If you watched last night's premiere of "Collection Intervention," you might experience deja vu if you tune into "Toy Hunter" (10 tonight, Travel Channel). Apparently, a lot of people collect Star Wars figurines.
Yet while they overlap in depicting toys and collectors, the shows have different spirits. "Toy Hunter" features Jordan Hembrough following leads, moving from basements to storage rooms to attics, in search of toys he can buy and resell. He doesn't care if you have clutter, only if you've got something cool.
In the episode I screened, Hembrough's on the Jersey Shore where he comes across a significant Stars Wars collectible. Cooler in my mind were the Colorforms he encounters, those vinyl adhesive paper dolls. Hembrough scores a "Welcome Back Kotter" edition (RIP Horshack), a "Mork & Mindy" edition and others. Which made me think: Isn't it time for a "Mad Men" colorforms? What about "Breaking Bad?" Oooh, the Kardashians! (You might hate them, but they'd sell.)
You can imagine this show stirs one's inner child and Hembrough is a big kid; he's informed and professional, but joyous about his work. He's so respectful of the collectors and their wares that even when he's turning something down, he does it in a way that doesn't seem dismissive. He doesn't always get what he wants either.
Since this is the Travel Channel, the hunt is about the destination and the items, and in future shows, Hembrough travels to California, Ohio, Texas and yes, North Carolina (Bryson City, Asheville and Charlotte).
If you're interested in toys, their history, pop culture and feeling nostalgic, "Toy Hunter" will reawaken your sense of play.
Assistant Features Editor Adrienne Johnson Martin would like to have her life turned into an animated cartoon.