Family Trade Explained

Image Alt:A logo for the American television series Family Trade, featuring orange letters on a dark red and brown plaque over a yellow backdrop
Genre:Reality television
Opentheme:"We Trade for Anything"
Theme Music Composer:Jamie Lee Thurston
Country:United States
Language:English
Num Seasons:1
Num Episodes:8
List Episodes:
  1. Episodes
Executive Producer:Eli Frankel
Location:Middlebury, Vermont
Runtime:20–21 minutes
Channel:Game Show Network

Family Trade is an American reality television series broadcast by Game Show Network (GSN). The show premiered on March 12, 2013, its eighth and final episode aired on April 16, 2013. Filmed in Middlebury, Vermont, the series chronicles the daily activities of G. Stone Motors, a GMC and Ford car dealership that employs the barter system in selling its automobiles. The business is operated by its founder, Gardner Stone, his son and daughter, Todd and Darcy, and General Manager Travis Romano. The series features the shop's daily interaction with its customers, who bring in a variety of items that can be resold in order to receive a down payment on the vehicle they are leasing or purchasing. Commentary and narration are provided by the Stone family and Romano during the episodes.

Family Trade was a part of GSN's intent to broaden their programming landscape since the network had historically aired traditional game shows in most of its programming. The series was given unfavorable reviews by critics, and its television ratings fell over time, losing almost half of its audience between the series premiere and finale.

Format

The series depicts interactions and negotiations between customers and staff at G. Stone Motors, a car dealership in Middlebury, Vermont that allows its customers to bring in anything they believe is resalable[1] (including pigs, maple syrup, and collectible dolls)[2] to the dealership to help cover the cost of a new or used vehicle rather than paying for it with cash. Gardner Stone, founder and owner of the dealership, explains, "I feel everything is worth something. Lots of times you'll get into the middle of a deal and the customer won't be able to go any further. So we always ask them, 'What else you got that you're not using?'"[3] His son Todd also claims that the barter system creates deals that would otherwise not be possible: "It's helped us get some deals that we wouldn't have gotten, and most of the time we do make good money. Even if we break even, we still sold the automobile, and we made money on that."[3]

The customers negotiate the value of their items, usually with Gardner, but occasionally also with other members of the shop's staff. The trade usually is not enough to cover the full value of the car or truck,[4] because of this, the value of the trade provides the customers with a down payment on the vehicle. Once the trade is completed, Gardner's son and daughter, Todd and Darcy, work with Travis to resell the items they have acquired,[2] which is where the dealership either earns an additional profit or loses some of their earnings.

Cast

Production

Production for Family Trade began when Lionsgate executive Eli Frankel approached the dealership in early 2011[12] proposing the idea of filming a reality show.[3] [13] Frankel was intrigued when he learned of the dealership's trade policy: "No one barters like what Stone does much anymore. This is a very unique place."[14] The Stones initially thought the pitch was a hoax, though once they recognized the validity of the offer, Gardner agreed to do the show provided the deals aired were truly representative of how the business operates.[13] [15] Before the show premiered, Gardner made this desire clear, saying, "I'm very adamant about making this a legitimate thing. I can't stand these reality shows that you just know aren't right. We don't know where any of the deals are going to go prior to negotiating on the air."[3] Todd echoed his father's desire, remarking, "He made a big point of making this a real show, not a fake show."[13] The Stones eventually agreed to have Lionsgate film a fifteen-minute clip of various trades performed at the dealership. Lionsgate pitched the idea to a few networks, such as History, but Game Show Network (GSN) eventually picked the series up after ordering a pilot episode.[13] David Schiff, GSN's senior vice president for programming and development, expressed excitement at the prospect of working with the Stone family: "Gardner is a great businessman, and he really goes by his gut. The variety of things that come in that door are so unique and so interesting and so much fun."[3]

