99-487: MythBusters is a science entertainment television series developed by Peter Rees and produced by Australia's Beyond Television Productions . The series premiered on the Discovery Channel on January 23, 2003. It was broadcast internationally by many television networks and other Discovery channels worldwide. The show's original hosts, special effects experts Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman , used elements of
198-431: A Civil War -themed episode, the ingredients for making a form of homemade black powder were censored in similar fashion. In one extreme instance of self-censorship, the team explored an urban legend stating that a widely available material could be used to create an explosive. To their surprise, the seemingly unlikely legend proved true, but the material was so easy to obtain, and the resulting explosion so powerful, that
297-702: A Robot Wars event in the UK. Mentorn acquired the worldwide television rights from Profile in 1995 after Tom Gutteridge (the head of Mentorn) had seen an amateur tape of a San Francisco event. Gutteridge and one of his producers Steve Carsey created a television format based on the Robot Wars concept. They produced a live event opposite BBC Television Centre in Wood Lane , Shepherd's Bush , London and hired Derek Foxwell to build 3 combat robots, 2 of which were named The Mouse and Grunt who would eventually take part in
396-406: A contestant robot called "Skarab" looked like "cheese on toast". Clarkson left Robot Wars after the first series and was replaced with Craig Charles . Charles, well known as playing the character Dave Lister in the science fiction -themed sitcom Red Dwarf , was seen as taking the programme and its contestants more seriously than Clarkson and was more enthusiastic while presenting it. He
495-571: A dozen myths that are unlikely to be explored, although four were eventually tested. Savage commented that testing myths that require them to disprove general claims is difficult because of the inherent difficulty in disproving a negative. As a result, when they pursued such myths, they typically went about disproving specific methods that claim to achieve results. Certain myths are not tested due to various objections by Discovery Channel or their advertisers, most notably myths pertaining to radio-frequency identification vulnerability. Through nine seasons,
594-687: A fire extinguisher where necessary. For Series 8, new versions of Matilda, Shunt, Dead Metal and Sir Killalot were constructed. They are considerably heavier with improved weaponry. All the house robots are over 300 kg (661 lb) in weight and Sir Killalot now weighs 741 kg (1,634 lb). Visually, all four look similar to their predecessors, but with significant differences: Dead Metal's head has been enlarged with glowing eyes, Matilda's back-mounted fins have been replaced with smaller crocodilian scales, spikes appear on her frill, her eyes are now red and her whole head section now flips up; Shunt has enlarged wheel protectors and metal chimneys replacing
693-456: A hill that was intended as a secondary safety target. The cannonball soared 700 yards (640 m) into a neighboring community, striking a house and leaving a 10-inch (250 mm) hole, before striking the roof of another house and smashing through a window of a parked minivan. No one was hurt by the rogue cannonball. Peter Rees (producer) Peter Rees is a film and television writer , director, and producer. He created and developed
792-420: A local narrator. As the series progressed, members of Hyneman's staff were introduced and began to appear regularly in episodes. Three such members, artist Kari Byron, builder Tory Belleci, and metal-worker Scottie Chapman , were organized as a second team of MythBusters during the second season, dubbed the "Build Team". After Chapman left the show during the third season, Grant Imahara, a colleague of Hyneman's,
891-655: A look at the making of Series 1, "The First World Championship" which was released exclusively on video and the "Ultimate Warrior Collection" featuring exclusive access to the teams of Chaos 2 , Hypno-Disc and Razer , along with footage of their battles. Along the same lines an "Ultimate Archive Collection" was released showing exclusive footage of the House Robots and their operators along with some of their greatest battles and most embarrassing moments. The Ultimate Warrior Collection and Ultimate Archive Collection were also released on DVD . The footage and content remained
990-432: A more accurate simulation of human flesh, bone, and organs. They occasionally molded real or simulated bones within ballistics gel for simulations of specific body parts. They used synthetic cadavers, or SynDavers, such as in the "Car Cushion" myth. Both for the purposes of visual observation to determine a result and simply as a unique visual for the program, high-speed cameras are used during experiments and have become
1089-703: A radio-controlled vacuum cleaner. In 1994, Marc Thorpe created Robot Wars and held the first competition at the Fort Mason Center in San Francisco . Approximately one month prior to the event, Thorpe formed a partnership with New York-based record company Sm:)e Communications, later Profile Records , who provided additional funding. Between 1995 and 1997, three further Robot Wars events took place in America and in 1995, Profile Records partnered with production company Mentorn to produce and televise
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#17327730818311188-440: A segment was aired on defeating biometric fingerprint readers using various methods. One of these techniques involved creating a fake 3D fingerprint from a 2D image of the authorized print. After some trial and error, the team successfully cast a viable ballistics gel reproduction using a copper-coated printed circuit board , a picture of the fingerprint printed on acetate , and a photochemical acid etching process. After
