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Ask 'Junkyard Wars Diva' Cathy Rogers
Junkyard Wars (and the British Scrapheap Challenge) have long been popular with Slashdot readers. Now Cathy is co-host of a new show, Full Metal Challenge, that also involves teams building strange machines out of this and that. Take a look at this 'Cathy' fan site (and possibly her less interesting official biography), then ask away. (Usual Slashdot interview rules.)
Does all that brainwork, metal, and sweat turn you on?
I always thought cathy was one of the bright parts of junkyard wars. When they brought on that dolt american guy I started to lose interest. Why is it that everyone thinks that you must appeal to the lowest form of american?
Travis
Has anybody ever made a machine out of junk that posts "First post" comments on Slashdot?
What about a Beowulf cluster of such machines!?!?
Hey, what about Henry Rollins - he's on Full Metal Challenge, too, and I think he'd be a more interesting interview.
-- Never hit a man with glasses. Hit him with a baseball bat.
No one ever went broke underestimating the taste of the American public.
Best Slashdot Co
On Junkyard wars it always seemed that the teams had something in running condition before the end of the time limit. Was there ever a time when a team had ABSOLUTELY nothing worth sending into competition? (Wouldn't make for much of a show though...)
I want an explanation. Now!
What is it with the "diva" label being applied to any woman on tv or the radio?
What was your reason for leaving JYW? Was there a specific reason, or was it just time to move on?
What are you doing Friday night?
Nothing to see here. Move along.
Or is this more an acting job rather than a presenting job. And if it is presenting then what made you interested in heavy engineering ? If not, good acting job :-)
An Eye for an Eye will make the whole world blind - Gandhi
Out of all the teams that competed over the years, did you have a particular favorite team in terms of either technical innovation, work ethic or oddball team members? Which team do you feel was the "best (cough, Long Brothers, cough) overall Junkyard Wars team?
Every year during my review, I just pray the words "slashdot.org" aren't mentioned.
Side questions: what did you play in the band and what sort of music did the band play?
I don't know, what is the difference between Junkyard Wars and Full Metal Challenge?
JYW is truly a bizarre idea... How did you come up with it?
Before the 'Heap, you were in a British indie-crash-twee-pop band called Marine Research, and before that, Heavenly. Do you keep in touch with Amelia and Rob these days?
-/-
Mikey-San
Mikey-San
Karma: +Eleventy billion (mostly affected by watching Celebrity Jeopardy)
Comment removed based on user account deletion
Cathy, Junkwar Wars has three things that always makes me want to watch more...
.P.O.W.E.R. .T.O.O.L.S.
1. Smart people building things
2.
3. That blonde chick.
What I wanna know is, how' you doin'?
Seriously now - how are the tapings made? Do they really have only 10 hours (+1 the next day) to make those wonderful contraptions?
Ash nazg durbatuluk, ash nazg gimbatul Ash nazg thrakatuluk agh burzum-ishi krimpatul
Was there a "vision" for these shows - an overriding philosophical reason to make them - like getting kids interested in science, pushing the boundaries of tech, enhancing popular understanding of engineering principles? Or did the game show part of the show come first and a realization of their value later?
On Junkyard Wars, which host did you enjoy working with most?
:(
The british male host, the 1st USA male host, or the 2nd US male host (Tyler?).
Sorry, I'm not good with names
Does the name Pavlov ring a bell?
I've always suspected that some parts critical for a given episode must be "planted" in the junkyard. Several episodes call for the teams to build some sort of motorized vehicle (for example a truck or boat of some kind). Obviously the show won't be quite as entertaining if the teams cannot salvage a working engine (or one that can be made to work with reasonable effort).
Are engines or other critical parts placed in the junkyard beforehand?
I take drugs seriously.
What's the coolest thing you've ever built yourself? Or, what's the coolest thing you've ever tried to build yourself?
What about Rollins?
_______
2B1ASK1
If Playboy publishes a "Girls of Tech Shows" issue, will you agree to pose nude?
Mike van Lammeren
It will challenge your head, your brain, and your mind.
That lame post got modded up? You're going to waste her time with that question? Learn to do your own basic research...geez...
Junkyard Wars
Full Metal Challenge
My wife and I were both avid fans of Junkyard Wars. There were days when we would miss the first taping and stay up till after midnight to watch it.
When you got off of the show we both lost interest. Yes, it was fun watching people build big machines, but much of the dynamic that we enjoyed was gone. It was then we realized just how important you were to the show and that dynamic that we enjoyed so much.
Are you getting any feed back about going back to JYW? Would you if they asked?
Mid-Eastern Pennsylvania Gaming Convention
Watching on TV, it often seems that the expert provides some good initial insight into a problem, but then often becomes superflous. Sitting through many hours of actually watching the challenges unfold. How valuable were the experts in comparison to teams with general inventiveness?
Why did TLC insist on renaming "Scrapheap Challenge" to "Junkyard Wars"?
Was there much difference between UK and US teams on Junkyard Wars? Did they have notably different attitudes or approaches?
rOD.
Rod Begbie done this, and he's not
Which of the various co-hosts you've worked with over the years are your favorites? Least favorites? Did you ever just want to smack the crap out of the "punkins, punkins, punkins" guy?
Some men spend their entire lives trying to kill themselves for having been born. --Ross MacDonald
I'm sorry, but your post is much too verbose. Could you please provide an executive summary. Thanks.
FMC involves giving teams $3000 (?) and one month to build their cars at home with no knowledge of what the challenges will be.
JYW involves sending teams into a scrapyard to find stuff to build various zany vehicles with which they will try to meet specific challenge goals.
Now that I've answered the question can somebody please mod the parent down?
The global economy is a great thing until you feel it locally.
So, have you ever been tempted to wander into somewhere like a LinuxWorld conference, just to see if you could stop all productive work from occurring? (you probably could, you know...)
