Ask 'Junkyard Wars Diva' Cathy Rogers 392
Junkyard Wars (and the British Scrapheap Challenge) have long been popular with Slashdot readers. Now Cathy is co-host of a new show, Full Metal Challenge, that also involves teams building strange machines out of this and that. Take a look at this 'Cathy' fan site (and possibly her less interesting official biography), then ask away. (Usual Slashdot interview rules.)
best (Score:2, Informative)
Travis
Because (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Because (Score:3, Insightful)
Flamebait flamebait flamebait. This is simply a stupid stereotype. Oh, and British shows always play to the HIGHEST denominator? ( weakest link)
Re:Because (Score:4, Insightful)
Time... (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Time... (Score:2)
Re:Time... (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Time... (Score:4, Interesting)
Was there ever a time when a team had ABSOLUTELY nothing worth sending into competition?
Yeah, every British built contrivance in the US vs. UK competitions.
I have very fond memories of the VW bug with a rake mine clearing device going up against the giant American diesel powered beach beater bar. The distctively USian machine was so destructive to the course that it was entirely obscured by sand while in operation, and utterly destroyed the mines rather than detonating them - which led to glowing and egregious anti-American Brit praise of the bug's rake having popped two mines during its run - until the fragments were counted. hehe.
Re:Time... (Score:5, Funny)
It seemsed to me that the teams would submit an idea prior to being cast. Once a team was selected, they already knew what they were going to build, and the basics were then planted around the junkyard.
I'm just waiting for the team that submits an idea involving a Pratt & Whitney F119-PW-100 turbofan. Yep, that's over there next to the '82 Fiat.
Re:Time... (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Time... (Score:2)
yes and no... (Score:3, Insightful)
I guess the lawyers would say "Well, it IS a junkyard, but its a junkyard where things have been planted. So technically, it's not lying"
The worst offender is "Trading Spaces" which does not indicate during the show that there is an entire team of workers behind the scenes that compelete most of the actual painting, sewing, etc.
blockquote:
Once inside, I met the sewing coordinator. The very existence of the sewing coordinator was for a long time a closely-guarded secret. His name was in the credits, but they never referred to him on camera. The need for a sewing coordinator is obvious; any given episode features a huge amount of sewing, some of it very complex, and the homeowners and designers simply wouldn't have time to do it all themselves. The sewing coordinator, therefore, stays behind the scenes and makes sure things get done on schedule. Later in the day, after he had finished all his tasks and packed up his equipment, I caught up with him and asked why he was never shown on camera. He explained that it was a logistical decision. Each episode, he pointed out, already features eight "characters," and adding a ninth would be tricky. Makes sense.
this taken from This behind the scenes review [bluearmadillo.net]
It wouldn't be so bad if watching that show hadn't empowered me and my wife to completely redo everything when we moved into our town house! We painted every room, we re-floored the kitchen and basement, we fixed up dry wall, changed lighting fixtures and took down all the ceiling fans, put up shelving and cabinetry... pant pant pant,
Re:Time... (Score:2, Insightful)
This is far from the dumbest thing I have heard on slashdot.
The point he is trying to make is that yes it is made for tv. Duh! However, in most junkyards you can ask the owner where things are and if you are looking for a good motor, you could find one is a few min. The junkyards by me would even ask what type of engine I would like.
I think that you are hungup about the word Junkyard. I believe in their definition is means a place where they dump their junk. Their junk just happens to fit whatever they are building.
Re:Time... (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Time... (Score:2)
Motivations for new series (Score:5, Interesting)
Are you interested at all.. (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Are you interested at all.. (Score:4, Informative)
Which team is you favorite? (Score:5, Interesting)
What was the degree in? (Score:5, Interesting)
Side questions: what did you play in the band and what sort of music did the band play?
Inspiration for JYW (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Inspiration for JYW (Score:2)
Sounds from the indie records ... (Score:4, Interesting)
-/-
Mikey-San
Vision for these shows (Score:5, Interesting)
Which host did you enjoy working with the most? (Score:3, Interesting)
The british male host, the 1st USA male host, or the 2nd US male host (Tyler?).
Sorry, I'm not good with names
Re:Which host did you enjoy working with the most? (Score:3, Interesting)
Robert Llewellyn, of Red Dwarf fame (Kryten)
George Gray, who went on to host the weekday version of The Weakest Link.
And now the two recent replacements, who I hate with the fire of a thousand suns.
Re:Which host did you enjoy working with the most? (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Which host did you enjoy working with the most? (Score:2)
Re:Which host did you enjoy working with the most? (Score:2)
Comment removed (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Why Rollins? Why!! (Score:2)
What about Black Flag followed up by the Rollins Band and some significant spoken word?
I believe that should qualify.