1287-551: A total of 2,391 experiments were performed and 12 tons of explosives were used to test 769 myths. The team expressed reluctance to test conspiracy theory myths, such as the JFK assassination or 9/11 conspiracies , although they have tested some of the conspiracy theories relating to the Apollo Moon landings . By the end of each episode, the myths are rated "busted", "plausible", or "confirmed". Myths are rated as "busted" when
1386-528: A tour show in Indianapolis in 2012 that it was a mistake. Another myth related to the paranormal was the "Haunted Hum" myth , which involved testing if a particular, inaudible sound frequency can lead people to believe that an area is haunted. The program generally avoided experiments harmful to live animals, though in one episode, they bombarded cockroaches and other laboratory insects with lethal doses of radiation . The cast addressed this, saying that
1485-530: A trademark of the series. Very fast footage of moving objects in front of a measured scale is commonly used to determine the speed of the object. Testing is often edited due to time constraints of a televised episode. It can often seem as if the teams draw results from fewer repetitions and a smaller data set than they actually have. During the "Outtakes Special" , they specifically stated that while they are, in fact, very thorough in testing myths and repeat experiments many times in many different configurations, it
1584-468: A typical calendar of on- and off-air periods. The official MythBusters website lists episodes by year. Discovery sells DVD sets for "seasons", which sometimes follow the calendar year and sometimes do not. Discovery and retail stores sell "collections" which divide up the episodes in a different way. Each collection has about 10 or 12 episodes from various seasons. The following table is organized according to year of first broadcast. Including Specials and
1683-455: Is 15 metres (49 ft) square, with a 6 mm (0.24 in) steel floor and higher bulletproof walls, making it harder for robots to be thrown out of the arena. Throughout Robot Wars' run, arena booby-traps were introduced and amended. Generally, traps which proved ineffective were omitted in later series, however some traps proved to be a success (such as the Pit of Oblivion, Floor Flipper and
1782-404: Is censored, as the show is considered family-friendly, and most such language occurs spontaneously when the team is surprised or overexcited; at other times, a deliberate effort is made to keep the scripted material clean. In addition to the standard bleep , the show often uses a relevant or humorous sound effect. Euphemisms and scientific terminology are used for potentially offensive terms. In
1881-536: Is simply impossible to display the entire process during a program. Beginning in the fifth season , episodes typically contain a prompt for the viewer to visit the show's homepage to view outtake footage of either additional testing or other facets of the myths being tested. However, Savage himself has acknowledged that they do not purport always to achieve a satisfactorily large enough set of results to overcome definitively all bias . In response to criticisms they receive about their methods and results in previous episodes,
1980-456: Is supposed to be a really popular show. Everybody would have been out there. We would have had to cancel it because it would have been too dangerous." Representatives from the show replaced some of the windows that same day. The experiment did air, but the hosts recounted in a 2011 special episode (" Location, Location, Location ") that they have never returned to the Esparto quarry as a result of
2079-715: The Alameda County Sheriff's facility in Dublin, California , especially the firing range, emergency-vehicles operation course, and bomb range. Occasionally, mainly for special episodes, production is out of state, or even out of the country. Results are measured in a manner scientifically appropriate for the given experiment. Sometimes, results can be measured by simple numerical measurement using standard tools, such as multimeters for electrical measurements, or various types of thermometers to measure temperature. To gauge results that do not yield numerical quantities,
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#17327730818312178-613: The Bay Area . Common filming locations around the Bay Area include decommissioned (closed) military facilities , such as Naval Air Station Alameda , Naval Air Station Moffett Field , Concord Naval Weapons Station , Naval Station Treasure Island , Marin Headlands , Hunters Point Naval Shipyard , Mare Island Naval Shipyard , and Hamilton Air Force Base , and abandoned base housing at Marina, California 's former Fort Ord , and
2277-514: The San Francisco Bay Area and other locations in northern California , going to other states or even countries on occasion when required. During the second season, members of Savage's and Hyneman's behind-the-scenes team were organized into a second team of MythBusters ("The Build Team"). They generally tested myths separately from the main duo and operated from another workshop. This arrangement continued until August 2014, when it
2376-658: The scientific method to test the validity of rumors, myths, movie scenes, adages , Internet videos , and news stories. Filmed in San Francisco and edited in Artarmon, New South Wales , MythBusters aired 282 total episodes before its cancellation at the end of the 2016 season in March. Planning and some experimentation took place at Hyneman's workshops in San Francisco; experiments requiring more space or special accommodations were filmed on location, typically around
