364 replies to this topic

[greybear]

The TOH franchise rolls on. Now there's Inside This Old House as well as the original, the Classics, The New ..., and Ask ... . They've officially bypassed Law and Order in the spinoff category.

[queasy]

The Inside show isn't even on PBS, though, is it? It's confusing.

I miss Steve Thomas. Kevin's okay, but if I'm going to watch some stuffy, stuck-in-the-past TV, I want it to remain stuck.

[OldMizzentop]

Does anyone else think that the new host looks like he should be the spokeschild for a brand of cereal? He just screams "corporate logo" to me.

Edited by OldMizzentop, Feb 16, 2004 @ 10:10 PM.

[gregg247]

For all these years, I've blamed Steve Thomas for being such a lousy host, with his lame jokes and stunts. It now appears that he was innocent, as the new host is spouting the exact same drivel! He even uses the same vocal inflections. This stuff must be written by someone, or he's told exactly what to say.

That said, I still love this show, but I miss the heavy-duty "how-to" aspects of it from past years. A lot of projects that I do on my own house I learned from TOH as a kid. I zone out when they go on yet another field trip to a window factory or Frank Lloyd Wright house. From what I can tell, Frank Lloyd Wright was a hack. Every house he built turned out to have a leaky roof, unstable foundation, and went hugely over-budget at the time of construction. Who needs that!?!

I prefer the smaller house renovations, made for regualr people with real budgets. That gigantic house on the harbor with the music room was ridiculous. This was the first time I considered not watching TOH anymore. It seems like this year, they're back to smaller projects, though, so I'll continue my regular viewing.

But please, more how-to, less jokes!!!!

[queasy]

You know, I bet the Concord project is right up there in cost, though, even though it's tiny in size. Seems like they're going out of their way to get the most expensive version of every single thing.

[xii]

I wanna see Norm and the other sidekicks stuff the new guy in a locker and weld it shut. You know they want to.

[michelec]

Does anybody know if there are any "after" pictures of the Concord house floating around? I missed the finale and the the pics aren't up on the TOH site yet. I'm curious how it all turned out.

[mayes2004]

I wanna see Norm and the other sidekicks stuff the new guy in a locker and weld it shut. You know they want to.

I second that. I hate Kevin O'Connor. Bring back Steve Thomas!

[greybear]

Go all the way and bring back Bob Vila!

[giamaria]

What happened to Steve Thomas? Did he quit or was he fired? Either way he doesn't seem to be cashing in the way Bob Vila did.

[muchsarcasm]

What happened to Steve Thomas? Did he quit or was he fired?

I had read that he quit amicably, that he wanted to do some other things like sailing and writing.

[Pandarosa]

I miss the heavy-duty "how-to" aspects of it from past years. A lot of projects that I do on my own house I learned from TOH as a kid. I zone out when they go on yet another field trip to a window factory or Frank Lloyd Wright house.

I miss the old shows too. It seems like TOH has more money than they know what to do with.
I record TOH on my DVR, if they go on a field trip during the episode I fast forward through it.

[Run Amok]

Agree with gregg247 and others who miss the "how-to" on This Old House. However, I believe that the "Ask TOH" franchise proved its worth to me today. I think that's the franchise I watched recently (as in, within the past year or so) that showed how to repair a leaky faucet. Grandmother called today (Saturday afternoon - since no household emergency ever happens during regular business hours, of course) to ask whether I could take a look at a kitchen faucet that wouldn't turn off entirely. A quick trip to the hardware store for parts, a smidge of advice from the Helpful Hardware Man, and 20 minutes' worth of labor, et voila!, no more leaky faucet! Three cheers for Mr. Trethewy, plumbing instructor extroidinaire!

[small voice] Is it wrong of me to admit that I've harbored a wee crush on Norm for years and years and years? Granted, he's not terribly handsome, but I'd happily trade quiet competence for good looks any day of the week, and twice on Sunday. If he's a real SOB in real life, or if he has an off-camera "carpenter double," I don't want to know, because I'd hate to have one of my last illusions shattered. [/sv]

Edited by Run Amok, Jul 31, 2005 @ 3:14 AM.

[greybear]

Good looks aren't good for much except looking good. Give me a man who knows his way around a chop saw, a receptacle analyzer, and a pipe wrench any day!

[Raguel]

*sniff* I miss Vila.

[candynecklace]

I also liked the Steve/Bob shows the best. They were regular Saturday AM viewing. Have seen very few of the newer shows.

