First it was homes, then it was restaurants, and now it’s salons; nowadays, no place is safe from some sort of televised makeover. Tabatha’s Salon Takeover follows in the grand tradition of Kitchen Nightmares, with Tabatha Coffey, whose television career progressed rather rapidly from a win on the Bravo program Shear Genius to her own show, going into salons on the verge of ruin (if not already there). Once there, she revamps them by redecorating, restructuring, and ironing out the parts of the business that didn’t work. It’s straightforward and formulaic reality television, but it’s also easy to watch and an audience’s ability to enjoy the show has little to do with whether or not they care about hair styling.
If Tabatha’s Salon Takeover has any downfall inherently written in, it’s that every episode can feel the same since it starts with Tabatha monitoring the staff, getting boss and employee feedback, and then making all the changes necessary to rebuild the business, whether everyone in the salon likes it or not. Almost without fail, there will be one employee who fights Tabatha’s regime tooth and nail or one that just doesn’t care. Without fail, they’re either fired or beaten into submission (and usually rightfully so). Every episode follows that pattern and what makes it work is Tabatha’s icy demeanor. Whereas Gordon Ramsay will go one on one with fiery rage, Tabatha takes her stern, unwavering tone of voice and leaves her opponents feeling childish despite never really being condescending.
DVD Bonus Features
The extras are some bland extra video clips wherein Tabatha offers business tips or the selection videos of employees of the salons chosen pleading their case for why they need a takeover.
"Tabatha's Salon Takeover: The Complete Season 2" is on sale February 7, 2012 and is not rated. Reality.
