"Wah, my ice cream's cold!" Jesus, everybody's a critic. Okay, so the producers pumped in some artificial drama; annoying, yes, but such is the state of contemporary television. It's a small price to pay for a weekly series featuring one of the world's great rod shops and one of our favorite HAMBers. Greatest TV show ever? No, but infinitely better that America Chopper or 'Deal No Deal' or 99.9% of typical network and basic cable dreck. On balance, I give it a thumbs-up and will be tuning in again.
dave, you really insprired me when you said one of the reasons you built your truck was to pick up your 2 year old at the day-care. wishing you all the luck with this. i hope all your ducks stay lined up. thanks for the inspiration.--keith
Thanks Dave.. It was cool having you here..You are a true friend and part of our family. like brother you're always welcome... Evette thinks you rock and you were the most photogenic person in episode 1. and the camera makes you look like you're 6'2 hahahaha LUCKY MISSES YOU TOO>>>
"Wah, my ice cream's cold!" Zenor, that had me in stitches!!!!!!! I know that Dave is one great car builder and has that certain eye for a true hands-on custom and all this out of his garage. Loved watching you on MFS and hope the best for ya on the show even if I didn't like it. KNUX!
Littleman your a stand up guy. I'm glad to see you posting such a great response. I guess some of us who have watched your work took offense to the comments directed at you but your post clears that up. No harm done. I guess we all have to be thankful that there is a hot rod show of any type on TV these days with all the other crap on there. All in all, the show is about hot rod building and is probably no different than going from shop to shop, as far as the "personnel" problems go. Anyway, I'd rather watch a shitty hot rod show than the best "reality show". Good luck in the future, you represented very well.
Thanks for saving me from posting this.I made it through 7 minutes(according to my cable box clock).Can't believe I wasted that much of my time.
As I stated earlier, nearly everyone would have jumped at this offer. I'm sure nearly everyone is jealous of the oppertunity you got Littleman even if they didn't love the "drama". I'm sure you have earned the right to get it. Nobody should begrudge you that and I doubt anyone does. Just noting that saying that all shops have drama is true which is why many would like to escape it when watching a television show about cars. Skip the "nails and smoking" drama while just showing yourself and Jimmy doing what you do and people not only would watch it, they likely would pay to watch it.
About 15 minutes into the show I lost intrest,,,,nothing against Shine,Littleman or SoCal,,,it was just the SOS,,with a different title.HRP
being on here less than a year i had to look up who littleman was - and found the DeathsDoorStep coupe. Holy Shit, NOW i understand. This was that coupe that won best engineered, right?
I'm old enough to remember back when the only garage show on TV was "Two Smiley Dumbasses Bolting Sponsor Stuff on Camaros" on ESPN-8 at 3:30 am on alternative Sundays. So I'm grateful that any hotrod-relevant programming get put on, especially prime time. There's an old saying: "The Perfect is the enemy of The Good." Sure, I'd like the networks to can the shop floor drama cliche. I'd love to see Evel get a shot at a weekly series built around MFS. But personality driven programs like Hard Shine and Monster Garage (even OCC and AHR) establish that there is a market for gearhead-related shows, and their success paves the way for more and better content. As for you purists who think TLC or Discovery should have a straight how-to hot rod build program on prime time, you are effin' nuts. That would draw a collective audience of about 30,000 HAMBers and nobody else. It would be cancelled 10 nanoseconds after the first Nielsen numbers came in, and it would be 10 years before any network would try it again.
Yeah, the thing is... These shows don't target us as an audience in anyway. Like Mike said, we are too few. These shows target a very broad demographic. It's unreasonable for any of us to expect something perfect or even completely watchable. My take. I think someone called it a "coat tail" show earlier. After watching one episode, I guess I agree. It's the same plot with a similar cast of characters as the rest of the reality based shop shows. Of course, it also shares the same producers... Am I bitching? Not really. I'll watch it when I'm able...
Zenor...right on the $. I watched it with my girlfriend and one of my friends who likes, but doesn't build or even own a hot rod. Both of whom don't "get" the HAMB. Go Littleman. Bryan
I remember when there was NO cable......and guys actually spent their nights out in the garage building shit...... I'm thankful I don't have cable/dish.......life is too short to be wasting away on the couch..... Same could be said of this here computer too.....but I do learn stuff here..hehe... BTW...are cable shows driven off Nielsen #'s???? I don't think so....