2475-513: The "Peeing on the Third Rail" myth, the show censored the valve used to release urine from the dummy. The names of ingredients used in the production of hazardous materials and some explosives are usually censored to prevent amateurs from recreating potentially dangerous substances. For example, in the " Hindenburg " special, Savage ignited thermite with a hypergolic mixture of "blur" (a syrupy, pale blue liquid) and "blur" (a dark powder). In
2574-414: The 2006 Holiday Special, have included the building of Rube Goldberg machines . Before a myth is introduced by the hosts, a myth-related drawing is made on a blueprint. After the hosts introduce the myth, a comical video explaining the myth is usually shown. The MythBusters typically test myths in a two-step process. In early episodes, the steps were described as "replicate the circumstances, then duplicate
2673-417: The 2014 season, " DO Try This at Home?", classified several myths as safe or unsafe for testing by viewers. Owing to the nature of the experiments performed on the show, many did not go as expected. Sometimes, these mishaps rendered the test equipment unusable, such as when the rocket in the "Rocket Car Revisit" episode exploded on ignition. Others even resulted in minor injuries to the personnel involved with
2772-541: The Alameda County Sheriff's Office. The MythBusters often asked other people, such as those supplying the equipment being tested, what they knew about the myth under investigation. When guests were on the show, the MythBusters generally consulted them or included them in the experiments. No consistent system was used for organizing MythBusters episodes into seasons . The program has never followed
2871-462: The BBC had decided not to renew the show for an 11th, and Robot Wars has been axed for the second time, the complete cancellation was met with backlash from fans. A robot could lose a match in several ways during the knockout format of the show: Although the format changed several times over the years, these rules remained the same across all series and competitions. There were also two series made for
2970-580: The BBC. These arenas were also used by international versions such as Robot Wars: Extreme Warriors in the United States. The arena was approximately 32 by 48 feet (9.8 by 14.6 m). For Series 1 to 3 the arena was not enclosed as such, as the audience were raised above the arena. The increasing sophistication of weaponry from contestant robots – most notably demonstrated by Hypno-Disc in Series 3 – as well as arena hazards prompted producers to enclose
3069-509: The Discovery Channel online MythBusters forums. Occasionally, episodes are produced in which some or all of the myths are related by theme, such as pirates or sharks, and occasionally these are dubbed as "[Theme] Special" episodes. As of May 2009, four myths have required such extensive preparation and testing that they had entire episodes devoted solely to them, and four specials have been double-length. Several episodes, including
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3168-583: The Drop Zone) and were retained. The assorted traps in the arena that changed from one series the next included: Pullback and Friction toys were made of all the House Robots, with the exception of Cassius Chrome as the toys from Logistix Kids had stopped production when it was introduced for The Seventh Wars and the toys would have resumed production by Series 8, 9 or 10, but this did not happen until Hexbug took over and did so rather late in 2018 after Series 10 ended. There were also pullback and ripcord toys of
3267-504: The Netflix show White Rabbit Project , which premiered on December 9, 2016. Through experiments and tests, they delve into topics like jailbreaks, superpower technology, heists, and WWII weapons. The series was canceled after one season. On November 15, 2017, sister network Science Channel revived the series with new hosts Jon Lung and Brian Louden, who were selected via the competition spin-off MythBusters: The Search . The revival
3366-419: The Series 3, 4, 5 and Extreme 1 House Robots along with competitor robots Chaos 2, Dominator 2, Firestorm, Gemini, Hypno-Disc, Mega Morg, Panic Attack, Plunderbird 5, Pussycat, Razer, Suicidal Tendencies, Tornado, Wheely Big Cheese, Wild Thing and X-Terminator 2. They had an interactive replica arena and two additional playsets. Several VHS videos were released of the show. These included "The First Great War"
3465-400: The Series 3, 4, 5, 6, Extreme 1 and Extreme 2 Competitors Chaos 2, Dantomkia, Firestorm, Hypno-Disc, Panic Attack, Pussycat, Razer, Stinger, Tornado, Wheely Big Cheese and X-Terminator 2. Each came with an accessory. There were remote controlled versions of Shunt, Matilda, Sir Killalot and Growler. There were also smaller remote control battlers, which had "immobilisation spots" on the rear of
3564-603: The UK, Robot Wars Extreme , which did not focus on a single championship. Bold text indicates robot wars extreme events that debuted ahead of the actual debut series. Bold Italic text indicates robot wars extreme events that made separate debuts ahead of the added event of the second series of robot wars extreme. The first series of Robot Wars was presented by Jeremy Clarkson and co-hosted by Philippa Forrester . In keeping with his edgy persona established on Top Gear , Clarkson frequently made tongue-in-cheek jokes about competitors and their robots, such as remarking that
3663-677: The United States, the Discovery Channel in Denmark, or on the Prime and Sky Discovery Channels in New Zealand. Often, they are presented with an element of humor, such as Savage wearing a padded suit as Hyneman hits him in the chest with a baseball bat, or Hyneman explaining that Savage and he are professionals before Savage slides into view and crashes into a barrier, while saying, "Don't try this at home!" The series employs various degrees of safety- or courtesy-related censorship . Vulgar language
