Anderson Family

Extreme Makeover: Home Edition
The Anderson Family
Recap By J.G. Bird
January 16th

The makers of Extreme Makeover Home Edition certainly upheld interplay of drama with light, even joyous moments in this installment. The fairytale ending is serene, but the knowledge of the tragedy and struggle that brought Rodney Anderson and those closest to him to that point is unforgettable.

Once again, the design crew is brought to South Los Angeles, to mend the home and hearts of a family touched by gang violence. Rodney Anderson was a star basketball player for his high school and had acquired a full scholarship to Cal State Fullerton to carry on his athletic training at the college level. He had dreams of providing a better home for his parents. Walking just a few residences down the street from his parents’ in mid-March of 2000, Rodney is shot four times. He then apparently had the shooter walk up and say it was a case of mistaken identity.

He is now 23 years old, and a senior at Fullerton. His Fullerton jersey is proudly hanging on the wall, but he’s a quadriplegic, and his independence is severely limited. The small family home is not big enough to allow Rodney to travel throughout the home, even to use the bathroom. Therefore, the living room has been converted into his bedroom, and his sister, Glenda, provides most of his daily care and sleeps on the sofa. There’s some assistance the family received through the State, a grant to make renovations for accessibility, but the contractor that starts the work, leaves the house in a worse, incomplete condition, and without adding any of the needed space. The mother relates that the roof has to be covered by tarps from some of the contractor’s demolition, and that the kitchen stove is the home’s best heat source given the added draftiness.

Ty is shown the mother and father’s bedroom arrangement, but the viewers are not. Ty will later reveal that their embarrassment over the state of their bedroom is his motivation for making their suite his secret project. Glenda’s three children sleep wherever there’s a bit of room, even if that’s a few feet from the toilet. The designers pick up on themes for the kids’ rooms easily by asking their interests. Cordney is a 12 year old science buff. Louis wants to study law and become a defense attorney. Mellone’s room is to be a tropic-inspired, light filled paradise compared to the dark enclosure the designers encounter.

Ty takes note of the visible love between Rodney and his fiancée Monique. She has been by his side already since the time of the shooting. They confide that the engagement ring is something they are still saving for. Ty sends the couple and the six other members of the Anderson family on their way in a mid-size accessible coach, only later revealing by phone that the vacation destination is the Atlantis resort in the Bahamas.

The demolition is tackled in a unique way at the beginning of the second day. LA County Sheriffs arrive with a large assemblage of officers from search & rescue, S.W.A.T., bomb squad, along with their respective heavy equipment. The home is rigged front and back with ropes, so that a large tug o’war can take place to tear the building apart. “The Bear” A large armored vehicle, with a tank-like top hatch is Ty’s preferred vantage-point. “Sheriffs, Police and Bears, oh my!” Ty quips. He videos the ripping apart of the long-standing, wearied Anderson home.

The plan is to place two homes on the long lot. Not only a fresh start for the senior Andersons and their daughter’s family, but a new beginning for the young couple just waiting to start a new chapter in their lives. Ty interjects into the brainstorming session of Tracy, Paige, Ed and Preston, that he wants the front house to have a whole second story for Joseph and Mrs. Anderson.

Shopping and acquiring for the interior needs for such a large project begins right away. Tracy makes the trip to Sears, and we have a small clue into the technological focus ahead for Rodney’s home when she picks up one of those circular disk robotic vacuums for the home(s). Paige and Preston, meanwhile scurry off to the L.A. office of Johnnie Cochran. They slip past the receptionist, into the unoccupied office of the famous attorney and appear to raid his desk of belongings. Paige says, they’re old friends when Preston questions the legality of it all. Related to the “Law room” for Glenda’s eldest son, the bed is constructed with a foundation of stacked façade books. Books will be an undeniable presence in this room.

Ahern Construction and their contractors work the job with a lot of heart from this point forward, but the irony of California building conditions strikes a few blows that set the construction plans back. First, a gas line begins leaking, and all work stops for its capping off at the street. Then a sudden rainstorm on Day Three makes the lot muddy, slick, and hard on the framers, since one house has no roof yet

The contractors Tim Ahern and Steve Rice of Ahern Construction call in all their favors to business associates to keep the work going and pull in fresh crews as things falter. The front house is seriously off-schedule in Days 4 and 5 and drywall still has to be completed in a majority of the rooms, which means the design team members have to pitch in all the help they can. Our intrepid new carpenter, Ed, with lines like, “Bish, bash, bosh with a coupla nails…” is light-hearted under the most extreme stress. He seems quite a capable leader and steps in to direct the efforts of the small drywalling crew at Ty’s request at 2:30pm on Day 5.


