Did anyone else watch "The Reassembler"

Started by Graham Walters, December 29, 2016, 09:56:50 AM

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Graham Walters

Watched this last night on BBC4, James May re-assembling the Flying Scotsman train set he was given when he was nine.

Two problems I had with this show were
A. You had to believe that James May  no in his fifties actually kept the train set he was given when he was 9.

B. That he actually took it all apart  and then reassembled it.

A. is plausible, but from what we saw in the show, B was very unlikely, what you actually saw him do was fix the front bogie and the rear pony, oh and clean the commutator on the notorious Hornby XO motor, which had been stripped down to it's vital organs.

He did explain the quartering of the wheels, and had a nifty little gadget to help him, he did pop one of the connecting rods on one side, but yu never actually saw him fix them.

Most of the half hours show was padded out with him talking about a screwdriver that held the screws, ( available on E-Bay apparently), and waffling on about the Hornby ancestry and how Hornby today are just marketing name and have no relation to Frank Hornby, ( most of those watching would have been fully aware of this anyway)

But it passed half an hour away, and it may have done some thing to promote the hobby to a few.
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Bob Tidbury

Will watch it tonight SWMBO was watching something else so I recorded it.
Bob

Graham Walters

Quote from: Crooked Spire on December 29, 2016, 11:37:54 AM
Watched it and thought it was very good.

I have no reason to think that the trainset wasn't his original set as he has used it in other TV programmes and why would he be dishonest about it. 

No idea whether he took it apart but I see no reason to think that he didn't reassemble it. 

Maybe the OP just likes putting people down


Colin

It's not a case of putting people down, it's just looking at modern TV with a cynical eye, and remembering the days of Blue Peter and the "here's one I made earlier" only to find out in later life that the BBC employed a professional model maker to produce the finished article and "the ones made earlier".

Plus hearing him waffle about the difference between a bolt and a screw seemed to deflect attention that he wasn't actually assembling anything.
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JasonBz

I missed it, but I will catch it at some point :)

I don't see it as at all unreasonable to still have things from when one was 9 years old - I still have various bits of such "stuff" stashed away here and there.

Even if its not really is, it doesn't distract from the entertainment of such a show, and things like the difference between bolts and screws do seem to be lost on a lot of people today - I'm sure many ain't even sure which end of the screw-driver is the operational part :D

Sprintex

#4
You seem to be forgetting one thing Graham: programmes like this are not meant to be a tutorial on stripping and reassembling the "thing" , they are for entertainment, and that means they have to appeal to people who are not necessarily interested in the actual object being worked on ;)

People make this mistake with programmes like For The Love Of Cars and Wheeler Dealers, which are made primarily to be entertaining, not as a guide to restoring old cars. If these programmes are too factual and in-depth it puts off all but the hardened enthusiasts, and TV is all about viewing figures.


Paul

Graham Walters

Quote from: Sprintex on December 29, 2016, 01:27:13 PM
You seem to be forgetting one thing Graham: programmes like this are not meant to be a tutorial on stripping and reassembling the "thing" , they are for entertainment, and that means they have to appeal to people who are not necessarily interested in the actual object being worked on ;)

People make this mistake with programmes like For The Love Of Cars and Wheeler Dealers, which are made primarily to be entertaining, not as a guide to restoring old cars. If these programmes are too factual and in-depth it puts off all but the hardened enthusiasts, and TV is all about viewing figures.


Paul

Appreciate that Paul, and I would accept that argument if the BBC hadn't promoted BBC 4 as the place for specialist "niche" programs.
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Rowlie

Just caught up with this programme on iPlayer whilst making some jam.  Didn't James May use his childhood Flying Scotsman in a previous show about the longest model railway?  What was fascinating was seeing how the hobby as developed in the last 40 years.
Best regards
Rowlie

Zogbert Splod

Quote from: Graham Walters on December 29, 2016, 01:36:01 PM
Quote from: Sprintex on December 29, 2016, 01:27:13 PM
You seem to be forgetting one thing Graham: programmes like this are not meant to be a tutorial on stripping and reassembling the "thing" , they are for entertainment, and that means they have to appeal to people who are not necessarily interested in the actual object being worked on ;)

People make this mistake with programmes like For The Love Of Cars and Wheeler Dealers, which are made primarily to be entertaining, not as a guide to restoring old cars. If these programmes are too factual and in-depth it puts off all but the hardened enthusiasts, and TV is all about viewing figures.


