Mad Scientists

harry76

harry76

Well-Known Member
It seems to me that there are very few good movies being made these days and the same goes with TV shows, so im always on the lookout for new shows worth watching. The other night i saw a preview for "Mad Scientists" on the "Discovery Science" channel (Im from OZ so not sure if channels have the same name there in the states).

Well the series premiered here last night with a double episode. It wasnt the best show ive ever seen but definitely watchable. Its about backyard builders/inventors that are given 2 days to build something quite different.

The first eoiosode was a guy that builds weird bicycles. They showed some of his bikes, nothing outrageous or over the top but different..... for his challenge he decided to build a self propelled (not sure thats the correct term but i just woke up) bicycle powered by garage door springs. They cranked on a handle to tension the springs, then release and your away.

The second was a guy that built a hydrofoil, land sail trike thingy, and had an imphibious car he was building..... for his challenge he decided to make 2 hovercrafts using 6.5HP lawnmower motors.

In case you guys havent seen it yet i wont give the ending away. Its not the best show you will ever see but definitely worth a view IMO..... keep an eye out, dont know if it was just coincidence but i couldnt believe the first episodes involved bicycles and mower motors, 2 of my favourite things..... now if they could do an episode combining the 2.... MMMMMMMM now that id definitely watch
 
I haven't heard of the show but that's not surprising since I don't watch TV. It sounds like fun though.

My problems with the so called, 'Reality Shows' is the ridiculous format that they all seem to use:

1. Must have at least one overbearing, obnoxious supervisor who is constantly berating the contestants

2. Unreasonable time frames alloted to reach a goal. (here's a hammer and a roll of duct tape. You have to build a shopping mall by noon today."

3. There has to be at least one crying female who just can't seem to get it right and the mean supervisor is always on her back.

4. Commercials that last longer than the program segments. 3 minutes of show, 7 minutes of commercials.

5. The prise, if any, is never worth the effort that goes into the project.

:) Tom
 
I want to see the New Avengers Movie, Stuff like that reminds me of Saturday Mornings when I was a kid . "The Justice league" !!!
 
I have my lawnmover verticle shaft engine 6.5hp Briggs that I pulled from the trash and will hopefully one day make a hovercraft.

I have not seen that channel Harry, but there is a show like it on the free digital over the airwaves I get on a PBS channel. Young students build stuff like a wheeled type device to imatate a sled that dogs pull. It was between two teams of three people each competing to make the better build that was tested and evaluated. Three dogs harnessed from a ASPCA humane society took the things out on a track. They really hauled the things!

MT
 
Thank you for the head's up!
The channel has the same name over here on this side of the big pond. The show I haven't heard of until now. I will keep an eye open for it though.
 
2door said:
I haven't heard of the show but that's not surprising since I don't watch TV. It sounds like fun though.

My problems with the so called, 'Reality Shows' is the ridiculous format that they all seem to use:

1. Must have at least one overbearing, obnoxious supervisor who is constantly berating the contestants

2. Unreasonable time frames alloted to reach a goal. (here's a hammer and a roll of duct tape. You have to build a shopping mall by noon today."

3. There has to be at least one crying female who just can't seem to get it right and the mean supervisor is always on her back.

4. Commercials that last longer than the program segments. 3 minutes of show, 7 minutes of commercials.

5. The prise, if any, is never worth the effort that goes into the project.

:) Tom
Click to expand...

LOL 2DOOR, i know what youre saying but this shows not like that, well not ALL like that.

1. The host is very helpful and gives praise, hes actually pretty cool and never berated anyone.

2. They are only given 48 hours but the host helps and is a part of it, more time would be good but i guess they need to stick to budget.

3. There was only one crying female (maybe not crying but did have tears in her eyes) in one of the episodes but only because she was worried about her husband going out on the hovercraft.

4. Each show was 30 mins but only had one block of ads and there werent even many ads in that one block

5. There is no prize at all as far as im aware, but the contestants dont seem bothered and their project is paid for by the show.... would you be upset if a show paid you to build a bike?
 
Harry,
Thanks for understandng my off-beat sense of humor. I certainly wasn't making fun of your suggestion. In fact it sounds like an interesting program. I've enjoyed several similar TV shows that centered on the creativity of the contestants. One in particular is where they build battling robots designed to destroy their opponents. A bicycle powered by garage door springs sounds like fun to watch. I'll check it out.
Tom
 
No worries 2Door I found it amusing, but you had a very valid point. There was a bike building show a while back that was called "Build or Bust" and most of the reasons you don't like reality TV were present in that show...... It still wasn't a bad show but would have been a lot better if they focused on the building rather then on giving the builders a hard time.

A lot of this probably stems from American Chopper and the enormous success they had. I still watch the show but find myself cringing a lot more then I would like.
 
I just watched episodes 3 and 4..... very cool.

Episode 3 featured a guy that builds his own vintage replica planes, that look old on the outside but use modern lightweight materials and build techniques.

He converted one of his ultralights to electric power for the challenge.

Episode 4 featured a guy that builds his own rockets, they showed a rocket powered bicycle he built that runs on "asphalt"....... yes asphalt LOL.

He had previously built a water powered jet belt that was powered by a jet ski, but was only powerful enough to get his daughter out of the water. Their build challenge was to make one powerful enough to get the presenter out of the water using a jet ski for propulsion.

I love this show, you guys have got to check it out.
 
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