Trivia / This Old House

• Deleted Scene: At least twice during season 11, reference is made to scenes which were doubtless shot but did not make it to the aired version of the episodes. Notable primarily in the context of being Steve's first season and due to it not having happened during Bob's tenure, it tends to undermine the viewer's confidence in the new host.
• Descended Creator: A downplayed example, but the fourth season 6 project was a kitchen rehab for homeowners Roy & Avra (last names not given on the show). Sharp-eyed viewers will note an Avra Friedfeld among the production credits at the end; she, in fact, was the homeowner (with her new husband). It's no wonder she made sure to show off so many of their wedding gifts in the final visit. A good many of the gift-givers were probably also part of the production crew.
• Real Song Theme Tune: Until 2002, the show opened and closed with a recording of "Louisiana Fairytale".
• Role-Ending Misdemeanor: Bob Vila was a real pain in the neck for the show's construction crew to deal with. Among other things, he ended up hogging the spotlight. However, the last straw was when, before the 1989 season, he appeared in ads for Rickel Home Centers, a competitor to Home Depot, a local sponsor for the series on numerous stations. He was shortly fired for endangering the series, as Home Depot and national sponsor Weyerhauser had dropped their sponsorships as a direct result of the ads.
• In Memoriam:
  • Tiling contractor Joe Ferrante suffered a massive heart attack while the show was filming season 29. Kevin's quiet, choked-up farewell on behalf of the show is obviously painful for him to deliver.
  • Generation NEXT apprentice Austin Wilson from season 39 died of a preexisting medical condition shortly after shooting on the season completed. The last episode of the season included a postscript scene after the sign-off in which a clearly choked-up host Kevin O'Connor talked about Austin's death.
• Milestone Celebration: The 40th Anniversary Special, which aired as part of a PBS pledge drive
• Science Marches On: the 40th anniversary special includes tape of a scene from season 1 where the old boiler is knocked over and dust flies up everywhere. Rich explains that they would never do something like that nowadays, because the dust is asbestos and they didn't know any better 40 years ago.