Shirley and Dan can keep their home shows, so far as I’m concerned. Homes are overrated; pretty much everyone has one, so there’s nothing new to be explored with the formula anymore. Oh wow…you put in some brackets and painted a wall lilac. Too bad they don’t do any special edition ‘where are they now?’ shows with the homes and offices they renovate, because all of it would just be “Yeah, we stopped noticing the lilac wall after the first week.”
But automobiles…cars…they’re special. They go places, they each have a rich history, and they’re something that you can really fall in love with. Can even wrap your arms around them if you really want. Try that with a house and you’ll just feel silly.
Plus Callum’s Car Capers is good for the local economy. I like to highlight the occasional car servicing garage near the Preston area, see what they’re up to, give them a chance to tell their interesting car stories. Being in showbiz all the time, sometimes I feel a bit out of touch with the common man working on the ground. Mechanics are people who get to work an all kinds of engines, sometimes several times a day. They’re the unsung heroes of the automobile industry, and that’s why the show will always have a segment just for them.
Sometimes I think I’d give up all the fame, the glory, the fan-mail from car enthusiasts begging me to feature their classic Chevrolet on the show, just so I could go back to my roots as a traveling mechanic. Me and my ute Sheba drove all around Australia, which is what gave me the idea for the show in the first place. Before I left I made sure to find the best mechanic Preston has to offer. I used to work as a mechanic but that was a long time ago. I worked my way upwards from there, so yeah…I remember my roots.
Wasn’t always famous and beloved, you know. I used to be like the common man. Now I’m Channel 19’s third-best-rated show…and it’s only third because it’s niche. I like it that way.
-Callum