Did any of you ever use Bob Ross and The Joy of Painting to fall asleep to? You might be able to use James May’s show, The Reassembler, to do the same thing. This isn’t a slam on either show since they both serve a purpose and can be interesting if you’re really into them, but let’s be brutally honest just for a moment. If you’re not into painting and you’re not into watching someone rebuild something from the ground up then the chances are good that you’ll feel your eyelids begin to droop after just a few minutes of hearing how this bolt goes in this hole or this piece attaches there or this manual from the 1950’s uses measurements and practices that were outdated as of the 60’s. Again, no insult towards either man, but it’s a show that’s definitely geared towards those that love finding out how things work and how they’re put together.
I must admit that I felt a spark of interest upon seeing the first few minutes of the show as it was given below in a clip, but once things started slowing down I felt myself beginning to list to the side just a bit as my interest waned. I happen to like figuring out how things go together and work, but it’s a more personal thing for me just as it is for a lot of people. Watching someone else do it can be informative and interesting but unless you’re in there with your own hands getting dirty and figuring out just what goes where then it gets a little tiresome. The hands-on method is something that a lot of people can understand, but just sitting and watching seems to sap the energy right out of the experience and then works on sapping it out of the viewer.
Plus, one more detractor for this particular episode is that while the item is a lawnmower and was at the height of innovation back in its day it is still based on a very outmoded concept that most people wouldn’t even fully understand today let alone own. If you do happen to own a mower like this then it might be a lucky break that Mays is on TV showing how to piece it all back together. But if you need some snooze material then you might want to find this channel and tune in.
There’s no need to bash these shows so I won’t, but there are times when such shows seem to be more for the enjoyment of the person that’s on TV than the people who are watching. A lot of folks manage to find some enjoyment in discovering how to piece things together and figure out how they work, but those people are usually the ones that were taking their toys apart as children in order to find out just what made them tick. It’s useful for the fact that it’s very interesting to know just what goes into the construction of what might seem like a simple tool or machine that we use in our everyday lives. But barring that it’s a better method than a sleeping pill when you need to drift off for a little bit.
No offense.
