MovieChat Forums > Smash Lab (2007) Discussion > What is wrong and how to fix it

What is wrong and how to fix it

posted 16 years ago by nicklinn
22 replies | jump to latest

I have been thinking about this show for a few days now and trying to articulate my feelings on the issue. What I have come up with is one major problem show stopping problem with the show. That methodology is totally backwards, instead of finding a problem and trying to fix that problem, something everyone can relate to, they find a gimick and try to find a problem for it to fix. The problem with that is that typically there is little to no ingenuity in the application and it ends with me feeling like I am watching Bubba try to drive a nail in wood with a frozen steak lengthwise and in the end pat himeself on the back for his ingenuity when the challenge was to drive a nail into wood using a frozen steak.

At any rate here are my suggestions to polish this turd:
1. Start with a problem not a gimick, if the team wants to use a gimick all the more power to them, but don't block them in within it.
2. Pull in outside people to come up with ideas.
3. Push out of the box thinking an ingenuity.
4. For this to work it would probably have to look more like junkyard wars then mythbusters.

What do you think?

[–] 16 years ago

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[–] backwards_pi 16 years ago

You know, I've been forcing myself to watch these episodes just to see if they have the slightest inkling of promise, and what can be done to improve it.

You're right on the money, start with the problem, not the gimmick. the same way mythbusters busts myths that many people have heard, Smash Lab needs to solve problems many of us encounter. Living in Cali, I can't say the hurricane proofing the house one did much for me. The earthquake one however...lol. But yeah, there is a hope for this show if they present the problem and try to solve it in more than one way. And I don't mean divide into 2 teams and test 2 methods. Use multiple methods.

This show can be good if they do it this way, but when they choose one gimmick for the whole episode it becomes a commercial for the product. Blah.

Oh, and even if they change these things, the hosts still suck.

[–] burtonjack-1 16 years ago

"can't polish a turd..."

lol...QFE/QFT....

[–] flatsoda14 16 years ago

i agree...everything that the mythbusters have going for them is 'watch appeal'. they test common knowledge myths then bust them or prove them. the number one thing that smash lab should do is find the same kinds of common knowledge things to test.**

i know they are a new show and i remember how much mythbusters sucked in its first season. so, i'm hoping they finding their footing fast. the premise for this show has so much potential and i really want it to work, but i don't think it will if they don't change their current format.

--

**maybe we should start a thread of things that we (the viewers) would like to see tested....unless there's already one started on the show's site.

[–] 16 years ago

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[–] kcdude21 16 years ago

There is only one way to fix this show, to take it off the air and pretend it never happened :-). Well my other idea is to let the Mythbusters hosts take it over, i'm sure they could make a show of it.

[–] Cpt_Courage 16 years ago

The best way to fix this show is to take it off and put Junkyard Wars back on.

GOB, "Those aren't cops. Look at how HOT they are!"

[–] superstitions 16 years ago

I think the big problem with Smash Lab, is that it is lacking exactly what Mythbusters has...Chemistry between the cast members. Not only that Jamie and Adam are interesting people who are interesting to watch. They are the odd couple and it is amusing to watch them work together, come up with different ideas, and butt heads. Even the junior cast on Mythbusters are interesting to watch.

Frankly I can't tell one person from the other on Smash Lab. They are utterly dull and could be replaced tomorrow and no one would notice.

Secondly, Mythbusters has a sense of humor, where Smash Lab is almost completely humorless.

The problem is the people who created Smash Lab thought that Mythbusters was a huge hit because they blew things up. They didn't realize that people don't watch Mythbusters to see things blow up, they watch Mythbusters to see Jamie, Adam and company blow things up.

Doug

[–] kyouryuu 16 years ago

I think you are right and my review alluded to the same thing. It would be far better if they simply stated the issue they wanted to solve and then break into teams on different ways to solve it.

The format they use right now is forced and way too narrow. Take the new "rocket" episode. The conceit was that pick-up trucks hauling trailers would often go out of control if they had to stop suddenly. The problem is how to safely stop the trailer so it doesn't jackknife and doesn't push the truck forward, a fairly rational problem. Heck, the news had a story about the perils of U-Haul trailers doing the exact same thing.

Their solution? ROCKETS.

So they test mount different kinds of rockets and configurations of rockets on a trailer. They learn about midway through the episode that a rocket with the power to stop a trailer would have to be implausibly large (somehow, I have to believe one could have known that before a single test).

And their conclusion, because their experiment blew up, is that ROCKETS AREN'T SAFE.

Well DUH.

But you see what the issue is. The stated problem is fine. But they are absolutely locked in the implementation. Why are they confined to rockets? Because they look cool?

And the next episode, with the "foiling a bank escape using fallaway concrete" has the same issue. The stated problem, ways to stop a bank robber from getting away in a car, is fine. But fallaway concrete? Seriously, is a bank supposed to cover the entire perimeter with fallaway concerete? That's completely impractical.

[–] TheRaceIsLong 16 years ago

I've watched almost every episode of this show, and here is what needs fixed:

1) All new cast. The things they are doing don't really require a ton of scientific or engingeering skills (Generally). I could buy a rocket and attach it to a tricycle, or buy piping and pump air unto a bed of sand. This being said, get people who are intelligent BUT funny and play off each other well. These people are like robots, do they have a personality?

