Last night I watched the new episodes of J.Y.W. for the first time. I read all the reviews yesterday before watching, so I was expecting the worst. I was pleasantly surprised. Yes, there are some changes to the show, the biggest being the lack of Robert L. as host. I think most people would have complained about the new guy no matter who they had chosen. He does get a little annoying, but he actually made me laugh out loud once or twice, too. I didn't hate him as much as everyone else seems to, and I certainly didn't see anything that would make me not watch. I found the Rusty Juveniles' expert much more annoying than the new host. The four teams I watched last night were a little more serious than the British teams usually are, but that's not necessarily a bad thing either. I think that it shows what kind of stress these guys are actually under. I don't have the inside track on the show, I don't know about scripting, and I think its an accepted fact that the junkyard is "stocked". I like the competition aspect of the show, and the Americans seemed to be feeling the pressure more than the Brits. Maybe they all knew they were breaking new ground, too. As for "Americanization", I don't think this has happened, either. The new format still has the same "flavour" as the last two seasons. It just feels like the old show, which happen to have American teams. Nit-pickers even commented that the music going into and out of commercials is different. Do people really hate change so much that they would let this bother them? I found the shows as entertaining as ever, and the close results of the drag race were very exciting. On the subject of re-hashing old contests, I could understand that, too. They didn't just re-do old contests, the drag race was the contest that determined the overall champion for the 1999-2000. To accurately test the Brothers In Arms and the Megalomaniacs, the writers gave them what they considered the most difficult contest of the last two years. This season, they are starting with that contest. That should mean they will only get more difficult as the episodes continue. I can hardly wait.

I remain a fan of the show. Good luck trying to win over everyone else.

-- Matt Bagshaw (cadman88@hotmail.com), January 05, 2001

Answers

Addendum to above...I know I made comments elsewhere on this page different than above, but to be honest, I hadn't watched the show yet, so I was just reacting to all the negative comments...now that I have, my opinions have changed.

-- Matt Bagshaw (cadman88@hotmail.com), January 05, 2001.

Ditto Matt! I will love JW regardless of all the negative stuff I read here!

-- Rhonda (mxrs@zianet.com), January 05, 2001.

Matt, sorry to hear that I came across as annoying to you. You are right, we were under terrific pressure, esp. after the first compressor that the guys worked so hard to dislodge from the machine that it was in when it turned out to be a clunker. Somehow the teamwork didn't come across in the final product, but it was definitely going on as we were making the show. Tom and Ray in addition to doing part of the building, were really superb about going after anything that was needed, and used a ton of energy running all over the yard digging up parts. The expert and the team captain are required to stay in the shop area unless something too big for two people to move is found and needed. I feel that I speak for all of us on the US teams when I say that we all started tired out, as the build day begins in London at 1: or 1:30AM our time and at 10:PM California time. We somehow managed to get thru the day, and all perked up somewhat as the day moved along. I also had a banger of a headache on the build day for about the first four hours which made me a little crunchy. I don't know for sure, but feel that a lot of what George does could be scripted, and he may not have a free hand in all that he is doing on the show. In any case, this season's shows are in the can, and we are stuck with whatever they are, unless the show gets pulled off air due to too many complaints or low ratings. There was a major football game going on when our show was shown. Again, thank you for your up front comments, and I apologize for any distraction that I may have caused to your enjoyment of the show. Honesty works for me, and I appreciate it. Waddy, "Rustys" expert

-- Waddy Thompson (cthomp3851@aol.com), January 06, 2001.