Canada's Worst Handyman 4 Explained

Season Number:4
Starring:Andrew Younghusband
Network:Discovery Channel Canada
Num Episodes:7
Prev Season:Canada's Worst Handyman 3
Next Season:Canada's Worst Handyman 5

Canada's Worst Handyman 4 was the fourth season of the Canadian reality TV show Canada's Worst Handyman, which aired on the Discovery Channel. As with previous years, five people, nominated by their family or friends, enter the Handyman Rehabilitation Centre to improve their handyman skills. This year, the Handyman Rehabilitation Centre is located at the Pow Wow Point Lodge, a 100-year-old country retreat near Huntsville, Ontario,[1] where each contestant competes in challenges meant to improve their do-it-yourself skills, including one where all the contestants must work together as a group. At the end of each episode, host Andrew Younghusband and two judges determine the most improved and the worst contestant in each episode: the most improved being rewarded with the responsibility in leading the next episode's group challenges, while the worst being punished with a further one-on-one tutorial with Andrew. At the end of the last episode, the worst of the five contestants is named Canada's Worst Handyman. This is the first season in which Canadian Tire is the primary sponsor. Furthermore, unlike previous seasons, contestants will not be given the materials or tools that they need: instead, they must purchase them from a Canadian Tire store near the rehab centre while keeping under budget. The overall theme to this season is the question of what is considered "good enough," in addition to working outdoors in the cold winter (Canada's Worst Handyman has been filmed in the winter since the second season, but was held primarily indoors in previous seasons).

Experts

Contestants

Synopsis

Contestant
(with hard hat colour) 		Nominator 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Johnnie DarlisIMPWORSTININM/WINCWH
Angie RoyINIMPWORSTININIMPIN
Brian M. VeronicaININIMPININININ
Eric Marc/MichelleINININININWORSTIN
Brian P. BrennanWORSTINWORSTEXPL

CWH – The contestant is Canada's Worst Handyman.

WORST – The contestant is the worst of the episode.

IN – The contestant was considered for the worst for this episode.

M/W – The contestant was named both the most improved and the worst for this episode.

IMP – The contestant is the most improved of the episode.

EXPL – The contestant was expelled from the Handyman Rehabilitation Centre and is out of the running for Canada's Worst Handyman.

Episode 1: Wilderness Lodge

Original airdate: May 4, 2009The contestants arrive at the Handyman Rehabilitation Centre, a 100-year-old lodge in the Muskokas. Having arrived at "Canada's Worst Lodge," the handymen and their nominators pick out their rooms: Johnnie in red, Brian M. in pink, Eric in blue and Brian P. in yellow. Angie, left without a room on the second floor of the building with the other four, is given the green room on the ground floor. However, each contestant discovers that the doors have been barricaded with barrels, which only need a gentle but sustained push to move aside. Nevertheless, Johnnie and both Brians use hard body checks to get in, damaging their doors. Inside each room lies a binder, detailing the 23 challenges they will do and the materials they need for each.

In the final evaluation, Johnnie admits that he is not a master of organization, as his purchased supplies are still all over the floor instead of being in his closet. However, by virtue of passing his first challenge despite knowing nothing about handiwork, he is given the golden helmet for the most improved for the episode. Angie is applauded for quickly organizing her room (she credits it to her maternal instincts due to being a mother of four). Brian M. apologizes for damaging his door, while Eric is led into his former room, as he had damaged the radiator in Angie's bathroom, which would have caused a lethal electrical hazard were the power connected, causing Geoff to nominate him as the episode's worst. However, Gail and Andrew decide that the worst in the episode is Brian P.: before the first challenge, Brian P. had demolished his bathroom sink to get a head start on the next episode's demolition challenge, but had caused a water leak that is starting to drip into the common area on the floor below (Gail also notes that he had not attempted to use any of his new tools, relying on what he knew coming into rehab). As Brian P. hangs his head in shame underneath the fireplace's "Not Good Enough" banner, he solicits Brian M.'s help in securing it in place. As his extra punishment, Brian P. must repair the leak. During this time, he regales Andrew of his past as a stock broker, where he was given the nickname of "Brain" by his peers for his skills in the market, but the nickname of "Brain Damaged" by his wife for his skills (or lack thereof) in handiwork.

Episode 2: Down the Drain

Original airdate: May 11, 2009

At the final deliberations, Geoff puts Johnnie as his candidate for being worst due to having finished nothing and forcing the experts to intervene in the group challenge. Andrew, however, picks Brian M. to be the worst because of his wall. In the end, though, the fact that Brian M. managed to salvage his bathroom floor in his spare time made the difference, as it saved him from being named the worst; in his own words, Johnnie went "from hero to goat." On the other hand, Angie did find time to finish her workbench and the mistake in the bathroom floor could be easily overlooked. Though she did smash her way out of demolition, she did manage to finish all the challenges, so she is named the most improved. Johnnie's extra lesson was the use of the chop saw.