If not, are you tempted now?
And she got breasts!!!
Um, well, I guess technically she does but they're pretty friggin' small. The guy in the cubicle next to me has bigger ones. Of course, he's a fuckin' fatass but still...
There are episodes where critical parts (like rocket engines) are not commonly found in a junkyard/scrapheap. I do remember that episode Cathy mentioning this fact and that they did plant engines around the junkyard.
It's been known for some time that items are planted in general based on what the experts ask for. Since the experts can't go scrounging, they don't know what is out there specifically or where to look. But they know the main components for their project exist *somewhere*.
Will we ever hear from Marine Research again? Please? (Or have I just not been paying enough attention?)
Oh, and congrats on being one of TV's foxiest ladies.
mstyne: real name, no gimmicks
Seth
$5 / month hosted VPS on linux = awesome!
Please mod this down. The answers are in the link below, no need to take up an interview slot.
http://www.the-nerds.org/on-seeding.html
I have always found Henry Rollins to be one of the more interesting people in music and acting. What is your opinion after working with him as the co-host? Had you heard of him before he was brought up to be part of the show?
"I would rather have your time than your money" --Henry Rollins Jan 14 2003 on the topic on internet file trading
It appeared to me that SO often the yard had been seeded. In one show, the contestants were required to build a flying machine, low and behold a complete Cessna fuselage appeared on the top of the heap. Frequently things like brand new, whole rolls of wire would be "found" on the scrap heap, not to mention a large number of fully operational vehicles.
What kind of junk yard was being used in Junk Yard Wars and how often was it seeded?
You have said in the past that it would be good to have an all female team, but as yet, we haven't seen this.
Why do you think so few women are interested in technology?
I used to put up with Henry. I think Bill from Black Flag is the best drummer ever. I even liked Henry in that movie The Chase. But he has lost his mind. I see no reason for him to be on this show. I can't stand his poetry, he thinks he is Jello Biafra now (whom I can do without now as well). Stick with what you know, don't try to show me how you are so cool, so grown up. Do I need to forget about TV Show? (Many will not understand this, please move along, nothin to see here. I just hate how people can do a complete 180 and want us to forget about the past)
I remember from the early episodes os Scrapheap challenge they had to build a hovercraft. At the start they admitted that they had planted several fans for the hovercraft amongst the scrap.
Do you often get propositions from internet geeks with too much time and too little imagination?
I see that your interests include both music and science. Do you find that those interests complement eachother, or are they often conflicting? Who are your musical role models?
Looking around the internet you have some incredibly scary/obsessive fans, and in many ways equally scary contestants. Ever gone down the junk yard with a view to making a de-nerdulator or perhaps just a f***ing enormous gun? You could probably sort out some kind of tank arrangement, with a projectile Lisa Rodgers as a decoy.
I'm not interested in proposing marriage: I already have a wife. But would you be interested in a position as 'the other woman'?
Respond privately if you want.
Jesus was all right but his disciples were thick and ordinary. -John Lennon
How much testing goes on off screen?
For example, the episode where participants had to build a diving bell, descend to the bottom of a small pond, and retrieve a chest of gold.
I don't believe that this was not tested off camera, if for no other reason solely to insure you didn't inadvertantly end up making a snuff episode.
Same thing goes for pretty much any device where explosives were used, or even the airplanes.
A message from our sponsor
I do love watching Junkyard wars, but something always bugged me - Why is there the turnover in hosts for the show? It seems that each season has a brand new host for a show that I'd think most hosts would like to stay on in order to achieve name branding.Is there something going on behind the scenes? Power plays? Or is it just cursed to have a new host for each season?
_ _ _ Go for the eyes Boo! GO FOR THE EYES!
Cathy,
What are some of the challenges that were rejected for the show, and why (too dangerous, too easy, too hard to do in 10 hours, etc)?
BTW, love the show, and glad to see you back on US TV with FMC....
So, what's your favorite screwdriver tip ?
If you don't understand anything I post, please accept that I ate paste as a small boy...
Ever think of going back to longer hair?
That was his question!
Damned clueless mods.
Boobies never hurt anyone. - Sherry Glaser.
This wasn't insightful or anything, which is why I posted it anonymously, but it is certainly on topic to note a good question that is low-ranked for mods to notice (and in fact it was modded up). Thus I consider it trolling to mod down when somebody notes a good interview question. May you go to meta-mod hell you bastard.
Are you single? And if you are, what are you doing this Saturday night?
Not everyone deserves a 320i
What's your synthesizer of choice.
What if the team isn't able to find, or the show didn't provide the necessary parts?
The show always provide everything that could be needed, but you're right, they have to find them and sometimes they don't. I have actually, on camera, been talking to a team member while I have been kicking a working engine and coughing and pointing to it, and still the guy ignored it and found a much worse one.
Every year during my review, I just pray the words "slashdot.org" aren't mentioned.
If Cathy and John Carmack ever got together, their children would rule the world like gods!
Boobies never hurt anyone. - Sherry Glaser.
Want to go see a movie Friday night, and then go to this great resturaunt I know about downtown?
Has anyone ever asked you if "Full Metal Challenge" was a sequel to "The Osbournes"?
"dope will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no dope"
ACs posting "Mod this up!" don't come running back to check on the ratings of their posts, so clearly you're an "interested party", eh drkich?
1)How are the initial matchups decided. Do you try to balance the teams?
2)"If I said you had a beautiful body would you hold it against me?"
If we don't fight for ourselves no one will.
Are you, in fact, a robot?
that Scrapheap Challenge is a much better name for the programme than Junkyard Wars?
I miss you on junkyard wars already. Since you left the show is totally americanized. Help! Before it was about which machine was better. Now its about which machine can beat up the other machine. Please cathy give me your opinion on this. Oh and the proposal and such. Missing you already - American who hates when british shows turn american otherwise he'd just watch american shows.
