mythbusters

ten-ringer

ten-ringer

Joined
Jul 9, 2009
Messages
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Mythbusters, a show of science in action, or a fun show for people that don't know better? Thoughts?
 
Entertainment for the masses. Sometimes interesting, sometimes flawed. Better than much of the crap on television. I watch episodes online sometimes.
 
Its primarily a means of generating revenue for the Discovery channel. Which is not a bad thing. But thats what it is when you get right down to it.

It is also entertaining. I like the personalities and the myths that are supposedly busted. Would be nice if whatshername had a wedding ring on her finger before she pops, but that is neither here nor there.

My 8 and 12 year old sons dig the show, and its not doing their brains any harm.

Good stuff. Not a science documentary, but good stuff.

Check out also on their website the video tour of M5, along with Jamie's tool bag contents. Pretty neat.

:thumbup:
 
powernoodle said:


My 8 and 12 year old sons dig the show, and its not doing their brains any harm.

:thumbup:
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I watch it for the same reason. It's entertaining and harmless.

I'm not sure which I like more: a big explosions they generate, or Jamie and Adam's reaction to the explosions. It's fun.
 
I sometimes find it entertaining, and sometimes I'll get bored halfway through an episode. Depends on what they're doing and whether or not I have anything better to do.

They pay lip service to science, which is certainly good, but it's certainly not a science show. Possibly a good way to get kids interested in investigating stuff and not just takings people's word for things.
 
gajinoz said:
I sometimes find it entertaining, and sometimes I'll get bored halfway through an episode. Depends on what they're doing and whether or not I have anything better to do.

They pay lip service to science, which is certainly good, but it's certainly not a science show. Possibly a good way to get kids interested in investigating stuff and not just takings people's word for things.
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I think your problem is that you have to watch it upside down and backwards. I would imagine that could be confusing. :D
 
I enjoy the show for the most part as well, they understand what makes "good tv" if thats possible. They never leave you hanging with their "try try again" approach to blowing things up, but they usually screw up every gun test they attempt in some way shape or form. Go figure I suppose, they are, after all, from CA. :D
 
I like the show. If you've ever tried to blow up, launch, or destroy things through improvised methods you can appreciate the degree of ingenuity involved. Often they miss some key central points, but it is better than I would expect. I use some of their results. For example they did a good job of demonstrating that ginger pills work better than almost anything you can buy OTC for motion sickness. That has got me through many airplane flights and a couple cruises up Prince William Sound.

You should see the recent episode where they showed that putting golf ball style dimples on a car could increase its highway cruising gas mileage by over 10%. That was really interesting. It is also fun to watch them run cars off cliffs or machinegun them to see if they will create fireballs.

Back in the mid 1950s they had a TV show called "You Asked for It". It had a somewhat similar feel. Viewers would mail in suggestions for things they would like to see and the show would go out and do them or film them being done. I just wish that I had the gig making Mythbusters. It would be right up my alley.
 
Only one reason to watch this show Kari byron
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Yea, but now she's preggo. I hope she gets back in shape.

Those guys (and Kari) are pretty entertaining -- one of my favorite shows.
 
There's plenty of true science in the show, but that doesn't mean they'll always let science get in the way of entertainment. You can often find fault with their methods or conclusions. They're all very smart, end even though none are what you'd call a true "scientist", they're smart enough to know this, which is why they have their occasional episode to answer the fans' concerns over mistakes or things they overlooked. Where they excel is that, individually or as a team, they have the knowledge and ability to fabricate just about anything. Combined with stardom and an always-growing budget, they can set up experiments that nobody else ever could or can.

Some of their "myths" are pointless and gratuitous, but that's what makes the show fun sometimes.
 
I've enjoyed the show from it's start, and I've also been an active member of the online forum for about that long.
One of the show's charms is that it doesn't take itself too seriously and they're not afraid to admit when they're wrong.
 
It's no Mr. Wizard's World that's for sure :p

It's sciencey enough, but not to the point where it's beating you over the head with boring calculations and methods. It's entertaining and could provoke some people to actually think, :thumbup: in my book.

On a side note, I kinda hate the dialogue the cast members have with one another when they describe the myths - so corny :( I prefer when they just talk to the camera and explain things, feels much more natural (enjoyable).
 
Any show that packs almost a ton of explosives into the back of a cement truck and blows it to bits for kicks gets my vote.
Kari byron (drools).
 
One of the major drawbacks of the show is when it comes to barguments. People will always whip out Mythbusters as their trump card and almost everyone will hold it as gospel. As much as I enjoy watching the show it is definitely more entertainment than education just like the two "survivor" type shows on discovery. As for their other programing Dirty jobs takes the cake.


daddÿ
 
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