During the latter part of March and the early part of April, the show focused on different elements of the multiples world. We were in the audience for one show and guests on the other, and here is a report on both programs.

The first show was entitled 'Multiples Madness' and it focused on Super Twins (Quads and above). The guests included the Chukwu Octuplets (from Clear Lake, just south of Houston--born to Nkem Chukwu and her husband Iyke Louis Udobi--one girl was born 12/8/98, the rest were born 12/20/98. Their names are Ebuka [girl], Chidi [girl], Echerem [girl], Chima [girl], Odera [girl], Ikem [boy], Jioke [boy], and Gorom [girl]. Odera died 12/27/98). Also appearing on the show were the Collins Sextuplets (from Kingwood, Texas, born on 10/18/98 and 11/11/98 with 5 surviving--Christopher was born 10/18 and died--the children pictured here are Jeremiah, Rebekah, Noah, Hannah, and Faith) and the Aymond Quintuplets (Harley, Connor, Garrett, Krysta and Alyssa, from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, born 10/12/92). Sprinkled throughout the audience were twins, triplets and even a set of quadruplets (pictured at left).

As one might expect from a show with madness in the title, the show was chaotic and actually a bit of a disaster from the disappointing producers' perspective. The problems with the program were two-fold.

First, all of the Chukwus and Collins are young children (under the age of 5), so that many kids at one point on the stage can present a problem. During the first segment, there were 7 three-year-old kids trying to squeeze onto two couches. In the second segment, there were 11 children (either aged 10 or 4 and under) plus four parents along with Duncan squeezing into the crowded set.

Secondly, the Chukwus weren't able to listen to the host's questions because they were trying to control their children. The parents don't speak English very well and it's probably tough for them to concentrate when their seven children (one died shortly after birth) are running all over the stage. Their children seem to be developing perfectly and they're very attractive, but they were curious as any 3-year-olds are so they weren't willing to stay still on the couch for too long.

The Collins and Aymond segment went a little better but it still wasn't as dynamic as it could have been. Bringing both families out together probably wasn't the best idea even though the two share some similiar issues. Sadly, both of these families have had more difficult developmental issues to deal with when raising their children. One child out of each of the five (one of the Collins sextuplets also died after birth) is blind. Others have slight development problems such as minor cases of cerebral palsy or poor vision.

To their credit, the Collins family looked Debra Duncan squarely in the eye and told her they'd do it again if they could, despite all they've gone through. The Aymonds told Duncan they love their children, but if they could know then what they know now, they would not wish to have a set of quintuplets.

The show concluded with some question and answer periods featuring a prominent Houston fertility expert. All in all, it was a wonderful idea for a program, but it just didn't come off as well as expected, we're sorry to say.

We may be a little biased about the following week's program, 'The Great Clone Star State,' (because twinstuff.com had a lot to do with the program's various segments) but all indications are that the show was a rousing success and has been elevated to 'sweeps status' (meaning the show was considered to be so neat that they'll show it in May when the ratings are more important).

Starting with the estimated 40-50 sets of multiples in the audience, there were a LOT of twins and triplets on hand for the program. The first segment featured celebrity multiples. Heidi and Heather Burge, the world's tallest female twins at 6'5" each, were first on stage, followed by identical triplet actresses Alyssa, Lauren and Kaitlyn Gainer from Baytown, Texas (but now living in California).

Heidi is a Houstonian but the show flew her sister in from California for the program. Both are retired WNBA players (and collegiate stars at Virginia and high school stars from Palos Verdes, CA). Some people may have seen a Disney movie based on their freshmen year in high school entitled, 'Double Teamed.' They're really nice women with a lot of fun facts (like they were each 7 pounds at birth and 21 inches). Their dad is 6'5", their mom is 6'0", Heidi's husband is 6'7" and Heather's husband is 6'10". In the photo at left, Heather is on the left and Heidi is on the right (in the middle is the mother featured in the twinless twins segment).

The next segment of the show featured the Sanders twins from Houston. Many of you know our story - the founders of twinstuff.com are identical twin brothers Mark and Craig Sanders who just happen to be married to identical twin sisters Darlene and Diane, respectively. And we live next door to each other. We had actually been on the show together once before, shortly before we proposed, so the segment was sort of an update. After the four of us were brought on-stage, a couple of show producers brought out the newest twin additions - Brady and Colby.

Next up were two twin makeovers featuring teenaged twin girls who didn't want to be thought of as twins anymore. Meghan and Patience Royer are at the bottom left and top right in the photo here (along with the other makeover twins and the Gainer triplets). The segment went very well as both sets of twins were very photogenic and loved their various new looks.

Then came probably the most fun segment of the show - a twin and triplets fashion show featuring 8 different sets of multiples under the age of 8. A local children's fashion boutique in Houston (Copy Cat Kids) organized the event and it went great even though some of the children were a little nervous and scared to be on TV. Probably the funniest part of the segment was when one of a set of very young triplets started bawling and ran right towards the boutique's owner (Melissa Miller, herself a mom of twins). Melissa dropped all of her notes but the little girl at least felt better.

A segment on twinless twins followed with a very poignant video of a mother who lost one of her twins at a very young age. There were also three adult twins who had lost their twins - two to murder and one to a severe asthma attack. The segment was well done and helped considerably by Duncan's experience as she too has lost an adult sibling.

Finally, we wrapped up the show with a brief Q&A period where a young mother of 10-week-old twin boys was able to ask some of the older twins tips and suggestions on how to raise her twins. Reagan Sanders made her television debut during this segment but at this point, Brady Sanders had fallen asleep as you can see in the photo at left.

Overall everyone had a great time and the Debra Duncan show has already told us that they want to do a similar show next year. Thanks to anyone who helped be a part of it, and if you have ideas for what we can do on next year's show, please let us know.