I’m a huge fan of the show, and have spent a lot of time browsing through the various discussion groups and websites established by contestants and such, so let me offer a couple of bits of clarifying information.
One of the misconceptions about the American host is that this version of the show is being produced by TLC. In fact, it’s the same production company (RDF Media), same producers (the female co-host, Cathy Rogers, is a producer and co-creator), same junkyard in England. For this American-aimed season, the English producers changed the editing style slightly, aiming it at a slightly different audience. They now finish the competition before the last commercial break, for example, and then have a separate wrapup between the last break and the credits. They’re also more up-front about how much testing and fine-tuning is allowed on the morning of the competition, which they’ve always done but minimized somewhat in previous seasons.
They also swapped out the original host, Robert Llewellyn (Kryten from Red Dwarf), for the American guy, because they figured he’d be easier for Americans (and Canadians) to identify with. If you read the message boards on the production company’s official site, it seems like this might have been a mistake, but they’ll decide based on Nielsens, not the comments of a few hundred dedicated Internet users. Besides, Llewellyn is still the host for the British version.
As far as the new host, I strongly prefer Llewellyn; he was just such a mischevous gremlin. The new guy seems to think he’s on Nickelodeon or something. Still, I’m willing to give him a chance, to see if he calms down or starts clicking better with Cathy. The first season of Scrapheap Challenge may or may not ever see U.S. airing, because it was so different (especially the pilot), and it took them a while to iron out the wrinkles. The new guy may just need a similar shakedown period.
More FYI: They lost the use of the original junkyard after they finished shooting the season they’re now airing. It was bought by a company that’s not as friendly to the show as the previous owner. Because of this, the British and American versions of the show will probably both be shot in the United States.
Common question about the show: “Do they ‘plant’ stuff in the junkyard?” Yes, of course. Read the FAQ at the website for The N.E.R.D.S., the American team that competed in Season Three. It’s not just that some items (such as the engines and boilers for the Steam Cars episode) would be too difficult to build from scratch – they’d also be illegal under rules set by the British equivalent of OSHA, and the show would be shut down. The producers do make sure it isn’t just a scavenger hunt for bits of a jigsaw puzzle; for example, in one episode, they provided a highly unlikely pair of oversized wheels, but then made sure the junkyard didn’t have a matching differential or bearings, so if you wanted to use the wheels, you had to bodge something together. (I use the word “bodge” every chance I get now. Bodge bodge bodge. :D)
You can make suggestions for future challenges by posting them on the production company’s discussion site (see link above, then click through to their message board). Ideas should follow a few guidelines:
[ul][li]It has to be an engineering challenge, demonstrating some mechanical or scientific principle, rather than just “robots bashing on each other.” The point of the show is to painlessly teach basic physics and such, so the challenge has to keep that in mind.[/li][li]It has to be interesting television. For example, it might be fun to build a really big pressure cooker, but the competition at the end would be kind of boring to watch, as the two teams just sit around and wait for their chambers to heat up and pressurize. (Actually, making a pressure cooker to launch projectiles might be fun. Hmmm…)[/li][li]It has to lend itself to competing approaches. You’ll note that on every show, the two teams follow divergent strategies. The fireboats, for example, were similar, but the pumps worked on different principles (piston vs. centrifugal pumps). Even the beach sailer episode had “one mast” vs. “two mast.” This increases both the drama and the show’s teaching potential.[/ul][/li]I put a few challenge ideas up on their board, and got a couple of nice, complimentary responses from production company reps. Another cool thing about those boards is that the real-life contestants frequent them, and will respond to direct questions about their experiences on the show. Go check it out.
And finally, if you want to get on the show (can you imagine a “Straight Dope” team?), they’re taking applications until mid-February. Check out the link above.
