The popular cable design show "Trading Spaces" is in town this week filming two episodes.
As a side benefit, Jake Scott, one the show's integral behind-the-scenes crew members, is enjoying a rare trip home.
On "Trading Spaces" neighbors swap a room. With the help of interior designers, carpenters and other experts, each set of neighbors tries to imagine what kind of changes the other person, couple or family would like.
Scott, 27, grew up in Tucson, but now, as one of only a handful of crew members who work on every show, he often spends months away from friends and family here.
What does he miss most when he's on the road? "Not being able to watch Arizona Wildcats basketball." Seriously. The Wildcats come up a lot, even in a short conversation with Scott.
His rabid interest, for example, is part of the reason "Trading Spaces" came to the Old Pueblo at all. Tucson was on his schedule and then got cut, he says.
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"I knew it was in mid-March or April, which is (the NCAA) tournament. I said, 'If we're not in Tucson during tournament time, I'm not going to be happy.' "
He made a phone call and, whoosh. Swap-o-rama.
Scott and two other carpenters work on every show, and Scott drives one of the trucks laden with the necessary equipment from city to city.
Television magic makes the transition look easy. Not so. Scott says the sheer volume of work shocked him when he came on full time after helping with the last episode the show filmed here about two years ago.
Scott graduated from the Catalina Foothills High School in 1997 and is an alumnus of the University of Arizona.
He puts in frequent 12-hour days as one of a rotating crew of about 16 who make the show come together. He spends most of his time on "grunt work" — building, carrying, etc.
In the beginning, he admits, he didn't know much about carpentry.
"I knew you could use a circular saw as a throwing star. I'd seen 'Commando.' Once."
Now, on the rare evening he's in town, friends and family hit him up for his new-found expertise. "Now I can make a laser to zap Villanova," he said, referring to the UA's recent tournament heartbreaker.
Even beyond basketball, Scott is a hometown boy. When show management cut Tucson from the schedule, Scott told them they "were making a big mistake. I told them it's the most beautiful place and that the weather would be great."
And, as is wont to happen here, he knew some of the participants.
Stephanie and Jamie Furr are trading with neighbors Jasper Riddle and Josh Morris. Scott knows the Furrs from high school.
On Monday, he was working on the Dan and Londa Bess/Brian and Andrea Winkle trade in the Foothills.
"I know these people, too," he said, referring to the couples. "We just haven't figured out how yet."
The swaps are scheduled to air in mid- to late June, said Don Halcombe, a spokesman with the show. He said the crew was scheduled to be in town from last Saturday through the end of the week.
