In my opinion, Mythbusters is one of the best shows on TV, and most definitely the best science show available. The show blends humor and science artfully, making it a very nerdy comedy (or a very funny nerd show, depending on your opinion).
The show is primarily hosted by Jamie Hyneman (the owner of M5 Industries, a special effects workshop) and Adam Savage (an artist/movie maker/designer/magician). The show has Tony Belleci, Kari Byron, and Grant Imahara hosting the secondary plot of the show. The show is filmed in M5 Industries’ workshop/warehouse in San Fransisco.
They have a general habit of just blowing stuff up, as most myths involve death or destruction. My two favorites were the flaming pilot’s hair myth and the explosive concrete removal myth. In the pilot myth, a Canadian fighter pilot was flying his jet when a spark from his radio sent his extravagant hair up in flames. The myth says the pure oxygen environment caused a lethal explosion, but the mythbusters proved that the hair would burn, though it would not explode lethally. According to the other myth, concrete companies have been using different varieties of explosives to blast hardened concrete out of old cement trucks. This was busted, as the amount of explosive needed would damage the trucks. So, after learning this, they packed the truck full of explosive and blew it apart. It literally disappeared.
The show is fun because Adam and Jamie like to explain what actually causes the myth to happen… or not to happen. They explain the factors that go into an experiment. The science is interesting to a science-interested person like me. At the same time, the humor prevents it from being science class, although we did watch it in science one day.
I think Mythbusters is one of the best science shows on TV, and great for all!
