While Americans struggle to keep from losing their houses, not only do
the smug, sanctimonious, hypocritical Roloffs on 'Little People, Big
World' get to KEEP their house, they get their farm house made into a
MegaMansiont (tm) all paid for by Discovery Communications. Food for
thought when they try to shovel their usual tired, unbelievable _crap_
down your throats this 4th.... and hopefully LAST season.
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Equally inspiring for regular TLC viewers is the return of Little
People, Big World (Monday, TLC at 8 p.m.). The Roloff family is back,
and the dad's in Iraq.
Launched in 2001, Little People, Big World has a staunch viewer
following in Canada and the United States. As a quick primer, the show
follows the lives of the real couple Matt and Amy Roloff, who operate
a successful pumpkin farm outside ****tland, Ore.
Matt and Amy are little people, each roughly four feet tall, and the
doting parents of four pretty good kids; three of average height,
while teenager Zach is a little person, like the folks.
Matt's form of dwarfism, diastrophic dysplasia, resulted in numerous
childhood surgeries. He walks with the aid of crutches and uses a
motorized scooter when required. Tiny but tough soccer mom Amy is the
anchor of the family, as mothers are.
And the Roloffs are going through life exactly as all families do,
which is presumably the point of Little People, Big World. Living in a
society designed for the height-advantaged presents an ongoing ordeal
for the smaller members of the family, but no one gripes about it.
The show's unadorned format and on-camera honesty has made it one of
TLC's highest-rated programs. For a brief period last year, it was the
most downloaded TV program on iTunes, even outranking 30 Rock and The
Office.
The fourth-season opener of Little People, Big World is a departure:
The entire episode follows the indomitable Matt on a recent mission of
mercy to Iraq. His cable-TV fame has prompted a missive from a U.S.
army officer regarding a destitute Iraqi family with three young
children afflicted with severe dwarfism.
As the unofficial spokesman for little people everywhere, Matt has no
choice but to help. "If you're not building or serving or learning,"
he says, "what are you doing?"
And off he goes. The program provides a sharp video diary of a brief
trip to a war zone. In battle fatigues and helmet, Matt is ****pped
into the heart of Baghdad via military trans****t; the city remains a
shambles. Once encamped with U.S. troops, the conditions are Spartan
and Matt receives no special celebrity treatment. It's not easy
walking through a sandstorm on crutches.
When Matt finally reaches the family, they naturally have no idea who
he is, but they are desperately grateful to see him. By Matt's
unprofessional diagnosis, two of the children are afflicted with a
potentially fatal form of dwarfism; none have ever seen a doctor.
"Nobody knows we're alive," says the mother through a translator,
whose face is blurred for security reasons.
And does Matt help? If you have followed Little People, Big World,
you'll already know the answer. He takes the kids to a U.S. military
medical clinic and ensures they will meet with the proper specialists
down the line. In his own personal way, he has made a difference.
Meanwhile, back in Oregon, Amy keeps the home fires burning and does
the laundry. Life goes on.
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