Tom's Fantastic Floating Home on Ch4

[RaymondS57]

Did anyone see the new Channel 4 programme on Sunday evening at 7pm called Tom's Fantastic Floating Home - in which inventer Tom Lawton and his son Barney invent things to make their lives easier on their newly aquired rather shabby-looking boat. Although the boat leaks somewhat and you can see through some of the wood panels, Tom and Barney carry on with their inventions, from an armadillo-type cover to a long periscope/security camera with panoramic viewing all around the boat in case of burglers and unwanted characters. I think Tom's son Barney stole the show with his innovative ideas which seemed, at times, rather better than his Dad's often unworkable inventions. All in all an excellent programe. Will watch again next Sunday.

[Phil Ambrose]

Can this be merged with "TV prog to watch" started earlier today.

Phil

Edited July 27, 2014 by Phil Ambrose

[Barry]

I think this lone voice in support of the programme would be lost in the other thread.

[John V]

Yep! it would indeed......(unless he was watching a totally different program from me)

[jodansgang]

It was the best programe I've seen EVER.

I really liked his gold snail shell tent.

I also really liked his fruit bowl fish fart garden.

His security system was rubbish because on the canal there are too many trees and a complete lack of tree maintenance so I can't see that taking off.

The programe on the whole helped to re ignite my sarcasm which Id lost last week.

Edited July 28, 2014 by jodansgang

[Woodstock]

I thought it looked interesting so decided to watch and then lost interest quite quickly. I thought the armadillo shell could be an interesting type of adjustable cratch type canopy- until I saw it and in Gold???

 

Did anyone else wonder when he was going to sort the inside out and the boring but needed kitchen, bedrooms, bathroom etc.

 

I did think the son Barney made the programme- the Dad began to irritate.

[Phil Ambrose]

It was the best programe I've seen EVER.

I really liked his gold snail shell tent.

I also really liked his fruit bowl fish fart garden.

His security system was rubbish because on the canal there are too many trees and a complete lack of tree maintenance so I can't see that taking off.

The programe on the whole helped to re ignite my sarcasm which Id lost last week.

Glad to see you've got your Mojo back, loved your post, hated the program.

Phil

[RaymondS57]

Thanks everyone for the comments, I did not realise that the same programme was already mentioned elsewhere on the Forum. But yes, I really enjoyed watching, and yes I also think the inventor's son Barney stole the show - he was so enthusiastic about all the new inventions, and yes Tom, his Dad, did get a bit annoying later in the programme

[nb Innisfree]

All dads are annoying...

[Phil Ambrose]

All dads are annoying...

You're right, mine was too.

Phil

[carlt]

The show reminded me of the "Floating kitchen" series where a producer spots a bit of a character restoring a boat in the marina where he keeps his gin palace so gives him a slot on Tom Cunliffe's boat restoration series.

 

Producer discovers this lad can string a sentence together and has also washed a few pots in restaurants and, as it was the height of the celeb chef craze, the natural thing to do was to give him a series about restoring an old knacker and taking it to Paris to be a restaurant.

 

Turns out this is no Jamie Oliver, but a bit of an arse, so no chance of a second series.

 

His career as a chef is made, however, and the boat is left to rot in a French marina and the quest for the next Jamie Oliver/Fred Dibnah/Dick Strawbridge recommences.

 

Like the Grand Designs Thames lighter I see this TV reality boat going the same way and ending up in a yard mouldering away with just the wind tattered remains of the armadillo canopy as evidence of its once "glorious" light-entertainment career.

 

Cheap telly and it is a shame that the likes of C4 reduced itself from one of the best, most creative broadcasters to competing with cable tv garbage.

 

I blame Big Brother.

Edited July 29, 2014 by carlt

[John V]

Grand Designs by mudlarker2, on Flickr

 

 

Grand designs Thames lighter being taken under tow by workboat/tug "Pochard" after being aground on near Chalkwell after breaking free from her moorings.

 

I understand that it has now had the cabin cut off and has been converted back to a working lighter

[ditchcrawler]

Its on again in a couple of minutes on 47 on Freeview 5pm Sat

[ditchcrawler]

.

His security system was rubbish because on the canal there are too many trees and a complete lack of tree maintenance so I can't see that taking off.

 

I thought it did take off, that was the problem.

 

Does anyone know which waterway and marina it was shot in, I think it was the G&S

Edited August 2, 2014 by ditchcrawler

[dreadnought]

what can i say aboat toms floating fantastic disaster,its not quite as good as two hairy boating fat chefs on a saturday morning!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[frangar]

I thought it did take off, that was the problem.