Your popularity (Score:4, Interesting)
When you got off of the show we both lost interest. Yes, it was fun watching people build big machines, but much of the dynamic that we enjoyed was gone. It was then we realized just how important you were to the show and that dynamic that we enjoyed so much.
Are you getting any feed back about going back to JYW? Would you if they asked?
Roll of expert (Score:5, Interesting)
What's with the name change? (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:What's with the name change? (Score:3, Funny)
Why do the English call them Biscuits when they are cookies?
Then, they call biscuits "cookies".
Or.....
Why didn't they keep the original name from: "Under the Bonnet with Crispin Davies"
to: "Under to Hood with John Studd".
And oh yeah, why do they drive on the left hand side of the road?
Internationality (Score:5, Interesting)
rOD.
Re:Internationality (Score:2)
Your various co-hosts (Score:5, Interesting)
massive disruption to geeks everywhere.... (Score:4, Funny)
If not, are you tempted now?
hmm... (Score:4, Interesting)
Oh, and congrats on being one of TV's foxiest ladies.
Re:hmm... (Score:2)
Yes, more MR please!
That was a weird discovery when I realized she's in that band after watching JYW for so long..!
Rollins (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Rollins (Score:5, Funny)
Why do you think Engineering is so male dominated? (Score:5, Interesting)
Why do you think so few women are interested in technology?
On Science and Music (Score:5, Interesting)
Not marriage proposal (Score:3, Funny)
Respond privately if you want.
Off screen testing? (Score:5, Interesting)
For example, the episode where participants had to build a diving bell, descend to the bottom of a small pond, and retrieve a chest of gold.
I don't believe that this was not tested off camera, if for no other reason solely to insure you didn't inadvertantly end up making a snuff episode.
Same thing goes for pretty much any device where explosives were used, or even the airplanes.
Re:Off screen testing? (Score:5, Funny)
Mutliple hosts (Score:5, Interesting)
Rejected challenges (Score:5, Interesting)
What are some of the challenges that were rejected for the show, and why (too dangerous, too easy, too hard to do in 10 hours, etc)?
BTW, love the show, and glad to see you back on US TV with FMC....
Going with the current polling question... (Score:5, Funny)
Long Hair? (Score:2)
The only question. (Score:3, Funny)
Not A Question but... (Score:5, Funny)
Catching the Commentary Culprit (Score:2, Funny)
"Smart Women on TV" and Short Locks (Score:5, Interesting)
Extra credit: Do you prefer mousse or gel?
Funniest Moment (Score:5, Interesting)
Thanks,
-stu.
what about henry rollins (Score:2)
I don't know who you are (Score:4, Interesting)
doesn't the the guy who made that fan site scare you? What about the people on this site? Do you really think Henry Rollins can protected you from a horde of obsessive, sex-starved American nerds?
Changes to the show format? (Score:5, Interesting)
Cathy,
Junkyard Wars is the only show I watch on TV - my girlfriend tapes it each week, and we watch it together later. Over the years, we've noticed some unfortunate trends in the format of the show.
In the earlier Scrapheap Challenge episodes, two teams competed against each other for the entire season, and we got to know and love them. Each episode dealt with a basic scientific or mechanical process (hydraulics, bridge building, etc), and a good bit of the airtime actually focused on the science involved.
In later seasons, and especially this season, the teams almost always have a gimmick - usually a flamboyant leader who dyes his hair or gets in fights with the other team. The challenges are almost always car-oriented, and most of the airtime deals with cutting down the cars to make them lighter. There's very little explanation of the science behind the challenge, and the difference between the two vehicles is usually just "light and fast vs. big and heavy". Several of the shows this year have devolved into "bumper cars" matches as both teams realize their design works better as a battering ram than as their original plan intended.
We find ourselves getting less excited about the shows, and suspect others have lost interest as well. So, my question for you is: How do you feel about the way Scrapheap Challenge and Junkyard Wars have evolved over the years? If you had complete control over the way the show is run today, what would you change?
Thanks for entertaining and educating us over the years, and best of luck with Full Metal Challenge!
Dream Job (internship?) (Score:2)
Maskirovka
Re:Dream Job (internship?) (Score:2)
Maskirovka
Slack your ass off @ http://slackersguild.com/
That sound you hear is me banging my fist against the keyboard for using the worst possible sig ever for this situation.
Buckaroo Banzai (Score:5, Funny)
First, you ROCK! . Thanks for creating the only worthwhile TV in a long time.
After watching a Junkyard Wars marathon last year, I realized that you're a female version of Buckaroo Banzai. [banzai-institute.com] You both play in a rock band, you both have PhD's, you both appear on TV, and you both have a fascination with science. About the only difference is that he's a surgeon and you're a nurse.
Did you purposely set out to become a real-life comic book hero, or was it just fate?
Will you... (Score:2)
For as long as I watched Junkyard Wars... (Score:2, Interesting)
Full Metal Challenge now? (Score:2, Insightful)
After all the lead up to destroying the losing car, it rolls into a tube and then a cheesy explosion went off. I was hoping you were going to smelt the metal down (I'm sure you might be able to "borrow" the facilities of a local mill even if you couldn't get the facilities on the premises of the show). I was expencting to see a lump of metal at the end and was just left hanging.
What's up with that?!
Oh and I too enjoyed the purely british version of the JYW much much more. The first time I saw it was a marathon, and my dad I stayed up 'till the wee hours of the morning glued to the tube. Thanks.
how do you do it? (Score:5, Interesting)
A lot of people don't realize that not only do you work on all of these shows, you help conceive the initial ideas behind them. How do you do it? Did you just one day have an idea and present it to a network, or did you work from the inside to have your concepts realized? What in your past got you interested in the whole build things from junkyard parts concept?
Computer? (Score:3, Funny)
Rules (Score:2)
Semi-serious question (Score:5, Insightful)
Why TLC? (Score:2)
historical question (Score:3, Interesting)
If you were to travel back in time, which invention would you like to have your name associated with? In other words, if you had invented something in the past, which invention would you be most proud of?
Handling Geek Stardom (Score:2)
Henry Rollins (Score:2, Interesting)
Need A Gearhead Host... (Score:2)
I don't think you understand how important you were to the Junkyard Wars show, in that, as the host of the show, you were the only one so far in a long string of hosts and co-hosts that actually seemed to understand what each team was building as they built it.
Not only were you explaining to the audience how each contraption was supposed to work, you CLEARLY had a better idea of how it would go together than the teams did themselves.
Some of the best parts of the show is where you would amble up to a particular team and make a suggestion or ask a question as to whether or not they were going to deal with a particular issue.
It seems to me that the current crop of epsiodes doesn't have a "gearhead" host, and neither of them contribute to the build process of the teams. As such, discounting the amazing work of the Kentucky Fried Family, almost all the builds have been somewhat lackluster and devoid of any imagination.
If anyone should be a host of the show, it should be Bowser Munson. Seriously, you need a gearhead host or the show falls flat.
Please come back to Junkyard Wars. Do I have to grovel???????
More info on Cathy / FMC (Score:2)
American vs. British contestants (Score:5, Interesting)
A few questions: (Score:3, Interesting)
2) Why are the competition rules so wimpy? Witness the recent "vehicle that must fit through the hole in the fence" challenge. In general, it seems that the penalties for not following the rules are often so minor that you're more likely to win if you just try to break the rules and deal with the penalties.
3) What happened to the cool challenges, like trebuchets, wall crushers, etc. Something where teams have little expertise.
4) Are there challenges that didn't air because neither team made it, or only one team had something workable?
As a musician, what do you think of .... (Score:5, Interesting)
As a musician, what do you think of the music industry these days, specifically about the slave-labor-like recording contracts, industry ownership of copyrights, Peer-to-peer song sharing (MP3s), and the current fruitless atempts to copy-protect CDs?
Is there anything that you can do in your current position to help change any of that to the betterment of recording artists and consumers everywhere?
Ok, it was two questions. So sue me! ;-)
Your outfits... (Score:5, Interesting)
I'm really really surprised that noone has asked about this yet, and I really want to know; what's the motivation?
--theLime
(here comes the inappropriate
British v. American teams and behaviour (Score:5, Interesting)
Once the American episodes began to be produced, the teams really seemed terribly obnoxious and offputting. The "Young Guns" teams is of particular note in this regard. In fact, the team behaviors began to become so bad that my freinds and I simply stopped watching.
Was there any pressure from the American side to introduce more conflict into the show, or was the change simply the nature of the American teams?
Experts assigned to the teams (Score:5, Interesting)
Rollins rules (Score:5, Interesting)
Real Junkyard? (Score:4, Interesting)
On a related note, my girlfriend (yes, she love the show) is curious about one thing: It seems that on every show both teams attack the same problem with very different designs. Is it casual, or do you somehow make sure that they won't try to build exactly the same thing?
What happens to contraptions after the show? (Score:3, Interesting)
What was the best challenge for Scrapheap.... (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Difference (Score:2)
JYW involves sending teams into a scrapyard to find stuff to build various zany vehicles with which they will try to meet specific challenge goals.
Now that I've answered the question can somebody please mod the parent down?
Re:"Junkyard" wars? (Score:2)
It's been known for some time that items are planted in general based on what the experts ask for. Since the experts can't go scrounging, they don't know what is out there specifically or where to look. But they know the main components for their project exist *somewhere*.
