James May: The Reassembler

James May: The Reassembler
Written byJames May
Directed byDan Lewis
StarringJames May
Country of originUnited Kingdom
No. of series2
No. of episodes7
Production
Executive producersWill Daws
Stuart Cabb
ProducerDan Lewis
Running time30 minutes (BBC Four), 45 minutes (DVD, Quest, Together TV, On-demand)
Original release
NetworkBBC Four
Release4 April 2016 (2016-04-04)

James May: The Reassembler is a BBC Four documentary programme focusing on the reassembly of various pieces of technology from the past. The host, James May, discusses the item, its place in society, historical significance, and the engineering principles of the components whilst he reassembles the final product back to its original state.

Featured items have included a Fender Stratocaster electric guitar,[1] a 1970s Honda Z50A miniature trail motorcycle,[2] a dial telephone from the late 1950s,[3] as well as a plethora of other items.

During this time, May was the only one out of the former Top Gear trio still doing work for the BBC. The three moved to Amazon's The Grand Tour in 2016 after they had not renewed their Top Gear contracts. Although the relationship between Clarkson and the BBC had gone quite sour, May still released The Reassembler on BBC Four.

Episodes

Series overview

Series Episodes Originally aired
Series premiere Series finale
1 3 4 April 2016 (2016-04-04) 6 April 2016 (2016-04-06)
2 4 28 December 2016 (2016-12-28) 18 January 2017 (2017-01-18)

Series 1 (2016)

No.
overall		No. in
series		TitleOriginal air dateViewers[4]
11"Lawnmower"4 April 2016 (2016-04-04)659,000
James reassembles the 331 parts of a 1959 Suffolk Colt
22"Telephone"5 April 2016 (2016-04-05)578,000
James reassembles the 211 parts of a 1957 Bakelite body GPO dial phone
33"Electric Guitar"6 April 2016 (2016-04-06)555,000
James reassembles the 147 parts of a Tōkai Gakki "Goldstar Sound" Stratocaster replica.

Series 2 (2016–2017)

No.
overall		No. in
series		TitleOriginal air dateViewers[4]
41"Christmas: Hornby Train Set"28 December 2016 (2016-12-28)666,000
James reassembles the 138 parts of a 1972 Hornby Flying Scotsman (with realistic chuffing sounds)
52"Food Mixer"4 January 2017 (2017-01-04)N/A
James reassembles the 235 parts of a 1960s Kenwood Chef a701a Food Mixer
63"Mini Motorcycle"11 January 2017 (2017-01-11)478,000
James reassembles the 303 parts of a 1970s Honda Z50A Mini Trail Motorcycle
74"Portable Record Player"18 January 2017 (2017-01-18)493,000
James reassembles the 195 parts of a 1963 Dansette Bermuda

While the BBC Four airings were in a 30-minute timeslot, an extended 45-minute version of each episode was released on DVD and is the version available across various video-on-demand platforms. The extended versions of Series 1 have also been shown on Quest[5] and both seasons on Together TV, in an hour-long slot incorporating commercials. The extended versions are also publicly available for free on the YouTube channel Naked Science.[6]

See also

References

  1. ^ James May Reconstructs An Electric Guitar | Reassembler, retrieved 10 November 2023
  2. ^ James May Builds A Mini Motorcycle! | Reassembler, retrieved 10 November 2023
  3. ^ Lewis, Dan (5 April 2016), Telephone, James May: The Reassembler, James May, retrieved 10 November 2023
  4. ^ a b "Weekly top 10 programmes - BARB". www.barb.co.uk.
  5. ^ "Discovery+ | Stream 55,000+ Real-Life TV Episodes".
  6. ^ "James May Shows! - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 10 November 2023.


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