Whose idea was it to pepper the commentary with so much alliteration? I love the show, but I find myself cringing and the tiresome tendency to talk in tedious tones.
Extra credit: Do you prefer mousse or gel?
Strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government.
Cathy, One of the best parts of Junkyard Wars was all the humour, I found many things to laugh at in each episode, especially when the hosts were talking to the teams about their plans going awry. My question is, what was your favourite funny moment in the whole series? And as a side question, because he's just too funny, what was your favourite moment involving Robert Llewellyn?
Thanks,
-stu.
lets interview henry rollins next. he cohosts with cathy rogers on her new show.
We always watched the show while i was still an undergrad. Was there ever any thought to having a special series devoted to engineering school vs engineering school?
Taken from the UK ScrapHeap Challenge FAQ
Is the scrapheap 'seeded' with appropriate materials?
Almost everything that is used in the programme is general scrap. But in order for us to be able to set a wide variety of challenges, we sometimes have to place something specific on the site. We always make sure that there are the materials to build at least two different solutions to the challenges we have set.
How difficult was it to find competitors with the necessary skills and time to design/build/compete in FMC? While I recognize some of the teams as former Junkyard Wars/Scrapheap Challenge teams, how did you find, for example, the Chilean Team? ---- Any comments below the above line are to be ignored, including this one.
I think there was at least one all girl team.
From MIT I believe.
I can't remember if the expert was a girl or not.
I guess not many people know that you are actually the producer of these shows. I basically have 4 questions for you. I would like to know how you became the producer / star of this wildly popular show? If you would please come back to JYW so it will be worth watching again? Would you please bring back the original British host? And, like everyone else, will you please marry me?
Setting his threshold to 5, Sparky eliminated most of the trolls on /.
Will your band ("Marine Research") be touring anytime soon? Can we expect to see them in USA?
"dope will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no dope"
nor have I ever watched your show, but...
doesn't the the guy who made that fan site scare you? What about the people on this site? Do you really think Henry Rollins can protected you from a horde of obsessive, sex-starved American nerds?
are the trash piles pre inserted with good loot? i sure don't find that much cool stuff in my local landfill, it's mostly used diapers and stuff.
maybe i should go raid the junkyard wars trash heap instead.
Will you marry me?
(Hey!, it worked for Taco)
Cathy,
Junkyard Wars is the only show I watch on TV - my girlfriend tapes it each week, and we watch it together later. Over the years, we've noticed some unfortunate trends in the format of the show.
In the earlier Scrapheap Challenge episodes, two teams competed against each other for the entire season, and we got to know and love them. Each episode dealt with a basic scientific or mechanical process (hydraulics, bridge building, etc), and a good bit of the airtime actually focused on the science involved.
In later seasons, and especially this season, the teams almost always have a gimmick - usually a flamboyant leader who dyes his hair or gets in fights with the other team. The challenges are almost always car-oriented, and most of the airtime deals with cutting down the cars to make them lighter. There's very little explanation of the science behind the challenge, and the difference between the two vehicles is usually just "light and fast vs. big and heavy". Several of the shows this year have devolved into "bumper cars" matches as both teams realize their design works better as a battering ram than as their original plan intended.
We find ourselves getting less excited about the shows, and suspect others have lost interest as well. So, my question for you is: How do you feel about the way Scrapheap Challenge and Junkyard Wars have evolved over the years? If you had complete control over the way the show is run today, what would you change?
Thanks for entertaining and educating us over the years, and best of luck with Full Metal Challenge!
This is THE place where techies hang out and (often) have great ideas. How do you make a pitch for a "science-based" program ? Where do ideas come from ?
Steve
If she really has small breasts I definitely want to see a pic.
Maskirovka
Did you guys ever consider challenging teams to build a server that would withstand the slashdot effect? (Yes, welding torches may be required)
Cathy,
First, you ROCK! . Thanks for creating the only worthwhile TV in a long time.
After watching a Junkyard Wars marathon last year, I realized that you're a female version of Buckaroo Banzai. You both play in a rock band, you both have PhD's, you both appear on TV, and you both have a fascination with science. About the only difference is that he's a surgeon and you're a nurse.
Did you purposely set out to become a real-life comic book hero, or was it just fate?
Favourite show you were personally involved in and favourite work by other folks?
Marry me?
In college, really poor, need a flatscreen.
uh...why don't you try watching them?
got upset with you ( or other host )when you are interving them durning the last hour of build time? Like when the progect still dose not work yet.
Is there any particular challenge you had particular interest in participating? Ever had an idea that you thought was way better than the competing teams?
For what it's worth, I'd probably liked to have my hand in the wind mill episode which just seemed to be a critical-point-of-failure nightmare for both teams.
--- Jason Olshefsky
Karma: Poser (mostly affected by adding this line long after everyone else did)
That's all, no question.
Comment removed based on user account deletion
I've really wanted to know... What's up with the dog in the title sequrence? I know, I know, it probably means nothing, but that dog has puzzled me from the get go. Name? Owned by someone? Just decided to throw it in?
Any "real" junkyard has been stripped of anything that is worth much money. That includes any engines that are anywhere close to functional, anything that can be sold as a replacement part, and anything that can be recycled for profit (some metals, plastics, and rubber). If they didn't plant parts, there would be little more than old oil drums, and completely gutted vehicles. There are some parts that simply would never be found in a junkyard. Remember the huge tires they used in the monster truck episodes? Those are worth a lot of money.
I do think that they are planting parts far too often though. One of my favorite episodes was the one where they removed all of the wheels and tires from the junkyard, and the teams had to build walking machines.
What's the coolest thing you've ever built yourself? Or, what's the coolest thing you've ever tried to build yourself?
What about Black Flag followed up by the Rollins Band and some significant spoken word?
