(Response to TV Show Viewers: Post 1 - January 23, 2026)
Response to TV Show Viewers: Post 36
It’s
feeling like another opening to revisit the gratitude I’ve built up for all the
folks who have taken time to reach out to me. I appreciate the warm words and
the harsh ones. I’ve been handed much to mull over, leading me to reconsider
and write about that decade in the rearview mirror that started with the house
projects featured in American Rehab Charleston and Restoring
Charleston. This reflection of how moments unfolded or sometimes evaporated
has churned up fond memories along with lessons worth sharing. I hope my
openness helps at least one follower of this series.
In
November 2013, when we were awarded four episodes by the network, it is
reasonable for some to believe I should have pounced on this green light like a
tiger attacking a juicy slab of beef. It was quite a break, a chance to have a
TV series to help people see how they might tackle a jacked-up house of their
own.
Although I
had practical faith in me doing my part, after three months, I was increasingly
less certain about those on the other ends of the phone in Manhattan and
Minnesota. Anticipated written specifics from the network had not materialized.
In person planning and prep hadn’t happened. Original and revised starting
dates had come and gone. I’m not saying this was all on the shoulders of others
since I'd failed to nail down specifics in writing early on. Plus, they were juggling countless shows and projects, and I only had the one. My
growing uncertainty was just a fact within this time period and this large
dearth of details I was left holding became awkwardly obvious when I spoke with
people on my end, starting with the simplest question, but still one I was
unable to answer. “When y’all starting?”
I was
clueless on this too, saying something like, “Good question,” “I don’t know,”
or “There isn’t a title yet.”
“What
channel will it be on?” was another commoner.
“HGTV and maybe
DIY. That’s still being decided,” I’d answer.
This
always got attention, “HGTV?! Wow! Cool.” Followed up with, “But what’s the
other one…DIY?”
“The DIY
Network,” I’d say and often add, “It stands for Do-It-Yourself.”
Then a lot
of times I’d hear something amounting to, “Okay. We have HGTV, but I’ve never
heard of DIY. I wonder if we can get it.”
This was
when I realized that local basic cable packages included HGTV, but getting the
DIY network cost more, at least in our part of the country.
“So, when
will this thing be on?” was another question I fielded a lot.
But I had
no legitimate sounding comeback for that either.
Through
these early weeks and months, I was being politely shown over and again, that
this chance I saw as valid was actually pretty sketchy. My lack of details made
me seem gullible and foolish and that didn’t feel great. It made sense that the
right folks would only be interested in working with, or for, serious people.
And being so inadequately ready and equipped for the fundamental planning was unsettling.
Response to TV Show Viewers: Post 38
