Off Topic: Anybody else been disappointed with DIY network lately?

[Mike Hess]

With the disappearance of Woodworks, and NYW being cut down to one episode per week, I've been pretty unimpressed with the "Do it Yourself" network lately. Anybody else feel this way?

I decided to write them an email - maybe if enough people voice their disappointment, we'll start to see more good woodworking and home improvement shows. Here's what I sent them:


I wanted to voice my disappointment in DIY networks recent programming lineup. One would assume that the Do It Yourself network would feature shows that educate homeowners on how to tackle home improvement projects. Instead, you've chosen to air shows that feature teams of cheesy personalities undertaking hasty, haphazard projects and "suprise" transformations. I can only stomach so many landscape makeovers, backyard plasma screens, and basements converted to sports bars before I reach for the remote control. Please give us more education, and less info-tainment. Please give us more craftsmanship and fewer weekend melees. Please give us more substance and less fluff.

[Ben Martin]

Mike I quit watching after about 3 months, at that point I had seen every show in their repetoir (at least once) and everything was a re-run. I just DVR the woodworking shows so that I can watch them on my schedule...

[James Brandt]

Iam with you Mike.I signed up 5 years ago,it has been going down hill ever
since.There were several wood working shows,but alas no more.
Jim

[Randy Carnley]

I totally agree...no longer watch it except for NYW. All the other programs just repeat over and over and over and over....

[Joe Mioux]

yes ...........

[Dave Sweeney]

.... All the other programs just repeat over and over and over and over....

With the exception of a new episode here and there, that pretty much describes television as a whole. The cable only channels are the worst but long gone are the days where shows had 22 or more new episodes a year.

[Mikail Khan]

They have moved from about 3 hours of woodworking shows down to 1/2 hour in recent weeks.

I am very disappointed.

MK

[Ken Garlock]

I agree with the above comments. There is too much 'high-five' stuff and people who think they are funny. BTW, where did Amy Mathews get a contractors license, what ever that is? Probably from a clip-out in the back of a magazine.

The Rock Solid guys would have a decent program if they didn't act like a couple fools. But, OTOH, how many times have you seen laying bricks to make a patio?

In years past I would watch Home Time on pbs.. It seemed to be a pretty basic construction program that explained what was going on, and why.

[Daniel Heine]

I'm not sure, but I think they must have run out of new episodes. I always watched the Saturday afternoon thru Sunday shows, looking for woodworking. Until a few weeks agao, there were always 2 wood works show and a couple of the Hammerhead shows. Not only that, but the Wood Scuplting abnd both Wood Turning shows are gone too!!!!

I vote for a new president at DIY!

Dan

[Neal Clayton]

the worst part is those shows encourage people to cheap'ify their houses.

why pay a contractor when you can build your own cheap room in the basement for a couple hundred dollars!

i wonder how much marketing money it took to make people think that cork flooring was actually desirable...

[Ben Davis]

With the disappearance of Woodworks, and NYW being cut down to one episode per week, I've been pretty unimpressed with the "Do it Yourself" network lately. Anybody else feel this way?

I decided to write them an email - maybe if enough people voice their disappointment, we'll start to see more good woodworking and home improvement shows. Here's what I sent them:


I wanted to voice my disappointment in DIY networks recent programming lineup. One would assume that the Do It Yourself network would feature shows that educate homeowners on how to tackle home improvement projects. Instead, you've chosen to air shows that feature teams of cheesy personalities undertaking hasty, haphazard projects and "suprise" transformations. I can only stomach so many landscape makeovers, backyard plasma screens, and basements converted to sports bars before I reach for the remote control. Please give us more education, and less info-tainment. Please give us more craftsmanship and fewer weekend melees. Please give us more substance and less fluff.
YES! And when you try and tell them about it, good luck finding the feedback form!

Here's a link to a similar thread in the OT forum regarding the lack of WoodWorks in particular. It's terrible sad. "DIY brings you the shows that started the home improvement revolution." I call BS.

http://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=94559

[Ben Rafael]

I agree with the above comments. There is too much 'high-five' stuff and people who think they are funny. BTW, where did Amy Mathews get a contractors license, what ever that is? Probably from a clip-out in the back of a magazine.

The Rock Solid guys would have a decent program if they didn't act like a couple fools. But, OTOH, how many times have you seen laying bricks to make a patio?



I agree with you but I wouldn't have put it so nicely. Thanks for keeping me from getting nasty.

[Scott Mann]

I was most disappointed with the removal of WoodWorks. My wife (in all her wisdom) decided last month to delete all the episodes I had saved on the DVR. Now what am I supposed to do?! :(

[Clifford Mescher]

All my favorites are missing- Pat Simpson and Jody. Dean Johnson.*sigh* Clifford

[Jim Becker]

All my favorites are missing- Pat Simpson and Jody. Dean Johnson.*sigh* Clifford

Clifford is on PBS, Clifford... :D


But yes, you do make a good point that personalities that move on are missed in many cases.

[Brent Smith]

At least you guys got an extra year or two out of it. Our Canadian version of DIY, HGTV dropped everything but ''Holmes on Homes'' about 2 years ago. All we see on that channel now are decorating, redecorating and real estate shows...........:mad:

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Several years ago they had David Marks' show on. I had to get up at 0400 IIRC to watch it. No problen...it's worth it. Then later I could watch Norm. A few months later they took off David Marks' show.......then they took off Norm. I haven't watched DIY in months if not years. Too many tv-star-wannabes and very little significant content IMHO.

[Andy Casiello]

There has to be enough guys that want to watch real craftsman type programs to warrant an entire channel. There are like 800 channels. Can't ONE of them be for us? I know there is Speed Channel (Thank God) and quite a few sports channels, but I'm talking about stuff of interest to guys. Woodworking, metalworking, working on cars, trucks, skyscrapers, motorcycles.

