Has anyone been watching PBS's Victory Garden this season? Everyone
from last season except Kip (the gardner) is gone. The new hosts are
just horrible. The programs seem to be all over the place and most of
them have not been worth watching. There was one where the host spent
almost the entire post bending metal for a potting design. What a waste!

PBS had a great program in the Victory Garden but, IMO they ruined it.
They need to go back to the good old days when they had great hosts and
spent their time on interesting gardening subjects.
--
Bill R. (Ohio Valley, U.S.A)

Gardening for over 40 years

To see pictures from my garden visit http://members.iglou.com/brosen

Digital Camera - Pentax *ist DL

Remove NO_WEEDS_ in e-mail address to reply by e-mail

"Bill R" wrote in message
...
Has anyone been watching PBS's Victory Garden this season? Everyone from
last season except Kip (the gardner) is gone. The new hosts are just
horrible. The programs seem to be all over the place and most of them
have not been worth watching. There was one where the host spent almost
the entire post bending metal for a potting design. What a waste!

PBS had a great program in the Victory Garden but, IMO they ruined it.
They need to go back to the good old days when they had great hosts and
spent their time on interesting gardening subjects.
--
Bill R. (Ohio Valley, U.S.A)


Have you been watching it since the original, with Jim Crockett? He
understood continuity and focus.

JoeSpareBedroom wrote:

"Bill R" wrote in message
...

Has anyone been watching PBS's Victory Garden this season? Everyone from
last season except Kip (the gardner) is gone. The new hosts are just
horrible. The programs seem to be all over the place and most of them
have not been worth watching. There was one where the host spent almost
the entire post bending metal for a potting design. What a waste!

PBS had a great program in the Victory Garden but, IMO they ruined it.
They need to go back to the good old days when they had great hosts and
spent their time on interesting gardening subjects.
--
Bill R. (Ohio Valley, U.S.A)



Have you been watching it since the original, with Jim Crockett? He
understood continuity and focus.



Yes, I am that old. And back then the show was ALL about gardening.
In the last few years it has taken quite a different direction. Less
gardening and a lot of other stuff that I don't watch a gardening
program for.
--
Bill R. (Ohio Valley, U.S.A)

Gardening for over 40 years

To see pictures from my garden visit http://members.iglou.com/brosen

Digital Camera - Pentax *ist DL

Remove NO_WEEDS_ in e-mail address to reply by e-mail

once Crockett left I couldnt stand any of the subsequent hosts. why the hell dont
they
1. rebroadcast Crockett's series and/or
2. find a woman in the mold of what's her name from that gardening show she would
soundly thump pots to get the plants in or out, she was messy, sorta the Julia Child
of plants. after all, most gardeners are women!!!

they need to find a host by doing a reality show format. have all the contestants
compete for who will be the show's host, with the viewers calling in to vote for
their favorite. because these guys on the victory garden really turned me off,
especially having somebody's wife cooking vegetarian everything and doing it in such
a smarmy way ... blech.

I dont know why I am so turned off since Crockett, whether it is they are talking
down to people, they entirely lack any humor, they just look sour, smarmy, they are
so obviously obsessed with organic, organic, organic. And they got this pretend
"hick" thing going with the Oshkosh by gosh bib overalls. Excuuuuuuuse me!!!

It really turned me off that they ran these "contests" where the people obviously DID
NOT do their own work. Well it is nice to have an unlimited supply of money to
construct and maintain fabulous gardens, but it does nothing for me at all ......
garden as competition as sign of conspicuous consumption just turned me off.

They need to do some demographics and find out who their viewers are, what the level
of "tastes" are and what they want to see.

Now it is very true that I have such a small garden area that most of what they are
going to offer isnt going to be of interest to me, but IF it is entertaining, then I
might watch. But not somebody pretending to be a hick, nobody treacle sweet or
smarmy either. Ingrid


On Sun, 30 Sep 2007 11:05:58 -0400, Bill R wrote:
PBS had a great program in the Victory Garden but, IMO they ruined it.
They need to go back to the good old days when they had great hosts and
spent their time on interesting gardening subjects.

