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Non-Fiction
Busted - 17 Mythbuster Classics That Could Happen To You
(2006) |
Wilkinson Publishing , 160 p, paperback with accompanying DVD
Knowing I never watch television (cept News, AFL football & cricket) my wife Robbie said to me, ‘You should check these guys out’. This was a couple of years ago, and I was fleetingly amazed.
The Mythbusters book was the idea of Michael Wilkinson (Wilkinson Publishing) and Tim McGee (Beyond). Tim ‘interviewed’ me for the job and fortunately didn’t dismiss me on the spot, because I had only seen about 10 minutes of the show – somehow he trusted me, and loaded me up with 19 DVDs, which I studied, and came up with this book.
Boy, people are nice! I like Tim – we spent more time talking about obscure Bob Dylan DVDs and CDs than Mythbusters, which probably helped our relationship enormously.
Then came Peter Rees, the producer and the guy who thought of the whole concept. After talking to him I suddenly realised that everything about the show was Australian – apart from the two presenters Jamie and Adam.
Mythbusters is one of the most popular shows on TV. It was conceived by producer Peter Rees in the Beyond Studio in Sydney, and in its earliest incarnation had an all-Australian team. However, when it came to casting the presenter/s the main qualification was to find someone who could build things and at the time all possible Australian prospects were working on the Matrix movie. So the Beyond team looked further afield.
From his murderous robot Blendo - featured in Robot Wars - the Beyond crew already knew of Jamie Hyneman. Jamie agreed to audition for the role of presenter if he could share the load with his far more outspoken friend Adam Savage. It was a magic combination – Jamie, Adam and the Australian film crew who were by now filming in Jamie’s enormous workshop in San Francisco.
Since those days they have created 145 shows averaging three myths per show. Mythbusters has gone onto primetime television and Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage can’t keep up with the demand. This book has been written partly to satisfy that need.
Drawing - to a certain extent - from all episodes, Busted, 17 Mythbuster Classics That Could Happen To You focuses on myths that could happen to anybody, in the kitchen, in the car, around the house, or in the general course of a working day. For example:
Is lightning attracted by metal jewelry?
Can breast implants explode at altitude?
Will an appliance dropped into a bath kill?
Do you stay dryer if you run rather than walk through rain?
Can a domestic fan cut off your head?
When lightning strikes a house could it kill someone talking on the phone?
Also included are cola myths, microwave oven myths and more.
However the best feature of the book is a rare interview with creator and producer Peter Rees in which he busts a few myths of his own – this is not an American show, it’s Australian! Peter also gives many insights about what goes on in the backroom, the preparation behind each program and what the future holds in store for Mythbusters. Believe it or not, they’d like to test the moonwalk.
People who will enjoy it: Fans, especially.
Available from: Bookshops everywhere.
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