Junkyard Wars - They built What! Out of What!!
Written: Dec 14 '00 (Updated Dec 20 '00)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Great Show
Cons: Not on enough during the week
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| Destinys-Child's Full Review: TLC |
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The Shows time has changed to 2 hours each week. Also it appears that they do indeed stockpile the junkyard with the equipment needed to perform each weeks task if it requires a special engine, or strange piece of equipment. They do not stockpile with new parts however, they take junk from other junkyards and put it into the shows junkyard, and then hide the equipment. It is still up to the teams to get the stuff in working order.
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Channel – TLC (The Learning Channel)
Day – Wednesday’s (repeats on sat/sun, but unsure of time)
Time – 2 shows each an hour long - 9:00 pm till 11:00 pm
What do a group of bikers, 3 ministers, a group of military brothers, and a gang of surfers have in common?
Well they were all part of the show Junkyard Wars on TLC.
I’m not much of a TV buff, but sometimes a show will catch my eye and actually make me anticipate next week’s episode. Junkyard Wars is just that type of show.
Premise
Two groups of 4 people compete is a real junkyard by trying to build that days theme project. The four people consist of 3 friends and one expert (picked by the hosts) in the field of whatever they intend to build. The teams actually have no clue what they are to build until that day, and because they can only use what they find in the junkyard they have no clue how they would do it even after they find out. Then they have 10 hours (rain or shine) to design and build their device. Neither team knows what the other is doing, and the only time they see each other is if they meet up while scouring the junkyard for some piece of equipment. The next day the 2 teams emerge and battle to see whose device works best (or at all). Whoever wins goes onto the next round to battle yet again for the championship.
Just in case you are wondering it is filmed in England and in an actual junkyard. The only things they are given are tools, and the necessary fuel (gasoline, oil, gunpowder, etc.) to get the junk going. Of course the actual retrieval and repairing of the machines is all up to the teams. In fact there was one show where a team was in big trouble because they couldn’t find a car battery that was charged.
Some of the projects they are given like…
Build a vehicle that will drive on land then through a lake then back on dry land.
Build a device that will propel a football as far as possible
Build a 2 man Submarine that will be able to navigate an underwater obstacle course
Build something that will lift a small car out of a lake, them drop it off back on shore
Navigate a course on a vehicle that cannot use any wheels
Sound hard/impossible? Not quite, although I must admit that at times I was stunned to find out what they were attempting to do in order to accomplish their tasks. We are not talking flimsy devices that any 2 year old could build we are talking hydraulic cranes, huge winches, and other devices all made from junk other people threw away.
Some of the most fun is watching the teams themselves. One team in particular the bikers are just a blast to watch because of their personalities. Then you have the team of ministers who stop for a tea break every half hour or so. The 2 people who host the show are equally as entertaining whether they are making fun of some monstrosity (in good cheer), or actually trying out the inventions they are always fun to watch.
It is amazing watching them (and the other teams) turn junk into working equipment fit for their needs. Whether it is welding some sort of vehicle together from scratch, or tearing a vehicle apart to get at any number of parts these guys have the skills to do it.
While watching it with 2 of my friends we were really getting into it. We thought about how much fun it would be to actually do it. Of course I don’t know what help I would be short of critiquing their work. This is definitely a show for anyone who loves tinkering.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
Destinys-Child
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 - Top 500 |
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Location: Sagamore Beach Ma.
Reviews written: 128
Trusted by: 87 members
About Me:
A fool and his money were lucky to be together in the first place.
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