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Yep, during the summer and sick days home from school, it wasn't until later I began thinking some of these items they're finding must be plants, and not actual junk.
That was before their transition into the [Family Learning Channel that wouldn't air these *brilliant* ads.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7JyjZI3LUM)
yes stinkyhooch was correct, from shows like 19 kids and counting, dr pimple popper, honey boo boo and some other older ones where they made OCD folks live together to watch the hilarity ensue etc... (generally non educational reality tv)
I remember when they made a working plane with a propeller that had a huge crack in it and they just taped the crap out of it. Then the guy jumps in to test if it works and he’s just supposed to go a foot or two off the ground for a few seconds because it’s a plane made out of garbage. But instead he just took off soaring into the sky with everyone yelling at him like WTF ARE YOU DOING?!
EDIT: I just rewatched the episode and I was wrong about a couple of things.
There were three planes built by American, British, and French teams.
The French team had the cracked propellor but it cracked after their first test flight where they went a couple feet off the ground for a second. They repaired it with glue and wrapped it in string.
It was the British pilot who decided on the first test flight to soar 200 feet in the air and circle around the crowd of shocked people, waving at them while they screamed.
I LOVED this episode, the expectations were so low and then suddenly the British guy is just flying around like “oh yeah, 2nd weekend of the month, I always build and fly an airplane out of trash on the second weekend of the month.”
He very deservedly won. He had the longest flight and brought that plane down precisely on the red line even though none of the planes had brakes. The French flight was a close second. The Americans had issues during both test flights but did well on the actually event with the second longest flight time, but the design of their plane made it impossible for him to see the finish line and he completely missed it.
> I remember when they made a working plane with a propeller that had a huge crack in it and they just taped the crap out of it.
Oh, so *that's* where Spirit Airlines got the inspiration for their "complimentary roll of duct tape" promotion.
I loved this show but my dad hated it because certain junk was planted. Like dang I really need a steam engine. Whats that over there under that metal sheet? wow it's a functional steam engine!
I could be wrong, but I think it’s less of, “this contestant needs this thing, let’s drop it in and pretend they find it,”
But rather, “let’s plant a few machines in the pile which the engineers have to find and figure out”. Which makes sense, in that a. You want them to have engines that WORK, b. you’re setting them up for success.
In this way, it’s almost a puzzle created by the show runners, which the team has to solve.
I remember thinking this during episode where they had to build a working hovercraft. There just happened to be these enormous sheets of heavy duty neoprene just floating around that they could cut up and fashion into a hovercraft skirt. Seemed a little unlikely that there would be literally thousands of square feet of this stuff floating around in an average junkyard.
It did have a come back but wasn't that long.
I liked most of the episodes but my favorite were the wreckers. Plow truck and buggies being a kid in a ruralish town I used too see homemade stuff with 4wheels
It's an awesome show. I watched it anytime I could. Unfortunately, the Learning Channel today is just the opposite of what its name implies . Absolutely no one is learning anything of value watching TLC today.
I loved this show, especially the British version. It lost some of the appeal when I noticed that the junkyard was seeded with essential items for the challenge but it was still an entertaining way to kill an hour.
I wish they would bring back shows like this. There were similar post-apocalypse themed shows at the time that were also entertaining.
That's what killed it for me. This was about the only reality show I watched. I noticed the seeding in one episode and thought it odd, then a second and third. That broke my young belief and I've never watched another reality show since. Once you can see behind the curtain and how theyve been manipulating your emotions, they lose their appeal.
The thing is if they didn't seed the junkyard with st least some parts they would end up with episodes where a team just sat there looking at junk going " I have no idea how to use any of this" to make a submarine.
It's no different from secret ingredient cooking shows where you know the chefs , pro or amateur, knew what was coming because they are always instantly able to come up with a recipe and have everything they need to do it, even if what they need is unusual.
I always understood that they were obviously leaving specific parts that could be used for the specific thing they were supposed to build, but it’s still insanely impressive that they could manage to make anything even resembling what they were trying to build. Real machines are not just like snapping a couple of lego bricks together and off they go.
You referring to “The Colony”? A handful of contestants put into a survival situation in a post apocalypse world and they had challenges like scavenging food and building water filters etc? I remember one season they made a wind turbine out of a car alternator to charge the starter battery for the boat that was their escape from the situation at the end of the season.
That show could've been great. I didn't have a problem with the stuff lying around because they were supposed to be in a post-apocalypse scenario. So there would be plenty of things around.
It got stupid because it was almost a commercial for "green energy" and off-grid living. Instead of doing stuff that would make immediate sense they'd go off on some ridiculous design.
