Tell me about Escape From Experiment Island

Ok, I finally got my much older tv to give me my cable channels. (thanks to a discarded vcr)

So Im flipping through today, and I decide on TLCs “Escape from experiment island”.

1.Does this show ““know”” (acknowledge) that its father is “Junkyard Wars” ? Does it bill itself as a spin-off from it? I notice that the same wipe-board telestrator is used, and the explantion of conclusions in technology are similar. And to boot, its on the same network.

2.What exactly is the premise, and how many “rounds” are there? I tuned in to it after it started. The contestants were searching through a house, that had items that could help, hinder and were neutral to the mission. Is this round always present? Are the other rounds as well?

3.How old is the program? This is the Car-boat escape episode, at 2-3pm eastern time on TLC. How many eps of this gold mine have I missed?