3762-465: The already troubled relationship between Thorpe and Profile Records and indirectly spurred legal disagreements surrounding the ownership of the Robot Wars concept. The legal proceedings surrounding these would last until 6 February 2002. Mentorn used Thorpe as a Consultant on the series, however and the initial series of Robot Wars in the UK was broadcast over six weeks in February and March 1998. It
3861-503: The arena entirely in a perspex box 20 feet (6.1 m) high from Series 4 onwards, to protect the audience and production team from debris. In early 2004, the Robot Wars arena was purchased from the television production firm Mentorn by a company called Robot Arenas Ltd., based in the UK, an organization set up by a past competitor in Robot Wars to continue the sport of robot combat in the UK. The arena – valued originally at £11,000 –
3960-717: The concept and was the executive producer of the television series MythBusters . Rees won the 1993 Charles Heidsieck International Travel Challenge, and with his race partner, Peter Coleman, wrote and directed a documentary about the event, In the Footsteps of Champagne Charlie . Robot Wars (TV series) Robot Wars is a British robot combat television series created by Tom Gutteridge and Stephen Carsey which aired from 1998 to 2004 and from 2016 to 2018. The series involves teams of amateur and professional roboteers operating remote controlled robots to fight against each other in an arena, which features hazards and
4059-535: The early 2000s, reaching only 1.2 million in the sixth series - the final to be broadcast on BBC Two. It was cancelled by the BBC in March 2003, and Mentorn announced it was making 22 episodes for Channel 5, concluding with The Third World Championships broadcast in March 2004. Following its move to Channel 5 in November 2003, the show first began airing in a new Sunday night slot and launched with one million viewers; however ratings fell quickly to 800,000 resulting in
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4158-470: The entirety of the series' run was Jonathan Pearce . The series received six million viewers in the UK during its peak in the late 1990s, and the format went on to become a worldwide success which has aired in 45 countries. Its merchandising was commercially successful, being one of the best-selling toy ranges of 2002. In 2003, roboteers from the series formed The Fighting Robot Association in order to organize live events. In 2013, Roaming Robots purchased
4257-499: The first UK series of Robot Wars , to take on three American robots, Thor, La Machine and The Master, all of which were veterans of the original American competition. The Controller of BBC Two, Michael Jackson , attended the event, which was not filmed and he promised to commission a series. However, it was not until 1998 that a subsequent Controller of BBC Two, Mark Thompson , fulfilled Jackson's promise and actually commissioned 6 episodes. Gutteridge and Carsey were producers and Foxwell
4356-427: The first day, I was in the dressing room and looking in the mirror and looking down at the arena. And they were pulling the robots into the arena on an invisible twine because nothing was working. And I was thinking: "Oh my God, what have I done with my career?" And you know, within the blink of an eye, it was the most watched show on BBC2. Profile sought no input or consent from Thorpe before doing this, which aggravated
4455-441: The first pilot episode of MythBusters . The Diet Coke and Mentos experiment is also an outlier regarding their safety warnings, as Savage and Hyneman stated on-air that this myth was perfectly safe for viewers to replicate on their own. Another example of this is the " Phone Book Friction " episode, in which they investigated the difficulty of pulling two telephone books apart after their pages had been interleaved. One episode from
4554-457: The heavier "House Robots" which are hostile to all combatants. The first two series also included assault and trial courses. The original run of the show consisted of six series broadcast on BBC Two from 20 February 1998 to 4 October 2002 (though the fifth and sixth series originally aired on BBC Choice ), followed by a seventh series broadcast on Channel 5 from 2 November 2003 to 7 March 2004. A celebrity special aired on BBC One in 2000, and
4653-503: The house robots were not subject to the 100 kg (220 lb) weight limit or weapon rules that contestant robots had to adhere to, the most notable example of this was Sergeant Bash's flamethrower . From the Fourth Wars, a non-competitive "Refbot" was present during fights. This robot conveyed officiating signals (such as counting out immobile competitors) on the arena, gave occasional nudges to help battles along and could deploy
4752-487: The insects were specifically bred for experiments, and would have likely died anyway. However, animal carcasses, including those of pigs and chickens, were often used, but the MythBusters repeatedly emphasized that the animals died of natural causes. The book MythBusters: The Explosive Truth Behind 30 of the Most Perplexing Urban Legends of All Time ( ISBN 1-4169-0929-X ) gives a list of
4851-555: The mishap. On December 6, 2011, while conducting the " Cannonball Chemistry " experiment, the MythBusters crew accidentally sent a cannonball through the side of a house and into a minivan in a Dublin, California , neighborhood. Although the experiment was being carried out at the Alameda County Sheriff's Bomb Range under the supervision of the Alameda County Sheriff's Office , the errant projectile went over its intended target of water barrels and instead skipped up
