From dream home to a pile of ashes
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While Canadians watch in shock and horror as Jasper and other communities go up in flames, Todd Talbot has a unique perspective on wildfires.
Not only did he lose a home to one, but he had also been filming the four-year construction of the house for a TV series.
“Going back has been an interesting roller-coaster ride,” said the Vancouver-based TV personality. “Both Rabecca and I have had to go through our phones to find moments that the show’s editors are asking for. And it’s like, Oh, my God, I can’t. It really puts it in your face, what you went through and the time and the effort. That’s the other part of it, the time. You don’t get that back.”
“We looked at the project from the perspective of creating a gathering place for family and friends and creating something that might work for us when we retire,” Talbot said.
“And to have some fun.”
“Building better was really the journey that I set out on,” he said. “It was definitely the most ambitious, creative, advanced, cool building that I’d ever been in or tried to build.”
Over a year has passed since wildfires consumed the home, which was nearly complete, leaving little more than some insulation.
“It’s still essentially the way that it was. I don’t have any capacity to even stay there. Like, I can go up for the day. But other than staying in a hotel, it’s complicated to know what to do next.”
Not that they’re at a loss for ideas.
“Everyone’s got an opinion, and the opinions swing from one side to the other. A friend of mine might say, ‘You’re not gonna rebuild there, are you? You’ve got to be an idiot to do that.’ And then a lot of people are on the other side, with a rise-from-the-ashes kind of attitude.”
“It’s more grassroots-y,” he said. “There’s always the possibility of doing another network television show, but if you look at the A-frame build we just did, you’ve got four years of documentation and another year of production before anything comes out. With this one, I didn’t want to do that. It takes a lot of commitment.”
Also on hold are plans to do more musical theatre, like the local production he appeared in with Rabecca last year, just a few months before the fire.
“It was a dream to play Bobby Child in Crazy for You,” he said.
“It also reminded me how much work it is. At a certain point in my life, for 20 years, it worked incredibly well. It’s weird to close that door because it’s kind of how I look at myself. I wouldn’t ever say I wouldn’t go back. It’s just all about what show it is, who the people are, and the timing. But it was fun. It was great to work with Rabecca too. You know, she’s far more talented than me.”
Todd Talbot Builds: The Passive House Project
When: Oct. 8 at 8 p.m.