"Scrapheap" (1998) TV series 1998-????

User Rating:

8.0/10   

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | unknown

Release Date:

January 2000 (USA)

Genre:

Game-Show

Plot:

A show in which, each week, two rival teams are given the task of building some kind of machine, in one day...

Plot Keywords:

Machine | Welding | Junkyard | Salvage Yard | Mechanical

Awards:

Nominated for Primetime Emmy.

Cast

Robert Llewellyn	...	Himself - Presenter (22 episodes, 1998-2003)
Lisa Rogers	...	Herself - Presenter (12 episodes, 2002-2003)
Cathy Rogers	...	Presenter / ... (11 episodes, 1998-2001)
Dick Strawbridge	...	Team Captain / ... (10 episodes, 1998-2004)

Also Known As:

"Junkyard Wars" (USA)
"Scrapheap Challenge" (UK) (new title)

Runtime:

60 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Filming Locations:

Canning Town, London, England, UK

Company:

RDF Television

Trivia:

'Cathy Rogers (I)' got the idea for the show (i.e. having people build something useful out of junk) after watching Apollo 13 (1995).

Quotes:

[coming back from a commercial on the American version]
Tyler Harcott: Welcome back to "Junkyard Wars", the only show on television with more heavy metal than an OZZY OSBOURNE CONCERT!

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in "Good Eats: Scrap Iron Chef: Bacon Challenge (#5.5)" (2002)

Home Improvement meets Mad Max

This is the most entertaining live action TV programme I have ever seen. Pitting two teams against each other in a contest of both brains and brawn to produce a complex working machine in 10 hours using only what they can find in the eponymous Scrapheap ("Junkyard" for you Americans) is just plain brilliant.

Not only entertaining but educational as well. To make it possible to build the machines, the teams must be able to grasp the basic operational principles behind each one. The explanations they give are a great way of passing that understanding on to the audience.

For some of the projects, I suspect that the scrapheap is "seeded" with some specialist items without which successful construction would be virtually impossible. However, that does not detract from the flow of the programme at all.

The producers also like to select teams full of colourful and eccentric characters. When people with nicknames like "Bowser", "Nosher" and "Lurch" feature, you just know they aren't going to "go quietly into the good night".

I rate this show very highly. I think any country whose citizens pride themselves on their ingenuity and "can-do" attitude would get a real kick out of this programme.

Channel 4 should be very proud of their work.