2) The name of the show is smash lab....yet all they do is try and solve problems that don't need solved. Rockets on a trailor? Giant beds of quick sand for security? Million dollar storm proofings for a shack? It's needs a clear purpose. They haven't really established one that is logical or entertaining. They also need to set themselves apart from Mythbusters, otherwise they will never be seen as legit.

3) Filling content. By this I mean giving us a reason to watch the entire show, instead of just the last 30 seconds. So far, this is the biggest problem. The build-up to the big bang is just not entertaining, and the dull cast makes it that much worse. 55 minutes to establish how hook 2 rockets to a trailor? I might as well go do it myself!

Just my thoughts...If they don't improve the show I hope they give the money spent making this crap to Mythbusters...

[–] djensen1 16 years ago

I actually like the basic premise of the show: find a cool thing that works for one situation and see if you can apply it to solve a totally different problem. For a 1 hour show, you really have to keep the focus that narrow. You could come up with dozens of ideas of how to foil a bank robbery, but for the show, you have to narrow it to one to test.

I agree that one big problem is not making the journey to the last 30 seconds interesting enough. Most of the time, I think the small scale tests are not even valid because the scale is too small or the forces don't scale down well in the first place. Plus, I don't need to see someone thinking up how to accomplish the small scale test; that's not interesting.

Another thing that really bugs me (and Mythbusters does this too sometimes) is making a big deal of "losing the light" so they "only have one more try". Science doesn't work on a schedule, man. If you can't get the cable to release on time before you lose the light, that's your stupid problem. This isn't a game show with a deadline; spend the extra 10 grand and come back tomorrow, idiots.

And last and most important, some of the ideas are just completely stupid. Using breakaway concrete to stop a car is stupid. Using cavitation to allow a boat to be deployed from an aircraft is stupid. Using carbon fiber wrap to protect a house from a hurricane is stupid. Using an air bag on a flipper arm to keep a car from being smashed by a train is JUST PLAIN STUPID.

BUT, using magnets to slow descent from a building was cool and worked pretty good. Using aerated sand to stop a getaway vehicle was cool and worked pretty good. Using CO2 to stop a speeding car was a cool idea even tho it didn't work and even tho the ways they tried to implement it were mostly stupid.

Covering a house in a fireproof tent was pretty cool, but the number one, totally obvious thing was NOT figuring out how to hide it underground and deploy it automatically but rather how to seal the edges. My guess is that six day laborers could erect a tent around your house off the back of a pickup in a couple of hours, properly motivated. They do it for bug fumigation, after all, which wasn't even addressed. Making it deploy automatically was completely pointless.

[–] 16 years ago

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[–] djensen1 16 years ago

Of course they're not practical as designed on the show. But the effects were cool, and the ones I mentioned worked pretty well. They acknowledge on the show that even when they succeed they've only taken the first step to making something practical. You're taking the show too literally.

[–] 16 years ago

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[–] djensen1 16 years ago

Okay, you're obviously just trolling now, and you don't care about the semantic difference between "successful" and "practical." I've already said that the show doesn't pretend to be creating anything practical and it's foolish to imagine it would. Several things have worked as planned even if they're totally impractical. And no the carbon fiber wrap wasn't one of them; it was stupid from the start.

[–] kamas716 14 years ago

Okay, you're obviously just trolling now

Actually, not. He explained his reasoning fairly well.

[–] Bengei 16 years ago

I beg to differ.

The earthquake proof house worked VERY well and would EASILY be implemented.

The show just needs better writing, that is all. If thet had better material to work off of and showed some humor and personality with the hosts, all else would be forgotten.

You guys are comparing some scientists who are very smart to Jamie and Adam who learned on the job and have had cool jobs for 30 years.

That is the problem. If Mythbusters never existed I would think most people who enjoy this show.

Work on the writing and get some humor involved and the show will be successful.

[–] 16 years ago

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[–] pearshaped 16 years ago

During Mythbusters episodes Adam nearly always say something about how they did more testing of their experiments and other whole myths but because of time constraints they couldn't show it so it's on the discovery website.

Mythbusters extra bits and any outtakes have got to be more interesting & fun to watch than any Smash Lab episode, so why not show those instead? it would also save the discovery channel a heap of money by not having to fund the Smash Lab "experiments"

[–] huldu 16 years ago

Its not possible to fix this, its horrible, boring and totally pointless. Ive watched a few episodes and it just felt really bad and poorly executed. One episode really made me annoyed, the train with airbag, i mean what the heck is this crap. Not only was it boring and like ive already said, pointless, but it was such a half-ass job getting it together. I never said i was a genius but they sure did appear more dumb than i am during that "test"... and there were 4 of them!!

They could prepare their experiments way more than they are doing. I liked the dea with outside people adding ideas. Not sure what they can do about the boring episodes/ideas they get...

[–] TheAdlerian 16 years ago

The show, I assume, is supposed to be about wild ideas tested out, not perfect "engineering" ideas, as some of you think. So, the ideas are supposed to be crazy, but with that said, the show sucks.

Here's why:

On Mythbusters they will try concepts out and if they fail, they'll show it for a minute, then go back and refine the concept, then try again. There might be several instances of this in one show. The editing is quick and informative.

Smash has painfully long segments of the cast working on boring and frankly stupid ideas. Then, they try those ideas, they fail, and show over.

I'm ok with the silly and outlandish ideas, because it adds comedy, but they need to give the cast the chance to have multiple tries at making their concepts work.

As with the recent car roll over show, an episode should never end with something breaking and the project being unable to be tested. Who would even think to make a show like that?

[–] 16 years ago

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