4950-401: The myth's results cannot be replicated under either the described parameters or reasonably exaggerated ones. Often, when a myth is declared busted, the team will attempt to see what would be required to replicate the result of the myth through scientific means, discarding the original parameters of the myth itself. Going to absolute limits of what is physically possible to replicate the results is
5049-602: The myth. They use their functional workshops to construct whatever is needed, often including mechanical devices and sets to simulate the circumstances of the myth. Human actions are often simulated by mechanical means to increase safety, and to achieve consistency in repeated actions. Methods for testing myths are usually planned and executed in a manner to produce visually dramatic results, which generally involves explosions, fires, or vehicle crashes. Thus, myths or tests involving explosives , firearms and vehicle collisions are relatively common. Tests are sometimes confined to
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#17327730818315148-508: The myths being tested, but those elements were phased out early in the series. The MythBusters commonly consulted experts for myths or topics for which they needed assistance. These topics included firearms, for which they mostly consulted Lt. Al Normandy of the South San Francisco Police Department, and explosives , for which they consulted retired FBI explosives expert Frank Doyle and Sgt. J.D. Nelson of
5247-638: The myths tested involve purported household scenarios, so all episodes begin with a disclaimer against attempting the experiments seen on the series; most episodes also feature a second warning halfway through the running time. These disclaimers are not broadcast on SBS in Australia, in the Netherlands, Discovery Mix in Sweden, Samsung TV plus MythBusters channel in the United Kingdom, Select DVDs in
5346-670: The name of satisfying personal curiosity. These can either be planned in advance to take advantage of the testing location—for instance, in the "Peeing on the Third Rail" myth Adam got permission to find out if placing coins on a train track was sufficient to derail a train (he found that the test locomotive was not affected at all)—or can simply take place without prior planning. MythBusters refuse to test some myths. Paranormal concepts, such as aliens or ghosts , are not addressed because they cannot be tested by scientific methods , although one exception, pyramid power , prompted Adam to comment, "No more 'oogie-boogie' myths, please" and state at
5445-401: The name of the program and the cast members who test the experiments. The series concept was developed for the Discovery Channel as Tall Tales or True by Australian writer and producer Peter Rees of Beyond Productions in 2002. Discovery rejected the proposal initially because they had just commissioned a series on the same topic. Rees refined the pitch to focus on testing key elements of
5544-495: The ninth and tenth series. Throughout the series, house robots acted as obstacles to competing robots in battles and challenges. House robots were permitted to attack robots that were in the Corner Patrol Zones at the corners of the arena or upon the submission of a competing robot. The house robots were an intrinsic part of the programme's success and merchandising of these robots was highly successful. Furthermore,
5643-470: The origin of what is unofficially titled the Mythbusters motto, "If it's worth doing, it's worth over doing." This is commonly referred to in the series as "the MythBusters way", and often reveals that the circumstances required to accurately recreate a 'busted' myth are physically impossible or highly unlikely to occur with the scientific facts presented, or the equipment used in the myth used to gain
5742-413: The original MythBusters, and initially explored all the myths of the series using their combined experience with special effects . The two worked at Hyneman's effects workshop, M5 Industries . They made use of his staff, who often worked off-screen, with Hyneman and Savage usually shown doing most of the work at the shop. The show is narrated by Robert Lee , though in some regions, his voice is replaced by
5841-448: The production team decided allowing such information to reach the general public would be irresponsible, instead electing to destroy all footage of the experiment and agreeing never to speak of the incident. Several years later, when DARPA solicited advice from the public regarding potentially unknown bomb risks, Savage contacted them about their discovery. In another episode that focused on myths surrounding electronic security devices,
5940-453: The programme moved to Channel 5 for the seventh series, Forrester did not return for unknown reasons, so Jayne Middlemiss took over the pit reporter duties. Jonathan Pearce was the show's commentator throughout its entire run, becoming one of only two people (the other being judge Noel Sharkey) to appear in every episode of the programme; he commentated in the same loud and enthusiastic manner as his football commentaries. The programme
6039-442: The reproduction was shown to defeat both fingerprint scanners, and although the chemicals used during the etching process are never identified, the narrator still hints at an important step having been edited out and discourages viewers from trying it themselves. None of the other techniques that successfully defeated the fingerprint scanners or the other security devices tested in the episode were censored or obfuscated, perhaps because