"Australian TV personality Jamie Durie, a horticulturist with a checkered past: he is
a former member of the male stripper group Manpower Australia, and in 1994 he posed
nude for the art magazine Black+White alongside former fiancée Terasa Livingstone. It
has been publicly speculated in newspapers such as the Boston Herald (August 8, 2007)
that his selection as host for the abbreviated 2007 season (only 13 new episodes are
planned – down from more than 30 during Swain's tenure, and 26 during Weishan's) is a
risky attempt to revive the show's failing fortunes."

In article ,
"JoeSpareBedroom" wrote:

"Bill R" wrote in message
...
Has anyone been watching PBS's Victory Garden this season? Everyone from
last season except Kip (the gardner) is gone. The new hosts are just
horrible. The programs seem to be all over the place and most of them
have not been worth watching. There was one where the host spent almost
the entire post bending metal for a potting design. What a waste!

PBS had a great program in the Victory Garden but, IMO they ruined it.
They need to go back to the good old days when they had great hosts and
spent their time on interesting gardening subjects.
--
Bill R. (Ohio Valley, U.S.A)


Have you been watching it since the original, with Jim Crockett? He
understood continuity and focus.

Jim Crockett's book may be about. I have it somewhere but I can't give
you ISBD # if it had one.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Underwood_Crockett

Worth a search!

Bill

--

S Jersey USA Zone 5 Shade

This article is posted under fair use rules in accordance with
Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, and is strictly for the educational
and informative purposes. This material is distributed without profit.

http://www.ocutech.com/ High tech Vison aid

"William Wagner" wrote in message
...
In article ,
"JoeSpareBedroom" wrote:

"Bill R" wrote in message
...
Has anyone been watching PBS's Victory Garden this season? Everyone
from
last season except Kip (the gardner) is gone. The new hosts are just
horrible. The programs seem to be all over the place and most of them
have not been worth watching. There was one where the host spent
almost
the entire post bending metal for a potting design. What a waste!

PBS had a great program in the Victory Garden but, IMO they ruined it.
They need to go back to the good old days when they had great hosts and
spent their time on interesting gardening subjects.
--
Bill R. (Ohio Valley, U.S.A)


Have you been watching it since the original, with Jim Crockett? He
understood continuity and focus.

Jim Crockett's book may be about. I have it somewhere but I can't give
you ISBD # if it had one.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Underwood_Crockett

Worth a search!

Bill

www.powells.com usually has a few used copies.

I really should keep my copy in a fire safe. And, it's one of the few books
I'd never loan to anyone, unless they were prepared to die if they lost it.
:-)

Bill R expounded:

Has anyone been watching PBS's Victory Garden this season? Everyone
from last season except Kip (the gardner) is gone. The new hosts are
just horrible. The programs seem to be all over the place and most of
them have not been worth watching. There was one where the host spent
almost the entire post bending metal for a potting design. What a waste!

PBS had a great program in the Victory Garden but, IMO they ruined it.
They need to go back to the good old days when they had great hosts and
spent their time on interesting gardening subjects.

The Victory Garden hasn't been the same since PBS sold it to
Time-Life. Roger Swain told me that's when he left, he knew they
would ruin it, and they have.
--
Ann, gardening in Zone 6a
South of Boston, Massachusetts
e-mail address is not checked
******************************

On 9/30/07 11:51 AM, in article ,
"Bill R" wrote:

JoeSpareBedroom wrote:

"Bill R" wrote in message
...

Has anyone been watching PBS's Victory Garden this season? Everyone from
last season except Kip (the gardner) is gone. The new hosts are just
horrible. The programs seem to be all over the place and most of them
have not been worth watching. There was one where the host spent almost
the entire post bending metal for a potting design. What a waste!

PBS had a great program in the Victory Garden but, IMO they ruined it.
They need to go back to the good old days when they had great hosts and
spent their time on interesting gardening subjects.
--
Bill R. (Ohio Valley, U.S.A)



Have you been watching it since the original, with Jim Crockett? He
understood continuity and focus.



