A whole generation of knothole-watchers blesses Bob Vila and the original "This Old House." Before that show debuted more than two decades ago, we had to peer through holes in construction site fences to see how things were built. Series producer builds
‘Little Grass Shack’ to
show off local homes"Little Grass Shack"
Airs at 10 a.m. Saturdays and Sundays, repeating at 4:30 p.m. Saturdays, 1:30 p.m. Sundays and 5:30 p.m. Tuesdays on Oceanic 16.By Burl Burlingame
bburlingame@starbulletin.comBut "This Old House" and "Home Time" and "Home Again" and all the other reality-realty TV clones over the years generally take place in cold or temperate climates. The things that make warm-weather housing different were glossed over or ignored. Since the majority of the world's population lives in no-snow zones, that doesn't make much sense.
"In the 20-some years 'This Old House' was on the air, they spent only something like six episodes on our kind of housing, when they were in Hawaii," said James Brennen, host and producer of "Little Grass Shack," a show specifically designed to address that imbalance.
"LGS," as they call it, airs on Oceanic channel 16 at 10 a.m. Saturdays and Sundays, repeating at 4:30 p.m. Saturdays, 1:30 p.m. Sundays and 5:30 p.m. Tuesdays. The current series is focused on a relatively normal home being built from the ground up in Kailua, albeit one with a spectacular view of Kawainui.
The show has excellent production values, and Brennen is at ease both before the camera and discussing construction techniques with carpenters and other trade specialists.A Windward kid, Brennen worked his way through the University of Hawaii in the school's Art Department wood shop, becoming skilled in woodworking and construction. He has a real-estate degree and is also an actor, appearing in local, national and international print ads, fashion shows, television programs, music videos and feature films.
The episodes also spend some time examining the neighborhood and feature talks with preservationists and landowners about the unique nature of Kailua. We learn, for example, that Kailua had the first organized anti-development group in the islands, before World War II, when hotels considered building resorts there.
The show, so far, could use more only-in-Hawaii observations. Brennen agrees, and said the "cookie-cutter" design of the first house allowed mostly a meditation on traditional local building techniques.
(Guy alert: You'll wind up coveting the pneumatic nail guns used by the carpenters.)
"There are things we won't be getting into that you hear about on mainland shows, like 'snow loads' and 'frost heave,'" said Brennen. "And we'll be getting into things like termite control and salt corrosion, which you never hear about on mainland shows and which are incredibly important here.
"We're in the market to educate and entertain, and, judging by the steadily growing number of hits on our Web site (thelittlegrassshack.com), we're beginning to reach people.
"We're not a big-money outfit. We have some underwriting positions open! Like any local program, once we're finally settling on the air, we're beginning to get noticed. Many smaller retailers have responded already."
The ultimate goal of course, is distribution outside Hawaii.
"We keep getting told, 'Hey, you should get this on network.' Well, the fact is, virtually all home-improvement shows are watched on the Learning Channel or Home and Garden TV, cable outlets. Those are possible markets," said Brennen. "And they don't have anything like this in their lineups."
The other thing to watch out for is to make sure the show retains its objectivity and doesn't become an infomercial.
"It's a double-edged sword: You want people to know about good and useful products, but you don't want to be pitching them. You have to keep your credibility.
"New and innovative products -- solar shingles come to mind -- of course, we're going to examine those. But we're not going to sell them."
Is there enough to focus on in Hawaii?
"Absolutely. There are people on the Big Island going 'off the grid.' There are any number of new homes being built in innovative ways on Oahu, and historic homes being renovated.
"There's even an outfit on Maui actually building little grass shacks -- imagine the permitting process for that!"
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