Edwin:

The original concept was more of a DIY than a showcase. As you point out,
people do live like that, but not the masses being entertained. My guess
also is that the typical PBS supporter and contributor has a higher income
level that Joe Sixpac and that is the part of the masses they want to court.

My sense, PBS, which I support by the way, has gotten away from more
"show me" programming to showcase events. Even the cooking shows are
better on Food Network then on PBS. I remember watching Julia cook up
a storm and she showed you step-by-step how to do make whatever. Not so
anymore. For the "show me" kind of shows, the cable channels
(DIY/HGTV/Food Network)
have filled that in.

I don't blame Morsh and company for TOH direction (don't forget they
are now
owned by Time/Warner) any more then I blame HGTV for showing a couple
building a house on a slope in Boulder and not taking care of the muddy
driveway.
It's TV, not a how-to show. I think it's enteraining to see all of the
various
gadgets, whatever available for homes. I mean, I built our house just 2
years
ago and had put in a whole house video/audio system. Wouldn't have even
thought about that until I saw the first one they did on TOH. Take
shows
like TOH with a grain of salt people. The TOH of years ago disappeared
12-15 years ago. I think the turning point was the Concord barn. That
was
the first time, my memory serves, that they rebuilt (in this case
actually
build) a whole house vs just updating the kitchen.

My wife and I watch TOH as always, but they have moved away from
everyday
affordable remodels to whole house rebuilds years ago. The topper for
me was
when they did that Shingle Style home in Manchester. Now that was a
major
rebuild that cost over $2m.

If you want more "hands on' things, Hometime is still there for the
DIY's
and of course, HGTV and DIY can fill in as well.

Oh, a million dollars in my neck of the woods for a home doesn't put
you in the "rich" category at all. Now $2m, does!

MJ