 

Does anyone know which waterway and marina it was shot in, I think it was the G&S

It was the dock at Sharpness I think...tbh the only thing worth watching it for was to guess where they were!

 

Cheers

 

Gareth

[zildjian]

Grand designs, wow I'd forgotten that disastrous boat, I think it did the rounds off south coast marinas after being shunned as too ugly to moor up alongside.

 

While I liked the inventors ideas, its more of a test-bed for ideas, Tom has a tame fabricator alongside him like George C to put his ideas into English

[Athy]

Hmmm, not an unqualified success judging by the wide range of opinions expressed here. I was going to watch it tonight, but perhaps I shan't bother.

[jodansgang]

Hmmm, not an unqualified success judging by the wide range of opinions expressed here. I was going to watch it tonight, but perhaps I shan't bother.

Don't let the opinions of mindless individuals such as myself put you off.

[zildjian]

I thought as a concept it was alright TBH, plus the added benefit of

A; originality

B; not that moronic Northerner declaring everything "cool"

 

after all, in the same way we point and laugh at the catwalk of the fashion world, inventors ideas find their way into our homes and become everyday mainstream if they are any good.

[bargemast]

The show reminded me of the "Floating kitchen" series where a producer spots a bit of a character restoring a boat in the marina where he keeps his gin palace so gives him a slot on Tom Cunliffe's boat restoration series.

 

Producer discovers this lad can string a sentence together and has also washed a few pots in restaurants and, as it was the height of the celeb chef craze, the natural thing to do was to give him a series about restoring an old knacker and taking it to Paris to be a restaurant.

 

Turns out this is no Jamie Oliver, but a bit of an arse, so no chance of a second series.

 

His career as a chef is made, however, and the boat is left to rot in a French marina and the quest for the next Jamie Oliver/Fred Dibnah/Dick Strawbridge recommences.

 

Like the Grand Designs Thames lighter I see this TV reality boat going the same way and ending up in a yard mouldering away with just the wind tattered remains of the armadillo canopy as evidence of its once "glorious" light-entertainment career.

 

Cheap telly and it is a shame that the likes of C4 reduced itself from one of the best, most creative broadcasters to competing with cable tv garbage.

 

I blame Big Brother.

 

The boat was bought by a foolish young Englisman who knew nothing about boats, and there was a problem with some money that had to be paid to the marina, and someone there had taken the magneto of the Kelvin.

 

In the end the guy borrowed a 240V waterpump to pump the boat out that was making water all the time, and managed to move her downstream to a townquay on the Marne, close to a building site where someone occasionally pumped her out, but as the young guy never came back to return the borrowed pump, the guy who'd lent him the pump went there to recuperate his pump that was just standing on the deck, ready to be taken by anyone.

 

The building site was cleared, and nobody cared about the boat, and sadly she went down and stayed on the bottom of the Marne with only a couple of inches of her wheelhouse still above the water.

 

After a long time there was work done in that section of the river, the pound was drained and the boat was completely distroyed and craned-out in pieces, a very sad end of a very badly prepared programm that the poor boat had to suffer from.

 

The 'Floating Kitchen fools" were surprised that they were not allowed to operate in Paris as a floating restaurant, but all the boats and barges that are doing that sort of thing need special authorizations, I don't know why they thought they could just do whatever they fancied, and I suppose that it would surely be the same if he would have tried the same thing in London without asking (and obtaining) the rights to do so.

 

A very sad end of what once was a lovely boat.

 

Peter.

.

.

Edited August 3, 2014 by bargemast

[RaymondS57]

Yet another excellent programme tonight, apart from Tom who continued to annoy. Perhaps next time, and I hope there is, could we have Tom's son, Barney, doing the whole programme because "his" ideas are just brilliant. Or maybe we could have just:- 'Barney's Fantastic Floating Home' with assorted toys and remote controlled toy vehicles, please.

[John V]

SWMBO put it on last night as she didn't believe it could be as bad as I had said.....

I buried my head in a book so I didn't have to suffer too much but it was on for ages. I thought she must actually be enjoying it and then I saw she was fast asleep in her chair .Before then however I was able to have a little mental picture about either the wire snapping when that stupid chair was hanging over the side, or the whole lot capsizing! Now that would have been enjoyable television!

[Phil Ambrose]

After the debacle of the first episode I erased it from my mind and never even considered watching any more.

Phil

[Murflynn]

After the debacle of the first episode I erased it from my mind and never even considered watching any more.

Phil

ditto