The problem of course is that it would require creating new programs in addition to NYW and WW and a few others that are already in the can. Russell Morash (producer of NYW) proved that it didn't have to be real high end production to work.

I can't STAND listening to Chris Grundy screaming about the latest Sawsall on "Cool Tools".. "OHHHH, YEAHH BABY!! GIVE IT TO ME, YEAH, YEAH!!". Good Lord, what grade are we in?

[Matt Meiser]

Definitely. I'm seriously considering dropping the extra channel package that has it. DIY is the only reason we pay for that package. This fall, Detroit PBS is now carrying more woodworking than DIY since they started carrying Scott Phillips. If my DirecTV package had Toledo stations instead of Detroit, I'd get even more but thanks to the FCC I get stations from 50 miles away instead of 10.

[Denny Rice]

There has to be enough guys that want to watch real craftsman type programs to warrant an entire channel. There are like 800 channels. Can't ONE of them be for us? I know there is Speed Channel (Thank God) and quite a few sports channels, but I'm talking about stuff of interest to guys. Woodworking, metalworking, working on cars, trucks, skyscrapers, motorcycles.

The problem of course is that it would require creating new programs in addition to NYW and WW and a few others that are already in the can. Russell Morash (producer of NYW) proved that it didn't have to be real high end production to work.

I can't STAND listening to Chris Grundy screaming about the latest Sawsall on "Cool Tools".. "OHHHH, YEAHH BABY!! GIVE IT TO ME, YEAH, YEAH!!". Good Lord, what grade are we in?


Thank you Andy!!!!!! For a TV channel to remove a quality show like Wood Works with "Cool Tools" is just stupid..I think Chris Grundy needs a job on the Home Shopping Network, not DIY......

[Don Eddard]

I find it easier to just not watch TV.

[Chuck Tringo]

Its funny, just yesterday I was telling my wife how much I missed DIY since we moved and didn't get digital cable at our new house, but all I missed was David and Norm, so I guess there's really nothing to miss....:(

[Ben Davis]

I passed along the below message to DIY/Scripps network. See my post above for the link to their feedback form (otherwise you'll never find it... shows you how much they care about customers). I'm certain I'll get the same generic response I got last time... probably generated by some computer terminal.

-----

I wrote you a week ago asking for Wood Works to be either (a) released on DVD, (b) rebroadcast either at a watchable hour, (3) rebroadcast at a recordable hour, or (4) new shows produced.

I wanted to pass on a link to a forum thread about Wood Works and DIY network. I hope that you and Scripps take this to heart. I plan on canceling my cable package that includes DIY network if Scripps decides to discontinue any variety of worthwhile woodworking programming.

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=95184

Very Best,
Bennett L. Davis M.D.

[Dean Karavite]

I agree the pickings are slim. I can't believe they dropped David Marks even though they had been playing reruns, they are still great shows. Who can't learn anything on his show? Norm is, of course, fantastic, but I'd like to see some new material. Meanwhile they have another show that I found useful, "Tools and Techniques." They had one episode on measuring tools that was a step above. Making Music with a 4 part series on making violins showed promise, but after seeing the first show, I'm not completely sold.

My PBS channel has been showing "The Woodsmith Shop" which I liked. They have been walking through almost every part of the shop, but then it just stopped.

However, the rest of the DIY shows drive me nuts. Not only is it the shoddy work, it is the endless repeating of what we have done so far... that makes a 30 minute show actually come out with about 10 minutes real content.

As for the stone guys, I kind of like how goofy they are, but they do one thing that drives me crazy. They rush through measuring and marking, doubtless the hardest part of most of those jobs.

[Brent Ring]

Agreed! When we switched over from Dish to DirecTV, I was excited to get DIY, but without Norm and David Marks, there is nothing decent to watch on that channel.

An email to the programming directors sounds like the right thing to do.

[Greg Just]

I guess those wanted to watch "good" woodworking shows are a minority. I have made more use of the internet for on-line video and recently joined a wood turning club. TV leaves a lot to be desired.

[Pat Germain]

I would think at least one of the woodworking magazines would be interested in producing a TV show. It would sell tools (which would attract sponsors) promote the magazine (which would attract sponsors) and draw a big, dedicated audience (which would attract sponsors).

TV now makes less sense than it used to make. And that's saying something from the venue that brought us "The Flying Nun" and "My Mother the Car".

The only WW show I get on PBS is NYW. Since DIY canc'd Wood Works, it's now NYW and nothing else for me.

[Matt Meiser]

Pat, one of them did. Some PBS stations are now carrying The Woodsmith Shop. Not ours, but the one that we got at the campground we stayed at the first three weekends of October did. It looked like a decent show. It seems to be aimed more at beginners than something like Woodworks.

[Pat Germain]

So, is The Woodsmith Shop produced by Woodsmith magazine? Interesting.

I'll have to email my PBS station and encourage them to run The Woodsmith Shop.

[Matt Meiser]

BTW, I saw this on PBS Create, which seems to be PBS's answer to what DIY used to be. Unfortunately, Create isn't carried on Dish or DirecTV.

[Dean Karavite]

I think the poster above is on to something. The best video on woodworking right now is on the internet. It's too bad. TV is a wasteland. I guess it always will be. All those cable channels...

Maybe we can start a list of good online resources?

My first two would be:
1. Taunton Press. $14 a year and you can access all their Fine Woodworking articles, reviews and it includes videos. http://www.taunton.com/finewoodworking/
2. The Wood Whisperer http://thewoodwhisperer.com/