Weaponizers Is Like BattleBots, Except With Cars And Real Guns
Writing by Evan Ackerman on Thursday, 30 of April , 2009 at 4:50 am
I’m just gonna go ahead and quote you the Discovery Channel press release on this one, because otherwise you might think that there’s no POSSIBLE way what I’m talking about could actually be on TV:
From the producers that brought you MYTHBUSTERS comes an explosive new series, WEAPONIZERS (3 x 60 min) premiering on Discovery Channel US, May 11, 2009 at 9pm.
This new program combines creativity, military-like strategy and engineering as two teams of master builders — dubbed “Weaponizers” — turn ordinary vehicles into remote-controlled machines of destruction. With the pace and intensity of a video game, the vehicles are completed with live-ammunition machine guns and other seemingly ordinary objects that are transformed into powerful weapons. Building on the teams’ expertise — hot rod restoration, pyrotechnics, special effects, crash engineering and military weaponry — the opponents harness their ingenuity in a competition face off where the goal is to achieve victory by creating an indestructible vehicle.
In each episode, the teams convert regular rides such as a shuttle bus, an ice cream van and muscle cars into vicious vehicles. Using science, special effects, engineering, metal fabrication and a bit of fantasy, they construct and test their vehicles to ensure that they pack the biggest punch and are fully remote-controlled. Once all testing is complete, each team descends into respective underground control bunkers to command their vehicles for the two-round competition.
In round one, the teams undertake a challenge-based phase where the vehicles race to destroy or defend exploding targets such as medieval castles or Mad Max style fuel depots. Then in round two, the “Weaponizers” are thrown into a Carmageddon Round — the rules are: there are no rules. It’s a gloves off test of what expertise these teams can draw on to achieve victory, which in WEAPONIZERS’ terms means there is only one vehicle left standing!
A weaponized ice cream van, you say? I’ve got a picture of what that’s probably gonna look like, after the jump.
VIA [ Gizmodo ]
Comments (12)
Category: Competitive
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Comment by Matt
Made Thursday, 30 of April , 2009 at 6:33 pm
This sounds like it will be quite fun to watch!
Comment by Ben
Made Thursday, 30 of April , 2009 at 8:48 pm
I lol’d.
Comment by Evan Ackerman
Made Friday, 1 of May , 2009 at 1:07 am
So, anybody recognize Twisted Metal, or am I really that old and lame…?
Comment by Peter
Made Friday, 1 of May , 2009 at 1:33 am
Don’t worry Evan I got it
Comment by steveg
Made Friday, 1 of May , 2009 at 12:24 pm
mmmm. can anyone say ‘Dreadnought’ from Death Race? =)
Comment by J
Made Friday, 1 of May , 2009 at 5:30 pm
Carmaggeddon… :D
Comment by az
Made Thursday, 7 of May , 2009 at 1:38 am
ahah reminds me of that 3d wireframe racer Death Track back in the 1990.. was damn good..
Comment by PyroJon
Made Tuesday, 12 of May , 2009 at 9:48 pm
Ok, I just watched it and they took what could have been a pretty cool concept and made it ultra lame.
It’s so about blowing stuff up they had to fake all of the explosions just to make it work. They guys shooting the guns (and fireworks and spears) couldn’t hit the “broad side of a barn” so they faked the explosions as well as their reactions. They couldn’t hit each other so they had each side sit still while the other side lined up on them for the perfect shot.
I’m disapointed and irritated that I just lost 45 minutes (Tivo Rules!) of my life to this crapola.
Comment by Mooh
Made Wednesday, 13 of May , 2009 at 11:46 am
This was the biggest bullshit I have ever seen in my life…
Where was the engineering part?
It just didnt make any sense at all.
Better watch old episodes of Scrapheap Challenge, they are at least enteratining without having to put in fake explosions.
Comment by MP
Made Sunday, 6 of December , 2009 at 2:05 pm
It’s downright ridiculous that they expect anyone over the age of 10 to beleive that that’s real!
It’s so fake it makes me sick!
And it probably IS beceause they put so much emphasis on those tired explosion. Who gives a crap about explosions. We want real fights like in robot wars…just a helluwa lot bigger, and not this fake crap. I was SO disappointed…I was expecting a lot more from The Discovery Channel. (my favourite!!). And you’re right, we might as well watch old reruns of Scrapheap Challenge.
just my two cents, Peace!
Comment by Tens
Made Monday, 21 of December , 2009 at 3:55 am
You guys only just noticed Discovery is just MTV, but for nerds?
Hell, they even had to give Der Ludolfs and American Choppers scripts and scenes to make stuff interesting, while you couldn’t butcher up those guys even if you wanted to! The only thing that’s probably not fake and scripted is How It’s Made, and I’m not even sure about that one.. Anyway, welcome to the world of TV! Not so much unlike videogames than one would expect.
Comment by ellan
Made Sunday, 28 of February , 2010 at 3:32 pm
weaponizers is so FAKE and the guys in it cant act to safe ther elives, and arent really actors, they are put ina impossible position, this whole thing is insulting to the intelligence level of anyone over the age of 9 years.
a machine gun setting off a explosion , yeah right, these guys dont even fire the machine guns, it is all done for them, it is just a lot of smart editing and nothing else, even when the smaller suicide car runs into the enemies van and blows it up you can clearly see it is not the van they were using but some piece of scrap that they just blow up pretending to be them..
this is something for sunday morning when i have a hugh hangover and not able to think…
EVERYTHING IS FAKE.. and not even p[roperly faked like ooh they fooled me., NO obviouse fake like the creators of this program did nto even try there best to conceal it..