The Garage (TV)

infobox television
show_name = The Garage


format = Documentary film - Reality television
picture_format = 480i (SDTV)
runtime = 50 minutes (Discovery Channel)(times are not including commercials)
starring = Graham 'Jock' Campbell
Alicia Campbell
Sandy Faibairn
Ed Blasi
Lindsey Baldwin
country = UK
network = Discovery Channel
Discovery HD
first_aired = 2003
last_aired = present
num_seasons = 3 (3rd Series to air late October)
website = http://www.discoverychannel.co.uk/thegarage/|

The Show

The Garage was a 6 part docu-soap following the trials and tribulations of 5 new key staff hires as they adjusted to life in Spain whilst coping with their new jobs and the demands of their now infamous boss, Jock. Things inevitably didn’t go to plan, as four out of the five new recruits eventually announced that Jock wasn’t exactly the boss of their dreams and vacated their positions.

Episodes

eries Two

Episode One: Jock’s Back!

We’re back at English Mobile Mechanics, an independent garage run by Jock Campbell on the Costa Del Sol. There have been a few changes since we last saw Jock and his team – his foreman Ewan has gone back to Scotland and mechanic Glyn Bennett has been promoted into his shoes. Jock’s also hired a new general mechanic, Doncaster lad Ricky Coates. 4 x 4 expert Sandy Fairbairn is still at the garage, and in this episode Jock interviews a top technician called Ed Blasi – who literally won’t get out of bed in the morning for anything less than a Ferrari. But some things never change of course – namely Jock’s unique management style and brand of customer service. He’s definitely the boss of this garage. The first mechanical casualty of the series is an overheating Audi, owned by a Hungarian acrobat; and one of Jock’s most loyal customers, Peter Hutcheon – or Lord Hutcheon as he is known on the Costa – brings in a Ferrari with squeaky brakes. Outside the garage, the team take to the slopes for some snowboarding and mingle with Marbella’s jet set society – including Jade Goody – at exclusive club Nikki Beach.

Episode Two: Airbags All Round

Jock and his team tackle a £45,000 BMW M3, which has been in a nasty prang. The car’s extensive safety features saved the owner from serious injury – but also put a huge dent in his wallet. It’s Ed’s first day but all this top end expert gets to do is clean up after Jock’s dogs and tighten one nut on a beautiful Rolls Royce Silver Spur. There’s a power cut at the garage while Jock’s out and new foreman Glyn struggles to cope. A local agency interviews some potential receptionists for the garage. Jock buys a mini from the Internet for the summer restoration project – when it arrives they realise just how much work is needed to get it up and running. After a few things get lost in translation, Jock decides to take the team to Spanish lessons. Jock’s 13–year–old daughter Alicia gets in trouble at school and at the end of the week, Jock takes her to Gibraltar for some much–needed quality father–daughter time.

Episode Three: Ed The Hero

It’s Ed’s second week at English Mobile Mechanics and he finally has the chance to prove himself properly to his new boss. And prove himself he does, with a complete gearbox and clutch change on a Porsche 944. Meanwhile poor Sandy, gets lumbered with a two and a half year old Fiesta with a cracked engine block – despite the fact that he has trouble getting his huge hands into the small car’s engine bay, he eventually manages to assess the engine as a complete write–off, leaving the owner with a difficult decision to make. Alicia shows her Dad what she’s made off by ripping out the Mini’s interior with gusto. New receptionist Caroline starts – or at least is meant to. Jock’s new mobile van arrives, is kitted out and gets its first call out, to a woman with a flat battery. Unfortunately the one piece of kit that hasn’t been loaded onto the van is the battery booster pack and Jock is furious. At the end of the week, Jock takes the team for a day out on the water.

Episode Four: Ed’s Clutch Déjà vu

Remember that Porsche 944 that Ed earned his English Mobile Mechanics stripes on last week? Unfortunately when he comes to test it on the Monday morning, the clutch isn’t working. And so begins Ed’s world of pain – he’s sure the new clutch, although slightly different from the one he removed, is the right one and has just been updated, a common practice in auto-engineering. But Jock and the other mechanics don’t believe him and order a succession of new clutches, each of which Ed must fit, but none of which work. Apprentice Lindsey starts work in the garage. Another of Jock’s regular customers turns up with a Hummer and some aftermarket lights that he wants fitting. The mobile van has a second abortive trip. Jock asks Glyn to fire Caroline the receptionist – unfortunately Caroline doesn’t take the news very well and lets Jock have it with both barrels. At the end of an eventful week, Jock takes the team to Silks, a posh club on the beach, for an afternoon of sunshine and champagne.