Episode 3: Common Sense

Original airdate: May 18, 2009Day 4 at the Handyman Rehabilitation Centre starts with a lesson on using a chain saw, though it is not used in any of the challenges to come.

In the individual evaluations, Johnnie declares himself to be the worst, off of a series of bad challenges; his lamp, by his own admission, was a write-off. Angie was criticized for her leadership (she had nearly quit the challenge) as well as the lamp. Eric was critically treated in his wobbly toilet installation, while Brian P. was brought to task on the toilet tank (which was leaking "like a tap" upon closer inspection). For installing his toilet correctly and in deference to the fact that he has no working toilets back home, Brian M. is named the most improved. As for the worst, Gail contends that Angie had led her team to the ground in the group challenge (calling Brian M. a more competent leader even though he was ignored), while Geoff contends that Brian P. is the worst for having still not passed a single challenge and for being a disruptive influence in this (and the previous) episode's group challenge. The experts were indecisive, so when Andrew reveals the worst of the day (Brian P. quickly raises his arms in defeat), the photo is one of "Brangie": half Brian P. and half Angie (the only time in the series' history where two contestants were named the worst in the same episode). As Brian P. and Angie both hang their heads in shame, their extra challenge is the "common sense test" of trying to fit square pegs into round holes. As Brian P. manages to force a peg in with a hammer, Angie, who was named the most improved in the previous episode for finishing all the challenges, comments that, indeed, "some people are just born without common sense."

Episode 4: Off Its Hinges

Original airdate: May 25, 2009

As the handymen break for lunch, the handymen all criticize Brian M.'s style of leadership: though Brian M. tries to carry a positive attitude, everyone else criticizes him for interfering too much with their assigned tasks. Andrew indicates that over lunch, while Angie, Eric and Johnnie opted to move on from the criticisms of Brian M., Brian P. wouldn't and, to his face, makes a threatening statement in front of the others (which was not repeated). Andrew only states that "what Brian P. says next is not suitable for a Discovery Channel show about handiwork. All you need to know about what was said is that the rest of Canada's Worst Handymen no longer want to work with Brian P." The comment is not taken lightly by the other four nominees, who all agree that, even though Brian M. interfered too much with their assigned tasks, Brian P. crossed the line and, in the privacy room after lunch, are now calling for Brian P.'s removal from the Handyman Rehabilitation Centre over the remark. Despite having actually sided with Brian P. in the argument against Brian M. (and despite the fact he lives just across the Ottawa River from Brian P.), Eric states, "Get him out of here, right? 'Cuz there's no room for that." (There's most certainly no room for Eric to be two-faced, either—siding with Brian P. one minute and calling for his removal for his threat toward Brian M. the next.) Brian M., whose style of leadership was what he got criticized for by the others (and subsequently led to Brian P.'s threat), states, "Unacceptable... cart him away." Johnnie states, "This guy can't stay." Angie, who was named joint-worst with Brian P. in the previous episode for her poor performance in the Group Challenge (as Gail so eloquently pointed out in individual evaluations), states, "I think his leaving would be a wise decision." The episode ends without neither an expert evaluation nor verdict, as a visibly and audibly shaken Andrew informs Brian P. that he is required to leave: "So, that concludes our fourth episode here at the Handyman Rehabilitation Centre and this is the part of the show where I usually talk about who is the worst and who is the most improved, but let's just bypass that today and I'll talk a little bit about why we're actually here and that's for one reason and one reason only and that's to make you people better handymen. That's it. So to make sure we all remain focused on the handiwork, quite simply, Brian P., we're going to ask you to leave." Brian P. responds with "Thank God for that! Not a fucking problem" as he storms out. After this, he was never mentioned again. As explained by Andrew, no one is named most improved or worst and Brian P. becomes the first contestant ever removed from any Worst Handyman series. The incident brought an unusually serious sense of tense drama to what was an otherwise humorous, lighthearted show featuring clumsy and troubled handymen as they struggle to improve themselves and not be named Canada's Worst Handyman. Brian P.'s expulsion also made him statistically the worst handyman in the show's history, having failed every single challenge during the four episodes he participated in (every other candidate passed at least one challenge during the first four episodes of any given season, including the nominees who were ultimately named Canada's Worst Handyman in their respective seasons, despite being named the most improved at least once-- Keith Cole, Terry Cress and Joe "The Bullet" Barbaro).