Yes, I am that old. And back then the show was ALL about gardening.
In the last few years it has taken quite a different direction. Less
gardening and a lot of other stuff that I don't watch a gardening
program for.

Me too. I stopped watching it when the guy with the goofy laugh took over.
HE WAS HORRIBLE.

While I like shows that are tours of private or public gardens, the only
show I've seen recently (that might even go back a year or more) that is
truly a gardening show is Gardening By the Yard. And he cheers me up most
days.

Cheryl

"Bill R" wrote in message
...
JoeSpareBedroom wrote:

"Bill R" wrote in message
...

Has anyone been watching PBS's Victory Garden this season? Everyone from
last season except Kip (the gardner) is gone. The new hosts are just
horrible. The programs seem to be all over the place and most of them
have not been worth watching. There was one where the host spent almost
the entire post bending metal for a potting design. What a waste!

PBS had a great program in the Victory Garden but, IMO they ruined it.
They need to go back to the good old days when they had great hosts and
spent their time on interesting gardening subjects.
--
Bill R. (Ohio Valley, U.S.A)



Have you been watching it since the original, with Jim Crockett? He
understood continuity and focus.

Yes, I am that old. And back then the show was ALL about gardening. In
the last few years it has taken quite a different direction. Less
gardening and a lot of other stuff that I don't watch a gardening program
for.
--
Bill R. (Ohio Valley, U.S.A)


I wonder what killed Crockett. Although I love his book, the guy was always
spraying something.

On 9/30/07 2:27 PM, in article ,
"Ann" wrote:

Bill R expounded:

Has anyone been watching PBS's Victory Garden this season? Everyone
from last season except Kip (the gardner) is gone. The new hosts are
just horrible. The programs seem to be all over the place and most of
them have not been worth watching. There was one where the host spent
almost the entire post bending metal for a potting design. What a waste!

PBS had a great program in the Victory Garden but, IMO they ruined it.
They need to go back to the good old days when they had great hosts and
spent their time on interesting gardening subjects.

The Victory Garden hasn't been the same since PBS sold it to
Time-Life. Roger Swain told me that's when he left, he knew they
would ruin it, and they have.

I liked Roger Swain (btw, have you read his books?) but some his co-hosts
were the pits. Crockett was pretty darn good and a hard act to follow.


C

In article ,
Cheryl Isaak wrote:

On 9/30/07 11:51 AM, in article ,
"Bill R" wrote:

JoeSpareBedroom wrote:

"Bill R" wrote in message
...

Has anyone been watching PBS's Victory Garden this season? Everyone from
last season except Kip (the gardner) is gone. The new hosts are just
horrible. The programs seem to be all over the place and most of them
have not been worth watching. There was one where the host spent almost
the entire post bending metal for a potting design. What a waste!

PBS had a great program in the Victory Garden but, IMO they ruined it.
They need to go back to the good old days when they had great hosts and
spent their time on interesting gardening subjects.
--
Bill R. (Ohio Valley, U.S.A)



Have you been watching it since the original, with Jim Crockett? He
understood continuity and focus.



Yes, I am that old. And back then the show was ALL about gardening.
In the last few years it has taken quite a different direction. Less
gardening and a lot of other stuff that I don't watch a gardening
program for.

Me too. I stopped watching it when the guy with the goofy laugh took over.
HE WAS HORRIBLE.

While I like shows that are tours of private or public gardens, the only
show I've seen recently (that might even go back a year or more) that is
truly a gardening show is Gardening By the Yard. And he cheers me up most
days.

Cheryl

The old guy before Crockett was not too media wise but he seemed to
have useful info. Perhaps I was a newbie but conveying wisdom in such
a manner was like talking with extended family. Worth watching him too
bad I was out trying to extend my gene line at the time.
I'd like to see these PBS shows on DVD but alas I must settle for "Hot
Fuzz".

Bill

--

S Jersey USA Zone 5 Shade

This article is posted under fair use rules in accordance with
Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, and is strictly for the educational
and informative purposes. This material is distributed without profit.

http://www.ocutech.com/ High tech Vison aid

Charlie wrote in message
...
On Sun, 30 Sep 2007 21:05:11 GMT, "JoeSpareBedroom"
wrote:


I wonder what killed Crockett. Although I love his book, the guy was
always
spraying something.

