Smash Lab

I gave this show a 3 out of 10, and the only reason it got a 3 was due to the explosions.

This show was more of a commercial for a product than anything scientific(spelling).I was expecting something with a little more substance then just a few big booms. I watch the discovery channel faithfully but this is one show that i will not watch again. the people who are supposed to be the experts couldn't even figure out that with out something behind it the shotgun would have fired right through it.I figured out that much before they even pulled the trigger. and trust me I'm no rocket scientist.

At least when the myth buster test something the hide the manufacturer's name.

I can get into all the other reasons why the show failed, but I don't necessarily agree with many listed here. No one watched Mythbusters for the science either. At least no one with ANY science knowledge. All these shows are entertainment with a science element.

But the problem with Smash LAb is that it failed in both science AND entertainment. It was impossible to follow due to the terrible directing. Most obvious was the over use of super slow motion. Smart directors know how to use effects to the benefit of the viewers. For one thing, always have the first cut be at normal speed. That allows viewers to see what happened as if they were there. It also shows the full impact of a collision, or speed/acceleration of an object, or whatever they were trying to show. But with Smash Lab, just as they got to the "pay off", they started with the slow motion. And also the repeated angle changes. It never allows the viewer to actually focus on what is going on. And then they show the same 5 seconds over and over again from a different angle trying to make it appear as if it is continuous rather than a repeat of the same action.

It really makes you wonder how directors are able to actually receive paychecks if they are so clueless into what makes good entertainment.

On the pilot episode of Mythbusters on the Discovery Channel, Adam and Jamie test whether spray-on pickup truck bed liner can be used to make a building blast proof....wait, wait, sorry. Wrong show. The show is actually called Smash Lab, but the idea is basically the same. Take some nerdy guys, a skinny woman, have them spout techno-engineer babble, while gearing up to set off a large explosion. The only problem with this idea is that it's been done, and done much better. The comparison between the two shows was inevitable, so it makes me wonder why the creators didn't do more to make a distinction.

Smash Lab has taken the final five minutes of Mythbusters, where Adam and Jamie go for the biggest explosion possible, and made it the subject of an hour long show. Much like Smash Lab's free standing single-story building coated with Rhino Liner, I'm not sure the show will stand for very long.

I, like all the others was hoping this would be a good show since I am a huge Mythbusters fan. This show however disappointed in a big way. I agree with all the other reviews here so i wont repeat them but i will add a few things about the show that drive me crazy. This show feels so staged. On Mythbusters it feels like the cameras are following Jamie and Adam around throughout their day as they work. Smash lab feel like the hosts show up in front of camera after getting their make-up and hair done and are told what to do and say. I am certain that the hosts of Smash Lab auditioned for the show. Jamie has often said that he doesn't give a crap about the show but loves the work involved in the stuff they do. This clearly shows with the crew of Mythbusters and makes for a much better show. The hosts walking down the hall a la Monster Garage must go. Again this makes the show look incredibly fake. Anytime Mythbisters does anything like this they are doing it for fun and you know that they are laughing at themselves when they do it.

It's a real shame because it seems like Smash Lab has a giant budget. I would really like to see some of that money used on Mythbusters.

This show is a Mythbusters rip off, except with 4 sub-par actors who have no personality, jockeying for horribly generic lines like "Big explosion, that's what I like to hear." Mythbusters is entertaining because everyone on the show has their own distinct personality, and they are all goofy and quirky in their own way, which makes it a very fun show to watch in addition to the great writing and topic selection.

Smash Lab is the exact opposite of this. There are 4 people who are very transparently acting, and worse, all of them are competing to be the "cool" one, the "renegade engineer" personality on the show, the result being just awkward and lame dialog. This also contaminates their body movement; it's hard to describe, but often times they make these weird positions like someone who is trying to act like they are *really* interested in something. As though it was not rehearsed when it obviously was.

Each of them wants to be the one that talks, but the vast majority of the time what comes out of their mouth is either something totally obvious that didn't need to be said, or them trying to develop their own personality, except with really bland comments that are, again, meant to show them off as *the* "cool renegade engineer guy" on the show. "Oh yeah, that baby's burning!"

One of the comments already posted that was particularly acute was about the one woman on the show, "The Scientist." She doesn't seem at all like a scientist, just someone who is obviously acting, who has these awkward "scientific sounding" lines jammed into her mouth. Example, someone will say something plain (and of course, with their trying-to-be-cool personality), "Oh man that's hot stuff," and then she will say "Yes, that translates to 500 degrees Centigrade" for no reason. She especially has annoying fake body movements, like someone will come in with some material, and she will lean in, in this attempt to look interested as a scientist but also sexy at the same time. It's hard to even write this review without repeatedly rolling my eyes.

Everyone and everything on this show is completely transparent and lacking any substance. They try so hard to have personality but they just don't have it. It's really pathetic.