Three Wishes - Episode 1
I Didn't Think I Was Going To Make It
Recap by Shelley Tam
September 24, 2005
Tonight was the premiere of NBC's "hugely anticipated" show, Three Wishes, featuring Amy Grant, Carter Oosterhouse (NBC's "Today," "Trading Spaces"), Eric Stromer ("Clean Sweep") and Diane Mizota ("Trading Spaces: Boys vs. Girls").
The whole premise of the show is for this team of do-gooders to swoop into an unsuspecting town on a Monday, and grant the three wishes to most needy or deserving by Saturday, when they have to split and head to the next town. They do this by picking a town, setting up a tent in the town center, and get the word out to residents to visit the Three Wishes crew and share their wishes.
The first show starts off in Sonoma, CA. Amy and her crew sets up their tent and pretty soon, it seems like everyone in town is there, lined up and just waiting to pour their hearts out.
The first wish to be granted will be to Abby Castleberry. Abby's aunt showed up and spoke about the tragic circumstances surrounding her niece. It seems that Abby got into an accident about 6 months ago, and ended up disfigured. They show pictures of a pretty, angelic looking little girl, about 10 or so. She was in the car with her father, when another car hit them and the bumper of the other car came through the windshield and crushed her skull. She's lucky to be alive, but her skull is still fractured and parts are missing. As a result she looks like one of those Nickelodeon cartoon characters where her head is oddly shaped. What is even more tragic, Abby was very athletic prior to the accident and now can't play any sport because she needs to wear a helmet at all times to protect the parts of her head where her skull is missing. Her wish is to be able to play sports again.
Now as if this wasn't tragic enough, Leanne, her mother, is a 911 operator and actually was on duty and took the 911 call when the accident happened. She just didn't know it was her daughter that she given directions to be airlifted. Her father, the driver, is just overcome by guilt because he feels that he's partly to blame.
And lastly, the medical bills are staggering. Leanne worries that the bills will eventually bankrupt the family and they'll lose their house. They know that Abby needs facial reconstruction surgery, but they don't know if she's eligible and if they can even afford it. Leanne has a red plastic bin that she keeps all of the medical bills in. When they come in the mail, she just opens them and puts them in the bin.
So all of this is relayed in about 10 minutes of the show. Amy is clearly touched and moved. She wants to help and is about to leave to put things in motion when Abby says, "Hey, you can't leave without singing a song!" (Alright, so this kid is either a huge Amy Grant fan, or the producers put her up to this to showcase Amy Grant's vocal chops.) So Amy pulls out her ever handy guitar and breaks out in song (sorry, I'm not an Amy fan so I have no idea what she sang).
Now back to the tent at the center of town, Eric Stromer (the blonde carpenter) is chatting with folks until he comes upon this lonely kid. Bobby Wentz is about 13, his dad died when he was 6. He talks about how he lost his idol and mentor, and how it was filled again when his mom remarried and his step dad, Tim, came into the family. He's so grateful that Tim sacrificed so much to be in their lives, that Bobby wants to do something special for him.
Break away now suddenly to a pack of cheerleaders descending upon Carter Oosterhouse (the other carpenter), and tell him of their plight. Apparently their school field is a mess and a danger to the athletes. They want a new field and their coach, who's dying of cancer, has a dying wish which is to see her teams play on a brand new field. So guess what!!!! We're gonna do it!!!
Now back to Amy and Abby. (If my commentary seems kind of disjointed it's because the show is disjointed. They keep jumping back and forth between granting of the 3 wishes. Just when I start caring about the folks involved, they change the subject...)
Abby is now in Sacramento. She's taking some tests and the doctors are evaluating whether or not she is a candidate for reconstructive surgery. In the meantime, Three Wishes would not be the show it is without going above and beyond. While Abby and her family is out of town, they are building her a new "play room". I put that in quotes because this is not your typical playroom. That's like saying Hugh Hefner lives in a house. Three Wishes is constructing a whole separate building where Abby can play, do her homework, work out, swim, do her physical therapy etc. etc. They hope that this can be her sanctuary and that she can build her strength while protecting her head (another shot of her x-rays showing her skull).
So what's Eric doing? Now back to Eric. He goes off, collects Bobby's family and they all take off in a patrol car. Bobby's step dad is a cop and had to give up his beloved truck to help the family through some hard financial times. Eric has arranged for a brand new Ford F-150 truck to be parked in the middle of a field. Eric radios in to Tim saying something about a suspicious vehicle. When Tim gets there wondering who the hell was going to jump out the truck to shoot him, Eric and the family drive up yelling that it's his truck!! Tim is ecstatic, he tears up a bit and not to be outdone by Abby's playhouse, Eric sends the whole family to the SF Giants game with matching SF Giants jerseys.
But, that's not all.....
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