The Problem with Wife Swap on ABC

When "Wife Swap" first came on the air, it seemed like a creative, edgy addition to the reality genre.

What's better than ripping two moms from their comfort zones, transplanting them in the homes of opposite families and then videotaping the results?

And the possible pairings seemed endless - the ultra-tidy housewife and the messy working woman; the conservative Christian and the liberal biker babe; the racist, white southerner and the civil rights-advocating black woman....

But, eventually, those possibilities ran out, and the show just became...boring.

The producers of "Wife Swap" seem to have run out of original ideas and are now just cycling back through the pairings they've already created, adding only minor tweaks here and there.

Remember the swap that involved the ultra-tidy housewife and the messy working woman? A few months later, that same idea will be back, except now the housewife will be messy and the working woman will be ultra-tidy. If the producers are feeling super creative, they might just throw in some bratty kids or a father coping with rage issues this time, too.

All this recycling leaves viewers bored and asking themselves, 'Haven't I seen this one already?' It also places the burden of entertainment solely on the shoulders of the show's featured families - a task most of them just aren't up for.

Sure, you'll occasionally get a really psychotic, dysfunctional family who makes one episode really watch-able (Remember the lady who hoarded household products in her bathroom?)

But the vast majority of the families featured are just normal - or some variation of it. And the show leaves viewers with an over all sense of, 'Meh.'

And while it's still an enjoyable diversion when nothing else is on, "Wife Swap" lacks that certain je-ne-sais-quoi that keeps viewers tuning in night after night - a fact that's evidenced by the show's position as a summer filler on ABC.

If producers want to keep the show around longer, they would be smart to look at some ways to shake up their pairings and add meaning to the swaps. Otherwise, this show is doomed to drown in its own puddle of overused formula.