I believe that should qualify.
Visit Jonesblog and say hello.
Can you imagine a Beowulf cluster of "First Posts", SHOVED UP YOUR ASS?!!!
If you only have 10 questions to burn, why waste them on rehashing old news?
If you want to know about the seeded junkyard, you can read not only Llewellyn's page but also the TLC message boards (teams will post there) as well as searching google for team after-action reports.
BTW, I know how to use google and other search engines as well. Get to screaming, coward.
Who cares?
Cathy,
A lot of people don't realize that not only do you work on all of these shows, you help conceive the initial ideas behind them. How do you do it? Did you just one day have an idea and present it to a network, or did you work from the inside to have your concepts realized? What in your past got you interested in the whole build things from junkyard parts concept?
Do you.......Think Different?
Visit Jonesblog and say hello.
Uh, whose idea was that anyway?
And (most importantly).. why??
".sig,
Any "real" junkyard has been stripped of anything that is worth much money.
Yeah, but when does that happen?
Someone has to do it, right? The parts don't just strip themselves..
The Junkyard in Junkyard Wars IS a real junkyard... it's just instead of coming in after the parts have been stripped, the teams play the part of the strippers.
Are there any real rules in Junkyard Wars/Scrapheap Challenge, other than the time limit, that are enforced? I can think of two other rules (captain and expert must stay in the build area, items in build area aren't open to scavenging), but they seem to be broken quite frequently. It would also seem to be a rule that tools and equipment provided for scavenging/construction, particularly the quadbikes, are off-limits as parts, but one episode featured a diving helmet made from a bottle from the water cooler (Did it become junk when it was emptied?).
from the FAQ on the website (one of the replies to this parent has the link) they say (paraphrase)"Not only do we plant working/semi working materials, but if a team is having problems we even hint at stuff they might not have found"
I guess the lawyers would say "Well, it IS a junkyard, but its a junkyard where things have been planted. So technically, it's not lying"
The worst offender is "Trading Spaces" which does not indicate during the show that there is an entire team of workers behind the scenes that compelete most of the actual painting, sewing, etc.
blockquote:
Once inside, I met the sewing coordinator. The very existence of the sewing coordinator was for a long time a closely-guarded secret. His name was in the credits, but they never referred to him on camera. The need for a sewing coordinator is obvious; any given episode features a huge amount of sewing, some of it very complex, and the homeowners and designers simply wouldn't have time to do it all themselves. The sewing coordinator, therefore, stays behind the scenes and makes sure things get done on schedule. Later in the day, after he had finished all his tasks and packed up his equipment, I caught up with him and asked why he was never shown on camera. He explained that it was a logistical decision. Each episode, he pointed out, already features eight "characters," and adding a ninth would be tricky. Makes sense.
this taken from This behind the scenes review
It wouldn't be so bad if watching that show hadn't empowered me and my wife to completely redo everything when we moved into our town house! We painted every room, we re-floored the kitchen and basement, we fixed up dry wall, changed lighting fixtures and took down all the ceiling fans, put up shelving and cabinetry... pant pant pant,
In the future, I would want to not be isolated from my friends in the Space Station.
Have any (and if so, which) of the constructs ever made you fear for your own life? I'm surprised none of them have ever had a major meltdown that sent the crews fleeing the scene.
If one more asshole posts a "I KNOW HOW TO USE GOOGLE" posting I'm going to scream.
I enjoy Junkyard Wars because it places a strong emphasis on the creation of the machines used in the final challenge. One could conceivably LEARN something from watching the show. Full Metal Challenge, which focuses primarily the contests themselves, is decidedly lacking in that respect. My question is, given the tractor-pull premise of FMC, why is it on The Learning Channel? Did any other network want a shot at it?
Amazon URLs have unique identifiers in them, so your link to Amazon doesn't work. Pretty crappy design, IMO.
The Long Brothers? no way! The best team would have to be one of the english teams. The Long Brothers, although a good team, have nothing against the legendary likes of The Bodgers, The Megalomaniacs, or The Brothers In Arms.
To begin with, they lack the mustaches absolutly necessary to a great Junkard Wars/Scrapheap challenge team. How can you possible go up against a team that, when faced with a broken transmission on test day, race the 1/8 mile IN REVERSE and almost won?
there was an all female tream in the latest season with Karen Bryant, and Tyler Harcott. They got a fairly lackluster expert, who was male. They battled the Custom Cruisers(who went on to the Finals to lose, yesterday in fact, to The Ketucky Fried Family, by a poor decision by a judge and the lame Dad who refused to put his little boys in harm's way on a machine they built.) They ladies competed in an event to construct a vehicle that fit inside 4 samsonite suitcases.
Have all the teams been tolerant of you guys coming up to them every few hours (especially towards the end) or have some of them pretty much told you to... ahem... bugger off?
I've always thought she was hot. I don't know if it is the accent or the eye make up, but either way, she's got something.
So I want to know her policy on sleeping with anonymous strangers.
It is my belief that there isn't much left to be invented that comes from standard tools (ie: wood, steel, some screws and a little intuition). It seems that, in order to invent something revolutionary in these days, you need an advanced degree in materials science.
If you were to travel back in time, which invention would you like to have your name associated with? In other words, if you had invented something in the past, which invention would you be most proud of?
IWARS.
People, in general, disappoint me. Politicians even more so.
We have all heard of the strangeness that stars have to put up with from their fans. What have been some of your more interesting fan moments?
www.linux-skunkworks.com
Just picturing a Marine Research/ Rollins Band collaboration. Scary.
Some pictures of Cathy, with Marine Research.
Dig the long hair.
spreer
Why did you cut your hair??
I caught Full Metal Challenge last night on TLC. I sensed alot of chemistry between you and Henry Rollins -- a real friendship (with some playful shoving around of one another). How have your relationships with all of your co-hosts been off-camera?
