Editing Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (section)

=== Format ===
[[File:Michelle Obama participates in the filming of an Extreme Makeover Home Edition episode, White House, 2011.jpg|thumb|210px|Then–first lady [[Michelle Obama]] participates in the filming of an ''Extreme Makeover: Home Edition'' episode, White House, 2011.]]
ABC received thousands of applications from families in need, and the team said that it was extremely hard to filter through the stories and choose only one of them. The families they looked for must have met two criteria: first, they must have been truly deserving and in need of the makeover, and second, they must have been the kind of people who gave something of themselves back to their community. The main theme of the show was advocacy, as each family that was selected helped to address a wide range of issues in American society. The show had helped families who had been victimized by a form of loss or tragic event, experienced a certain hardship and most of all, advocated on ways to treat, face and prevent such losses. The show helped families of [[veteran]]s, [[single parent]]s, and families with children who had illnesses ranging from [[childhood cancer]]s to [[HIV/AIDS]], as well as children with mental illnesses and disabilities such as [[autism]]. The show helped families victimized by natural disasters such as [[tornado]]es and [[tropical cyclone|hurricanes]], as well as families who had dealt with [[structure fire|house fires]] and mold contamination. Other instances included families who had either lost loved ones or had loved ones injured in [[traffic collision|car accidents]] (including alcohol-related incidents), [[domestic violence]], gang-related crimes and [[substance abuse|drug abuse]]. Every episode made a family stand as an advocate of awareness of such problems.

The majority of episodes were one hour; however, in some instances (mainly if complications were involved, or if the makeover involved more than just the family home) the episode was aired as a two-parter and started at 7&nbsp;p.m. Eastern Time (one hour ahead of its normal 8&nbsp;p.m. Eastern Time slot). In the UK and some countries, some of the two{{nbh}}hour episodes aired as one single program instead of as two separate parts.

The first season of ''Extreme Makeover: Home Edition'' took place mostly in [[Southern California]], particularly [[Greater Los Angeles]]. Season two extended the renovation outside California and beyond, including Alaska and Hawaii.

Most shows in the first three seasons began with a shot of Pennington in the team's bus saying, "''I'm Ty Pennington, and the renovation starts right now!''" The exceptions were those episodes which featured a guest host in his place.

[[File:US Navy 110202-N-9268E-007 Sailors assigned to the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) help build a home for a mother currently raisin.jpg|thumb|210px|[[United States Navy|U.S. Navy]] Sailors ([[USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71)|CVN-71]]) help build a home in an episode of ''Extreme Home Makeover: Home Edition'', Virginia Beach, Va., 2011.]]
In the fourth and fifth seasons, the opening shot was of Pennington in a location iconic of the state the episode was in, and a declaration of what state the episode was in was added to the tagline. Then, the chosen family was briefly profiled; their nomination video was shown to the team (and to the television audience).

Pennington then brought the team together in a huddle and led them in a chant of "''Let's do it!''" Next, Pennington and the design team visited the family's home and proceeded to give the family a "wake-up call" (courtesy of Pennington's infamous bullhorn) by shouting "''Good morning, [family's name] family!''" then introduced each family member. The team then went throughout the house, finding out about the family's interests as design inspiration.

The family was then sent off on a one-week vacation (where applicable, airfare was provided by [[Southwest Airlines]], whose involvement was noted at the end of the show, mostly [[Disneyland]]) while the house was renovated or demolished, depending on its condition and the family's needs. Two families in separate seasons (The Sears Family, season 2, episode 13; and The Kubena Family, season 3, episode 17) did not include vacations because their respective family's daughters were in isolation at each local hospital.<ref>Extreme Makeover: Home Edition: The Official Companion Book</ref> They received video messages via laptop computer from Pennington's camera. The videos displayed on the laptop were superimposed on broadcasts to avoid both screen glare and the requirement of paying advertising royalties on the software used in the videos.

Beginning with season 3, the demolitions became quite creative: the team had used falling trees, tanks, and even monster trucks to accomplish the task where needed. In one episode (The Miller Family, season 5, episode 7), the team used dynamite to blow up their [[radon]]-contaminated house in Wyoming. In 2008, a rather innovative episode showed Pennington and his team rolling a five hundred pound bowling ball through the house to eventually demolish a family's "bowling-themed, ''[[The Big Lebowski|Big Lebowski]]''–inspired" bathroom.

A local home builder (sometimes two builders) and community volunteers began basic work (electrical, plumbing, roofing, and, if the house was demolished, framing a new one) while the design team began designing the creative aspects of the house. Once the basic work was completed, the design team then added the finishing touches. Pennington selected a portion of the house to be his "secret room" (except in the case when the secret project took place in the backyard), which no one was allowed to view prior to final reveal (with one exception in The Pauni Family, season 4, episode 10, which involved a commercial kitchen; the health inspector had to approve the kitchen and issue the permit before it could be used). Shows often featured design team members making a trip to a local [[Sears]] store as well as special guest appearances. The [[IQAir]] Clean Air Team was often called in to provide ultra-clean air for families with special health issues.

At the end of the week, the family returned to their home to see cheering crowds and the view of their home blocked by a [[bus]] (for larger projects, two buses would block the home). When Pennington and the family gave the order, originally "''Bus driver, hit it!''" in season 1 (usually only called by Pennington), and later the much more famous, "''Bus driver, move that bus!!''" (or "those buses!!"), starting in season 2, with the family participating in the call to the bus driver, the family saw the end result of the team's efforts. Pennington's secret room was usually the last item featured on the show. Often, a child's bedroom, the parent's master bedroom or a business room received Pennington's special attention. Some episodes featured special gifts given to the family by outside parties. The show always ended with Pennington saying, "''There's only one thing left to say: welcome home [family's name] family, welcome home''". This was often followed by a  [[standing ovation]] from the family, design team, and whoever else was there as the show ends.