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"MythBusters" Drops Kari Byron, Grant Imahara, Tory Belleci

Posted by timothy on from the small-team dept.

rbrandis (735555) writes In a video announcement Thursday on Discovery Channel, MythBusters hosts Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman revealed that longtime co-hosts and fan favorites Kari Byron, Grant Imahara, and Tory Belleci are no longer on the show. "This next season we're going back to our origins with just Adam and me," Hyneman said in the video, which explained that the change took hold as of the season's last episode on August 21. (Our interview with the original-and-remaining Mythbusters is one of my favorites.)

12 of 364 comments (clear)

  1. "Fan favorites"? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The only shame about that is losing Grant Imahara. He actually built mechanically neat rigs and such for experiments in a more advanced way than Adam and Jamie tended to.

    It always seemed to me like Grant was hired to do some science, Kari was hired to be the tits, and Tory was hired to balance out the tits.

    1. Re:"Fan favorites"? by Sycraft-fu · · Score: 5, Informative

      It should be understood that while her looks surely played a part in her getting cast on a permanent basis, that wasn't how she got in the door. They didn't post an ad looking for female models/actresses. She was an intern on the show, working there because she loved creating and wanted to work for M5. She got called on camera to help with a myth (by providing a mold of her butt) and that was what started it.

      Skill got her the position with the show initially,

      Also as you note, personality goes a long way, and she has a very good one for the screen. That is why Adam Savage is a part of the show. Mythbusters was originally pitched to Jamie Hyneman but he knew, correctly, that he wouldn't be able to carry a show like that alone because of his dry personality. So he suggested Savage, who he'd worked with in the past, in part because he's a goofball.

      With a show like that it takes a combination of skill and presentation to make it a hit, and that was what the hosts had, Byron included.

  2. Re:My wife will miss Grant. by rolfwind · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I will miss Grant too. He seemed to be the only one close to a scientist of the 3, as an electrical engineer and robot builder.

    Haven't watched the show for a while now. It became too much blow shit up and other dumbed down shit. Every episode. And yet it was still one of Discoveries smarter shows, as sad as that fact is.

    While I can fault their scientific method, they had some ingenius ways to test and bust some myths. I wonder if "returning" to roots means smarter shows though or just trimming the budget?

  3. Modern Television Style - Thanks Beyond Production by sr180 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I am a big fan of the show, but Ive stopped watching it because of the modern style of production - geared to those who have ADHD.
    Modern shows now lead the viewers into the direction of the show... So, you have a few minutes of introduction, then a quick preview of whats coming up, then an ad break. Then after the ad break, they show you what you saw earlier, a quick little update, and then another flash forward to what you'll see coming up. Repeat repeat repeat.
    With ads, it drives me mad. Without ads, its even worse. 10 minutes of real content gets padded out to a full 45 minute episode. So Ive quit watching - which is a pity, because the small bits of content embedded in the forward flashes and back flashes is usually quite good.

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  4. Re:good by v1 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    lol they must have really screwed up for all three of them to be fired at once

    My money's on "they asked for more pay for the next signing and couldn't reach an agreement". That will always boil down to some point between "you shouldn't have demanded more than you were worth" and "we probabably shouldn't have broken the cash cow's leg".

    Only time will tell.

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  5. Ob XKCD... by Ellis+D.+Tripp · · Score: 5, Interesting

    http://xkcd.com/397/

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  6. Re:Modern Television Style - Thanks Beyond Product by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    There are people who shorten these episodes to cut the repeats and some of the filler
    http://www.reddit.com/r/smyths
    "These 'Streamline' edits run shorter because they are missing teasers, cartoons, flashbacks, repetition, idents, history lessons, fun facts, "we're experts", and anything else that slows down the show."

  7. Re:Modern Television Style - Thanks Beyond Product by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    Check out "Streamlined Mythbusters." It's a crowdsourced version of what you're lookng for.

  8. Re:good by FatdogHaiku · · Score: 5, Funny

    ..."we probabably shouldn't have broken the cash cow's leg"...

    But, Grant could build it a new one, with a Ninja sword built in!

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  9. Re:good by whereiswaldo · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I stopped watching Mythbusters last year when I found myself fast forwarding every episode to the end to see what happens. Too much fluff, and in some cases not enough rigor in their tests for my liking. I don't blame the hosts, though - they put a ton of effort into making the show and tried to make it entertaining.

  10. Don't come back. We'll send your stuff. by kamitchell · · Score: 5, Insightful

    What an impersonal goodbye. Just an announcement from Adam and Jamie, some video clips, and a stock photo.

    While I could believe Adam's thanks for all their work, he seemed strained somehow. I think the network did it, after the wrap of filming for the last episode.

    It really lacked the warmth that a heartfelt goodbye, shot in the M7 workshop with a handheld camera, hugs, and tears.

    I speculate that the network forced the reconfiguration of the show after filming of that episode ended.

    Sad, really.

  11. Re:Modern Television Style - Thanks Beyond Product by Fleetie · · Score: 5, Informative

    "Top Gear" in the UK does not HAVE commercial breaks! It's made by and shown on, the BBC, whose main TV stations have no adverts at all (except for their own forthcoming shows).

    When "Top Gear" is repeated on other, commercial channels, then yes, there are advert breaks.

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