I mentioned the mezzanine lift and the plasma screen on November 3rd
here (seventh post in thread). This was following a conversation with TW about the forthcoming series - he was very pleased with the whole thing, but seemed
more pleased that Aston Martin had loaned him a DB9 (which gave him the chance to play James Bond) than anything else. Having gone to the trouble of building the height-adjustable mezzanine, the siting of the pillar drill on top of the flimsy back wall "bench" would have made it inoperable. When opening the boxes containing the tools, he seemed surprised (and pleased) at what had arrived - giving more credence to the theory that Axminster had just sent along what they wanted. They're probably going to collect them later too, although the combination machine seemed to be just an advert as it didn't figure in the final layout.
He was executive producer, which - as I understand it - gave him some control over content and final editing. The role, in the film industry, is defined as
"Supervising the work of the Producer on behalf of the studio, the financiers or the distributors and ensuring that the film is completed on time (and within budget), to agreed artistic and technical standards. The term often applies to a producer who has raised a significant proportion of a film's finance, or who has secured the underlying rights to the project. Typically, Executive Producers are not involved in the technical aspects of the film-making process, but have played a crucial financial or creative role in ensuring that the project goes into production."
The point I'm trying to make here is that he cannot blame others for the finished product with his name on the credits in that capacity. The whole of the first programme's concentration on demolition could have been binned in favour of a discussion/demonstration on the sort of tools and their uses that a good shop should contain - but that requires knowledge, interest (in woodworking) and commitment.
The building may have looked reasonable on its own, but (as has been said) didn't blend in at all. The first decent wind will have the felt shingles around the dormer off, so perhaps that will be a chance to use more sympathetic and appropriate materials for the setting?
Unfortunately, he has yet again come across as a bricky with a few chippy skills (both
trades for which I have respect), using others to do the tough stuff. He describes himself as "having grandfather rights" as a tradesman - having been taught by his father - but has no apparent relevant/certified qualifications.
I've still no idea who the programme was made for (other than TW). Aside from a couple of glimpses into proper shops, I consider it to have been a wasted opportunity. I think that his description of "competence" regarding electrical installation and showing a glimpse of him working on an electrical item was both foolhardy and dangerous.
Discovery RT has such low standards of quality control that they're becoming laughable - they describe that complete jackass (Gavin Lowe) in "From Junk to Funk" as a "Master Craftsman" for example - when it's a programme that could easily be used as an example of how
not to do anything.
In an earlier post, I feared that TW was "becoming a luvvie." This series has proved to me, beyond any doubt, that the transformation is complete!
Ray.