invitation to make fun of a young child and her family, and it rewards some questionable behavior with fame and money. For people with physical conditions that would get them stares in any situation, though, it may not be as bad. I found, for example, with the various Little People shows, that you soon forget about the size of the people involved as you get to know more about them. [The downside, of course, is that the lives are so ordinary that these shows put me to sleep.] While some people may tend to be cruel, I don't think folks would snark on physical differences the same way that they would snark on lifestyle/parenting choices. Perhaps it gives someone more feeling of control if they get attention as "that person on TLC" instead of "that person who looks like that". Maybe it also feels better to have others focus on actual things in your life or your personality (even if it would feel intrusive to most of us), as opposed to just your appearance.

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I guess I'm ok with the Bates--they can now pay the non-filmed medical expenses which is good. Maybe they can get more food for both kids and animals. Maybe another Bates kid will get to go to even a very, very conservative college. Those are good things for them. But I think the Duggars and Bates need to re-think which network they are on.

Abby and Brittany--I don't know if I could watch that. I cannot imagine their life at all. I'm still reeling from an 80's documentary about Katie and Eilish (spelling?) co-joined twins in Ireland that was too emotional for me. The other shows on TLC, while tasteless are pretty much just garbage and can be dismissed as such, but co-joined twins? That's sad beyond belief to me.

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Next thing you know, we'll be seeing Lori and Dori (who changed her name to Reba and then to George) on TLC. Makes you wonder a bit why they haven't been seen more. They are in their 40's.

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Next thing you know, we'll be seeing Lori and Dori (who changed her name to Reba and then to George) on TLC. Makes you wonder a bit why they haven't been seen more. They are in their 40's.

I think maybe those two just want privacy. Despite the one twin wanting to be a country singer (that voice still haunts me-LOL), it just seemed like they didn't like having the attention.

As for A&B, they are adults who are old enough to decide if they want to be on TV. Maybe they hope that the publicity will not only show what it's like being conjoined, but also they can normal lives (as normal as being conjoined can be) and minimize in the future, everyone asking questions or the media requesting interviews once the show is done. Maybe they were going to do a VSE and then were told by TLC that they would make so much per episode. Then those two did the math and found that a series would be better financially for them.

It's kind of sad and scary to think that conjoined twins seem more well-adjusted than the Duggar children.

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I think maybe those two just want privacy. Despite the one twin wanting to be a country singer (that voice still haunts me-LOL), it just seemed like they didn't like having the attention.

As for A&B, they are adults who are old enough to decide if they want to be on TV. Maybe they hope that the publicity will not only show what it's like being conjoined, but also they can normal lives (as normal as being conjoined can be) and minimize in the future, everyone asking questions or the media requesting interviews once the show is done. Maybe they were going to do a VSE and then were told by TLC that they would make so much per episode. Then those two did the math and found that a series would be better financially for them.

It's kind of sad and scary to think that conjoined twins seem more well-adjusted than the Duggar children.

It probably helps that A&B went to college! and got to know people outside their parents' bubble! and are allowed to be adults! etc. etc. etc.

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When I managed a call center, I would have absolutely have hired them; no one would stare through the phone. They seem like sweet, caring young women, and as long as TLC doesn't make it a freak show, I would watch. I am very interested in knowing how conjoined twins navigate the world.

The most intimate look at conjoined twins, first persons, I've read was a memoir by Daisy and Violet Hilton, who were absolutely gorgeous conjoined twins, as well as accomplished musicians. They were in the 1932 Tod Browning film, unfortunately titled "Freaks". Unfortunately, said memoir was written in the 30s, and didn't have too much beyond press release feel good stuff. I do hope they handle this show very well.

**This will be merged with the thread in Worldly Distractions. They are not fundies, they just share a channel with the Duggars.

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When I managed a call center, I would have absolutely have hired them; no one would stare through the phone. They seem like sweet, caring young women, and as long as TLC doesn't make it a freak show, I would watch. I am very interested in knowing how conjoined twins navigate the world.

Exactly. They're joined together in such a way that they're able to live in the world without much physical accommodation and aren't medically fragile (unlike some other conjoined twin pairs), so they're at an interesting place as far as not just their physical situation but also legal issues.

Such as jobs - there's plenty of "behind the scenes" jobs where you farm a cube and never mix with the public (my life as a computer programmer is one example! also call centers yeah) - once your coworkers get used to you, no more out of the ordinary hassles. They went to high school, eventually everyone in their school was more or less used to them. It certainly helped that they lived in a smallish town and had protective parents.

But surely some employers would wonder, they come as a pair, so you'd need to hire two people at once, or would you? Would they say ah, maybe we hire one of them but of course unofficially get the benefit of the other? Realistically they sort of have to do the same job (otherwise what, one woman works and the other one purposely plays games on the phone for 8 hours? Right) How would they work benefits? If one gets sick the other gets sick (since they share a physical body), they share medical treatments if any, etc. Those various questions probably make a lot of conservative employers just say "I don't want to deal with it" just like so many other more "ordinary" disabilities do, and then there's the added issues of "hiring a famous person, will we get gawkers" probably also. So yeah I imagine it's quite the hurdle.

I have no idea of their writing skills but if they ever wrote a book about their lives growing up it would probably sell quite well.

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Next thing you know, we'll be seeing Lori and Dori (who changed her name to Reba and then to George) on TLC. Makes you wonder a bit why they haven't been seen more. They are in their 40's.

George is apparently LDS and Lori isn't. I wonder how that works for Temple and such.

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I remember seeing one of the documentaries on Lori and Dori. I might be wrong, but I think they also appeared on an episode of Nip/Tuck.

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I wonder how much snarking will be done on these young women since they did graduate from Bethel University which is a Christian college and from reading their statement of faith appears to be pretty conservative.

ETA: Deleted the collegeprowler comments as it was for Bethany College, not Bethel.

ETA: Here's something you can snark on from the college they graduated from: www.bethel.edu/about/covenant

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I remember seeing one of the documentaries on Lori and Dori. I might be wrong, but I think they also appeared on an episode of Nip/Tuck.

They did do an episode of Nip/Tuck in season 2. It was one of the better done episodes, before the show went off the deep end crazy.

Apparently Lori and George turned 50 last year

Edited because it's Lori and not Dori.

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Realistically they sort of have to do the same job (otherwise what, one woman works and the other one purposely plays games on the phone for 8 hours? Right)

I mean presumably they already had to do something similar in figuring this kind of thing out when it came to college classes.

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Wow, that really surprised me. They were always so private. They were unusually relaxed on camera, though, so I'm confident they're doing something they like. I've been following their story since I was in kindergarten. So far I like them a lot.

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Surprised you all like them so much since they graduated from a university that believes in heterosexual marriage only.

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Surprised you all like them so much since they graduated from a university that believes in heterosexual marriage only.

So did one of my gay friends. That doesn't mean anything. Anyway, if they plan to have families they're kinda stuck going against a "traditional" marriage arrangement.

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Surprised you all like them so much since they graduated from a university that believes in heterosexual marriage only.

You seem quite stuck on this, what's the deal?

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