Renovate My Family: The Serratellis, Part 1

Jay welcomes us to Yorba Linda, California, and the home of the Serratelli family. He tells us that they have been having a rough time of it since dad, Tony, a fireman, was injured on the job several years ago. With dramatic acoustic guitar as a background, we meet the family. Sean, 19, tells us that he has two brothers and a sister and his father was hurt in the line of duty.

Mom, Donna, fills us in. On December 31, 1989, they had a house full of company, and Tony was dispatched to an emergency. Tony continues, telling us that the fire went to three alarms. There were three or four homes burning, and when he went up on the roof, he was shot. The next thing he knew, he was in an ambulance. Donna got the call that he was in the emergency room, and their lives were forever change. Sean tells us that his father crushed four of the vertebra in his back. All this resulted in Tony’s having 18 screws, a plate and nine bone grafts.

Tony tells us that the pain gets pretty intense, and he has been pulled off a job he loves. This has caused great financial stress, and Donna has had to go out and get a job, while Tony has stayed home and raised Adam. Sean quit high school to work full-time to help the family. Adam, 14, tells us that they need a new start, and 21-year-old Brian calls the last fifteen years the “rockiest road that most people go through in their lives.”

Tony tells us about meeting Donna. Early on, they were devoted to one another and just holding hands gave him “the chills.” All of this has taken a toll on their relationship, which saddens him. But, although the bloom is off the rose, they have managed to hold it all together and are “still a family.”

Their house is, in Tony’s words, “a catastrophe.” The camera pans the basement ceiling, and Donna tells us that last night they broke a pipe under the sink. They’ve tried to remodel the kitchen but they just can’t seem to keep up. We get a glimpse of the garage, which looks like a junkyard. There is clutter everywhere. It’s a mess.

Donna says that what would make them all happy is seeing Tony happy. Sean tells us that he thinks the family is “pretty awesome,” despite the rough times. Everyone seems depressed, and, judging from the mess that they live in, I can’t say as I blame them.

Enter Jay. He tells us that the family is on their way to Hollywood. They think that they are going to be guests on the Dr. Phil Show. The twist here is that they are going to be told about being chosen to be on Renovate My Family in front of a live audience. They arrive in a limousine, and Jay slips into the studio while the family is waiting in the green room.

Just before airtime, Dr. Phil jokes that he is now working for his son. We segued to the set of Dr. Phil’s show, and he comes out onstage. He tells the audience that there are a couple of traitors in the in their midst who didn’t come to see him, but instead, came to see Jay. He points to the Serratellis and asks them to come up to have a picture taken. As they stand with Phil, posing for a picture, Jay bounds through the audience, congratulating them for having been chosen to be on Renovate My Family. The audience cheers wildly and the family hugs and cries.

Tony thinks it’s a joke, but Jay tells them that they need to believe it. To prove to them that he is serious, he tells them that the experts are already at their house and points to a monitor where they can all see the triplets and the rest of the crew onsite. Tony spots a “dozer” in the front yard and says, “Build some new dreams. Two of the triplets, Scott and Jude begin demolishing the garage door as the family watches in awe.

They all hurry home to do their two hours of packing. Jude is stunned by the messy closets, but Jay is more philosophical and says, “You have to let go of the past and start building a future.” Jay’s words of wisdom are something, aren’t they! Sean tells us the garage is his area and that he wants to go to mechanic school. Tony shows one of the triplets pictures of himself as a firefighter and she calls him a “hot stud.” He is kind of cute. We also see some of his x-rays and, indeed, he is loaded with metal.

Designer Kahi Lee helps the littlest Serratelli, Megan, sort out her clothes and, together, they separate everything into two piles – one that she will keep and the other that she will give to charity. Meanwhile, Scott is going through the boy’s room, and Brian says he is training to be a firefighter just like his dad.

Jude and Megan get in some hula-hooping as the trash pile grows in the driveway. Donna and Kahi go through Tony and Donna’s wedding album, and Kahi tells us that she sees a lot of love between them. Kahi wants to do something special with the photos.

As the bulldozer fires up, the family scrambles to get everything out of the house. When they finally leave their house, the waiting crowd cheers. Tony says they are impressed but nervous, and Jay tells them all that they will be spending the next seven days building a new family.