10 Years of Mythbusters

[Trekker4747]

In January the TV show Mythbusters will have been on for 10 years inside of which they've tested hundreds of "myths" of various levels resulting in tons of explosions and plenty of very surprising results. The show has gone through a number of co-hosts/"Junior Mythbusters" and various interactions between the two teams before finally settling on what we have now. Jamie and Adam usually taking on some "big myth" involving more complicated or larger concepts then the "Junior Mythbusters" consisting of Kari, Grant and Tory taking on a secondary myth (more often than not a movie trope or internet video.)

We can argue a LOT on how the quality of the show has probably declined over the years (the show used to be a bit more science heavy, showing more of the design/build process) and there's plenty of arguments that can be made on flaws they've made in their testing process, but here we are. 10 years into this and the show can still delight and even surprise.

But I've been wondering... What if Jamie and Adam decide to "retire" as Mythbusters for whatever reasons, old age, tired of doing the show, etc. Would the show survive if it just centered around the Junior Team, or maybe making them the "senior team" and introducing a new "Junior Team."

I think it'd be interesting but as fun as Kari, Grant and Tori are (Kari for very obvious reasons) usually I see them making more flaws in their tests or leaps of logic than Jamie and Adam do. I think some "credibility" to the show would go away.

So what do you think? Of both the show and of future prospectives with it?

 

[Christopher]

First off, I don't think we can really call the M7 trio a junior team anymore. They usually get as much screen time as Adam and Jamie, and as often as not, they're doing the title myth of the episode.

It did, in fact, occur to me recently that Adam and Jamie might want to move on sometime and that the M7 team would be the logical ones to take over. As for the credibility issue, I think what the show tends to obscure is that the on-air personalities don't do it all themselves; the writers/producers/researchers behind the scenes probably work out a lot of the testing procedures and let the hosts maintain the fiction that they're doing it all themselves. I'm sure the hosts contribute opinions and ideas to the process, so if there is a difference in methodology, it could be because the M5 duo are more conscientious; but I'm not entirely convinced there is, since A & J's methodology doesn't seem to be as careful these days either.

Another thing to wonder about is, where would they find someone to take over as a new "B-team"? It doesn't seem they've had any lasting success finding "mythterns" as new on-air personalities in recent years. Jessi Combs was okay as a maternity-leave fill-in for Kari, but just okay. Who else out there could pull it off?

One possibility is that they wouldn't bother to add a B team; Adam & Jamie were the sole hosts for the first few seasons, with Kari, Tory, and Scottie gradually gaining prominence as their assistants. But maybe they have so many myths to test and episodes to produce these days that they need two teams to pull it off.

I'm not sure the show could survive that long without Adam & Jamie, though. They're kind of a perfect television duo, the controlled, ultra-competent stoic and the wacky man-child who don't quite get along but still make a great team. It's so perfect that it's hard to believe it happened in real life -- and I sometimes wonder how much Adam & Jamie exaggerate their screen personas on the show.

 

[Owain Taggart]

Yeah, not sure it could survive without Adam & Jamie. They're pretty much the heart of the show, partly in due part from their personality. I'd have to think that Discovery, as popular as the show is, wouldn't be interested in the show without them.


As an aside, I've met the Meteorite Men in person, and they're a hoot and they're pretty much just like they are on the TV show, so it's possible that Adam & Jamie are the same way.

 

[JarodRussell]

10 years already. Boy, am I getting old.

 

[auntiehill]

^ I had the same thought. 10 years? Already?

Well, I don't watch Mythbusters like I used to, but it's still fun.

 

[Trekker4747]

First off, I don't think we can really call the M7 trio a junior team anymore. They usually get as much screen time as Adam and Jamie, and as often as not, they're doing the title myth of the episode.

Well, I really only call them the "Junior Mythbusters" because they're (obviously) younger than Jamie and Adam and because I grew up watching cartoons in the 1980s they make me think of the various "Junior" versions of teams that would pop up. (The "Junior Ghostbusters" spring to mind from The Real Ghostbusters.)

It's not meant to suggest that they're any less significant than Jamie and Adam and you're right, they do get the "A-Myth" a lot.

On how things work behind the camera and how much influence and input the team can't be well known. Gaps in methodology and testing COULD be a "group effort" between the on-screen and behind-the-screen persons. It just seems sometimes the "Junior Team" makes odd choices or conclusions more. To me, at least.

But I agree the show would probably struggle without Jamie and Adam who are just the heart-and-soul of the show. It's often worth watching for the interaction between them alone. If they were to leave (or take on a completely BTS role) obviously the "B-Team" would move up and the dynamic of the show would probably change again.

Right now it would be nice to see more cross-interactions between M5 and M7 but they way they film the series maybe that isn't possible? I do long for the tone the show had a few years ago. Still, it makes for good TV.

 

[Christopher]

We've already had a couple of compilation specials, including tonight's episode, that were hosted entirely by the M7 team with Adam & Jamie only appearing in archive footage.

 

[Warp Coil]

I doubt the series would continue without Adam and Jamie's involvement. Should they decide that it's time to bow out, I'd bet that the series would end. One must also wonder how much longer the series will run before Discovery decides it's time to go. I haven't been paying much attention to the ratings so I'm not sure how it performs on a weekly basis. The network's ratings darlings at the moment seem to be anything with the words "gold" or "alaska" in the title ("Gold Rush", "Bering Sea Gold", "Flying Wild Alaska", etc.). The network just canceled its long-running "Dirty Jobs." "Mythbusters", at ten years old, may not live too much longer.

 

[Gaseous Anomaly]

I doubt the show would end if Adam & Jamie left, sure ratings would drop but it would pick back up. Many shows go through cast change and survive, why should this one be any different?