Paul

Appreciate that Paul, and I would accept that argument if the BBC hadn't promoted BBC 4 as the place for specialist "niche" programs.
If it's about railway modeling, they almost see it as a 'niche' program already - without even considering the type or class of any aspect of the items modelled.
"When in trouble, when in doubt, run (trains) in circles..." etc.
There, doesn't that feel better? 
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Drakken

I guess I'm going to get blasted for this as I haven't got time to view the programme yet but, I guess the BBC have to appeal to the largest possible viewing public to make the programme worth doing or considered for doing more of this type of programmes with James May as the presenter. I'm can see both sides we would have enjoyed a little bit more time seeing the stripping and or rebuilding taking place but most people these day's just want to see the end product.

They could have done this programme over 30 minutes or 3 hours but most people as a 'Tune in once' kind of thing won't sit for long viewing in depth train building. Like at the parent's trying to viewing anything train related on television ends up with a 'Ah not again' so guessing keeping to a minimum approach might of been the main requirement to keep people interested?

RailGooner

#9
Quote from: Rowlie on December 29, 2016, 01:49:32 PM
..  Didn't James May use his childhood Flying Scotsman in a previous show about the longest model railway?  ...

Yes he did. In James May's Toy Stories, Episode 6 'Hornby' (2009) the record attempt failed. A second attempt in Episode 7 'The Great Train Race' (2011) was successful. And he's done a show involving a model train running around a workshop (relaying the ingredients for a meal IIRC). There's no doubting he has a genuine interest, beyond professional, in engineering of any scale. So I don't doubt that he still has cherished toys from his childhood too.

When I marched off to join the RAF at 16, all my (OO) trains were put in the loft. My parents later moved house leaving them there! Had I chosen a different career path and/or my folks been less nomadic, I'd probably still have my childhood trains.

Drakken

He does come across as one of those who would keep the boxes etc from gifts, Present's or something he has purchased himself. Which I guess we probably all were lol

daffy

Well, I enjoyed it. A lot.

Bit of fun, mildly instructive, and very entertaining.

And I have three different sized 'captive' screwdrivers, which I have used to tighten screws and bolts of all types. Magnetic drivers are commonplace now but useless on aluminium and brass, for instance. So I echo his enthusiasm.
Mike

Sufferin' succotash!

RailGooner

#12
Quote from: daffy on December 29, 2016, 03:48:21 PM
.. Bit of fun, mildly instructive, and very entertaining. ...

You've hit the nail on the head @daffy - these shows are produced to entertain a family audience, not instruct the enthusiast. Though, there's always the chance that some might be entertained enough to ignite a spark of enthusiasm for a subject they hadn't previously considered.

daffy

Thanks RG. :)

I doubt there is a single mass-market TV channel today that broadcasts or produces programs that are presented in anything but a predominantly generalistic manner. 

The only programs that did go against the grain, in my view, were the Open University broadcasts that the BBC put out during the wee small hours back in the 80's and 90's when I was doing an Open Degree course specialising in geology. These were highly instructive, detailed, and usually accompanied by a companion text. Some of these were very good at sending even this late-blooming geologist to sleep.

That's the trouble with highly technical and/or specialist or 'enthusiasts' presentations, be they lectures, weighty tomes, or broadcasts - they can bore or tire even the ardent, and they assuredly lead the general public to leave the hall, put the book down, or reach for the remote.
Mike

Sufferin' succotash!

Drakken

I've literally just finished watching it and noticed a lot of nostalgia and liked James was smiling like he was truly enjoying building the set and thinking back on memories playing with it as a child

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