TV car shows and manufactured drama...
 

This seemed like a good time for a rant. lol

Ok, is it me, or are the rest of you completely tired of how the made for TV car programs have to have all this interpersonal drama garbage? American Hot Rod is THE prime example of this crap. I've tried watching Hard Shine, but after 5 minutes of a few episodes, it's just the same cookie cutter drama. Last night on Hard Shine, they spent several minutes "covering" how the blonde chick didn't do all the welds moving in the same direction. They had to go out back and have it out and she ended up crying. What a bunch of filler garbage! Who cares! Yeah, that will get me to tune in again. I simply could not care less. I won't even get started on Unique Whips. :rolleyes: Pinks? Uh, yeah. Could they please give the ET and mph?

When I watch car themed TV shows, I want to know about the car and the build. Rides was a great show, no BS. V8TV has a great program where they show you everything they do and how they do it. Stacy Davids had that awesome Trucks show. He had a great personality.

Maybe I'm way off base here, maybe there are guys that tune in just to watch the drama... but I really doubt that. I understand that the producers of the TV shows need interesting "characters" to draw in an audience, but why do they think that interesting characters automatically means the "stars" are asshats and that I want to watch never ending arguements?

Oh well, when I get tired of the gasoline powered soap operas, I can just switch it over and watch re-runs of Mega Machines on the Discovery Channel.

AGREED :thumbsup:

Someone got the new PHR mag. :unibrow: *shameless plug for page 25 exposure*


Boyd can DIABBQF for all I care. :lol:

I agree. I do though like Muscle Car and Horse Power TV.

I think they are getting the drama from American Choppers, which they actually do fight but theshow in general is funny.

I agree also! These shows are basically soap operas but the characters have welders in their hands!

Why can't they make a show that shows how a car is built from design inception to finish without all the BS? I think the "interesting character" should be the car itself not the knuckleheads building it. Granted, I also would appreciate the skill the builder has but I don't need nor want to know about his issues with Bluebear or whatever!

I'd like to see new ideas and ways that they implement them along with the whole thought processes that go into building a car. I talk from experience since I am going through it myself. I'd love to see what other people are doing/going through also!

John

I got an idea...... LATERAL-G TV :D :lateral: :woot:

Hey Scott, saw that show Hard Shine last night as well and turned it off when the blond started crying. I think they are trying to copy American Chopper where the family always fights and it's funny. But it's real since they are family.

The only shows I really like are:

Muscle car & Horsepower on Spike.
(Extreme 4x4 has good hosts but I don't care for what they build)

I actually liked Wrecks to Riches (except for the Drama BS)

There you go John - strap a camera to Rodger's head and keep the film running - well while he's at the shop. We don't need to see him fishing etc.

This is why the NEW Overhaulin is so good now.. no freakin prank!

:woot:

As for the rest.. it's done so non-car-people will watch...

I have yet to see it. It was on my tivo but no longer for some reason. I agree with Scott, but I think American Hot Rod and American Chopper have the most drama, but at the same time, you tune in to see what happens next. I get most of my education from V8TV, but Dish took it off :mad:
One thing that is cool is that, there is a bunch of shows on cars that we can watch, so I'm not going to rock the boat because at least now I have a dozen shows that I can watch on a whim, 5 years ago we didn't have anything like what we have now. I like the new trend.

V8TV
Rides (the first season)
Muscle Car

Haven't seen the new Overhaulin - because I didn't know it was new and old one with all the prank stuff got in the way.

Chop/Cut/Rebuild has the segments too small and spread out for me.

Chopper Build off, American Chopper, American Hot Rod and the like are only tolerable with the sound off...

I believe Kevin and V8TV segments web delivered are the future deliver vehicle for the kinda stuff the way I like it. Do a Build Log (hey is that where Blog came from ?? :lol: ) like what we have here in the Project Update section - but add video segments for all the parts of the build in place of all the still shots. IMO, that would draw huge viewer ship.

The car soap opera concept has certainly run it's course - based on what I hear from all my car friends.

Jim

PS, Thanks Scott for the rant - we were thinking the same.

http://www.gearztv.com/index.php?
His new show is "Gearz" on ESPN2...Comes on Sun at 10:30 CST.It's like Trucks,but he works on everything here.Last one I saw,he had a V-8 Miata in the shop.I ran into Stacey at the ATL Aquarium...cool cat.:thumbsup:

Kevin Oeste ????
 