Since this is taking a turn towards "car shows" in generally, I'll speak up. I don't really watch any of these shows, but I did watch the premiere last night. It seemed I lot like when I watched one of the first couple of American Chopper, American Hot Rod etc. Not bad, but not that interesting to me. Blah, blah, blah just like most everybody has said. I mainly watch sports and poker on TV, with a few exceptions. I'm a Lost dork. But I did catch a show called American Muscle Car, I think. I think it might be on the Speed Channel, but I'm not sure. I'll have to look again. Anyhow, here's my point. Everybody seems to like to complain about the drama on the car shows. But I just happened to catch two episodes of the muscle car show. One was about Trans Am racing and the other was about Bonneville. Both were documentary style with no BS. Just kickass footage and narrative. So, does everybody watch this and not talk about it because it's more fun to bag on guys that have made it big? Did I "discover" a show that just started? Did I catch the only two episodes that don't suck? Do ya'll really want a show that doesn't have the drama? How do you play middle pockets in early position with a tight/aggressive image and an M number of 12ish?
I've seen "American Musclecar" when hanging out at the in-laws....not much to do at their place, hahaha....it's a good show....along with "Victory By Design"...... God....we sound like a bunch of chicks talking about Oprah......
Like I said earlier in the thread, I give the show thumbs up but it's not unqualified. I'm as tired of the reality drama & hysterics as anyone, but don't expect anybody in the TV biz to vary from a successful formula. TV producers are famous for beating a dead horse all the way to the glue factory. I'm confident that Hard Shine would be better & more successful with somebody like Evel behind the camera and a more documentarian approach. Oddly enough, my cousin who edits a couple of documentary shows on ESPN (e.g., The Season) told me recently that they are pitching a car-centric show and wanted some input on appealing to a gearhead audience... I will probably send him this thread.
I disagree that a show without the drama wouldn't sell. It might not be a 10pm Primetime show but it will sell. If Alain de Cadenet can do it with sports cars someone can with hot rods. P.S. I wrote this before Mike posted what he did. I believe he has it right. It would sell but the industry doesn't have the balls very often to try something different.
I dont think there are very many people who did like it. Most of which knew before it came on that Jimmy Shine is..........well, Jimmy shine, and the show would possibly suck. Ironicly enough most of those who thought that atched it and complained. thats fine that you gave it a chance, I for one didnt for fear of not liking it and wanting to shoot my teeth out. instead i opted to work on Nick32Vic's vicky it was way cooler im sure. anyways what kills me is 90% of the poeple who hate it will continue to watch every week just to make fun of it. Its kinda a waste of time at that point Id rather be workin on hot rods.
I think Denise and Megan should be in the next season! ditto. Thank God someone had the foresight and knowledge to pick Littleman. Just build the cars, Jimmy. Less BS, more work.
It would have been much better if they didn't spend 2 minutes explaining and re-capping the show everytime they returned from a commercial. That filled about 15 minutes of the hour. Also, my wife wants to know "Why did they pick such lame chicks?"
I LOVE that show, cause its all automotive, the only drama involved is what the viewer feels when you see that guy throw those old race cars around the street of england. But I havent seen it on in a while, proving that shows with only tech info arnt as well watched by the general public. I wish it was different.
Littleman, Well said, I will continue to watch, what else is there. As someone who is learning this stuff later in life, I figure it's best to see everything you can. You never know what you might miss.
Well said Littleman. Thanks for clearing up the BS where everyone thought they were right or knew what was going on in the shop. We all have something to learn and you nailed it right on the head. The world would be a better place if we left our egos at home. Thanks for giving a perspective on the show that only you could give. I will definitely be watching the show through different "glasses" for the next episodes.
I thought I wouldn't write on here. I usually just observe... but i thought I would get a few things straight. Despite what people think or say... everyone is diffrent. Opinions are like assholes, everyone has one. I am one of those underserving girls on the show. haha the smoking thing was set up.. along with a lot of the other stuff... Its hard to trust someone who is just trying to get the worst out of you just for tv. I signed up to learn. I think no matter what age you can decide to change your profession. I want to learn to build cars and that is what i thought this opportunity would be about. Not about what i didnt know. I have nothing bad to say about my peers on the show... They are awesome... and Davey is one taleted guy... and I wish the best for him.. and i see how much he is loved by all of you and that is awesome he deserves it. As for the others... I wish the best for all of them... It was hard to deal with the camera and people always hovering over you... but they are all amazing people. This was an opportunity of a lifetime... and I may have not made the right choices or said the right things.... but I am who I am.. And i do not regret the choices that I made. I wont stop building cars and learning, or take to heart any of the negative comments. Like I said before I am who I am... Much love to everyone who wont give up on their dreams "Dream as if you'll live forever, Live as if you'll Die today" James Dean
The Jalopy Journal
