Mad Scientists

Mad Scientists

Synopsis

MAD SCIENTISTS takes its audience into the basements and garages of some very odd and animated people. Obsessed inventors. Armchair physicists. Amateur chemists, wanabee robotics engineers and mathematics hobbyists. In this often hysterical and always enlightening series, we'll meet the men and women who've challenged science and possibility all in their spare time. Many of them will have provable theories and workable inventions. Some of them will turn out to be crackpots. And one may just turn out to be tomorrow's Einstein.

Episodes

Season 1
  • Jet-Powered Office Chair

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    John works with Don Giandomenico, a union electrician who builds jet engines from spare parts in his garage. The two men set out to build a sidecar for Don's jet bike out of an office chair. The two men bond during the build, appreciating each other's significant technical skills. John even agrees to babysit Don's kids if Don can propel him faster than 30 miles per hour in the office chair. In front of a cheering crowd, Don and John strap in for a hilarious and thrilling ride.

  • Ultimate Rock Crawler

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    John works with Cameron Carlson, a true California dude, to put a functioning fifth wheel on the back of Cameron's unbelievable rock crawling machine. The driving scenes are gnarly. The build scenes are totally stout. And Cameron's junkyard backyard turns up a whole bunch of surprises. When John and Cam take their new contraption out to the quarry to test it in front of Cam's friends, they are in for some real surprises.

  • Turbo-Charged Leaf Blower

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    John works with Chris Krug, a South Carolina drag racer who put a helicopter engine in his minivan. After they drag race down Main Street, John and Chris try to build the ultimate jet-powered garden tool. The design isn't pretty, but it sure makes a hell of a lot of smoke. And where there's smoke… there's fire in the driveway. And when they test their new contraption in front of Chris' friends, more sparks are gonna fly.

  • The Moon Jumper

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    John teams up with the Needhams, an entire family of creative garage inventors in Reno, Nevada. Together, they design and build a remarkable contraption called the Moon Jumper. The Moon Jumper uses bicycles on the ground to propel riders high in the air around a 120-foot circle. Their collaboration is a celebration of family and old-fashioned ingenuity.

  • Basketball-Palying Robot

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    John teams up with Steve Norris, a robot designer in Medford, Massachusetts. Together, they design and build an enormous contraption called "Basket Bot." The rickety contraption is trouble from the start, but John and Steve persevere. They work through the night dealing with problem after problem so they can unveil the robot in a festive event at the local high school. There's no denying they are nervous. Even as the marching band strikes up, the robot has yet to come anywhere near success. In front of hundreds of cheering spectators, John goes one on one against the robot, and he desperately wants that robot to win.

  • Water Cannon On Wheels

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    John teams up with Lance Greathouse, a Phoenix man who builds the coolest wheel chairs ever. Together, they turn two of Lance's fire-breathing wheelchairs into wacky water-shooting chariots. But the build is fraught with obstacles no one could have anticipated. Can they get the Water Chariots working in time for the big event at the local football field?

  • Swamp Flyer

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    John teams up with George Jacobs, a self-described "Swamp Critter" the locals call Gyro Jake. Together, they set out to turn one of Jake's gyroplanes into a gyroboat that can move through the water like a gyroplane. The weather turns against them, and so do the laws of hydrodynamics. But these two men don't quit, and they never stop teasing each other to the very funny end.

  • The 26-Foot Lawn Dart

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    John teams up with Len Puch, the leader of a group of Detroit fabricators known as Speedcult. Together, they set out to combine two of Len's inventions, the Roaster Coaster and the Air Powered Dragster, into one unbelievable backyard thrill ride. With a whole crew of skilled workers, Len and John embark on Mad Scientists' biggest project yet; a 24-foot long air-powered dragster dubbed "The Lawn Dart." Like everything Speedcult makes, "The Lawn Dart" is loud, scary, and full of surprises.

  • World's Weirdest Bike

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    John teams up with Johnny Payphone, a post-apocalyptic "contraptor" with a taste for the era of steam power and high wheel bicycles. Along with Payphone's hilarious sidekick, Mudd, John and Johnny set out to create a motorcycle powered by two enormous garage door springs. The mechanical experiments are fascinating, and the antics of Payphone and Mudd are endlessly entertaining. Their contraption is a little of both.

  • Lawn Mower Hovercraft

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    John teams up with Gary Sloat, a suburban Dad with a computer degree and a tinkerer's heart. Gary and John set out to turn two old lawn mowers into two hovercraft in two days. They try to build with simple, common materials just for the sport of it. It's a bumpy ride full of near misses and long sleepless nights. But Gary proves to have a heart to match his ambitions. With a shout of "Never say die!" Gary refuses to give up until those hovercraft fly.

  • Shocking Flying Machine

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    John teams up with Robert Baslee, an aeronautics genius who builds full-scale airplanes in his garage and flies them out of his backyard. Robert and John set out to transform one of Robert's planes to fly on pure electricity in just two days. Along with Bill (the battery guy) and Jim (the Human toolbox), they race against the clock to redesign the plane. After several props and a burned up motor, they have to fly off at sunset to get new materials. When the crowd arrives at dawn, they have yet to test their invention. And they will only get one chance. It's all or nothing at sunrise.

  • Human Water Rocket

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    John teams up with Tim Pickens, a real live rocket scientist with a suitcase rocket, a rocket bike, and a water rocket belt. Tim and John set out to build a water rocket belt strong enough to lift John out of a lake with just the parts they have in Tim's garage. With the help of three young apprentices, they design and build a light, more efficient rocket belt that they hook up to a jet ski. But can they get John all the way out of the water as a crowd of fighter pilot trainees cheer them on?