Do you smell petrol? / Brainiac - Big thumbs down.

[Bones]

I am a big huge fan of Mythbusters. I find it interesting but more importantly I find it entertaining. I will go out of my way to see this show and since the babes joined the cast I now have 4 more reasons to tune in.

Recent commercials have advertised what appears to be a similar show and I was keen to check it out. The name of this show is called Brainiac.

First part of the show they tested what foods produce the most putrid farts. The foods of choice were baked beans, brussel sprouts, eggs and soda drinks. 4 people each feasted on only one of these meals. Some time after eating the participants then took part in a yoga session to relax themselves and loosen any digestive gasses. The escaping air biscuit was then sampled by a person who was later questioned on the individual aromas and sound characteristics of each ass burp. (It was explained that the tester was consistently late for work the week prior.)

This to me sounds like great TV. Seriously, this sounds funny as all hell. But no...This show managed to take a recipe for instant success and flush it straight to Bondi.

Brainiac: This is the crappiest show I have ever seen. It just plain sucked. It sucked so much I don't even remember which foods to gorge myself with before a session of yoga.

Bloody English television, almost as insulting as their versions of football and cars.

********************************************************

Ohh yeah, reminds me..... If you drop a really impressive (silent) fart, a good way to get an unsuspecting mate to sample it is to sniff the air loudly yet in a concerned manner and then ask - "Do you smell petrol?"

For whatever reason the person asked will take a very long deep breath to give a detailed analysis of the surrounding air. This ensures your fart finds its way deep inside their lungs for maximum comical effect.

Sure you have to sometimes sniff your own fart in the process but everything in life comes at a price.

[Stingray]

Never heard of this show, but I do smell petrol now that you mention it.

-S

[Bones]

Wow Stingray, I didn't even get a bite at the English cars comment. I expected so much more from you....

[SirPoonga]

The one episode of Brainiac I saw was decent.  Never new you can pull 2.5Gs from a merry go round.

[Stingray]

Wow Stingray, I didn't even get a bite at the English cars comment. I expected so much more from you....

I started to say something, but I really don't expect much from someone who doesn't like Get Smart.

-S

[Harry Potter]

Saw this show in Europe and wasn't impressed. The show has too much window dressing and not enough content. Nowhere near as good as Mythbusters.

[missioncontrol]

Havn't seen Brainiac or heard anything about it, but MythBusters rocks..........

[jbox]

Brainiac: This is the crappiest show I have ever seen. It just plain sucked. It sucked so much I don't even remember which foods to gorge myself with before a session of yoga.

So you weren't interested *at all* in the 30 minute work-out segement... 

[cdbrown]

I was not interested in the work-out, but definitely keen on sitting down and staring at 2 hot topless chicks for 1/2 hour.  They should have shown the viewers their boobs - it was after 8.30pm.  The rest was rubbish (but there wasn't much else to choose from)

[Stingray]

I was not interested in the work-out, but definitely keen on sitting down and staring at 2 hot topless chicks for 1/2 hour.

That's exactly how I feel about workouts.

-S

[SirPoonga]

The episode I saw had a thing does sex make your soccer game better.  Was interesting.  They had a group of guys play soccer.  Then at half time one team went off with their girls.  The second half that team did much better 

[Harry Potter]

The episode I saw had a thing does sex make your soccer game better.  Was interesting.  They had a group of guys play soccer.  Then at half time one team went off with their girls.  The second half that team did much better 

This would make a great pickup line. If only I had the wit to mold it into something.

[Nipedley]

I watch this show often and I think it rules - sometimes they do have stupid parts, but often they have great bits too! Such as can you ____ while being electrocuted... they did one for a woman at a checkout counter, the poor woman.. there was flour flying everywhere. . They also prove things wrong like does chocolate give you spots... and theres plenty of explosions to be had every episode... I am english so I might be biased, but I love this show to bits.

[Stingray]

The episode I saw had a thing does sex make your soccer game better.  Was interesting.  They had a group of guys play soccer.  Then at half time one team went off with their girls.  The second half that team did much better 

This would make a great pickup line. If only I had the wit to mold it into something.

How about "hey baby, you be the goalie and I'll see if I can score".

-S

[Harry Potter]

I'll try it after a few beers. 

[ChadTower]

You be the center baby
I

[Bones]

I thought the show attempted to be humorous but I didn't find it funny. I also didn't find it informative from a science perspective.

Sure, I would have appreciated the two topless girls if I had seen some nipple but this was not the case either.

I think what I like about mythbusters is that it appears to be just two relaxed goofy dudes casually discussing things of interest.

Brainiac tried to hard. Putting a guy about to sniff a brussell sprout fart in a lab coat did nothing to entertain me. The whole thing seemed "scripted" and lacked whatever ingredient was needed to make it cool.

Maybe the issue I have is that the it is English and doesn't appeal to my superior Aussie sense of humour....

[SirPoonga]

I find it funny people are trying to compare it to mythbusters.

Brainiac isn't out to prove or disprove myths, it's out to test sceince.  From G4
"Brainiac is the show that squares up to science and says, 'come and have a go if you think you're hard enough.' It's a unique beast--part science, part stunts--all mental. Each and every week we'll bring you all that's weird, wonderful and wild in the world of science, served up with a healthy dollop of explosions, pyrotechnics and anything else we can get our hands on--legally or illegally!"

Second, it's a british show.  British have a different sense of humor.  If you don't get it you don't get it.  If you do you know shows like Are You Being Served and Red Dwarf are hilarious.

[SirPeale]

Instead of petrol I always ask if anyone smells french fries.

[Nipedley]

Second, it's a british show.

[Bones]

Instead of petrol I always ask if anyone smells french fries.

Heh. Works for me.

[NiN^_^NiN]

I think what I like about mythbusters is that it appears to be just two relaxed goofy dudes casually discussing things of interest.

Thats why i like mythbusters it's just the way they set it all out its not a gimmick show like brainiac altho the 2 shows are diff and MB was made for the discovery channel it's still better of the 2 even tho they are the same but one does myths and other science.

Maybe the issue I have is that the it is English and doesn't appeal to my superior Aussie sense of humour....

It's us aussies we have good humour the english just have a stale kind of humour that doesn't appeal much to us aussies.

[jbox]

Braniac seemed too much like a (poor) attempt at cross-humour. Now, take this with a big grain of salt, but generally British jokes tend to be language based humour while American jokes tend to be environmentally based humour.

So, British humour excels at things like puns, innuendo, etc... Are You Being Served is a *perfect* example of a show where the straight delivery of naughty lines made up the vast majority of the humour. Allo Allo and Dad's Army are other good examples. 

American humour excels at things like slap-stick, goofy looks, fight scenes and romantic comedy. The delivery of the lines is important, but the lines per se mean exactly what they appear to, and it is the situation which makes it funny. Everyone Loves Raymond and Sienfeld are a good example of this. And even though Fraiser has puns in it, the vast majority of the humour is this kind of stare & giggle variety. 

Now, there are exceptions to these rules, but I find that most of what people consider "best of" humour for each country tends to fit into these patterns. Braniac is trying to recreate the "HORAH" of Myth Busters (lets not kid ourselves here), but with script writers who try to come up with clever puns instead of a couple of guys overjoyed they found someone to pay them to blow ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- up. That kind of mixing is exceptionally difficult, and poor knock-offs don't tend to fly in the border colonies like Australia which get to see the best of both sides, and don't have to put up with this mish-mash nonsense.