Failure is not an option. It comes automatically enabled in every Microsoft product.
Have you ever been camping with a totally perverted, depraved, S&M slashdot junkie? If not, would you like to?
Yes, Rollins is alright if you can stand his eloquently sermonizing poetry, but he seems more book smart than scientician smart. Plus he's a bit intense. (By a bit, I mean very^100)
Of course he did grow up in the midwest, so he must know something about machines.
Cathy;
I don't think you understand how important you were to the Junkyard Wars show, in that, as the host of the show, you were the only one so far in a long string of hosts and co-hosts that actually seemed to understand what each team was building as they built it.
Not only were you explaining to the audience how each contraption was supposed to work, you CLEARLY had a better idea of how it would go together than the teams did themselves.
Some of the best parts of the show is where you would amble up to a particular team and make a suggestion or ask a question as to whether or not they were going to deal with a particular issue.
It seems to me that the current crop of epsiodes doesn't have a "gearhead" host, and neither of them contribute to the build process of the teams. As such, discounting the amazing work of the Kentucky Fried Family, almost all the builds have been somewhat lackluster and devoid of any imagination.
If anyone should be a host of the show, it should be Bowser Munson. Seriously, you need a gearhead host or the show falls flat.
Please come back to Junkyard Wars. Do I have to grovel???????
If telephones are outlawed, then only outlaws will have telephones.
Did you guys ever consider Richard Dean Anderson as a co-host? I'm sure he's looking for work these days. Or is that Stargate show still on. (Sorry, don't watch much TV.)
It seems that "Full Metal Challenge" will need to come up with new challenges next year, since the contestants this year had to design their vehicules without knowing exactly what the challenge is. Is this the case?
Have you found any differences between the contestants in different iterations of the show? Speaking as an American who spent part of his youth in England, I find the British contestants much more entertaining, insightful and engaging. Was it easier to work with any particular group? Were there any contestants that made the show difficult?
1) Why do the competitors get to look over the wall in the current series? It really detracts from the sense of mystery. Same with the trash talking; I much prefer the refined British approach.
2) Why are the competition rules so wimpy? Witness the recent "vehicle that must fit through the hole in the fence" challenge. In general, it seems that the penalties for not following the rules are often so minor that you're more likely to win if you just try to break the rules and deal with the penalties.
3) What happened to the cool challenges, like trebuchets, wall crushers, etc. Something where teams have little expertise.
4) Are there challenges that didn't air because neither team made it, or only one team had something workable?
In terms of making 'stuff out of junk', was the A-team and MacGuyver any kind of idea generator for Junk Yard Wars?
After clicking "no" three times to the "do you want to install and run Macromedia Flash?" dialog, I gave up and hit the back button.
NOTHING on that page could possibly interest me that much.
Does nobody else on the planet know that Flash is useless suckage? Just say "hell no!"
I would fuck her with YOUR dick, but I could be wrong...
You save only 59 seconds over 8 miles by going 75 instead of 65. Do you really have to pass that guy? Do the Math!
What exactly do you mean by that?
Is that a synonym for "are you experienced"?
Or is it some sort of kinky come on?
the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Greg Ginn built Black Flag.
Correction - he grew up in Washington DC.
I remember when I first saw scrapheap challenge I thought it was like "The Great Egg Race", but with bigger 'pieces' - did this show influence you at all?
Also I wonder, if you weren't presenting the show do you think you'd be knowledgable enough to actually compete as part of a team? What about with your fellow presentors?
(I'd love to see a special edition with the presentors vs some celebritys or something similar...)
I've always been a bit suspicious that there was some guidance in solutions, possibly so that there are always two differently-built machines in the competition. I've seen EVERY episode of both the UK and the US competition including the current UK season (which is GREAT BTW).
As far as I can remember, there have NEVER been two identically-designed builds (OK, UK Power Pullers was close, except small engine/auto xmission vs large/manual); it seems that ONCE in a while the two teams would do the same thing, or at least, start out trying to until it became obvious that there weren't enough parts for both teams to do the same thing.
Furthermore, when the US and UK shows do identical challenges, the two design solutions seem always to be identical (White Water 2001 - one airboat, one jet-boat on each show). This makes me think that the experts have been coached beforehand. I have seen Scrapheap Commandments and realize that a lot of work goes into preparing the 'heap with proper equipment, but it seems that actually telling the experts "You build a jet-boat, you build an air-boat" would be crossing the line.
Comments?
-- end of question, begin rambling --
I must say that though I thought the show was running out of ideas, the current season is VERY good, nice new challenges. Can't wait to see the US show do the "Rapid Fire" idea that the UK show used this year (maybe next season).
Whatever the answer, it's still one of the best shows out there. There's a big following of the show among my friends, and I'll pretty much watch whatever you show up on to check it out. Also my 11-year-old daughter has really taken to science (and welding (!)) since getting in to watching Scrapheap. Also in case you didn't know about it, several science-leaning science fiction conventions (at least in the midwest) are having mini-scrapheap challenges - indoors, a pile of stuff, build XYZ thing (smaller-than-a-breadbox scrapheap).
Thanks for a great show! New ideas in TV wasteland are rare.
As a musician, what do you think of the music industry these days, specifically about the slave-labor-like recording contracts, industry ownership of copyrights, Peer-to-peer song sharing (MP3s), and the current fruitless atempts to copy-protect CDs?
Is there anything that you can do in your current position to help change any of that to the betterment of recording artists and consumers everywhere?
Ok, it was two questions. So sue me! ;-)
LongTail SSH Brute Force analysis tool is here!
During the episode of Scrapheap Challenge where the N.E.R.D.S. built Frobette (see also frob) they handed you and Robert a copy of The New Hacker's Dictionary. Did you keep it?
