|
|
Post by RedMoon11 on Mar 21, 2016 15:30:01 GMT
James May: The Reassembler on BBC Four Monday 4th, Tuesday 5th and Wednesday 6th April 2016, at 9pm
James May reassembles engineering icons on BBC Four "Any idiot can take things to bits, putting them back together again is what counts." James MayDate: 21.03.2016 Last updated: 21.03.2016 at 11.35 Category: BBC Four; Factual; Commissioning BBC Four today announces that James May will fix things in a workshop, over three programmes, for James May: The Reassembler.
When we look around our homes, sheds and garages we see an array of household objects that with one click of a button or twist of a knob will spring to life, and - most of the time - do exactly what we want them to. But how on earth do these objects work? To find out, James May (fuelled by endless cups of tea) heads into his workshop with thousands of little pieces to assemble some of our most beloved and recognisable objects from scratch to see what it actually takes to get them to work. James May says: “Any idiot can take things to bits, putting them back together again is what counts. I recently bought a new house, with a lawn. I even have a lawn mower. Unfortunately, it’s in bits. You can probably see where this is going.” Cassian Harrison, Channel Editor, BBC Four, says: “At BBC Four we love to celebrate passion and expertise, and we also like to take the time to do things properly. What could be better than giving James May the time to really get to grips with three fabulous everyday engineering icons, and to celebrate every rivet and ratchet on the way.” Over three episodes stripped over three nights, James will reassemble a whole host of objects which have been carefully taken apart to all their hundreds of individual component parts. From a petrol-powered lawn mower to an electric guitar and an old-style rotary dial telephone, each episode will focus on one object which he will attempt to put back together. In his workshop he will be faced with the object laid out in all its individual parts, where he will have to work out how to piece it back together, until eventually it is in its full form. In James’ meticulous, fastidious, but ultimately very slow way, he will vigilantly screw every screw and tighten every bolt to rebuild the object, in the hope that it will start first time! He will revel in the challenge, enjoying every second of it as he shares his memories of the object and his love for it and delivers, in his unique way, a potted history on the thing he is rebuilding and the component parts. If you really want to understand what something is then you have to understand how it works and what makes it work - James is the man to find out, one bolt at a time. A 3x30’ series made by Plum Pictures for BBC Four. The executive producer for Plum Pictures is Will Daws. James May: The Reassembler was commissioned by Tom McDonald, BBC Head of Commissioning, Natural History and Specialist Factual Formats and Lucinda Axelsson, BBC Commissioning Executive, Specialist Factual Formats. www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/latestnews/2016/james-may-reassembles
|
|
|
|
Post by RedMoon11 on Mar 21, 2016 15:58:48 GMT
|
|
|
|
Post by Flying Lady on Mar 21, 2016 20:43:57 GMT
Oh, this is going to be so perfect! I am seriously looking forward to this programme. James May at his anorakiest!
|
|
|
|
Post by dit on Mar 22, 2016 1:13:17 GMT
I'm really looking forward to this - I love the way anyone can pay such acute attention to an engineering-type project, and particularly James. Also, my Bloke is super-interested, especially when he saw the guitar and bike-engine snippets on the trailer, because he spends half his life disassembling and reassembling those things himself!  |
|
|
|
Post by RedMoon11 on Mar 22, 2016 7:11:57 GMT
Published on Mar 21, 2016
James May is the ultimate man in a shed, reassembling some nostalgic treats - BBC Four.