Ty’s frantically shouting into LAX traffic, “Where you going? We’ve still got one more hour!” Will Ty really play hooky and take a plane trip away from the defeat all the complications have presented on this renovation? Nah! He hasn’t even had a chance to use the megaphone yet, that’s certainly reason enough to have a second hour.


The theme of the second hour could be motivation – staying motivated against terrible odds. On the other hand, Tracy somehow slips away to the Bahamas for the perfect touches to the Tropical paradise room. Yes, the Bahamas! It's the same resort, the same poolside where the family is staying. She gets a few chances to play with the family as well as Preston via cel phone, neither of which knowing where she’s really calling from.

The focus is back to the family and Rodney for a time, as Preston introduces a segment shot especially at Cal State Fullerton. A ceremony has been arranged to retire Rodney’s jersey number and hang it at center court. It is a tearful few moments for Rodney and the designers even though they are viewing it separately.

Ty takes stock of where the house preparation stands at midday on Day 6 walking into areas and declaring them “Done” or “Not done,” and in some rooms, not much is done. Complete plumbing appliances are yet to be installed in at least one bathroom. Almost no room is painted. Furniture is arriving, but Tracy just directs it off to the side for a time when it will be called for – that time is not now; it’s not the usual Day 6.

Ty is despairing over having to call the family to say, “Why not stay an extra day in the Bahamas?” The family understands, even thanks him.

With that stress behind him, a megaphone toting Ty lays it on the entire crew on Day 7, “we have 20 hours until the family comes home!” This is still crunch time, even with nearly a whole extra day. Say, why not top it off with the preparations for a wedding – a few calls to caterers and flower shops appear to make that a snap project for Paige. The reveal of the family’s “House” has the intrigue of not advising the Anderson households that more than one house has been built. But I do know which had the riskiest response, not the second home, but the presentation of the idea, “How’s about getting married? Now. Tonight?”

A 1.7 carat diamond engagement ring arrives in the Bahamas for yet another blessing upon the life of Rodney. With a little phone prompting from Ty, Rodney presents the ring to his lovely companion, Monique. She is awed and smiley with some tears. The plans for a wedding the next day are not revealed.

Look to How’d They Do that? for details on the front home reveal. They were pretty rushed by the end of this second hour. Joseph, the dad, gets quite emotional after a few minutes of taking in the great room. Up to this point, it’s been the mother providing most of the hysterical crying. Deep emotions are displayed by everyone, but a touching moment of comforting between husband and wife is shared before Ty moves everyone else on to the individual room reveals.

The science room for 12-yr old boy, Cordney had the unique detail of plasma “lightning” discs imbedded into the desk surface. Also every wall surface appeared to be covered with educational posters. Louis’ room really looked like an awesome storied law library. Mellone’s tropical wicker bed was soft and pastel and flowered with pillows and veils – and, well, you couldn’t get any more flowery and feminine without lingerie and feather boas. Ugh! But it’s not my opinion that counts, Mellone said she loved it. Their mother, Glenda now thankfully has a room of her own. It had deep jewel tones and seemed quite a nice retreat.

Ty’s preference for Asian inspired décor shows in a wide-open, suite. The bathroom even is dominated by a soaking tub and side by side sink basins. Previously, the single bathroom in the home did not have even one sink! There’s a neutral color scheme with a cherry blossom like wall screen and a slightly funky touch having a wall hanging with three large rose-color polka dot accents. The walk-in closet is almost a heart-stopper compared to the arrangement of the home before. This brings to mind, there were much fewer “before and after” shots used. It might have been a matter of lighting in many of their rooms.

After springing the surprise of a back house, and a spa tub in the adjoining space between the homes, which also is fully accessible to Rodney, a surprise to top that is sprung. Ty invites the flown-in best friends of Rodney and Monique to join them. Ty announces, “Are you ready to have a wedding?” Everyone is giggling nervously, and Ty reiterates, “Uh, I’m not kidding….Let’s light some candles!” At the conclusion of the marriage ceremony, Ty presents a $50,000 donation from LendingTree.com to the newlyweds.

The technology in Rodney and Monique’s bedroom allows for Rodney to get assistance in some basic areas of living without having to rely fully on his family. Ty wonderfully demonstrates the “butler” Alexander, actually an AVSI / Mastervoice Butler System, which with voice-activation, opens various doors in the room, and it also calls out a lift. The lift is on a track that Rodney can ride from the bed to his toilet or bath. Pella brand steel doors, alarm systems, film protected glass, are products listed on the abc.go.com website, so safety was designed in for this family entrenched in “South Central,” but it’s never mentioned. The beauty in all this comes in knowing that a truly beautiful home was placed here and it became the backdrop for the surprise wedding.