We all know people who like to collect or keep certain things that are memorable and worth something to them. We all probably collect at least one thing. But what happens when the collecting, keeping, and buying gets out of control? Hoarders, that’s what.
Most people can keep this obsessive behavior in check, but then there are those people who can’t and they become full-fledged hoarders with a mental disorder than prevents them from getting rid of stuff that they don’t need anymore. A&E recently followed a bunch of people who could be considered hoarders on an extreme level.
Hoarders is all about the lives of people who have can’t stop themselves from collecting stuff and shoving it into every inch of their homes. The items range from the usual memorable pictures, objects, newspapers, magazines, etc. to the more gross and filthy things such as decaying food, pet and animal waste and even dead animals covered up by surrounding junk. Almost all of these people suffer from a mental disorder that either prevents them from seeing that what they are doing is a problem or the inability to throw things out, even if they do realize what they are doing is a problem. Each episode of this series highlights two people, who usually hoard different things for different reasons. To assist the hoarders, the show brings in professional organizers and psychologists to help them organize and eliminate clutter from their homes and minds.
There are two types of people featured on the first season of Hoarders. First, there are those that know they have a problem, but still can’t help themselves. Then, there are those who don’t think they have a problem, even when the facts that they do start to pile up around them.
Some may ask why would those people, who don’t think they have a problem, would agreed to get help from Hoarders and their crew of psychologists, organizers, and “Got Junk?” trash company. Many of those same people are forced to do so, because they are in danger of losing their homes, due to fiances or threat of eviction, or their family. Most of the time it’s both cases.
The most fascinating thing about watching this series is the fact the reasons they starting collecting and keeping things were quite logical in the beginning. You can begin to understand why they started, just as easily as you can understand why and see where things went off track. Hardcore obsessive-compulsive organizers will certainly look at these hoarding individuals as odd human beings, but if there was a show dedicated to those OCD types of people, the same thing could be said about them. So that ultimately is what makes Hoarders an entertaining show to watch.
Episodes:
Disc One:
Episode 1 – Jennifer and Ron/Jill
Both Jennifer and Ron, parents of three children, are hoarders, with their home quickly filling up with mementos of past infancies. It’s so bad that Jennifer fears child services will be called. Jill owns two freezers and four refrigerators, yet it still doesn’t seem to be enough, because they are packed full. Jill fears her landlord will evict her soon because she has lost her job.
Episode 2 – Linda/Steven
Linda’s husband could no longer stand the compulsive hoarding that filled the house they owned together. However, Linda must now sell her home as part of the settlement and it is sure to be an elaborate and anxiety-provoking process. Steven is at risk of eviction with a very poorly kept government-run housing. He may end up homeless again if he cannot clean up his house.
Episode 3 – Tara/Betty
Tara’s landlord already plans to evict her if she can’t manage her countless collections. At Betty’s house, her husband who is ill lives in decrepit conditions and he was moved out of the house. Betty needs to desperately clean up her house and her yard in order to live there again.
Episode 4 – Jake/Shirley
Jake is just 21 years old but suffers from hoarding and OCD, hoarding garbage all over his house. Jake feels like his life might end soon because it’s so bad. Shirley has taken in a lot of stray cats, but now she’s lost count of how many she actually has. Now, her home is unfit for animals to live there and she must cooperate with authorities to remove over 75 cats (living and dead) from her home.
Disc Two:
Episode 5 – Patty/Bill
While the outside of Patty and David’s home seems perfect, inside it is completely filled with unnecessary belongings. The hoarding is so severe that Patty’s children have already been removed by child services. Bill’s hoarding has haunted Lorelei for 25 years. Lorelei has even hurt herself tripping over Bill’s piles of belongings. She threatens to leave him if he can’t make the house livable.
Episode 6 – Kerrylea / Lauren
Kerrylea and her husband Geoff have 2 houses, the first of which they have completely filled! The felt the best thing to do was to buy another home. But, now in order to sell one home, they need to empty it. Lauren’s hoarding forces her boyfriend to sleep in the living room. If she cannot begin to deal with her hoarding problem, Will plans to leave her.
Episode 7 – Paul / Missy and Alex
Paul who was previously charged for criminal littering and failing to meet three court order deadlines is under orders from a judge to clean up his two acre property which contains seventy junk cars, thousands of pounds of scrap metal and hundreds of old appliances or else face being fined plus additional jail time. Single mother Missy is a hoarder who has a seven year old son named Alex who is learning his mother’s negative way of living
The video is given in non-anamorphic widescreen color with an aspect ratio of 1.66:1. The transfer is okay but it looks pretty much like it did on television.
The audio included is in English 2.0 Stereo sound. There are subtitles available in English as well. The dialogue and music come out loud and clear.
Deleted Scenes –
This is 21 minutes worth of scenes that didn’t make the final cut of this season.
Hoarders is a fascinating series to watch on a bunch of different levels. Not worth purchasing, but would make for a solid rental.
A&E Home Video presents Hoarders: Season One. Created by Robert Sharenow and Andy Berg. Running time: 329 minutes. Rated: NOT RATED. Released on DVD: May 25, 2010. Available at Amazon.com.
