Tonight's episode of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition was not without a bit of controversy. On tonight's show, the Goodale family is living in some pretty bad conditions. The dad lost is arm in a gruesome lobster boat accident, and can't do the necessary improvements on the family's home. And winter is coming -- with no heat (and living in Maine) the family is in serious trouble.

Sounds like the perfect story for this show, doesn't it? Except that after filming, ABC found out that Mr. Goodale had quite the past. He was arrested for armed robbery (and did jail time), along with several other incidents & a drunk driving arrest. Apparently several residents of the town, including his ex-wife, tipped them off. It's unclear whether or not Mr. Goodale disclosed the arrests to ABC on the family's application. And regardless, the incidents occured when he was young -- 18 or 19. So the question now is, should they have done the show?

Honestly, what I think doesn't matter much. But I have been thinking about it; with all the really needy families out there, should ABC have rewarded this one? The answer I keep coming back to, is yes. First, he served his time. And apparently has done quite a bit of community service as well. He realized he made mistakes, and turned his life around. That, in itself, sounds like a story that this show loves. But more importantly, the makeover was for his kids. His kids did nothing wrong. His kids shouldn't have to suffer. And one thing that I always notice on this show is that the first priority is always the kids. The rooms were spectacular, and they even built a dance studio -- the studio that the girls had been dancing at had closed.

Next week the show is back to helping a family with a sick child...this week it was nice to see one with healthy children who just wanted a safe life for their dad.