Give me a man who knows his way around a chop saw, a receptacle analyzer, and a pipe wrench any day!

That's Mr. Candynecklace-he's a carpenter. Alas, he does NOT have his own show!

[screamapiller]

I'm still reeling from the decision to abandon Fats Waller's "Louisiana Fairytale" as the theme music.

I'm sure Kevin O'Connor is a perfectly nice guy, but he makes Steve Thomas look like Lawrence Olivier. However, I do still watch out of my insane loyalty to Norm, Rich, Roger, and Tommy.

[etexlady]

That's some ugly house they are working on this new season. An ultra-modern (for the time it was built) that has aged poorly. The home owner is kind of strange. Seems to like the camera. He's gone thru four architects over the past few years so I hope TOH can satisfy him.

Edited by etexlady, Oct 22, 2005 @ 1:27 PM.

[Hairymango]

When I saw the beginning of the first episode with the host out on the Charles, I started to sweat. I thought, "Oh, gosh they're going to do one of those great brownstones on Comm Ave". But that was short lived when I saw them pull up to a tear down in Cambridge. I don't know exactly where they were, but I've never seen that much land for one dwelling in Cambridge whenever I walked around there. It must be nice.

The house, though. Goodness, why not tear it down and start over. I know the homeowner (yes, he is a geeky thing) likes his kitchen and it does hold up well for having been designed 13 yrs ago, but he'll probably want to redo it in 5 yrs anyway. At least I like the look that this 5th(!) architect came up with.

Edited by Hairymango, Oct 27, 2005 @ 5:55 PM.

[Rickster]

But how did it hold up?

I lost interest in the last project they did but have been watching this one. I agree, I would have nuked this place rather than renovate.

It's interesting how these mid century modern houses don't seem to hold up in structure or appeal. I live across the street from a similar vintage and style house in much better condition (although older kitchen) that the owners have been unable to sell for 10 months despite dropping the price considerably.

[gnbhull]

You know, I like Kevin. He's just so clueless and the older guys seem to delight in showing him up. Bob Vila got so full of himself that he was unwatchable to me. I've always like Norm and since I've been watching again I really like Tommy too.

Edited by gnbhull, Oct 28, 2005 @ 2:12 PM.

[wyndham]

I never liked Villa either. I found him arrogant and really obnoxious about bullying people into projects that they couldn't afford. Only kept watching because I loved old Norm and Tommy. Now there are two guys who believe in doing a job right and insist that others do the same. Really hard to find folks like that anymore. And the landscaper guy is great too (tho his name escapes me at present).

Steve took a while to get used to but he had the experience of building boats so he knew his way around the construction pretty well. And he had great hair. Kevin bores me - good hearted fella but doesn't seem to have any knowledge or experience about the work.

I caught part of an episode of the new season last nite - that is one crappy looking old house IMO. But I admit, I'm biased. I want to see them restoring old places that have stood the test of time and just need some TLC.

[Rickster]

I can remember seeing the very first episode as a teenager. Can't confess to seeing all the projects though. While I liked Bob when he was the host, looking back at reruns and that other show he does now, the arrogance gets to me. Steve was the best. Kevin I think is too weak a personality, but I understand they chose him as a person the viewers could identify with without feeling intimidated, which I guess was the case with Steve.

[Hairymango]

I've watched TOH since I was a kid, and I remember my mother laughing at how Bob Vila would always insist on trying some of the work that the others were doing and how he would always do a sloppy job in comparison to the more skilled laborers.

I liked Steve, and his hair especially, but I wasn't attached to him.

Viewers of Ask This Old House, might remember seeing Kevin as one of the hapless homeowners who called in the TOH people to help him out. I think that when Steve abruptly quit the show, the producers took a second look at Kevin and his Campbell Soup kid face and offered him the job. His lack of experience was supposed to make him and the show more accessible.

I try to watch the show every season, but I usually wound up frustrated. I would tune in week after week and dutifully watch while Norm got all excited at some quartz or linoleum factory, and then when it came to the final week's reveal, some pledge drive would come along and preempt it with a show about how to play piano without learning music and I'd never see the project's completion. Thankfully, Tivo put an end to that torment.

[queasy]

I don't guess every example of modern architecture is worth saving, but I love the style and would rather have seen them restore the house rather than rennovate it so extensively. I'm looking forward to this season, though, and am glad the HO is sticking with modern.

I couldn't stand Bob Vila, liked Steve and think Kevin is doing a surprisingly good job, especially considering the way they found him. I mostly watch for Norm, anyway.