James May: The Reassembler
Discussion
Trikster said:
Reminded me a bit of Out of Town with Jack Hargreaves, and that's not a bad thing
Spot on for those that remember it.I thought it was great and hope they make more. Prefer to see him without the other two buffoons by his side as they annoy me.
I can relate especially to the phone episode as I trained to strip and rebuild the later 746 dial phones many years ago and it bought back some good memories. What they didn't show was the conversion to enable it to be plugged into a modern socket.
Really enjoyed that. The short format worked perfectly, and being told in more detail how something works doesn't add anything much for me (I know how an engine/phone/guitar works). This is not a how it works programme, it's just the joy of a mechanical thing, and our relationship with it. If it inspires people to find out more, then cool.
Tuna said:
Really enjoyed that. The short format worked perfectly, and being told in more detail how something works doesn't add anything much for me (I know how an engine/phone/guitar works). This is not a how it works programme, it's just the joy of a mechanical thing, and our relationship with it. If it inspires people to find out more, then cool.
+1.Every evening this week I've managed to find an hour to work on my motorbike and then come in and sit down and watch it almost continue with James May.
Very relaxing, back to work next week!
ajprice said:
I liked this too, if there are more, what else could he reassemble?
Things that spring to mind immediately (and in the same vein as the telephone) are a mechanical typewriter and a hand-cranked sewing machine although I suspect both of those would run to more than 30minutes of TV.I thought all three were brilliant programmes but needed to be longer! For me, he could have gone into a lot more detail; how many ordinary men-in-the-street know exactly how the tremolo assembly on a Strat actually works for example?
Many other parts (pun intended) that were glossed over could have been covered in more detail. A few filmed inserts, interviews with experts (not to blow my own trumpet,* but I'd have been happy to take part in the guitar episode) and little animations to demonstrate the more complicated concepts would have been welcome.
Could easily have been an hour per episode and still have held my interest.
Many other parts (pun intended) that were glossed over could have been covered in more detail. A few filmed inserts, interviews with experts (not to blow my own trumpet,* but I'd have been happy to take part in the guitar episode) and little animations to demonstrate the more complicated concepts would have been welcome.
Could easily have been an hour per episode and still have held my interest.
- - no I mean it, I don't even play the trumpet.
2172cc said:
Trikster said:
Reminded me a bit of Out of Town with Jack Hargreaves, and that's not a bad thing
Spot on for those that remember it.I thought it was great and hope they make more. Prefer to see him without the other two buffoons by his side as they annoy me.
I can relate especially to the phone episode as I trained to strip and rebuild the later 746 dial phones many years ago and it bought back some good memories. What they didn't show was the conversion to enable it to be plugged into a modern socket.
Plus I have reconnected dials and you have to be spot on where you put the actual wires which didn't seem to be mentioned too much
I also thought that by 1959 they would have been switching over to GPO 706 type phones ?
I know that 706 and 746 are very similar in style but circuitry is different.
A long time ago there was a series called "the secret life of machines" or something similar.
The presenter was head of a museum, possibly science and industry, may have been called Tim, these programmes were superb and amusing too., does anyone else remember?
Usually an admirer of James Mays work, I found this series very uninspiring.
The presenter was head of a museum, possibly science and industry, may have been called Tim, these programmes were superb and amusing too., does anyone else remember?
Usually an admirer of James Mays work, I found this series very uninspiring.
kev b said:
A long time ago there was a series called "the secret life of machines" or something similar.
The presenter was head of a museum, possibly science and industry, may have been called Tim, these programmes were superb and amusing too., does anyone else remember?
Yep, he made a tape recording on sticky tape with rust on itThe presenter was head of a museum, possibly science and industry, may have been called Tim, these programmes were superb and amusing too., does anyone else remember?
kev b said:
A long time ago there was a series called "the secret life of machines" or something similar.
The presenter was head of a museum, possibly science and industry, may have been called Tim, these programmes were superb and amusing too., does anyone else remember?
Usually an admirer of James Mays work, I found this series very uninspiring.
Tim Hunkin, who used to do the 'secret life of...' cartoons in the Observer and then went on to produce the TV series with Rex Garrod (who went on to produce the Cassius fighting machine in Robot Wars).The presenter was head of a museum, possibly science and industry, may have been called Tim, these programmes were superb and amusing too., does anyone else remember?
Usually an admirer of James Mays work, I found this series very uninspiring.
This show was an entirely different beast, and frankly I'm bored with 'How XXX Works'. Most of it has been explained in TV series a million times before, and the rest is on Wikipedia.
Fastchas said:
Last night's Channel 4 viewing was great!
The Reassembler, followed by
Decisive Weapons, featuring the Harrier Jump Jet, followed by
How To Build A Nuclear Submarine.
I never watched Channel 4 that much since they got rid of the 'Hazard' warning triangle in the top right hand corner...
Surely if you were on channel 4 you missed everything on BBC4? 😋The Reassembler, followed by
Decisive Weapons, featuring the Harrier Jump Jet, followed by
How To Build A Nuclear Submarine.
I never watched Channel 4 that much since they got rid of the 'Hazard' warning triangle in the top right hand corner...
Just watched the Strat' clone programme. Like a lot of people here really enjoyed it without knowing why. But...... I've now got a strange desire to order some Japanese Industry Standard screwdrivers. Did anyone else here know of there existence, or even own some? Thought I knew quite a bit about tools, but apparently not!
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