|
|
|
|
Post by RedMoon11 on Mar 22, 2016 7:25:04 GMT
This was such a pleasant surprise I was honestly not expecting to see him on TV in a new show until the Amazon Car Show in Autumn James "Captain Slow-hand" May  |
|
bob
Smutty Mayhemer
Posts: 111
|
Post by bob on Mar 22, 2016 17:22:13 GMT
I think from looking at the trailer it will be fairly nerdy type show, but is probably the sort of thing he does for fun when he isn't working. I will be very interested to see the reviews as I think it maybe a bit of a marmite show, boring for some but OCD nerdy for people who like that stuff
|
|
|
|
Post by RedMoon11 on Mar 25, 2016 12:29:40 GMT
James May lands new BBC show where he’ll put objects back together againForget Captain Slow, you can now call the former Top Gear host ‘The Reassembler’
By Emma Daly Tuesday 22 March 2016 at 8:35AM James May has a brand new TV show called… The Reassembler. The Avengers will call him up in no time. His superpower? Putting things back together, naturally. The aim of the BBC4 show is to understand exactly how ordinary objects work. May will head into a workshop and be faced with various things that have been taken apart, at which point he’ll put them back together again piece by piece. “Any idiot can take things to bits, putting them back together again is what counts,” May said. “I recently bought a new house, with a lawn. I even have a lawn mower. Unfortunately, it’s in bits. You can probably see where this is going.” Over three nightly episodes, May will reassemble everything from (handily) a petrol-powered lawn mower to an electric guitar and an old-style rotary dial telephone. May is said to have been fuelled by many cups of tea for this timely task, which no doubt needed the patience of a saint. Flat pack furniture must be a doddle in comparison. BBC4 channel editor Cassian Harrison said: “At BBC4 we love to celebrate passion and expertise, and we also like to take the time to do things properly. What could be better than giving James May the time to really get to grips with three fabulous everyday engineering icons, and to celebrate every rivet and ratchet on the way.” www.radiotimes.com/news/2016-03-22/james-may-lands-new-bbc-show-where-hell-put-objects-back-together-again
|
|
|
|
Post by RedMoon11 on Mar 28, 2016 16:18:12 GMT
|
|
|
|
Post by RedMoon11 on Mar 30, 2016 22:03:45 GMT
|
|
|
|
Post by Flying Lady on Mar 31, 2016 5:21:36 GMT
|
|
|
|
Post by RedMoon11 on Mar 31, 2016 15:54:02 GMT
Looks like they do.  I had to dig out May on Motors, Learning To Drive At The Cutting Edge on page 133 (originally published in Car Magazine March 1997), to read the complete piece 
Memories of a mowerPublished on Mar 30, 2016 Programme website: bbc.in/21TLO8Y James May reassembles a lawnmower from 322 parts. Slowly. |
|
|
|
Post by RedMoon11 on Mar 31, 2016 16:15:59 GMT
 Lawnmower
Episode 1 of 3
James is faced with the 331 pieces that make up a 1959 petrol lawnmower. The Suffolk Colt helped make mowing accessible to the masses by producing a smaller and affordable machine to keep our nations lawns at regulation height. As this is a petrol lawnmower, James's first task is to put the engine back together before he gets to grips with the gearing, the clutch and the blades themselves. Armed only with his toolbox and an endless supply of tea, James experiences the highs and lows only possible when attempting to put history back together again, piece by piece. Monday 4 April 21:00/ 9:00 PMBBC FOUR www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b076nwjzwww.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b076np2b |
|
|
|
Post by RedMoon11 on Mar 31, 2016 17:47:55 GMT
 TelephoneEpisode 2 of 3
Tuesday 5 April 21:00 BBC FOURJames tackles a 1957 Bakelite dial telephone - 211 pieces, most of them very small indeed, must be reassembled in the correct order if this telephone is ever to ring again. From the receiver with its carbon filings that enable speech to be amplified, to the electrical pulses created by the dial itself that connect the phone to the outside world, James soon discovers that every single piece of the telephone played a crucial role in revolutionising communication around the world. www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b076wf8f |
|
|
|
Post by RedMoon11 on Mar 31, 2016 17:51:32 GMT
Electric Guitar
Episode 3 of 3 Wednesday 6 April at 21:00/9:00 PM on BBC FOURJames concludes his quest to truly understand everyday objects by putting them back together piece by piece with an electric guitar. 147 pieces must be reassembled carefully and in the correct order, which will entail soldering, extensive use of James's precision Japanese screwdrivers and some fiddly electronics. The electric guitar transformed the music industry and society itself and, channelling his namesake Brian, James will plug in his reassembled guitar and hope he put all the bits together correctly as he gets ready to perform one of most unexpected guitar solos of all time. www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b076wgvx |
|
|
|
Post by dit on Mar 31, 2016 20:32:04 GMT
|
|
|
|
Post by Flying Lady on Mar 31, 2016 21:10:34 GMT
Attribution is a beautiful thing. Thank you, Dit!