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#17327730818316138-495: The rest were all fairly simple and straightforward methods, such as holding up a bedsheet or moving extremely slowly to hide from ultrasonic motion detectors or holding up a pane of glass to defeat thermal motion detectors . Brand names and logos are regularly blurred or covered with tape or a MythBusters sticker. Brand names are shown when integral to a myth, such as in the Diet Coke and Mentos experiment or Pop Rocks in
6237-402: The results is neither available to the general public, nor capable of producing the results. For example, when trying to see if diamonds can be made with a microwave, and the myth is busted, the team arranges with an expert to have diamonds created with a large quantity of explosives. Some of these myths are retested if the viewers are dissatisfied with the results, and are declared "rebusted" if
6336-405: The results of this second attempt result in the same conclusions as the original attempts. On rare occasions, retested myths result in a conclusion different from the first attempt, usually going from "busted" the first time, to "plausible" or even "confirmed" on the retest. Plausible is given under a few circumstances: The term "true" was used instead of "confirmed" in the first season. Many of
6435-428: The results" by Savage. This means that first the team attempts to recreate the circumstances that the myth alleges, to determine whether the alleged result occurs. If that fails, they attempt to expand the circumstances to the point that will cause the described result, which often reveals that the claims of the myth are objectively ridiculous or impossible to achieve without specialized training or equipment. Occasionally,
6534-489: The revival series, a total of 296 episodes of MythBusters have aired so far. Each MythBusters episode focuses typically on two or more popular beliefs , Internet rumors, or other myths . Many of the myths are on mechanical effects as portrayed in live-action films and television of fictional incidents. The list of myths tested by the series is compiled from many sources, including the personal experiences of cast and crew, as well as fan suggestions, such as those posted on
6633-501: The rights to the Robot Wars brand from Robot Wars LLC and operated their travelling robotic combat show under that name. The use of the name Robot Wars for live shows ceased in early 2017, being renamed Extreme Robots . Robot Wars was the brainchild of Marc Thorpe , a designer working for the LucasToys division of Lucasfilm . In 1992, Thorpe had the initial idea for robot combat sport after unsuccessfully attempting to create
6732-695: The robot combat television series BattleBots , was asked by Hyneman to help co-host the show because, according to Savage, Hyneman thought himself too uninteresting to host the series on his own. During July 2006, an edited 30-minute version of MythBusters began airing on BBC Two in the UK. The episodes shown on the European Discovery Channel sometimes include extra scenes not shown in the United States version. Some of these scenes are included in "specials", such as " MythBusters Outtakes ". The 14th season, which premiered in January 2016,
6831-522: The same as the VHS releases. Series 8 was released on DVD and Blu-ray on 29 August 2016, making it the first full series of Robot Wars to be released on home media. It was later released digitally. The Complete Compendium 2017 contained Series 9 and 10, along with the "Battle of the Stars" specials, were released on 11 December 2017 as a 5-disc DVD box set. Robot Wars: Metal Mayhem is the first game based on
6930-415: The series had various directors and producers, all were produced in the UK by Mentorn and executive produced by Tom Gutteridge and Steve Carsey. The initial series were staged in various film studios around London but the stage and pit area became too large to fit into any of the conventional studios, so filming was later moved to an aircraft hangar at RAF Newton . Viewing figures dropped significantly in
7029-454: The show for a six-part series. The revived series was hosted by Dara Ó Briain and Angela Scanlon with Jonathan Pearce returning as commentator. The first episode was broadcast on 24 July at 8pm, the same slot as Top Gear . Some robots from the original series returned, including Behemoth and Storm II, as well as four of the original House Robots , which were upgraded to be heavier, faster, better armed and with new looks. The 2016 series
7128-415: The show moving to Saturday nights after just three episodes. Channel 5 later axed the show after one series due to low ratings. After Robot Wars ended, an edited half-hour version of this series aired on Fox Kids (later Jetix) from 2004, on Bravo from after 2004, on Dave from 2010 and on Challenge & Sky History from before 2016. On 13 January 2016, the BBC confirmed that it would be rebooting
7227-456: The show, released on Game Boy Color in 2000. It was followed in 2001 by Robot Wars: Arenas of Destruction on PlayStation 2 and Microsoft Windows and Robot Wars: Advanced Destruction on Game Boy Advance . After the first three titles sold over 250,000 copies, a fourth and final game, released on Game Boy Advance , Microsoft Windows and Xbox in 2002 was called Robot Wars: Extreme Destruction . A large array of other merchandise
7326-500: The show, such as when Belleci banged his knee falling off a fire tower; the fall was expected and prepared for using a safety harness, but the injury to his knee was unforeseen. The most common injuries were caused when moving safety equipment, which resulted in stitches and at least four broken fingers. These kinds of incidents were usually included in the broadcast program, with little other media attention, but some things failed in more spectacular and newsworthy ways. On March 20, 2009,