In the network's 2012 upfronts, GSN announced plans to launch a new category of programming entitled "Real-Life Games," which would include series that "take place in real-world settings and feature real-life risk and reward, winners and losers, joy and disappointment."[16] Family Trade first appeared in the network's upfronts on March 21, 2012, as a half-hour reality show under the new category,[12] [16] then under the title The Family Trade.[17] Despite this, the Stones insisted that there were no "game" aspects of the series, rather that everything seen on the show was related to business.[4] After three test audiences gave positive reviews of the pilot,[12] GSN proceeded to order eight episodes of the series on August 9, 2012.[2] [18] Filming for the eight episodes, which began September 1, 2012, lasted for around five or six weeks.[13] The series was originally expected to premiere on March 5, 2013.[19] On February 1, 2013, GSN pushed the premiere date back a week to March 12, 2013 (a specific reason was not given).[20] [21] Although the network never made an official cancelation announcement, the show has not aired on GSN since the end of the first season and is thus presumed to have been canceled.[22]

Reception

Greg Braxton of the Los Angeles Times considered Family Trade to be a "game-changer" for GSN due to the network's history of primarily airing game shows. Braxton also called the show a "key part in [GSN's] strategy to broaden its programming and brand."[23] The day after the series premiere, Michael Tyminski of Manhattan Digest gave a negative review of the show, calling it "incredibly bland," and stating that it appeared to lack much of the family drama that had previously been advertised.[24] Writing for the Star Tribune, Neal Justin added, "The toughest sell of all [is] convincing me to watch more than one episode."[25]