Watching V8TV just now - and wondered. Kevin, how much additional time and effort do you spend doing the video blogs along with doing the work ? Is it a huge effort in pre/post production time ? It's certanily worth it and appreciated out here - just wondering how much additional work it puts on the builder.

Thanks !!!!!

Ummmm... was it me or was that guy always laughing at his own 'not so funny' comments ?

Hey! I liked Stacy, uh.....I mean, he was cool. :_paranoid

The only good CAR programming are the shows that are produced by CAR people. Ain't no way that some "get rich quick" Malibu producer can pull off a good show. These parasites might get rich while trying, but the shows still suck. These "non car guy" shows are misleading, contrived, and gratuitous.

Unfortunately, good car guy programming does not have mass appeal. So instead, we get mind numbing poop. It pisses me off enough to make me wanna produce my own :censored:'in show.

I wish Mr. Oeste could get V8TV off that loser Men's Channel. My DVR can't record it because it does not show up on the program guide and my feeble brain can't remember when it is on.

I stopped watching the Boyd show, and will probably stop watching Hard Shine as soon as I get sick of the BS. I've never liked Pinks (too much BS arguing). Now Tommy Johnson JR and Melanie Troxel have an almost exact duplicate of Pinks on Sunday mornings.

Bring back Rides, it was tolerable. I will give the new Overhaulin a chance.

A lot of non car people think that Floyd Cotterpin's show is a good look at how real car shop's are.People think a car can be built that fast all the time.at least cars are on t.v.Rides was a good show

It is some extra time and effort, but the blogs were intended to do a couple things. First, when we started them, we didn't have the legal rights to put V8TV segments on the web, so we created content that was non-broadcast to be able to put some video on our website.

Several months ago, when we relaunched our site, we renegotiated our contract with the channel to be able to have all our video on the web as well as the TV show. The blogs are fun to do, they're quick updates that are generally down and dirty and don't take up alot of editing time. They're the TV equivalent of donut holes... a little piece thrown in the fryer at the end of the day. They're also real-time updates of project builds.

As for the distribution of the channel, they're in some renegotiation deal with Dish right now. I'm not sure exactly what's happening over there, but the channel is still on DirecTV and cable systems like Time Warner. However, perhaps the best way to follow along is on the web, now that all our video from all 62 episodes lives on our site permanently. You don't even need a TV. The show is contracted through April, 2008 on MOR, we'll see what happens after that.

Thanks for the compliments, we now have to get back to planning our next mind-numbing episode for Steevo! :thumbsup:

- Kevin Oeste

I completely agree Scott.... Enough of the Rod soap opra's.... American Chopper is the only legit arguing and fighting... Paul Jr. and Sr. did this from day one... there maybe some stage to it, but every other show like American Hot Rod is pure crap... If I worked in that shop and some of those guys started with their crap it would kick the dog crap out of them and hope they got the real fight on camera...

Thats why I watch V8tv, Horse Power, and Muscle Car. No drama soap crap just real car guy stuff... Soaps are for women... real cars shows without the soap is for guys... "remember do not drop the soap... cause you may get rear ended :_paranoid , a bent fender or broken head light":lol:

Blessings,

Woops. Didn't mean to offend. You missed the part about "real car guys" which you most definitely are. I don't have Dish or Direct TV so I have never officially seen your TV show. What I HAVE seen on the web is most impressive and exactly my point: That shows produced by real car guys rock.

Furthermore, I don't deny that Boyd or Barry White are real car guys. But they are in front of the camera allowing themselves to be exploited. It's the mainstream producers that are erroneously portraying our great hobby.

i seem to recall a certain guy from long beach who let some tv guys come in and film him doing what he does..... it spiraled outa control into a bunch of crap.... i remember him bitching about the whole tv thing on one of the last shows, how he was glad it was almost over so he could go back to doing his own thing. i think he did about the best job cashing in....then gettin out.

it also seemed like the last few projects were geared more towards pissing off the producers, rather than the actual "theme" of the show, kinda like his way of fighting the "man"

Die in a Bar B Que Fire?

Steve -

Absolutely no offense taken... I thought that was funny! Probably because my own mind is numb from working too much right now.

