What would happen if you crossed HowStuffWorks with a game show ? Quite belike , you would get something along the demarcation of"Junkyard Wars " . The series redact educational demonstration of basic technological rule with a rowdy , fast - pace , head - to - brain contest .
step on it against the clock , two teams trash together working machines to carry out a picky mission , using whatever they can notice in a 5 - acre junkyard . At the remainder of each show , the two team pit their creations against each other to feel out who has put together the best solution to the producer ' challenge . It ’s hard to make scientific discipline much cooler than that !
To buff of all ages , the expression is an ideal mesh of education and entertainment . The show has the same " real the great unwashed " appealingness of hit realness shows like " Survivor , " but contestants compete with gross genial prowess and ingeniousness , rather than alliance and plots . And in the end , it does n’t matter so much who wins – there is no Johnny Cash reward , just a trophy and bragging right . It ’s all about making something remarkable with limited resource .
In this clause , we ’ll discover out how this popular show fare about , how the teams are selected and how the producer put together each show . As we ’ll see , there ’s even more to this popular show than meets the eye .
Origins
Like " Trading Spaces , " " Who desire to be a Millionaire " and " The Weakest Link , " " Junkyard Wars " is really a remake of a popular British series – Channel 4 ’s " Scrapheap Challenge . "
The original show , initially title " Scrapheap , " debut in the U.K. in 1998 . It gained a devoted following pretty quick , and after three season , it was a striking all across the U.K. Impressed with the data format ( and the ratings ) , Discovery Communications bought the rights to air the show onTLC , under the name " Junkyard Wars . " The implication draw a goodly American consultation , and TLC commissioned new episodes specifically for the U.S. market place . aside from its American hosts and contestants , " Junkyard Wars " is most selfsame to its British vis-a-vis . by the bye , the American version is also a hitting in the U.K. , along with the original .
The series was created Cathy Rogers , who end up doing double duty as co - manufacturer and carbon monoxide - host in retiring seasons . According to Rogers , the idea was part inspired by the 1995 Ron Howard film"Apollo 13,“a infotainment about the 1970 Apollo military mission , which met with a serial of near - calamitous catastrophes . In existent life and in the movie , spaceman aboard the Apollo 13 spacecraft and NASA organise on the soil managed to save the intact gang working with the various token that occur to be onboard . Rogers loved the combination of tense dramatic play and real applied scientific discipline in the movie , and go out that the same sort of mix would make a coolTVshow .
Show Basics
The rules of the game are pretty dim-witted . There are two competing team , made up of three contestants and an expert who is selected by the producers . The contestants are demand to build a machine to accomplish a specific task , using only the shaft and assorted cloth at the junkyard website .
On the twenty-four hours of the competition , the contestants arrive at the junkyard , around morning , with no thought of what they ’ll be progress . As shortly as the host give them the assignment , the clock is ticking . The protester discuss the projection with the expert , who has prepared some design ideas before the competition . Once the team has analyzed the challenge and decided how to approach the trouble , they head out into the junkyard to hoard whatever they ’ll need .
For the rest of the day , the squad works on assembling the simple machine , regularly heading back to the junkyard for more stuff . They have a practiced collection of tools , including aMIG welderand several high - power sawing machine .
Most of the hour - long show is devoted to the building process , with the hosts periodically interrupt the two teams to discuss the labor . In the " chalk public lecture " sections of the show , the innkeeper explain the skill behind the different machine with simple blackboard - style animated diagrams .
At the end of the show , cranes wind the automobile out of the junkyard and they ’re delight to an appropriate competition arena ( a large pool for urine vessel , for example , or a large battlefield forcatapults ) and the teams have a brace of hours to fine - tune their machine . Then , it ’s prison term to put their political machine to the trial run , head to steer in that installment ’s challenge . The basic social organization of the challenge vary a lot from calendar week to week – it could be a wash between two fomite , or it could be hit a target , or it could be directed toward a specific end , such as lifting a car from the bottom of a pond and hoist it onto dry land .
Whoever wins the contest – as determine by the judge , another expert in the field – goes on to front a unexampled team and a new challenge on the next show . At the final stage of the season , the top teams vie for a trophy ( made of junk , of grade ) , which they agree onto until the end of the next time of year .
On the most canonic grade , that ’s all there is to it . But , as we ’ll see in the next segment , there ’s a little more to the challenger than you in reality see on the show .
Behind the Scenes
Every instalment of " Junkyard Wars " go well before the objector ever come at the junkyard . First , the producers and researcher have to descend up with the theme for a practicable , difficult but not out of the question challenge . Ideas follow from all over – hint from admirer , family fellow member and visitors to the site’smessage boards . The producers focus on machines that are interesting to see in activity and interesting to watch being build , which usually means big machines that move in some fashion .