Did you try google?


What? Follow the advice I throw at everyone else? Are you insane?

"William Wagner" wrote in message
...
In article ,
Cheryl Isaak wrote:

On 9/30/07 11:51 AM, in article ,
"Bill R" wrote:

JoeSpareBedroom wrote:

"Bill R" wrote in message
...

Has anyone been watching PBS's Victory Garden this season? Everyone
from
last season except Kip (the gardner) is gone. The new hosts are just
horrible. The programs seem to be all over the place and most of
them
have not been worth watching. There was one where the host spent
almost
the entire post bending metal for a potting design. What a waste!

PBS had a great program in the Victory Garden but, IMO they ruined
it.
They need to go back to the good old days when they had great hosts
and
spent their time on interesting gardening subjects.
--
Bill R. (Ohio Valley, U.S.A)



Have you been watching it since the original, with Jim Crockett? He
understood continuity and focus.



Yes, I am that old. And back then the show was ALL about gardening.
In the last few years it has taken quite a different direction. Less
gardening and a lot of other stuff that I don't watch a gardening
program for.

Me too. I stopped watching it when the guy with the goofy laugh took
over.
HE WAS HORRIBLE.

While I like shows that are tours of private or public gardens, the only
show I've seen recently (that might even go back a year or more) that is
truly a gardening show is Gardening By the Yard. And he cheers me up most
days.

Cheryl

The old guy before Crockett was not too media wise but he seemed to
have useful info. Perhaps I was a newbie but conveying wisdom in such
a manner was like talking with extended family. Worth watching him too
bad I was out trying to extend my gene line at the time.
I'd like to see these PBS shows on DVD but alas I must settle for "Hot
Fuzz".

Bill


I mentioned the Victory Garden book to one of my neighbors recently. She
said "But that book's so old".

tap tap tap.....

Similar: My son told me that a girl in his dorm ordered some clothing for
herself from LLBean or some place like that. Several kids were chillaxin' in
the lounge with her when she opened the package. She had ordered gift
wrapping for the item. She said she wanted it to be a surprise.

Ann wrote:
The Victory Garden hasn't been the same since PBS sold it to
Time-Life. Roger Swain told me that's when he left, he knew they
would ruin it, and they have.

I liked Roger Swain. He knew what he was doing. It was easy to believe
he actually gardened.

The new Australian host is wretched, and with episode themes running the
gamut from "Wet," "Dry," "Up," "Down," etc., the show can't help but
suck. The worst part is that Kip is virtually nonexistent this season.

The program has deteriorated into something like contemporary cooking
shows. It seems aimed toward people who like to have gardens rather than
grow them, just as cooking shows are now suited for those who want huge
kitchens with expensive professional accoutrement but are indifferent to
preparing food.

In article ,
Pennyaline wrote:

Ann wrote:
The Victory Garden hasn't been the same since PBS sold it to
Time-Life. Roger Swain told me that's when he left, he knew they
would ruin it, and they have.

I liked Roger Swain. He knew what he was doing. It was easy to believe
he actually gardened.

The new Australian host is wretched, and with episode themes running the
gamut from "Wet," "Dry," "Up," "Down," etc., the show can't help but
suck. The worst part is that Kip is virtually nonexistent this season.

The program has deteriorated into something like contemporary cooking
shows. It seems aimed toward people who like to have gardens rather than
grow them, just as cooking shows are now suited for those who want huge
kitchens with expensive professional accoutrement but are indifferent to
preparing food.

Hands on = wisdom
Reading About = knowledge

I know how to make pickles Vs doing it. We can eat the one but not the
other. Hot water for a dead pheasant why?

Bill

--

S Jersey USA Zone 5 Shade

This article is posted under fair use rules in accordance with
Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, and is strictly for the educational
and informative purposes. This material is distributed without profit.

http://www.ocutech.com/ High tech Vison aid