Episode Five: Sandy’s Story

It’s Sandy’s 30th birthday but this Geordie lad is feeling a bit blue – no one seems to have remembered and he’s split up with his long–term girlfriend. Still, at least he gets a nice big 4 x 4 to work on this week – it has problems with its differential and the owner has bought his own second–hand one for Sandy to fit. Which of course causes no end of problems. Peter comes in again with another car with a squeaking brake – this time it’s a Range Rover and it’s a bent hub that’s the problem. But the job causes chaos in the garage when a communication breakdown results in the car being sent back out in an unfit condition – needless to say Jock is furious and the mechanics all start to blame each other. Jock also hires another mechanic – the immaculately turned out Rob Rowles. But how will this coiffured technician survive in the macho domain of English Mobile Mechanics? At the end of the week – and after the disastrous Range Rover debacle – Jock takes his mechanics for a much–needed team building exercise.

Episode Six: A Hard Week’s Delegation

Anticipating a busy summer, Jock has decided to hire both the mechanics he interviewed last week – Rob Rowles AND Gemma Pugsley. So this week, the garage has more staff than ever before. Which gives Jock an excuse to take it a little easy, only interrupting his lazy afternoon on a yacht to ball everyone out at the garage. Rob’s first job is a VW Golf that’s been a victim of some amateur mechanics in the past – it’s got dodgy DIY wiring and has been converted from an automatic to a manual. Ed helps Peter Hutcheons go topless when his Bentley comes in with a broken roof catch. And Ed and Jock go head to head at a Cable skiing day out.

Episode Seven: Jock the 2nd–hand Car Dealer

The first customer of the week is Raymond, a big cheese on the Costa with a naughty past back in the UK. He’s brought in his Bentley, which has suspension problems. But before they get down to business, Jock and Raymond have a good old gossip about the wave of arrests made recently in Marbella. Apart from Raymond’s Bentley, it's a quiet week at the garage. So Jock decides to get the mechanics working on his own car. He’s got his eye on a brand new M5 and so wants to sell his BMW 528 – and he knows just the person to try the hard sell on. Also this week, Ed falls from grace when he has a day off due to illness. Rob falls off the wagon and takes to the dance floor at Nikki Beach.

Episode Eight: Love is in the Air

The gigantic Hummer is back in the garage and owner Mr Musilini isn’t happy. A few weeks ago, the team fitted spotlights on its roof and wired them into the car’s electrical circuit – it hasn’t been driven since and now has a strange knocking noise that could be electrical in origin, giving Jock real cause for concern. But his concern doesn’t last long, because Jock has a spring in his step. And who can blame him, given all the lovely ladies he gets to meet at the garage? The temperature outside and inside the garage is certainly rising – with Rob’s family and Gemma’s boyfriend coming to stay. And as Sandy wrestles with a Nissan Patrol that needs a reconditioned engine fitting, it’s obvious from the lovebites on his neck that someone has been wrestling with the newly single Sandy

Episode Nine: Living For the Weekend

Jock has that "Friday feeling" all week long and is no mood for anything remotely like hard work, preferring to spend his time acting the fool. Which leaves poor Ricky to deal with the most complicated job a mechanic will ever face... a broken electric convertible roof. It’s man v. machine in a battle of intelligence – and, needless to say, the machine wins. But Gemma finally gets a job where she can prove her worth when a Vauxhall Vectra comes in with great clouds of smoke billowing out of its exhaust and needs its turbo changed. Meanwhile Ed mopes around on the mini until a £100,000 Ferrari Dino comes in needing his attention. And Lindsay, Gemma and Ed take to the high seas on jet skis...

Episode Ten: Against the Clock

With just two weeks to go before his annual holiday to Scotland, Jock's determined to get that Mini restoration project finished. But Ed, who gets stuck with doing the hard graft on the little classic, starts to wish he'd never set eyes on it. Sandy has his own race against time when he has to get a tow bar on the back of a Toyota Land Cruiser – with just a couple of hours to go before the owner has to catch a ferry to Morocco. And a Dutch oyster entrepreneur has some problems with his BMW that need fixing in time for an important business appointment. But it's not all work, work, work – Ed, Lindsay and Gemma go on a big night out. And Ricky and Jock's relationship blossoms...

Episode Eleven: The End of the Summer

It's the end of the summer season for Jock – he's packing up and heading back to the mother country for his annual holiday. But before he can, there's just the small matter of a Jeep with diesel in it instead of petrol, a Plymouth Voyager that gushes about Ricky and, of course, the Mini – will English Mobile Mechanics ever get it on the road? Another car Jock's been desperate to get on the road is his brand new BMW M5, which he finally picks up. And to mark the end of the season, Jock takes the team go–karting – but it's definitely the winning that matters, not the taking part...

External links

* [http://www.englishmobilemechanics.com/ English Mobile Mechanics]
* [http://www.daniellechristie.com/ Sexy Blonde Danielle Christie]
* [http://www.discoverychannel.co.uk/thegarage/ Discovery Channel's pages on the show]