How did you get to be so insanely cool?
I don't mean to sound sexist, but I hope you definitely plan on having kids, even though it's exceedingly painful to give birth and exceedingly difficult to raise children. It's important for genes like yours to stay in circulation. Really we need them, badly! I mean, look at George W. Bush! Aaaagh!
Although, now that I think about it, it's also possible to help out your fellow humans in lots of other ways, and you've certainly done a lot of that.
Thank you for existing. Your presence has enriched all of our lives. I hope yours is going well.
Furry cows moo and decompress.
What is up with all you brits and the bad teeth?!! Are there no orthodontists in England?
I tried but was distracted by someone clapping one hand in the next office
I metamoderate, therefore I am
You're right... Cathy probably gets this question all the time.
I'll be more specific: I would like to know more about the creative process behind the show. What was the target audience? How were the original contestants selected? Did it turn out how it was planned? That sort of thing.
I like the show, I've probably seen 10 or 11 episodes, usually in the company of several friends. Every time, we ponder the oddity of your clothing selections; the shiny-skirt-over-pants thing looks completely bizarre to us, is this a common look in England (wasn't the last time I was there)? did you come up with this on your own? is that a toolbelt-skirt?
.sig :)
I'm really really surprised that noone has asked about this yet, and I really want to know; what's the motivation?
--theLime
(here comes the inappropriate
Cathy! Wow, Ne'er I thought to see the day when I'd get to ask a question of the undisputed diva of the Junk.
:)
Ive watched uncountable episodes of Junkyard Wars (in awe, might I add), and one question always came to mind. Did every team always complete the objective in the alloted time frame? It seemed to me like there were a few episodes where one team had an extraordinary time even putting anything together. Were there any times when this didnt happen, and they maybe required some after-hours assistance?
Thanks!
The original Scrapheap Challenge teams (British) seemed genuinely likeable and didn't resort to theatrics or pointless posturing, concentrating more on what they were doing and the end result.
Once the American episodes began to be produced, the teams really seemed terribly obnoxious and offputting. The "Young Guns" teams is of particular note in this regard. In fact, the team behaviors began to become so bad that my freinds and I simply stopped watching.
Was there any pressure from the American side to introduce more conflict into the show, or was the change simply the nature of the American teams?
* As is generally the case, my opinions do not reflect those of my employer.
I've always wanted to know if there is a way to suggest challenges to the SC/JYW creators? And have they ever considered a crossover with Robot Wars / Battlebots? Give the teams 10 hours to build a robot and then fight them out on the other shows stages?
Comment removed based on user account deletion
I am intrigued by the leather outfit you always wore on SHC/JW. It seemed a little S&M, what with it being black and somewhat out of the ordinary. In particular, what was function of the sporran/handwarmer/fanny pack thingy bobbling in front of that fabulous black skirt?
What is up with Tyler's horrible new hairstyle?
In Junkyard Wars, an expert in the area of the challenge is assigned to each team. I can not think of a time when the two experts "came up" with the same approach to the challenge (i.e. if you have to build a sub, both experts decide to use pressurized air). More often, the experts come up with differing approaches (one uses pressurized air, the other uses paddles). Is this by design in the selection of the experts, a pre-taping decision of the director, a flip of the coin, or what? Once it would be fun to see if the two teams build on a similar design and the team itself (not the predeemed methodology) decides the winner.
Mordor...a magical, mythical land where women are more rare than dragons--but where every man would rather find a dragon
I have always thought you'd be ideal for the part of Trillian in the Hitchhiker's Guide Big Screen movie.
After all, you, like Trillian, got a degree and then went on to television to be madly successful. What do you think of the Hitchhiker series and the possibility of a movie? Would you consider an acting career? In my opinion, no one else could play Trillian properly. Thanks for everything! JW isn't the same without you.
-Jeff P
yeff@yeff.org
Junkyard Wars is one of my favorite shows on TV, however it seems to me that they intentionally do not show the real engineering (calculations, technical and theoretical principals, etc.) without first lowering it to a third grade level. Is this due to the show having a wide range of age groups and technical backgrounds? I have always felt that there is a demand for showing what really goes into the planning and design of these projects. What is your opinion on this? Could we see a more geek oriented JYW type show in the future?
--
"I've figured out what's wrong with life: It's other people." -Dilbert
So who would win: a team with McGyver, Buckeroo Banzai, and any Heinlein engineer, or a team with the teens from Weird Science and a couple of Moatie engineers? Which would make the better coffee (or tea, for the British version)?
Envy my 5 digit Slashdot User ID!
Of course, since you're obviously young and hip
A slashbot? Hip? That's the funniest thing I heard all day!
Can you vouch for Rollins' whereabouts on the days of any or all of the DC sniper shootings?
News for Nerds. Stuff that Matters? Like hell.
in addition, was it rollins' music/poetry/tatooes/shirtlessness/yelling/screami ng/etc. that interested you in bringing him on board or was it just that he's tired of voicing episodes of behind the music on vh1?
Large print giveth, and the small print taketh away
I heard that you contacted Henry Rollins yourself to co-host the show with you. What made you choose him specifically? Are you a fan of his music/spoken word, a friend, or what? (I think you made a good choice, btw, Rollins has the kind of brash yet intelligent personality that fits this kind of show.)
This message brought to you by the Council of People Who Are Sick of Seeing More People.
What was the name of the band, did they put out any albums, were they good and were they successful?
I think the junkyard they use is pretty atypical. Real junkyards generally do not have working engines in them. But since a bunch of guys standing arounds saying "If only we had a boat propellar" doesn't really make compelling television, it's understandable.
I just wish the more recent episodes were more original in the problems they were trying to solve, rather than the current spate of "Car battle to the death" episodes.
