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Canada's Worst Handyman (season 1)

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Country of origin
  
Canada

No. of episodes
  
7

Original network
  
Discovery Channel Canada

Original release
  
March 13 – April 24, 2006

Canada's Worst Handyman is the 2006 season of the reality television series Canada's Worst Handyman airing on Discovery Channel Canada, produced by Proper Television. The show and its format is based on Britain's Worst Driver, and is considered to be a sister show of Canada's Worst Driver (itself an adaptation of Britain's Worst Driver).

Contents

The show is hosted by Canada's Worst Driver host Andrew Younghusband, and shares much of its production crew with Canada's Worst Driver.

Format

Like Driver, Handyman has five contestants trying to not become Canada's worst handyman. Unlike Driver, however, none of the contestants are eliminated; instead, at the end of each episode, one will be named the most improved, while another will be named the worst. Also, the time frame for Handyman is much shorter, lasting only two weeks, instead of the eight weeks for Driver; and each episode chronicled one or two days, instead of a week for Driver. On the sixth episode, the five contestants will work together to refurbish an apartment in ten hours, with the one with the worst individual performance being named Canada's worst handyman.

Like Driver, the contestants are accompanied by their nominators, who are allowed to assist them in their various tasks. Each episode (except the finale) also features a "group challenge", which is done by the five contestants as a group. Except for the first group challenge, each of the group challenges has a contestant named as the project's foreman, and the foreman designation is given to the most improved contestant for the previous week; this particular twist was added when the judges saw how badly they performed at the first group challenge without a designated leader. The contestant named the worst in each show is obligated to "hang their head in shame" and nail a picture of themselves along a "wall of shame", and be personally tutored by Younghusband on an aspect leading to their nomination.

The show takes place at the Handyman Rehabilitation Centre, a building of the Regent Park public housing complex in Toronto, Ontario. Located at the corner of Dundas and Parliament, it was demolished following the filming of the first few seasons.

Contestants

The five contestants for the first season are as follows:

  • Darryl Andrews, a professional bodyguard from Warkworth, Ontario, who is shown to be suffering from a confidence problem after being told by relatives that he was not handy. He is nominated by wife Sara Graziano. A recurring theme in the series is the apparent marriage breakdown that ensues whenever Darryl is working, with Sara being incredibly vocal and abrasive, although this has been shown to be only slightly exaggerated by the couple who are obviously celebrity wanna-be's.
  • Merle Auger, is a truck driver from Sucker Creek, Alberta, who believes that duct tape is the answer to all renovation problems. He also rarely measures or uses a level, and leaves much work around the house unfinished for years, having very little motivation to complete them. He is nominated by longtime common-law partner Shelly Willier.
  • Keith Cole, a performance artist from Toronto, Ontario, who lacks the motivation to do renovation work and is afraid of power tools. He has a tendency to delegate work to others while doing as little work as he can. He is nominated by friend David Hawe, a photographer for Now Magazine.
  • Barry Davis, a substitute teacher from Quadra Island, British Columbia, who performs work without regards to safety, including having used a chainsaw indoors and having electrocuted himself while trying to fix a clothes dryer while standing in a puddle of water. He is nominated by Scot Hutton, a neighbor who considers Barry a danger to himself and others when renovating.
  • Jeannie MacCulloch, a retiree from Victoria, British Columbia, who purchased a house with the aim at restoring it, but as longtime friend and nominator Laurence Headley notes, Jeannie is unable to read and understand instructions.

    • Experts

    The experts for the first season are as follows:

  • Dr. Julie Hill, a psychologist who has taught psychology in two Ontario universities.
  • Greg House, a general contractor with international experience, having managed both residential and commercial projects over a long career
  • Robin Lockhart, an interior designer specializing in high-end residential and commercial design. She is a graduate of the International Academy of Design and Technology

    • References

    Canada's Worst Handyman (season 1) Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA