The New Mythbusters Review

The original Mythbusters will always be my favorite TV show of all time. It took the usually boring science experiments and supersized them with humor and explosions. However, with the original hosts, Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman, leaving the show in early 2016, I never thought that I would see new episodes airing. Unfortunately, the rebooted Mythbusters does not carry the same charm or enjoyment of the original show.

The new hosts of Mythbusters, Brain Loudon and Jonathan Lung, earned their roles through a competition in early 2017. While I personally disagreed with the decision, the two definitely know what they are doing. Their experiments follow a much more systematic and logical series of events that Adam and Jamie lacked. What these two do lack is a entertaining presence on screen. They try so hard to be funny but the comedy just comes off as awkward and forced. Nearly all of Jon’s humor is screaming sounds to replicate explosions and Brian shows little emotion or excitement. So, while they are certainly more qualified, they are not nearly as great as the original hosts.

The myths the two have been tackling are very specific and peculiar that it distracts from the science. For example, one of the myths is if a bullet stuck in a tree can it be launched by a chainsaw at lethal speeds. However, the qualification of being proven was very shallow, only looking at the speed of the launched bullet instead of any other factors. This often leads to conclusions that don’t feel fully explored or fairly tested, something that was infuriating but rare in the original Mythbusters. I also dislike how the small-scale test are not directly related to myth at hand, making most of the full- scale experiments lack any surprises or intrigue.

Overall, while the new generation of Mythbusters is not terrible but is not nearly as enjoyable as the original. There is clearly too much meddling with the producers which was one of the worst parts of the TV show. If the future episodes and seasons give Brian and Jon more freedom, it could be a very entertaining show even if it would not be on par with Adam and Jamie. However, as it currently is, I don’t see myself loving this new season of Mythbusters.

Photo Credit: lifehacker.com.au