Junkyard Wars Marathon

bigdavenyc writes: " The Learning Channel will be hosting an all day marathon of 'Junkyard Wars' episodes, starting at noon on Friday. This is a great show and this marathon has many episodes never seen in the U.S." Also worth noting is that Iron Chef is doing a marathon over Thanksgiving as well. I hope they make ice cream.

Comments

ROB!

[Daveamadid]

What self-respecting Iron Chef fan would say that the marathon is over Thanksgiving, when in fact it's over New Years!

In the next junkyard wars...

[Chrome Octet]

Honda engineers vs. Sony engineers to build the first REAL "Iron Chef" and set it loose on Tokyo. POW!

Junkyard Chef?

[FlamingLaird]

Why not combine the two ideas? The Chef has to make his own Quisenart out of junk, and then cook a scrumptious meal with the secret ingrediant: Potato Peals and three week old Cabbage

All Spelling mistakes are my own, and not those of my employer or of the public school I attended

Watch, in the Spirit of Social Optimism

[cribcage]

I enjoy the "Jukyard Wars" programs, and optimistically think that they signal good things for the current state of television. Sure, people are finding entertainment in bottom-feeding reality-TV shows which dress up soap operas as "adventurous social experiments"; but there has also been a growth in recent years in the popularity of other reality (i.e. non-scripted) television programs.

In short: If reality-TV amounts only to a second-rate step toward turning off the set and walking outdoors, that's a good thing. If reality-TV indicates a trend toward a decreasing social interest in fiction, and a greater awareness of "real life" (as the Learning, History and Discovery Channels grow -- not to mention MSNBC, CNN, and Fox News), then that's a great thing.

crib

Scripted vs. Unscripted

[NatePWIII]

I admit after watching this program I was pretty impressed. However, just how unscripted is this program, I mean I watched the episode about the tractor pulling and one team just happened to find 4 brand new ATV wheels in this "junkyard". That was a little bit for me to swallow if you know what I mean. Got to admit though, this show is a lot better than half the trash they've got on the TV these days. That and BattleBots are my two most favorite, I think though that the BattleBots need to have like a 10 minute round vs. the current 3 minutes, its just not enough time to trash another robot.

Nathaniel P. Wilkerson
Domain Names for $13

He is a genius!

[Pope Slackman]

There was one where a chef soaked a fish liver in liquor, then covered it with chocolate and served it with ice cream.
The "ohgoddoihavetoeatthat" looks on the taster's faces were just great.

Nasty stuff like that is the reason to watch Iron Chef!

--K
---

Seeding - a particpant opens his big mouth

[rjnerd]

First off: it helps to understand the purpose of the show -- its stealth science education - tricking 10 year old kids into watching an explanation of how a wing works. They sit thru the mini-lectures because they get rewarded afterwards with someone making precision adjustments with sledgehammers. When chosing challenges, its the education that drives the choice. The competition is partly to make it addicting, and partly to give the kids the idea that actually designing and building something might be a lot of fun.

Yes, this is a "rich" junkyard. There are all sorts of neat things to find. And unlike some, there is a lot of stuff that isn't metallic. (usually its construction debris -- the plywood we found had clearly been a concrete form in a prior life) -- Its mostly what you get, when you don't have the yard workers picking over the good bits. The set was a corner of a real working scrap yard. On the other side of the wall, there are cockneys in hydraulic claw loaders, tossing cars thru the air. You have to wear a hard hat when you go to the bathroom. (its out by the truck scales). When stocking the yard between episodes, the random lumps of steel plate is just dumped over the wall from what they have sitting around. But yes, they will add extra stuff to make it possible to complete building a machine.

The basic rule for seeding: If its not possible to safely improvise a part with the time and tools provided, they will provide something that can be pressed into service. It will require some ingenuity to make it work. If there are specific safety regulations, the relavant parts will always be provided. For example, things like safety valves, regulators, and gas tanks will be planted, and will have their certification paperwork sitting in the directors briefcase. (and if we happen to find such a part that isn't one of the known good ones, they don't let us use it)

But: Just because they give you a part, that doesn't mean its clear sailing. For example the wheels you mentioned. Sure they were there, but none of the differentials in the yard came close to fitting the bolt circle. If you wanted to use them, you had to make it work.

And this brings up another point: That same helpfull crew that hides essential parts, can just as easily remove them. They made sure that there wern't matching differentials for those wheels. In the fire fighting boat episode, there wasn't a pump to be had. Both teams had to make a pump. And not just a wimpy one, the burning shed was supposed to be 50 feet away.

As to engines, yes, there is sample bias. What happens in a conventional junkyard, is that if a car comes in with a running engine, the engine is pulled and sold. Only dead engines are put out into the yard. As a junkyard owner, you don't want someone wrecking a $200 engine to get a $2 part. In this yard the teams are those yard employee's that have the job of pulling the good ones out. Teams get their engines from the same places people that sell used engines get them -- from cars whose owner has decided to artfully customize his vehicle with the help of a tree, broadside.

Yes, this is TV, and they do have to make sure they have two machines, with at least one of them likely to complete the course, and the other at least able to fail in an instructive way. The shows cost close to half a million dollars per episode to make, and the producer is betting that money on half a dozen amateurs. But they do have a surprisingly light touch. We did have ample opportunity to open fire at both feet.

The time limit is pretty real. You get an hour tools down for lunch, and credit for the time that the hosts spend disturbing you. If nothing else, a second day of a film crew adds a lot to the price. And they may only have the test site for a specific day, so you really do have to finish on something like on time.

I can assure you its not scripted, what happens is up to the contestants. The teams really did find out what they had to build that morning, on camera. The producer has been very suprised at what the teams made sometimes.

Now perhaps if I hadn't found the 'heap first, I might have given battlebots some thought. But its not the same kind of challenge -- The problem solved is the same one each time. If you need a part (except during the match) you can just order one, and it will arrive in a couple of days. You have as much time as your advance planning allows.

But: The thing that really annoys me about battlebots, is the attitude of the hosts when discussing something technical. The clear message presented is: "you aren't expected to understand this". Junkyard has the exact opposite purpose.

Anyhow, my web page has a lot more detail about the shows, the other teams, etc. For those that watched it in July, there will be 4 new to the US shows. (the two second season shows that they skipped this summer, land yachts, and mileage marathon, and the first two of the third year, Demolition and bombers) If you watch no other, watch the demolition show. Three Yorkshiremen with accents so thick they need power tools to cut, build an articulated claw that eats brick walls. (thats at 8pm)

The marathon schedule is here. This is the kickoff to regular weekly showings. The rest of the third season will run three shows a night on Wed in December. They will follow this up with an "americanized" version of the show in Jan/Feb. Yea all the accents (except for Cathy) are American, but they used the same crew, pile of scrap, and challenges. Didn't water it down at all. The only thing I will miss is Robert (aka Kryten) as host.

Our shows aren't part of the Marathon, but they will be shown in December. Monday we had 300 MIT community members in 10-250 for a sneak preview of the Steam Race car show. Much mirth was in evidence, and the reaction to my presenting the hosts a copy of the Hackers Dictionary, bordered on deafening. We had to call questions at 45 minutes.

Instead of thinking about "that was planted", work on your welding chops, and think about two others that would be a good balance to your skills. Its great fun to watch, but if you think that you have what it takes to compete, DO IT. Everyone I have talked to that has done a show, with without any hesitation, accept an offer to do another. If they called me today, my reply would be "is there room on tommorow mornings flight?"

-dp-