Episode 5: Roll Out the Barrels

Original airdate: June 1, 2009The episode begins with Andrew condemning Brian P.'s room with caution tape.

During the expert verdict, Brian M. is taken to task for his drywalling mistake (applying plaster to a flat part of the wall), while Angie is criticized for the bad cut in her chair. Eric's criticism comes from the lack of screws in his drywall and Johnnie is taken to task on all the challenges. While Angie is implicitly given consideration as the worst for the severe drop in quality of her work, the experts are ultimately so sure of who is the worst that they do not even bother to name two nominees. Johnnie had learned the most from the plumbing challenge and is thus the most improved. However, Johnnie also did the most damage to his bathroom, so he is also the worst (joining Terry Cress from the second season as the only nominees in the show's history to be named the most improved and the worst in the same episode; Terry was named most improved and the worst in that season's fifth episode). As his homework task, Johnnie must master the six basic parts in soldering copper pipes together, all while singing to his infamous operatic musical style.

Episode 6: Bentwood

Original airdate: June 8, 2009Starting with this episode, the opening sequence no longer includes Brian P. As a result, Brian M. is credited as simply "Brian." Additionally, the intro is shortened for the remainder of the series.

In the final evaluation, Johnnie is tasked for his incomplete challenges, while Brian is tasked for the improper toilet seat, which broke as he showed it off to the experts. Eric, meanwhile, continues to show a defensive attitude and anger toward Michelle. Despite her challenge failures, Angie is named the most improved, as she found the time to fix the taps on her vanity and the experts feel that her positive attitude and approach to learning deserves rewarding. As for the worst, Geoff nominates Johnnie for creating the worst toilet seat and for taking so long to install a pre-assembled vanity. Gail, however, is so disgusted by Eric's behaviour in the Handyman Race and his awful attitude toward Michelle that she nominates him as the worst; she also adds that this is their last chance to teach him a lesson, as she does not believe that Eric will be Canada's Worst Handyman. Andrew agrees with her and Eric is named the episode's worst. For his extra challenge, Eric must own up to Michelle all the tasks that he had abandoned at home.

Episode 7: On Thin Ice

Original airdate: June 15, 2009

In this final verdict, two sets of judges will decide on who Canada's Worst Handyman is: first, a group of Cub Scouts will evaluate each room. There were relatively few criticisms for Angie's room, the only major faults being that some of her bathroom fittings were rather loose, and her coat rack completely fell apart during an impromptu "stress test." Numerous faults were noted in Brian's bedroom and he was far more heavily criticized for a non-functioning bathroom (a girl scout noted that she would not shower in Brian's bathroom due to lacking a curtain). Johnnie is criticized for not finishing many challenges (among the scouts with a carpentry badge, none said that Johnnie deserved a carpentry badge) and embarrassingly, two of the scouts were able to fix in just a few moments a plumbing problem that Johnnie had been baffled by for several days. There were no faults noted with Eric's bedroom, though he was tasked for a poor bathroom (rated 4/10 by one scout). In the end, though, the cub scouts agree that neither Eric nor Angie is Canada's Worst Handyman, though they are split between Brian and Johnnie. Between the two experts, both Gail and Geoff quickly agree that Angie is easily the most improved overall, having demonstrated a positive attitude throughout, being a relatively successful leader in the final group challenge and having completed her entire list with almost every job done to an acceptable standard. Eric is also agreed to not be the worst; while he completed fewer tasks than anyone except Johnnie and his attitude was still in question, the tasks that he did complete were generally done to the highest standard of the four remaining handymen and he also completed his aim of expanding his tool knowledge, having used every tool (including some not originally called for in the shopping list) he purchased at the start of the season. As to who Canada's Worst Handyman is, though, Geoff argues the case for Brian, as Johnnie had markedly improved. Gail, however, thinks Johnnie is Canada's Worst Handyman. Between the two, she thinks of Brian as "a whiner" and Johnnie as "incompetent": Brian simply needs to be set straight while Johnnie needed more experience. Gail's opinion eventually wins out and Johnnie is eventually named Canada's Worst Handyman. Johnnie had conceded this (Angie and Eric both thought Brian was worse) and, as the Canada's Worst Handyman trophy is given to him, he sings for his captive audience an operatic rendition of his own ineptitude. With Brian managing to avoid being named Canada's Worst Handyman, he joins Darryl Andrews from the first season and Desmond "Dez" Nanassy from the previous season as the only nominees to not be named as such in a single episode.

Notes and References

  1. http://www.huntsvilleforester.com/article/127997 Handymen put to the test at local resort

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