- KO

In my Opinion Rides was(is) the best one! i'm like the rest of you ,SHOW ME THE CAR! Overhaulin was great in the first season and then just WAY to much BS it used to blow me away how at the end of the show you wouldn't even see a full shot of the car for more than a micro second.:mad: :mad:let alone out side!!! i mean lets face it Foose has great style and ideas but when you cant even see the whole package come on. i REALLY hope they change that i would assume that Chip is a car guy......... why let the producer and editor show Chris with stupid teeth and a wig pushing a shopping cart arround???? Oh and this pisses me off. i thought the show was intended to steal ppl's cars that had this great dream of building a cool car but would NEVER be able to do it............. then they get Lance Armstrong, John Force, i would bet my left nut either of thoes guys could call chip and pay for the work, but hey i guess it's all about the money, ratings and i know with out those two there is no show. having some first had experiance with Pinks. even tho our episode was very calm with good racing there was alot of tension but the editor and producer chose the high road and decided to not show the BS drama and only show the racing, so good on them,

Wow sorry

Yea...I have to know, too...:yes:

What does it mean?:question:

When AHR and Overhaulin' started out they used to show a lot of the build. Over the past couple of years though, they've gotten away from that. I don't think AHR will change now that they'll be kissing the ass of an attention seeker for this season. So forget that show. Overhaulin' might have some promise, I am eager to see the new format. I think Chip is more plugged in to the hot rodding community. Was excited about Hard Shine but I agree with everyone else that it seems to just be another drama vehicle. Hated 'Pinks' from the beginning.

.....at least I still have Spongebob to watch.

Motorweek
Owings Mills MD 21117

LOL I think I got it right!? Watched that show all the time. I don't even know if it is still on. I just don't have time for TV, but considering how society conducts itself, I am sure the shows suck for the most part.

Okay, so I just sat down and watched Powerblock on Spike TV. Musclecar with Lou Santiago is a good show. Definitely a car guy. And the show does not, in anyway suggest that you can build an entire car or a complete engine in a half hour. Lou did not giggle once throughout the entire episode. Wow. And that Mustang is bad ass. He took time to thoroughly explain parts and procedures with graphic representation and actual fabrication. Informative and entertaining--even for someone who refuses to do the couch potato thing.

Enough research. Now that I have spent my entire morning on the couch, I will, once again, go cheat death on my V-Rod. :beavis:

:_paranoid :thumbsup: I'm surprised it took that long to be noticed, then I remembered I'm not on the "SRT" forum.

Did I get It?

Lou just seems like he's trying too hard to be bad ass or something. Maybe I am just too Midwestern...

100% agree
whats with the yelling???????

oh and what show was it that they tubed a Fox Mustang anf hen took it to the track to do burn outs and launches with NO tin in the car WTF it reminds me of the stereo type redneck. sorry if i just offended any one

Funny I used to watch Rides with my girls. Then American warm Rod started and we started watching it and I found myself hitting the "Mute" button every time Dwayne would show his face. So I can no longer watch that show with my girls.

ps met Boyd in 06 at Barret Jackson Auction. He turned out to be a nice guy. Dwayne - yep he was an asshole.

Lou spent 8 years in the Navy seals program, :captain: I think he earned the right to think he's a bad ass.
Hell, my kids think I'm a bad ass

I watched the Power Block for years but the re-runs killed me. Horse power still plays multiple re-runs. I mean, how many times are they going to play that damn rat rod build?

Stacy David was the Man! his show was the most informative build show back in the day. I'm not sure what happened to him, maybe someone else does?

The guy that took Stacy's show over knows a lot about building but his partners bug the living hell out of me. I'm so glad they got rid of that muscle head idiot. That guy worked out so much his brain turned into pudding.
:rofl:

Very cool, no doubt. :patriot:

But it just seems that, at any given moment, he's going to yell "Snap into a Slim Jim!"

I'll take Lou's "boo-ya" tone over the weird giggling they do on other Powerblock shows. "This bumpstick HEE-HEE is gonna HEE-HEE reeeeally wake up that HEE-HEE tired small block HEE-HEE!"

I guess they're trying to soothe our fear of camshafts & stuff.

Now if you want real car guy drama: "Ice Road Truckers" on the history channel. I would crap myself if the road underneath was cracking incessantly.

That show makes the Minnesota winters seem warm. lol

I liked Ice Road Truckers, cool show. I can only seem to watch all the car shows once. After that I watch something else, don't care for any of the drama that brings in the ratings. V8TV is at the top of my list, with Musclecar and Lou right behind it as the best of what is out there. My favorite programming is American Lemans Series and Rolex Series racing.:lateral:

Mike

Dream Car Garage was cool. They worked into a nice rythem of cool cars and interesting info. Peter Klut is most defintely a car guy as is Sean Hyland. Met Sean at the XV Motorsports open house. He is knowledgeable and naturally inquisitive. He was out there diving under cars to see what made them tick.