Once the producers have an idea for the show , they round up two expert , often through the Internet . The experts are usually professional engineers or scientist working in fields related to the challenge . For an episode where the two team had to build up fireboats , the producer recruited two Guy who work for heart - manufacture company . For a land - yacht competition , they brought in a country - navigate champion and a university professor who works on land racing yacht as a hobby .
When they find the right people , the manufacturer excuse the challenge to the experts and ask them to amount up with a few possible design . Typically , the two experts approach the job from dissimilar perspective , steering the teams in different directions to make the challenge more interesting . You get two unlike ideas , rather than two versions of the same twist .
On the edifice daytime , the experts give some suggestions about what the teams might build , but ultimately the contestants adjudicate exactly what they desire to do . The expert are mainly there as back - up , in case the teams have no idea how to proceed or regain themselves heading down the wrong cart track . As the twenty-four hour period build up , the team ordinarily have to qualify their original plans and try out something dissimilar .
base on comment from the experts , the producer may determine to " seed " the junkyard with specific items . For the most part , the contestants have to work with whatever the junkyard workers encounter to dump on the set ( the set is indeed a actual junkyard – or at least a composition of one – locate in Los Angeles , California ) . This includes flattened cars , stacks of woods ( mostly old concrete forms ) , plumbing fixtures , wire forget me drug , HVAC equipment , electrical conduit and various discarded machines full ofgearsandbearings . But the producer may settle that the team ca n’t realistically ramp up some machines in 10 hours without particular components .
The seed items are quondam salvage material , just like everything else , and the producers mix them in with the rest of the detritus . The producer will also put up some blue-ribbon new point to ensure the car are comparatively safe . It can be very dangerous to outfit a simple machine with some older equipment , such as safety valves and tear hydraulic hoses , so the producers amend the flavor of the game a little to keep people from getting suffer . The producer may also take away sure token from the junkyard if those piece would make the challenge too dewy-eyed .
During construction , safety is always a major business concern . Firefighters and paramedics are on hand at all time , and the producers wo n’t allow the contestants attempt high - risk building procedures . to boot , the producers schedule a " safety day . " On the show , the contention day seems to forthwith be the build day , but in actuality , the contestants get a daytime off while machine experts check their creations for any possible safety problems and make the necessary modifications .
Getting on the Show
" Junkyard Wars " protester add up from a variety of different background – for example , repairmen , air hose pilotsand artists have all been on the show . They ’re just veritable people , in the common sense that they do n’t necessarily build those sorts of machines professionally , but they generally have considerable corporate applied science experience of some sorting , either from workplace or a hobbyhorse .
To get on the show , contestants have to fill out an program , explaining their backgrounds , the history of their friendly relationship and their interests , and make a curt video show their abilities . On the video , the team can either explicate how a peculiar simple machine work or document its attempt to build a simple machine .
The " Junkyard Wars " producers are look for the right combination of acquisition , creative thinking , screen presence and story . protester do n’t need an engineering degree , or even an engineering science job , but the producers do look for a few crucial skill curing . Each team call for at least one individual who make love how to use aMIG welder , as welding is a of the essence part of put together just about any " Junkyard Wars " machine . Experience with engines is also a definite addition , and every member of the team should have a good understanding of physics .
The producer are typically drag to squad extremity with a close connexion to each other – siblings , long sentence co - worker and schooltime admirer , for illustration . You also see a lot of squad that were brought together by an interesting rocking horse . The main matter is that everybody work well together , while all bringing something to the team . Simply put , magnetic people with a honorable radical moral force makes for more interesting television .
While the producer do n’t wish much about the compliance video ’s production value , they pay a lot of attention to the applicant ' choice of subject matter and the mode they decided to show it . creative thinking and originality is key on the picture and the program .
If the producers are impress by a potential squad ’s telecasting and practical program , they schedule atelephoneinterview . If the telephone interview goes well , the squad is selected for the forthcoming season , and the producer schedule a engagement . They take flight the team members out to L.A. , prepare them up in a hotel , and take care of fair expenses .
If you love the show , get it on to build things and have a duo of similar - minded protagonist , you too could get your time in the spotlight . " Junkyard Wars " is not accept applications right now , but they will come out up again as they organize for the next season . Keep an eye on the"Junkyard state of war " vane site .
For much more information on " Junkyard Wars , " and its English cousin " Scrapheap Challenge , " check out the tie-in on the next varlet .
