Smash Lab

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.

I think another reviewer put it best. Smash Lab is an attempt to take the last five minutes of any Mythbusters episode and somehow extend it into an hour-long program. Only it doesn't work.

So far, each episode appears to open on the same conceit. Our protagonists seem to pull a random idea out of the air and try to apply it in such a way that it can protect against a disaster. For example, can aerated concrete stop a speeding car from crossing a highway divider, slamming headlong into opposing traffic? The problem is, phrased like that, there's not a whole lot to go on. There is no "discovery." You just watch them do the experiment. They pour some aerated concrete. They let it set for just a day. Then, they run cars on it. This is spread out over the course of an entire hour and it is literally as exciting as watching the concrete dry. It's not long before you realize that it is a really bad idea, whether it's the concept itself or the execution. Because really, if your goal is to save the cars in the opposite lane, having gobs of concrete rock flying at them isn't going to help. But, nevertheless, the "scientists" are oblivious to that consequence and the show is fated to continue this same truly stupid idea to its conclusion - the one you saw coming from an hour away.

What would make the show more interesting is if it wasn't so rigorously defined from the start. They should have presented a problem and have teams try to develop different, creative solutions to it, rather than following each other in lockstep with the same materials. This also leads to a lot of the awkward, forced chemistry between the team members. The show really needs to loosen up.

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.

Smash Lab is probably one of the greatest disappointments of the new year, almost to the point of inspiring mass Discovery fan suicides. And who could blame them? First off, this show is nothing more than a Myth Busters knock off with Myth Buster wannabe characters. Deanne must be Discovery's answer to Kari, and their shameless attempt to draw viewers to this show because of this is borderline shameful. Maybe they should have put such efforts into making a decent show, instead of appealing to 50 year old slobbering men.

The premise is also insanely weak. Scientists and Engineers supposedly build to make the world better, when their experiments are weak and neutered. MythBusters is interesting mostly because it has some meaning to keep you watching. Smash Lab, on the other hand, just seems like a waste of time and life since the hosts aren't actually helping anyone. Discovery, by trying to cater to the MythBusters crowd (and by possibly thinking that the MythBusters crowd are retarded) has forgotten the number one rule that made their other shows popular: Dumbing down = Crap show.

This show wouldn't be so bad, other than the fact that it is unbelievably boring. For a show named "Smash Lab," the hosts seem to just walk around the whole time, wasting moments of our precious lives. The hosts literally look like surfer dudes that you would find on a California beach, who of course morph between scientists, builders, physicists, and anything else that the teleprompter tells them to be. Never have I seen such poor Chemistry between cast members either. I would be willing to bet that as soon as the cameras turn off, they start beating the crap out of each other or cutting each other off in the parking lot while making obscene gestures. Why don't they just make a show about that? It would be a heck of a lot more interesting than this drivel.

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.