I am not a number! I am a man! And don't you
Having worked for several seasons on ScrapHeap Challenge and two seasons of Junkyard Wars, which teams came up with the most interesting solution for the challenge. What are some of your favorite contraptions created for the challenge?
13 year old white supremacists are shitty web designers.
My question is: Is this a coincidence, or is their a link between your music (and spoken word) and this electronics experimentation? And did this encounter with Greg Ginn's business prepare you in any way for JYW?
"dope will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no dope"
Whatever happened to the original team members from the first season of Scrapheap Challenge? I saw that some of them came back for later seasons, but are any of them still involved with the show?
It's only a troll if there's a chance of people taking it seriously. +1 funny or -1 offtopic, please.
News for Nerds. Stuff that Matters? Like hell.
Who drew the cartoons on Junkyard/Scrapheap? (you?)
I admire their ability to explain things visually
and with humor too.
I always thought you were quite the tottie on JYW. In the commercials for Full Metal Challenge, you are now wearing a ton of dark makeup. Did the producers tell you to do this to "Mean up" your look or was this your idea?
On an aside the whore look isn't becoming...
Gnuyen
What is with that junkyard? How come there is so much stuff that is still actually working (motorcycle engines, for example). I mean, is it an actual junkyard and the contestants play the odds, or do you make sure that there's enough good stuff to build whatever it is they have to build?
On a related note, my girlfriend (yes, she love the show) is curious about one thing: It seems that on every show both teams attack the same problem with very different designs. Is it casual, or do you somehow make sure that they won't try to build exactly the same thing?
PS- If you still question my familiarity with Rollins, I'll point out that on the SOA No policy 7", Rollins has a tattoo of the Black Flag logo (along with a mohawk). This picture was shot when he was just a fan of Black Flag and wasn't even connected with the band in any way. Him later joining the band as the singer is not unlike the way that guy Ripper Owens was in a Judas Priest cover band and then later was chosen to replace Rob Halford in Judas Priest. Not that SOA was a BF cover band....
$5 / month hosted VPS on linux = awesome!
Hey Cathy, thanks for showing us that geeks can be hotties too. Anyway, for both JYW and FMC, who and how do you guys decide on what the contestants need to build? And how much of an advance hint do the teams get prior to showing up with power tools in hand (because the teams seem to always have the correct expert on hand.)
I can't believe this question hasn't been asked yet, but the first question that popped up in my mind is...
Are you single?
Or possibly wonder what the contestants on the show were doing with theirs :) ?
As an "old schooler" I like the Royal Navy's "airboat" and the cannon episode.
What are your fav. episodes? Scary moments?
Any ideas that were to dangerous? (manned flight?)
Keep up the good work..
TE
I am intimately familiar with Henry
That's a little more than I wanted to know about either you or Henry Rollins.
Slashdot is jumping the shark. I'm just driving the boat.
Darn, here I couldn't ask the mandatory question, but now I can!
Jobs? Which jobs?
In the beginning part of the Junkyard Wars, what's the deal with the dog with a pink mohawk?
On Junkyard Wars, I've always wondered about the stuff that goes on that isn't aired. Such as:
:-)
* How is the junkyard (or scrapheap) seeded or items removed from it
* How much/detailed are the plans that the experts come up with done ahead of time
* In the show, all we ever see is the contestants being told "Build a railroad engine" - do they actually get all of the rules at that time, or does only the expert know all the rules of the challenge (having been explained them ahead of time)?
* How often do you have to "help" a team that doesn't look like it's going to finish (Help them find a missing part, tell a team that the other team has the key part, extend more time, etc)? I know some of this happens, and it's reasonable because if one team never finishes then that's not a very interesting show
* Anything else intersting (especially to us geeks) that happens in the challenge that doesn't make the show?
Right now, Junkyard Wars is my favorite show, and it looks like Full Metal Challange will be cool too. Good luck with the new show!
-Chris
Thanks
Religion is a gateway psychosis. -- Dave Foley
Do you consider yourself a sex symbol for the technology underworld and overworld? Do you consider yourself a role model for females everywhere who are interested in building things, destroying things, and then building them again?
JasonBlogs
Actually I had nothing to do with the Mod this up post. If I am going to post something I use my name. Unlike some posters around here.
Mid-Eastern Pennsylvania Gaming Convention
How much, if any, of the dialogue and interaction between the teams and you, and between the two teams, was 'real'? That is, was any of the interaction scripted?
I recall one show involving the "NERDS" team (my favorite, for obvious reasons) hauling out a copy of "The New Hacker's Dictionary" to explain a phrase they employed ("cruft" IIRC), and I wondered at the time if they had come up with that themselves.
In any case, Junkyard Wars is a very cool show, especially when hosted by yourself and Mr. Llewellyn.
Do you ever wonder, like just before you go on camera, "My god, 10,000 boys are going to be masturbating to my image when this airs?
In "Junkyard Wars", after the contest ends with one team victorious and the other defeated, what happens to the stuff people built? Do the contestants take it home, does it go back to the scrapyard, or do you end up driving it to work the next day?
Ergonomica Auctorita Illico!
trolling! wheeeee! look at me!!
I'll gladly join you in the grovelling. IMNSHO, Cathy is the best host ever in the history of the series. Roger, Tyler, and Karen just don't match up !
What is your Slash Rating?
... that you never used? (thermonuclear reactor? dentistry equipment?)
When the show was transplanted to the US the US producers had a headache because the presenter did not adjust to the media stereotypes and looked like, *grasp*, just a normal person.
Most USians of course don't have the chance to watch British TV, but the biggest difference is that British TV is not as worried as US TV with form and pays more attention to substance (even if said substance may be of questionable quality).
When you watch British TV the actors look like normal people in which not all are sexually desirable and artificially beautified by a surgeon.
IANAL but write like a drunk one.