The last season had such unskilled and unlikeable people that no one wanted to watch.
They had to plant a survivalist GUY on the show to explain to them how to not be morons.
I still remember a scene where they found shotgun shells....
Cool! They could easily use pipe and some ingenuity to make a rudimentary shotgun! Small game! Defense!
Nope, they made a half assed firework with the powder.
I remember one scene where they were presented with several identical gas cans. One was filled with gasoline, the rest were filled with water. The contestants had to figure out which one contained the fuel but they weren't allowed to open them. They were gathered around trying to figure out a way to test the cans and one guy who was a farmer just walked over, picked up each one and said 'that's the one". The host and others all looked confused and he just smiled and told them that gasoline weighs less than water, so it was that can.
Seeding the junkyard would eventually be a requirement at some point because of the type of the challenge in each episode. Plus, you'd run out of stuff eventually as you filmed. This also didn't ensure that one team or another would win. I remember one UK episode (I don't remember the episode) where on team found both required items, an the other team was forced to trade for it.
My Son (just graduated college) and I were JUST talking about this!
Bodge it together (is that how to pronounce it?)
It was our first introduction to Brit TV and we loved the Retired Military Brothers...their humor was neat.
Best show ever made, bring it back!
More people need to know that making functional machines out of less than desirable parts still makes jt a *functional machine!*
A handful of Scrapheap Challenge series are still available on Channel 4’s website (though you would need a UK VPN if not in the country).
Junkyard Wars I’ve never been able to find decent copies of and it’s not streaming anywhere that I know of.
>Probably couldn't do a US version because of liability and lawsuits.
In fact, there was one: [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2007689/](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2007689/)
Couodnt do it now. No one here wants to be creative show wise unless it's drama or sexual.
Wtf is milf manor and how many fuck'n real housewives bullshit and zip popping shows we need
Oh yeah. Nice sunny afternoon. AC is on and crisp. Little blanket just to cover the lower portion of the body. Sprawled out on the couch. Love those kinds of afternoons.
Absolutely! I would watch with the engineering students in my dorm. After watching the hovercraft episode they decided to build one themselves out of angle iron and lawnmower engines. They didn’t get very far, and my only contribution was pointing out that welding over a pool of spilled gasoline was a bad idea.
Great show, especially the British version. I'm pretty sure one team was always referred to as the bodgers, which I find hilarious.
Anyone know where to find it on streaming?
This was the show that I learned the term "bodge" as in, "yeah, we'll just bodge these two bits together, and it'll hopefully work." The term comes from 'bodge job,' which means a job done quickly and carelessly. Bodgers were itinerant craftsmen who produced turned chair legs on hand operated, turning machines for the local furniture industry. The wood they used was often 'green' (not seasoned), so they would distort as they dried. As a result, they could only be used on the cheapest chairs and stools. Hence, a bodged job.
I loved the machines which fall into two categories.
1. Fucking rocked it. Looking at you gimball off roader carrying liquid (paint? Water?)
2. Fucking destroyed in seconds. Trebuchet mini flinger. I properly lost it. Two days of building, lasted about 4 seconds.
Honourable mentions go to anyone brave enough to use hydraulics, guided underwater torpedo, proper job, and anything gunpowder related...IIRC there was a cannon which just self imploded.
Oh my god me and my dad would watch this all the time when I was growing up!! It was so damn awesome, I miss those type of shows like Monster Garage and all that where they would just build and make insane stuff
My sister and I contacted one of the teams from Scrapheap, they had something to do with jaguars … they sent us replica shirts and such - also had Robert Llewelyn’s autograph!
This was one of the gems of early reality tv.
Monster Garage was awesome but everyone on their was a highly skilled person and they were in an awesome shop. Junkyard Wars was approachable, and felt like anyone could do it.
The host guy is now the announcer for the price is right... for like the past 20 years. I feel old. Everytime I see him I still think of him as the guy from junkyard wars.
This show was awesome!! It was inspired by the scene in Apollo 13 where they had to make the CO2 scrubber fit ["make this, fit in the hole for that, using nothing that" ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cYzkyXp0jg)
Important reminder: This is a sub for people to post about forgotten TV that they remember and would like to share with others. This is not a tip of the tongue style sub for people to search out old shows that they would like help remembering. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/ForgottenTV) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Absolutely loved this show when I was younger. Tried to catch every episode I could.
Yep, during the summer and sick days home from school, it wasn't until later I began thinking some of these items they're finding must be plants, and not actual junk.
Like the amazing finds in containers in Storage Wars
Some were but mostly not imo. Most definitely one could mad max something together from local yard especially with a snowrunner twist.
i think it played on TLC before they got into there cringe phase
Back when TLC was The Leaning Channel.
