We’ve all been there. You’re faced with a mammoth task. How can you get this house decorated, bathroom redone, kitchen fitted, Boltless Shelving installations from sites like www.rackzone.ie/shelving/industrial-residential-shelving extension built? You’d like to do it yourself, but you know full well that you don’t have the skills or knowledge of how to even attempt it. What’s the solution?. If that’s not an option, then I have another. Call the BBC and ask for DIY SOS.
Presented by Nick Knowles and Lowri Turner, which should immediately give you an idea as what it’s going to be like, and Kate Mcintyre, DIY SOS was the type of show that wanted to point a finger at the incompetent and laugh at them for about 45 minutes. Finally, after all the damaged parties had been interviewed and showed living in intolerable conditions (such as no carpet on the stairs or a half-decorated wall or four) “the team” was sent in to save the person responsible. This would then stop anymore withering looks of contempt from the family members or before they electrocuted themselves on the exposed wiring.
“Has it been really hard living life this?” Nick or Lowri would ask a surly looking teenage girl in her half-decorated bedroom. Justin Timberlake posters covering up the plasterboard (it did run from 1999 to 2000). “It’s been, well it’s been Hell Nick/Lowri/Kate”, (whomever had drawn the short straw and got to interview the family) the mother would interject before the teenage daughter could kick off. Her little brother usual ran in, further intensifying the moment.
The Dad, Uncle, Mum whoever hadn’t done the DIY, was then also interrogated as to why there was a delay. “I don’t have the time or tools, I know it’s got behind”, was usually the excuse. “I can’t do it, it’s totally beyond me Nick/Lowri/Kate”was never offered. An arm was put round them and salvation promised. The general public were presented 3 of these disasters and then actually got to vote which one “the team” rescued via phone poll. “Whose pain wins and we’ll fix it” would have been a better title.
Big Build is a little different. This features people who are in real dire need through family tragedy and are living in a home that is no longer suitable for them or a family member. This is a more earnest show, though we still get 2 minutes of Knowles pontification at the end after everything is finished about community etc. Many of the episodes feature truly heart-warming situations and the scene of local trades people coming together to work for free, albeit with a bit of forgivable free advertising, is very uplifting as you know this will make a dramatic difference to their lives.