This guy, who posts at the same time as someone else posting the same thing (hence not really redundant) then gets moderated OVERRATED when at 0? (almost certainly from some loser who is in love with the hosts of this show. Likely the men). Looks like Slashdot needs to do more to permenently revoke moderation from reems or mortards.
Good job I am posting anonymously as I just stuck this in the wrong thread! Anyway here it is in the right thread.....
p heap/show/FAQ.html
Can we avoid boring questions that have been answered many times in many places for example:
http://www.channel4.com/science/microsites/S/scra
to quote:
Is the scrapheap 'seeded' with appropriate materials?
Almost everything that is used in the programme is general scrap. But in order for us to be able to set a wide variety of challenges, we sometimes have to place something specific on the site. We always make sure that there are the materials to build at least two different solutions to the challenges we have set.
What did it take to convince a heroine to enlist in not only a breadwinning job but a cult TV show that is anything but sugar and spice? This opposes everything we've heard about wives dropping out of the workforce and evil technology jobs in droves since 1984.
>The challenges are almost always car-oriented,
e at _egg_race/
>and most of the airtime deals with cutting down
>the cars to make them lighter. There's very
>little explanation of the science behind the
>challenge
yes, and i too find that dull. (the recent golf ball gun was great though, but why did it have to be mounted on a car?)
there was a show over here in england called the great egg race which was similar but three teams in a studio, all with access to identical piles of equipment and the tasks were more varied. one was to get an egg from one side of the room to the other as fast as possible without using a motor and without breaking the egg (this challenge was later opened to the public and heats were held every week). the other one i remember is the mechanical flute player. lots of others, it ran for some years in prime time on thursday nights.
add a crazy german guy and you're good to go!
http://www.ukgameshows.com/atoz/programmes/g/gr
andy
I just wanted to say it is refreshing to see that there are still some good shows being produced out there! I'm tired to see good ideas being turned into theatrical production (think some island show on fox network...) where the basic idea is sound (put some people on a desert island and see how they fare) but noooo! You have to have them bitch one against the other, make them plan agaisnt each other... I dislike that kind of tv. On your show, you have to work togheter, and we even saw some shows where the contestants helped each other out! And I can say now that I know more about how my car works than before, so I actually learned something from your show while being intertained! And I want to thank you for this! I wish you the best of luck with your current show and all future plans you will endeavour. As for asking a question, and related to this post, did you submit other kind of shows focusing on learning through amical challenges like JW? Do you plan on submiting any? If so, would they still focus on cars and engines, or would you change the subject? Cheers from Qc, Canada!
My question...
Early on in Scrapheap Challenge, there seemed to be a wide variety of contraptions that teams would have to build - anything from various styles of projectile launchers to windmill-coffee-grinders. As the show got older (and modified to an American audience?), it seems that more and more often the challenge is to build yet another car. Is this because the production team runs out of ideas, or is this a marketing thing? (Or something else entirely?)
Another question...
I seem to remember reading that the educational side of Scrapheap Challenge was a large part of why you made the show. Have your interests changed with Full Metal Challenge, or have you been typecast?
And finally...
Are you a frequent slashdot reader? Did you expect so many questions posted on this thread to be people asking you for a date? In the U.S. at least, some women feel that being attractive (or in any way sexual) is a barrier to being successful in business/taken seriously. Is that sort of response frustrating or flattering?
Ann Saunders, one the contestants, was my kind of woman: cute, witty, and handy with power tools. The kind of girl you'd take home to Mom but who could still help Dad build a backyard trebuchet. Got her email address?
Ever since I had a baby, my wife expected me to win the bread from 10am to 10pm, 25 hours a day so she can stay in the house and be, well, a house-wife. Damn straight a lot of wives are expecting to de-enlist from the workforce these days.
-- Mr. Chestnuts
play with my junk?
The best education consists in immunizing people against systematic attempts at education. - Paul Feyerabend
When you talk to Henry Rollins, does he answer a question... then say "And you wanna know why?" and then break into "Liar"?
C'mon. You can tell us. We're all friends here.
What is music when you despise all sound?
$5 / month hosted VPS on linux = awesome!
how do like hosting Full Metal Challenge vs. Junkyard Wars? I mean in Junkyard Wars, the teams have to really think and try different stuff to beat each other on a set event for that show. On Full Metal Challenge, the overall goal is the same everytime (bowling, bumper cars, race the track). What show is your personal favorite?
When all else fails, piss on it. At least you will feel better in some kind of way.
Does grease and cold steel turn you on? :-)
Ok, I'm not Cathy, but I'm a really big fan. Ok, I'm going to try to answer some questions, if no one minds. 1. Cathy's band DOES NOT play anymore. You CAN order CDs though. ( http://www.krecs.com ) 2. Cathy was in two bands (well actually I think it may be three), but mainly two. Which are Heavenly and Marine Research. ( http://listen.to/marineresearch and http://listen.to/heavenly ) 3. Cathy did not pick her clothes on the show. The costume designer designed them. And I like her little tool belt skirt thing! 4. Cathy left JYW because of Full Metal Challenge. She couldn't do both because FMC was filmed in the UK. 5. Cathy did not study engineering in college or anything. She studied in human sciences and medicine. 6. The junkyard is seeded with special parts. 7. And for those of you who haven't watched FMC, she grew her hair back out! 8. Cathy is single. And if you still don't see your answer to your question, it might help by visiting my Cathy fan site. I have TONS of info. and links on there. It's: http://www.geocities.com/crwannabe7 And to every guy: STOP ASKING CATHY TO MARRY YOU! If I was Cathy that would totally scare me. LOL nah you can if you want, just don't get made if she ends up afraid of you!
Have we learnt anything about duct tape? ~ Cathy Rogers
Right, because anything you say would have no merit at all unless you'd karma-whored for several months so that all your posts would default to +2. Post AC, then everything you say stands on its own merit, and not on whatever karma you have built up.