7425-405: The smokestack; and Sir Killalot's armour and helmet has been entirely redesigned. This was said to be to show the actual shape of Sir Killalot's head, rather than the helmet he is wearing. The other house robots did not return for this series. Bold text indicates house robots that returned for the new series. There were numerous arena incarnations used during the original run of Robot Wars on
7524-450: The sole hosts. Byron, Belleci, and Imahara went on to host Netflix 's White Rabbit Project . The series had two interns, dubbed "Mythterns": Discovery Channel contest winner Christine Chamberlain and viewer building contest-winner Jess Nelson . During the first season, the program featured segments with folklorist Heather Joseph-Witham , who explained the origins of certain myths, and other people who had first-hand experience with
7623-400: The specials. During its original airing, the first rebooted series was sometimes referred to as 'Series 1', presenting itself as a completely new show. Starting in 2017, however, the BBC began referring to it as Series 8, with the following second series appropriately dubbed Series 9, acknowledging itself as a continuation of the original show. Following the 10th series, it was revealed that
7722-555: The spin-off Robot Wars Extreme originally aired on BBC Choice for two series in 2001 and 2003, before also airing on BBC Two. Jeremy Clarkson presented the first series, before being replaced by Craig Charles for the rest of the original run, with co-hosting duties taken by Philippa Forrester (1998–2000, 2002–2003), Julia Reed (2000–2001) and Jayne Middlemiss (2003–2004). The revival aired three series and five specials on BBC Two from 11 July 2016 to 7 January 2018, presented by Dara Ó Briain and Angela Scanlon . The announcer for
7821-416: The staff produced several "Myths Revisited" episodes in which the teams retest myths to see if the complaints have merit. These episodes have sometimes resulted in overturning results of several myths, as well as upholding some results for reasons different from the original. Occasionally, the MythBusters take the opportunity to test "mini-myths" during the course of one of the episode's main myths, usually in
7920-545: The stories rather than just retelling them. Discovery agreed to develop and co-produce a three-episode series pilot . Jamie Hyneman was one of a number of special-effects artists who were asked to prepare a casting video for network consideration. Rees had interviewed him previously for a segment of the popular science series Beyond 2000 about the British–American robot combat television series Robot Wars . Adam Savage, who had worked with Hyneman in commercials and on
8019-474: The team, usually Savage and Hyneman, holds a friendly competition between themselves to see which of them can devise a more successful solution to recreating the results. This is most common with myths involving building an object that can accomplish a goal. For example, rapidly cooling a beer , or finding a needle in a haystack . While the team obeys no specific formula in terms of physical procedure, most myths involve construction of various objects to help test
8118-552: The teams commonly make use of several types of equipment that can provide other forms of observable effects. When testing physical consequences to a human body, which would be too dangerous to test on a living person, the MythBusters commonly use analogues. Initially, they mainly used crash-test dummies , usually, whatever form and function it possessed, it would be named Buster , for observing blunt trauma injury, and ballistic gelatin for testing penetrating trauma . They progressed to using pig carcasses when an experiment required
8217-528: The town of Esparto, California , was shaken and windows were shattered by a blast created by 500 pounds (230 kg) of ANFO during filming of the myth " Knock Your Socks Off ". Some residents were upset that the blast took place without "telling anyone". Chief Barry Burns of the Esparto Fire Department had several firefighters present for the explosion. He said he made the decision not to notify anyone in town for safety's sake. " MythBusters
8316-480: The toy. Sgt. Bash and the competitor robot Tornado were the only two made. These were smaller than the other remote control robots mentioned above. There were customisable kit toys of the House Robot Matilda and competitors Hypno-Disc and Panic Attack . A Sergeant Bash pitstop kit was prototyped but never released. Minibots were a series of small die-cast replica robots. The range included all of
8415-486: The two teams covering different myths. During the Build Team's tenure, Belleci was the only member to appear in every myth that the team tested. At the end of the 2014 season finale " Plane Boarding ", Savage and Hyneman announced that Byron, Belleci, and Imahara would not be returning in the 2015 season. This was reportedly over salary negotiations due to the rising cost of five hosts. Hyneman and Savage returned to being
8514-477: The workshop, but often require the teams to be outside. Much of the outdoor testing during early seasons took place in the parking lot of M5, and occasionally M6 and M7. A cargo container in the M7 parking lot commonly serves as an isolation room for dangerous myths, with the experiment being triggered from outside. However, budget increases have permitted more frequent travel to other locations in San Francisco and around
8613-483: Was also often known as the "Master of Mayhem" when introduced at the start of episodes from Extreme 1 onwards. Charles would close each episode with a four line poem ending with the words " Robot Wars ". Charles presented Robot Wars until it ceased production in 2004. "My son, Jack, was a fan of the first series and said I should get involved. So I made a few phone calls and the rest is history." In comparison to Charles' background in science fiction, Philippa Forrester