Re:"Junkyard" wars? (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Are critical parts "planted"? (Score:2)
In it, he describes that they make sure that enough parts are lying around. For example, propellers, steam pumps, etc. have been some very specific items required for some of the challenges. They do make sure those are around.
As for the engines, here is their page on seeding the yard: http://www.the-nerds.org/on-seeding.html [the-nerds.org].
Point being, this might be an interesting question if she has a better answer, but this page goes through a lot of detail. It's unlikely that she'll have a better answer, IMHO.
Sujal
Re:Are critical parts "planted"? (Score:2)
Kryten speaks (Score:4, Funny)
What if the team isn't able to find, or the show didn't provide the necessary parts?
The show always provide everything that could be needed, but you're right, they have to find them and sometimes they don't. I have actually, on camera, been talking to a team member while I have been kicking a working engine and coughing and pointing to it, and still the guy ignored it and found a much worse one.
From the Official FAQ... (Score:2)
Taken from the UK ScrapHeap Challenge FAQ [channel4.com]
Is the scrapheap 'seeded' with appropriate materials?
Almost everything that is used in the programme is general scrap. But in order for us to be able to set a wide variety of challenges, we sometimes have to place something specific on the site. We always make sure that there are the materials to build at least two different solutions to the challenges we have set.
Re:Are critical parts "planted"? (Score:5, Interesting)
Ever noticed how they also always take two different approaches to solve the same problem? I would argue that a more interesting question is
"Do the teams get to pick which of the two solutions they implement or is it assigned by the producer"
Re:Why choose a jock to host a show for 'nerds'? (Score:5, Insightful)
Just because he lifts weights, doesn't mean he's dumb?
Re:Why choose a jock to host a show for 'nerds'? (Score:4, Informative)
I find it interesting that you place Battlebots in the same tradition as Junkyard Wars. I fail to see what they have in common. JYW is an entertaining show with a lot to teach about engineering and science concepts. Battlebots is just an update of the demolition derby. They are NOT in the same league.
Re:Yard seeding. (Score:2)
"The basic rule for seeding: If its not possible to safely improvise a part with the time and tools provided, they will provide something that can be pressed into service. It will require some ingenuity to make it work, it will never "just bolt on". If there are specific safety regulations, the relavant parts will always be provided. For example, things like safety valves, regulators, and gas tanks will be planted, and will have their certification paperwork sitting in the directors briefcase. (and if we happen to find such a part that isn't one of the known good ones, they don't let us use it) "
Jeff - The NERDS (dp@the-nerds.org), November 24, 2000
(He was a contestant with the first US team to compete)
Re:Henry Rollins (Score:5, Informative)
I KNOW Henry Rollins. It is obvious that you are an idiot troll and are also totally clueless about Rollins and his work. Rollins is NOT a, quote: "muscleheaded retard". In fact, he is one of the most intelligent and sensitive individuals I have ever met.
Is a person who not only is physically but mentally fit, in spite of being 40, an impossibility? Were you dropped on your head a few too many times by jocks in High School?
Why don't you sit down and actually WATCH some footage of Rollins doing his spoken-word stuff? Someone dubbed him a "Stand-up Poet" and that's actually pretty close to the mark. He's FUNNY. He's clever. He's sensitive, amazingly enough.
I also know I'm being trolled, that I've lost, and I should have a nice day. But man, when someone who is of your acquaintance who you know to NOT be a "muscleheaded retard", you have to respond. Rollins is a national treasure. I'm glad he's successful. You, sir, are obviously jealous of his status.
Re:Henry Rollins (Score:2)
I've seen Henry in concert several times, both for his band and his spoken word. I've had the privilige to meet him in person (outside the Tower Records on Sunset in Hollywood).
Henry is the kind of guy you want to hang out with. Very cool, and always has the coolest things to say.
Re:Henry Rollins (Score:5, Funny)
1. Had you written "black" or "Jewish" instead of "40+" in your post, you would have been mod'd down somewhere approximate to Dante's 8th Ring. Of course, since you're obviously young and hip, you probably don't think of yourself as prejudiced as some tobacco-chawin' no-neck Cracker. Here's a Newsflash, Moby -- You are.
2. Even without his celebrity, his published poetry, and his status as a Famous Rock Star, Henry Rollins would still be getting way more girls than you, 'cause he's good-looking and erudite. It's a TV Show, Milton, not a University intranet feed. Viewers like good-looking and erudite. The producers can hire the Long brothers or Stephen Hawking to write the damn thing if they're afraid of losing the SlashDot crowd.
3. And finally.... [eek!] Hey, errm, Seth, I just clicked on your webpage. Forget I said anything, kid. You've obviously got a lot on your mind, saving the world and all. Never mind! (Just don't set me on fire, 'kay? Please?)
[walks out of forum, slowly, backwards, hands where all can see them, smiling sweetly...]