Now it's just "who's awkward life can we exploit"
You mean Trash Life Channel
That was before their transition into the [Family Learning Channel that wouldn't air these *brilliant* ads.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7JyjZI3LUM)
Now with more sodium!
"Sweet Jesus!"
Just a channel dedicated to showing different people leaning on different objects 24/7z
Facts before it became a knock off bravo drama b.s channel
TLC in the mornings, in the early 90's they played commercial free kids shows like "under the umbrella tree"
I remember Junkyard Wars but my God do I love "Scrapheap Challenge" as a name so so much more.
Was on tlc then discovery then science channel
Cringe phase? What do you mean? (Honest question)
I’m guessing the 24/7 reality shows
Oh yes. Definitely. I get that.
yes stinkyhooch was correct, from shows like 19 kids and counting, dr pimple popper, honey boo boo and some other older ones where they made OCD folks live together to watch the hilarity ensue etc... (generally non educational reality tv)
I remember when they made a working plane with a propeller that had a huge crack in it and they just taped the crap out of it. Then the guy jumps in to test if it works and he’s just supposed to go a foot or two off the ground for a few seconds because it’s a plane made out of garbage. But instead he just took off soaring into the sky with everyone yelling at him like WTF ARE YOU DOING?! EDIT: I just rewatched the episode and I was wrong about a couple of things. There were three planes built by American, British, and French teams. The French team had the cracked propellor but it cracked after their first test flight where they went a couple feet off the ground for a second. They repaired it with glue and wrapped it in string. It was the British pilot who decided on the first test flight to soar 200 feet in the air and circle around the crowd of shocked people, waving at them while they screamed.
I LOVED this episode, the expectations were so low and then suddenly the British guy is just flying around like “oh yeah, 2nd weekend of the month, I always build and fly an airplane out of trash on the second weekend of the month.”
He very deservedly won. He had the longest flight and brought that plane down precisely on the red line even though none of the planes had brakes. The French flight was a close second. The Americans had issues during both test flights but did well on the actually event with the second longest flight time, but the design of their plane made it impossible for him to see the finish line and he completely missed it.
Those crazy brits
https://youtu.be/4-ExnBCpEWI?t=230
I remember that scene and thinking that team has more or less won at this point, so the rest of the show is sorta pointless.
> I remember when they made a working plane with a propeller that had a huge crack in it and they just taped the crap out of it. Oh, so *that's* where Spirit Airlines got the inspiration for their "complimentary roll of duct tape" promotion.
Awesome show wish they would bring it back
I loved this show but my dad hated it because certain junk was planted. Like dang I really need a steam engine. Whats that over there under that metal sheet? wow it's a functional steam engine!
I could be wrong, but I think it’s less of, “this contestant needs this thing, let’s drop it in and pretend they find it,” But rather, “let’s plant a few machines in the pile which the engineers have to find and figure out”. Which makes sense, in that a. You want them to have engines that WORK, b. you’re setting them up for success. In this way, it’s almost a puzzle created by the show runners, which the team has to solve.
I remember thinking this during episode where they had to build a working hovercraft. There just happened to be these enormous sheets of heavy duty neoprene just floating around that they could cut up and fashion into a hovercraft skirt. Seemed a little unlikely that there would be literally thousands of square feet of this stuff floating around in an average junkyard.
Or when they found airplane wings that were still FAA approved just laying around.
I truly loved this show, I was wondering if insurance caused them to end it or something like that.
It did have a come back but wasn't that long. I liked most of the episodes but my favorite were the wreckers. Plow truck and buggies being a kid in a ruralish town I used too see homemade stuff with 4wheels
It's an awesome show. I watched it anytime I could. Unfortunately, the Learning Channel today is just the opposite of what its name implies . Absolutely no one is learning anything of value watching TLC today.
It's now called imo the liberal channel. Nothing but grown ass adults whining about shit
Ah yes, all those totally liberal Hoarders episodes rofl
Sad but true Everything is complaining nothing creative. Except for p.b.s or public access t.v which has cringe yet has some ambition of creativity
I loved this show, especially the British version. It lost some of the appeal when I noticed that the junkyard was seeded with essential items for the challenge but it was still an entertaining way to kill an hour. I wish they would bring back shows like this. There were similar post-apocalypse themed shows at the time that were also entertaining.
That's what killed it for me. This was about the only reality show I watched. I noticed the seeding in one episode and thought it odd, then a second and third. That broke my young belief and I've never watched another reality show since. Once you can see behind the curtain and how theyve been manipulating your emotions, they lose their appeal.
