Stardate 20011025.1326 (On Screen): (This entry may inadvertantly contain some spoilers) The new season of Junkyard Wars is on, and this one is in America. Teams from all over the US are competing in the classic competition to create devices to solve certain problems using ingenuity and whatever they can scavenge from a multi-acre pile of junk. Does it strike anyone that the challenges are a lot harder this time?
For example, in the original series during the six-challenge playoff, one time the teams had to create powered boats capable of ferrying two people across a quiet lake. Last night's episode had two teams creating powered boats capable of going up and down in a white-water river. In the UK they've done artillery twice; once to hit a target with any projectile at all, and once to hit the target with pumpkins. This year one of the challenges for Americans was not just to hit a target piled up out of concrete cinder blocks, but actually to knock it down; the score was the number of blocks they dislodged in three shots. When the Brits did it, one of the cannons didn't work; both American cannons did substantial damage to the targets. British teams have had to make powered vehicles a couple of times, but they've never had to make any which had to be able to drive over other cars. In one of the earlier British contests, the teams had to create gliders; the winning one stayed in the air for about four seconds. I'm looking forward to next week's show; they have to make powered hang gliders and actually fly a course with it.
I'm a little afraid they're taking this too far. I hope no-one gets hurt. They're asking the teams to use more power in their devices. Last night one of the teams had a power linkage connected to an engine break on them. No-one was harmed, but someone might have been; pieces from the linkage might have flown off and hit someone. (And someone actually did get seriously cut in another episode and had to go to the hospital for stitches.) While I assume that the powered hang-glider competition came off without problems, at that point you're dealing with something which is inherently dangerous. The people on the boats last night wore life preservers and there were boats on the river ready to come to their aid, but if someone cracks up a hang glider or if something fails (i.e. a wing spar breaks) the pilot could be badly injured. This is supposed to be both fun and challenging, but I don't want to see anyone seriously hurt. (discuss)