Ratings

The series started off with decent television ratings by GSN's standards, averaging 403,000 viewers for the two episodes shown on the night of the show's premiere, slightly above the network's primetime viewership average.[26] The show quickly fell in the ratings, with all new episodes airing in the first quarter averaging 296,000 viewers, and only 40,000 viewers (with a 0.0 rating) among adults 18–49.[27] When averaged as a whole, the series dropped even lower in terms of total viewers, with an average of 274,000, and only improved by a negligible amount among adults 18–49, with 46,000 viewers (again with a 0.0 rating).[28]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Testing the Limits of "We'll Take Anything in Trade". The New York Times. Genzlinger. Neil. Neil Genzlinger. March 12, 2013. October 21, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20130315083906/https://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/03/12/testing-the-limits-of-well-take-anything-in-trade/. March 15, 2013. I've had all kinds of opportunities to take in husbands, wives, in-laws. They are absolutely not salable. I have to take in things that are salable..
  2. GSN Greenlights New Original Series Family Trade . GSN Corporate . August 9, 2012 . November 16, 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20131203001726/http://corp.gsn.com/press/releases/gsn-greenlights-new-original-series-family-trade . December 3, 2013 . dead .
  3. Web site: Cows, pigs, maple syrup all work as a trade-in at Vt. dealership. Automotive News. Crain Communications. Bunkley. Nick. October 29, 2012. September 30, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171230161447/http://www.autonews.com/article/20121029/RETAIL07/310299974. December 30, 2017.
  4. Web site: Exclusive: Gardner and Todd Stone Talk Family Trade Series Premiere. Orange. B. Alan. TV Web. March 12, 2013. June 10, 2014.
  5. Web site: Our Employees. G. Stone Motors Inc.. June 7, 2014.
  6. Family Trade. Game Show Network. April 16, 2013. 1. 8.
  7. Web site: Todd Stone on a roll. St. Louis. Justin. Times Argus. June 26, 2013. July 29, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180730030913/https://www.timesargus.com/articles/todd-stone-on-a-roll/. July 30, 2018.
  8. Web site: NASCAR honors driver Todd Stone. St. Louis. Justin. Sun Community News. December 19, 2013. July 29, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180730030748/http://www.suncommunitynews.com/sports/nascar-honors-driver-todd-stone/. July 30, 2018.
  9. Web site: Hot Wheels. Vaughan-Hughes. Pip. Business People Vermont. Mill Publishing Inc.. November 3, 1999. June 8, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20000128074910/http://www.vermontguides.com/1999/11-nov/nov3.htm. January 28, 2000.
  10. Web site: Middlebury's Cigar-Smoking Wheeler-Dealer in a Stetson. Green. Susan. Burlington Free Press. Gannett Company. March 31, 2013. June 8, 2014. https://archive.today/20140608202835/http://archive.burlingtonfreepress.com/article/20130330/BUSINESS/303300003/Middlebury-s-cigar-smoking-wheeler-dealer-in-a-Stetson-Gardner-Stone. June 8, 2014.
  11. Family Trade. Game Show Network. April 9, 2013. 1. 7.
  12. Web site: Reality TV Comes to Local Dealership. Baker. Isaac. The Middlebury Campus. September 19, 2012. December 14, 2017.
  13. Web site: A Penchant for Bartering Lands Car Dealership on TV. Flowers. John. Addison County Independent. August 30, 2012. June 12, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140714150300/http://www.addisonindependent.com/201208penchant-bartering-lands-car-dealership-tv. July 14, 2014.
  14. Web site: T.V. crew shoots Family Trade series in Addison County. Varricchio. Louis. The Sun Community News. September 20, 2012. January 29, 2020. January 30, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200130020006/https://www.suncommunitynews.com/articles/the-sun/tv-crew-shoots-family-trade-series-addiscon-county/. dead.
  15. Web site: Family Stone Car dealer highlighted in new reality show. Suarez. Lucia. Barre Montpelier Times Argus. March 9, 2013. January 20, 2020.
  16. GSN Unveils Its New Programming and Development Slate During Network Upfront Event in New York City . GSN Corporate . March 21, 2012 . May 27, 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120817121433/http://corp.gsn.com/press/releases/gsn-unveils-its-new-programming-and-development-slate-during-network-upfront-event-ne . August 17, 2012 . dead .
  17. Web site: GSN Plans to Add Reality TV to Its Game Show Roster. Elliott. Stuart. The New York Times. March 21, 2012. September 30, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20140106005304/http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/21/gsn-plans-to-add-reality-tv-to-its-game-show-roster/. January 6, 2014.
  18. Web site: GSN Orders Barter System Series Family Trade . October 23, 2013 . August 9, 2012 . Goldberg . Lesley . . . https://web.archive.org/web/20120822213650/http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/gsn-family-trade-barter-series-360472 . August 22, 2012 . dead .
  19. GSN Announces Premiere Dates for Original Series . GSN Corporate . January 9, 2013 . November 16, 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130201145438/http://corp.gsn.com/press/releases/gsn-announces-premiere-dates-original-series . February 1, 2013 . dead .
  20. GSN Corporate. GSN Announces New Premiere Date for Family Trade. The Futon Critic. Futon Media. February 1, 2013. November 16, 2013. https://archive.today/20130216212612/http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news/2013/02/01/gsn-announces-new-premiere-date-for-family-trade-398502/20130201gsn01/. February 16, 2013. dead.
  21. Web site: GSN's American Bible Challenge Back In March, Family Trade To Debut Same Month. Deadline Hollywood. Penske Media Corporation. The Deadline Team. January 9, 2013. September 22, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170923144957/http://deadline.com/2013/01/gsns-american-bible-challenge-back-in-march-family-trade-to-debut-same-month-399879/. September 23, 2017.
  22. Web site: Showatch: Family Trade. The Futon Critic. Futon Media. June 8, 2014.
  23. Web site: Family Trade a game-changer for GSN, former Game Show Network. Braxton. Greg. Los Angeles Times. March 12, 2013. May 27, 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20130627154459/http://articles.latimes.com/2013/mar/12/entertainment/la-et-st-family-trade-is-gamechanger-for-gsn-former-game-show-network-20130311. June 27, 2013. live.
  24. Web site: Family Trade is a Bad Bargain. Tyminski. Michael. Manhattan Digest. March 13, 2013. May 27, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140528011953/http://www.manhattandigest.com/2013/03/13/family-trade-is-a-bad-bargain/. May 28, 2014. dead.
  25. Web site: TV picks for March 12: 19 Kids, Family Trade, In Play With Jimmy Roberts. Star Tribune. Glen Taylor. Justin. Neal. March 11, 2013. September 30, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171001031826/http://www.startribune.com/tv-picks-for-march-12-19-kids-family-trade-in-play-with-jimmy-roberts/197112691/. October 1, 2017. dead.
  26. Web site: Decent Start for Family Trade on GSN. Berman. Marc. TV Media Insights. Cross MediaWorks. March 13, 2013. May 27, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20150103160652/http://www.tvmediainsights.com/highlights/decent-start-for-family-trade-on-gsn/. January 3, 2015.
  27. Web site: Q1 in Review: How 280 Original Primetime Cable Series Fared in the Ratings. The Futon Critic. Futon Media. April 2, 2013. May 27, 2014.
  28. Web site: Q2 in Review: How 436 Original Primetime Cable Series Fared in the Ratings. The Futon Critic. Futon Media. July 8, 2013. May 31, 2014.

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