|
|
|
|
Post by dit on Apr 1, 2016 0:15:49 GMT
I have a feeling that I may be visiting the Lawnmower Museum soon, as, apart from the fact that I live fairly close by, somewhat to my surprise my Bloke saw the photo and said "Wow, a late 50s Suffolk Colt!" Bear in mind he's American and didn't even get to this country till the early 90s.
|
|
|
|
Post by RedMoon11 on Apr 2, 2016 23:08:05 GMT
|
|
|
|
Post by RedMoon11 on Apr 3, 2016 20:38:36 GMT
Ex-Top Gear star James May fixes a Southport lawnmower
07:00, 2 APR 2016 UPDATED 10:06, 2 APR 2016 BY TOM DUFFY James May reassembles a mower from Southport's world famous British Lawnmower Museum for new show
 James May has put back together a Southport lawnmower for new BBC Four TV series called 'The Reassembler'. The former Top Gear presenter , dubbed captain slow by Jeremy Clarkson, chose to put back together a mower from the town's British Lawnmower Museum for his new BBC Four programme. The production team called in a the museum to collect the Suffolk Colt mower. The museum's curator, Brian Radam, was then invited down to London to meet James during a break in the ffilming of the programme. Brian said to Visiter.co.uk: "James was very cool, and very nice. He is used to working while having television cameras just a few feet from his head, so he needs to be relaxed. "He managed to put the mower back together, so he has a solid background in engineering. I was big Top Gear fan and it was nice to meet him." The vintage mower has since been returned to its home in the world famous museum. Brian told Visiter.co.uk that he did not mention James' hotly anticipated new driving show for Amazon. Brian's mower features on 'The Reassembler'. The programme is set to appear on Monday (April 4) on BBC Four. The Shakespeare Street museum is open daily. Call 01704 501336 or email: br@lawnmowerworld.com www.southportvisiter.co.uk/news/southport-west-lancs/ex-top-gear-star-james-11127464
|
|
|
|
Post by RedMoon11 on Apr 3, 2016 20:40:02 GMT
|
|
|
|
Post by dit on Apr 4, 2016 17:52:05 GMT
|
|
|
|
Post by slfriend79 on Apr 4, 2016 19:33:30 GMT
Very nice. |
|
|
|
Post by flatin5th - Knight of the NC on Apr 4, 2016 20:36:02 GMT
Superb!
A man in his shed, fixing things!
|
|
|
|
Post by RedMoon11 on Apr 4, 2016 21:27:10 GMT
Lovely photo too  |
|
bob
Smutty Mayhemer
Posts: 111
|
Post by bob on Apr 4, 2016 22:52:04 GMT
Very good program, reminded me of being permitted the great honour of mowing with the old petrol mower rather than the ancient push along one when I was a kid.
I think I could have quite happily watched that for an hour!
