Review: 'Family Trade'

GSN has had a lot of success with its latest round of original programs, with both "Pyramid" and the "American Bible Challenge" doing very well in the ratings. The reality-documentary series "Family Trade" is the next step for the network, as it tries to expand its programming mix to include what it describes as shows that feature "real life games." While that description of "Family Trade" might sound exotic, in reality the show is not that different than anything you would see on TLC, NatGeo, A&E or any of a dozen other cable channels.

"Family Trade" centers around Gardner Stone and his G-Stone Motors, a GMC and Ford dealership in Middlebury, Vt. The dealership advertises that it will "anything in trade" and that means that Stone often ends up struggling to dispose of the unusual items customers bring in to barter towards the cost of a vehicle. In the premiere episode, those items include a bunch of pigs and 50 jugs of pure maple syrup.

As you might imagine, not everyone is thrilled with this approach to selling vehicles, especially Stone's son Todd and daughter Darcy, who often end up being tasked with the job of finding someplace to sell these unusual items.

There's nothing especially wrong with "Family Trade." It's a cute enough show, there are a few laughs in the premiere and thankfully this is not one of those shows where everyone is yelling. But there's nothing in particular to recommend the show either, and I'm not sure that's the reaction that GSN is hoping to get with the show. I might stop and watch an episode if I'm flipping through the channels, but for me I think I'll pass on this family trade.