When Discovery’s iconic “MythBusters” made its final bow in January of 2016, it was without the beloved build team of Grant Imahara, Kari Byron, and Tory Belleci, who parted ways with the show late in 2014. At the time, all that the team had to tell us was that they were excited for the new adventures waiting on the horizon.
Now, we finally get to join them, as their new pop-science series “White Rabbit Project” hit our Netflix queues in December 2016.
RELATED: TKTK
First of all, “White Rabbit Project” looks great: between the slick credit sequence, the cinematic film quality, and extended staged pieces used to introduce each episode, it almost feels like a SyFy Original kicking off, in a good way — there are even extras in half of the non-dramatized scenes.
As far as premise and execution go, “WRP” is simultaneously familiar and novel. Each of the ten episodes in this first season is themed — “Super Power Tech,” “Jailbreaks,” “Tech We Love To Hate,” etc. — and the team works within each theme to explore (and judge) six superlative examples, before ultimately pitting them against each other in a battle for MVP.
The team and themes are familiar (“MythBusters” episodes also paired up similar myths for the two different teams to be working on) — but the Battle Royale format, and scope of “contenders” pitching said battle, those are totally new.
The competitively thematic/thematically competitive approach of “WRP” opens the team up to exploring events, innovations, and infamous figures from history: At least half the “contenders” over the course of the season are presented as an energetic history lesson, à la YouTube’s best educational channels — think a live-action Crash Course (Hank Green) or Minute Physics; VSauce or CGP Grey with a Hollywood budget. In practice, this means that Grant, Kari and Tory are just as likely, in any given episode, to call up an expert on Skype, or watch a dramatization of a baccarat heist together, as they are to, say, blow something up.
RELATED: Adam Savage tweets last scene ‘Mythbusters’ ever filmed
(And in case you’re worried, “White Rabbit Project” has engineered their own creative way to solve the issue of just how boring it is to watch people on television watch other people on television, giving the hosts a giant transparent monitor on which to watch footage or videoconference, which lets us see both the media the host is seeing and their reactions to it, simultaneously.)
For diehard “MythBusters” fans, this fact will be disappointing — but it’s what sets the “White Rabbit Project” endeavor apart. Grant, Kari and Tory have always had such great chemistry — they’re so charming in the ways they tell each other stories — that giving them the chance to expand the parameters of their work was a smart decision. There are still plenty of mad scientist moments to be enjoyed — in the first episode, Tory hooks himself up to two giant Tesla coils to try and shoot lightning from his fingertips; later Grant and his own personal build team construct mechanical jousting mounts on rails — but these experiments aren’t the point of the project.
The point is also, really, not to come up with an official ranking of any sort, for any of the themes — the criteria chosen for each category (especially those with few practical experiments possible) are completely subjective, and the method by which the scores are weighted for the final ranking utterly opaque. Why does a rancid stink bomb that effectively prevented all three team members from shooting straight rank last on a list of insane WWII weapons that includes poisoning Hitler with estrogen? ¯_(ツ)_/¯ Who knows — and who cares?!
RELATED: Retooled ‘Top Gear’ stays true to show’s original ‘essence’
So what is the point? Honestly, it’s just giving a great team resources to scratch any curiosity itch they come up with, and have fun doing it. And in that, “White Rabbit Project” succeeds wholly.
- If you’re in the mood for some classic “MythBusters” build action (or are watching with a dad/uncle who’s got jokes), start with episode 6, “May the G Force Be With You”
- If you’ve got a cousin who won’t quit talking about the Fit Tea she wants to sell you, start with episode 4, “Scam Artists” (episode 4)
- If you want to know the exact piece of technology that needs to be destroyed before January 20, start right at the beginning, with Kari’s introduction to mind control tech in episode 1.
“White Rabbit Project” Season 1 is available now on Netflix.
Source link