|
|
|
|
Post by RedMoon11 on Apr 5, 2016 4:24:56 GMT
James May: The Reassembler
S1-E1 LAWNMOWER
Review by: David Butcher This is wonderfully purist, blokey television. All the programme consists of – and there are two more this week – is James May putting a machine back together, but it’s complete shed-dwelling, oily-fingered joy. He starts tonight with the 331 constituent parts of a Sutton Colt lawnmower laid out neatly on a table and, one by one, he assembles them. The lawnmower is from 1959 and, in a good way, the programme might as well be too. It’s instructional (gudgeon pins! Strangler flaps!) and satisfying but cheeringly daft too. When a part won’t fit into the piston, May gripes about British engineering, muttering, “That looks like it was machined with a knife and fork by the council.” He also drops in trivia along the way: did you know lawnmowers were once pulled by camels? ABOUT THIS PROGRAMME1/3. James explores the intricacies and engineering of various objects by putting them together again from a pile of their component parts. In the opening instalment, he is faced with the 331 pieces that make up the Suffolk Colt, a 1959 petrol lawnmower. www.radiotimes.com/episode/d4grkd/james-may-the-reassembler--s1-e1-lawnmower Episode 2 Telephone
 This is a new approach to Slow TV – hosted by the original Captain Slow. Today’s classic machine for Mr May to reassemble is a big, black 1957 GPO bakelite domestic telephone. Not as oily and hefty as last night’s lawnmower but instead full of minuscule screws and washers That suits our host: “I find that many of the troubles of the world disappear as I do up a very, very small screw,” he confides, as he connects five colour-coded wires (“Orange, pink, brown, slate-grey, blue”) to the rotary dial. Once again, it’s wonderfully absorbing television and prompts reflections on love and death from May, as well as a revelation about why British telephones rang so warmly. About this programme2/3. The presenter continues in his quest to put history back together again one piece at a time by tackling a 1957 Bakelite dial telephone, a challenge involving 211 pieces. www.radiotimes.com/episode/d4h97k/james-may-the-reassembler--series-1-episode-2 S1-E3 ELECTRIC GUITAR
If you’re interested in the niceties of screws and screwdrivers, this is very much the programme for you. The grey-bearded and professorial May discourses on things only he could make interesting, such as the difference between Phillips screws and their Japanese equivalent, or why a long screwdriver has advantages other than being able to reach the awkward nooks of an engine. If you’ve dozed off already, fair enough, but as May pieces together a 1984 Japanese replica Stratocaster electric guitar, there are still more diverting excursions into soldering, truss rods and reverse-action tweezers. Plus, at the end, a well-worked visual gag. ABOUT THIS PROGRAMME
3/3. The presenter continues in his quest to understand everyday objects by putting them back together again, this time reassembling the 147 pieces of an electric guitar. James' task will entail soldering, extensive use of his precision Japanese screwdrivers, and some fiddly electronics, before he attempts to channel Brian May in a solo performance. www.radiotimes.com/episode/d4kc7k/james-may-the-reassembler--s1-e3-electric-guitar
|
|
|
|
Post by RedMoon11 on Apr 5, 2016 4:27:49 GMT
|
|
|
|
Post by RedMoon11 on Apr 5, 2016 4:52:10 GMT
|
|
|
|
Post by dit on Apr 5, 2016 13:42:21 GMT
Good review in the Mail this morning.
The Reassembler
Rating: ****
James May’s new series The Reassembler (BBC4) looked like it might be a pointless duffer.
The former Top Gear presenter shows us how to rebuild household mechanical objects, starting with a petrol-driven lawnmower, from a heap of components.
It proved to be 30 minutes of likeable entertainment — not because many of us care how the throttle works on a 1959 Suffolk Colt mower, but because May was so blissfully in his element.
With his long grey hair and newly sprouted white beard, he has gradually become, as he tinkers in his shed, the nation’s grandad.
The former Top Gear presenter shows us how to rebuild household mechanical objects, starting with a petrol-driven lawnmower, from a heap of components
+6
The former Top Gear presenter shows us how to rebuild household mechanical objects, starting with a petrol-driven lawnmower, from a heap of components
When he is uneasy on camera, May has a depressing tendency to turn into a bad Jeremy Clarkson impersonator, mimicking Jezza’s rhythms and jokes. Here, he was simply himself.
Holding up the lawnmower’s carburettor, he remarked that the internal combustion engine was one of the two defining inventions of the 20th century.
‘The other,’ he added, pausing for dramatic effect, ‘was the microprocessor.’
Smart alec Clarkson might have said ‘the Barbie doll’ or ‘the Lycra bodystocking’ — anything but the obvious and banal ‘microprocessor’.
But May didn’t care about being clever or witty: he was too much in earnest and concentrating too hard as he slotted the piston rings into place. At the end of half an hour, the mower was working — and that was all he cared about.
|
|
I had to dig out May on Motors, Learning To Drive At The Cutting Edge on page 133 (originally published in Car Magazine March 1997), to read the complete piece 