8712-519: Was an immediate hit, with more than two million viewers and a further 18 episodes were commissioned by the BBC that year. 155 episodes were produced in total and the show was seen in 26 countries. Two series were produced in the US for The National Network (now Paramount Network ) and a version was also shown on Nickelodeon . TechTV (and later G4techTV / G4 ) in the US aired the UK series proper. Series were also produced in many European countries. Although
8811-449: Was announced at the end of " Plane Boarding " that Tory Belleci , Kari Byron , and Grant Imahara would be leaving the show. Savage and Hyneman subsequently hosted the final two seasons alone. On October 21, 2015, it was announced that MythBusters would air its 14th and final season in 2016. The show aired its final episode with the original cast on March 6, 2016. Kari Byron, Tory Belleci, and Grant Imahara, former MythBusters stars, led
8910-479: Was best known as co-host of the science and technology programme Tomorrow's World . Her role on Robot Wars was as the pit reporter who would speak to contestants about their robots before and after battles. Forrester was pit reporter for six of the show's nine series; Julia Reed took the role for Series 4 and Extreme 1 since Forrester was unable to participate in the programme due to pregnancy , but Forrester returned for Series 5, Series 6 and Extreme 2. When
9009-677: Was filmed in Santa Clarita and on location in other parts of Southern California , airing for two seasons that lasted until 2018. Savage would later return in MythBusters Jr. , a spin-off featuring children. The most recent iteration of the franchise, Motor Mythbusters , was produced by Beyond Television and aired on MotorTrend in 2021. Belleci returned for the series and was joined by engineer Bisi Ezerioha and mechanic Faye Hadley. The series focused on testing myths and urban legends about automobiles. MythBusters refers to both
9108-670: Was filmed in a warehouse at Westway Park in Renfrew , Scotland. The first episode received about two million viewers and was the top trending topic on Twitter with over 20,000 tweets. A second rebooted series was commissioned with a first celebrity special in 16 years, in which celebrities, such as Olympians Kadeena Cox and Alistair Brownlee and Jonny Brownlee , TV presenters Suzi Perry , Neil Oliver and Maggie Aderin-Pocock , singer Jordan Stevens and radio presenters Scott Mills and Robbie Savage had bespoke robots designed for them by eight major roboteers, who mentored them during
9207-446: Was hired to provide the team with his electrical and robotics experience. Byron went on maternity leave in mid-2009, with her position on the Build Team temporarily filled by Jessi Combs , best known for co-hosting Spike's Xtreme 4x4 . Byron returned in the third episode of 2010 season. The Build Team worked at its own workshop, called M7, investigating separate myths from the original duo. Each episode typically alternated between
9306-476: Was produced due to the success of the show. Items available included mugs, glasses, mobile phone covers, toiletries, stationery, clocks, watches, bedding, curtains and clothing. The show even produced an unsuccessful single, which peaked at number 51 in the UK singles charts in December 2000, called "Sir Killalot Vs. Robo Babe - Robot Wars (Android Love)". A custom made game officially licensed under Robot Wars LLC
9405-417: Was sold for scrap in 2005 for £250 by the new owners of the former RAF Newton air base, where the arena was housed. A suit filed against RAF Newton by Robot Arenas Ltd. found that RAF Newton had acted reasonably in the matter and owed no compensation to Robot Arenas Ltd. In 2016, a new arena was constructed in a warehouse in Renfrew , on the outskirts of Glasgow , for use in the rebooted series. This arena
9504-622: Was started on in October 2013, using the Robot Arena 2 video game as the base engine. It featured many robots from the TV series as well as robots competing in the newer live events. It also included the original Robot Wars arena and various live arenas. It was released to the public in September 2015 and an updated version which included more robots was released in February 2016. A smaller update
9603-467: Was the final season for the series with Savage and Hyneman. Adam Savage returned to TV with the show MythBusters Jr. , without his original co-host Jamie Hyneman, but with a cast of teenagers, hence the name. The show debuted on the Science Channel on January 2, 2019 with rebroadcasts every Saturday morning on Discovery, as well as international broadcasts. Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman are
9702-730: Was the technical supervisor and senior technical consultant. He drafted the rules and regulations and was in charge of the pit area and the technical team, which scrutinised the robots, got them on and off stage and helped the contestants prepare and repair their robots. Mat Irvine , initially a member of the technical team, served as a member of the judging panel in 2002 and 2003. The three person judging panel consisted of Noel Sharkey (head judge on every series: 1998–2003, 2016–), Eric Dickinson (1998), Adam Harper (1998–99), Martin Smith (1999–2003), Myra Wilson (2000–01), Mat Irvine (2001–03), Sethu Vijayakumar (2016–) and Lucy Rogers (2016–). On
9801-409: Was well known for phrases such as "Roboteers, stand by", "3. 2. 1. Activate" and "Cease!". These phrases were announced by the director, Stuart McDonald and became a recognisable part of the series for the entire duration of its run. In 2016, Dara Ó Briain and Angela Scanlon were announced as the hosts of the eighth series, with Jonathan Pearce returning as commentator. They reprised their roles in
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