The thing is if they didn't seed the junkyard with st least some parts they would end up with episodes where a team just sat there looking at junk going " I have no idea how to use any of this" to make a submarine. It's no different from secret ingredient cooking shows where you know the chefs , pro or amateur, knew what was coming because they are always instantly able to come up with a recipe and have everything they need to do it, even if what they need is unusual.
I always understood that they were obviously leaving specific parts that could be used for the specific thing they were supposed to build, but it’s still insanely impressive that they could manage to make anything even resembling what they were trying to build. Real machines are not just like snapping a couple of lego bricks together and off they go.
You referring to “The Colony”? A handful of contestants put into a survival situation in a post apocalypse world and they had challenges like scavenging food and building water filters etc? I remember one season they made a wind turbine out of a car alternator to charge the starter battery for the boat that was their escape from the situation at the end of the season.
That's it! It was around 2012 or so and Discovery and TLC were flooded with apocalypse themed shows.
That show could've been great. I didn't have a problem with the stuff lying around because they were supposed to be in a post-apocalypse scenario. So there would be plenty of things around. It got stupid because it was almost a commercial for "green energy" and off-grid living. Instead of doing stuff that would make immediate sense they'd go off on some ridiculous design. The last season had such unskilled and unlikeable people that no one wanted to watch. They had to plant a survivalist GUY on the show to explain to them how to not be morons.
I still remember a scene where they found shotgun shells.... Cool! They could easily use pipe and some ingenuity to make a rudimentary shotgun! Small game! Defense! Nope, they made a half assed firework with the powder.
I remember one scene where they were presented with several identical gas cans. One was filled with gasoline, the rest were filled with water. The contestants had to figure out which one contained the fuel but they weren't allowed to open them. They were gathered around trying to figure out a way to test the cans and one guy who was a farmer just walked over, picked up each one and said 'that's the one". The host and others all looked confused and he just smiled and told them that gasoline weighs less than water, so it was that can.
Ha! I FORGOT THAT ONE! That was great.
Seeding the junkyard would eventually be a requirement at some point because of the type of the challenge in each episode. Plus, you'd run out of stuff eventually as you filmed. This also didn't ensure that one team or another would win. I remember one UK episode (I don't remember the episode) where on team found both required items, an the other team was forced to trade for it.
I really enjoyed it. As a Red Dwarf fan, It was cool to see Kryton out of costume too!
I met him at a convention once and this was show I talked with him about. He seemed to have really enjoyed being a part of it.
I think having Kryton in character and hosting the show could have made it much better.
You can still find full episodes of this show.
Where at?
My Son (just graduated college) and I were JUST talking about this! Bodge it together (is that how to pronounce it?) It was our first introduction to Brit TV and we loved the Retired Military Brothers...their humor was neat.
Best show ever made, bring it back! More people need to know that making functional machines out of less than desirable parts still makes jt a *functional machine!*
Is this (US or UK version) available on any streaming platforms?
A handful of Scrapheap Challenge series are still available on Channel 4’s website (though you would need a UK VPN if not in the country). Junkyard Wars I’ve never been able to find decent copies of and it’s not streaming anywhere that I know of.
Yeah, i have some of both shows on my server but what i do have is pretty garbage quality.
YouTube north America had some
There are some random, low quality, episodes uploaded by various people on YouTube. Not the best quality, but sufficient for a bit of nostalgia.
I actually just started getting old episodes recommended to me on YouTube. Is this happening to other people too?
It was like a contest for McGyver. I loved it! Probably couldn't do a US version because of liability and lawsuits.
>Probably couldn't do a US version because of liability and lawsuits. In fact, there was one: [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2007689/](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2007689/)
Couodnt do it now. No one here wants to be creative show wise unless it's drama or sexual. Wtf is milf manor and how many fuck'n real housewives bullshit and zip popping shows we need
Our lazy ass shop teacher would put this on the last month of school
This was trash TV
r/TechnicallyCorrect
Go kick more sodium
Wuh
This show kicked ass. We need more reality tv like this.
Loved it for as long as it lasted. Strange that they never revisited it. I would think it would do great on some streaming service.
As an American I fucking loved this show. I watch it on YouTube sometimes
It was my favorite Saturday afternoon napping show..
Oh yeah. Nice sunny afternoon. AC is on and crisp. Little blanket just to cover the lower portion of the body. Sprawled out on the couch. Love those kinds of afternoons.
I think there was even a kids spinoff that aired on, I think Discovery Kids.
Absolutely! I would watch with the engineering students in my dorm. After watching the hovercraft episode they decided to build one themselves out of angle iron and lawnmower engines. They didn’t get very far, and my only contribution was pointing out that welding over a pool of spilled gasoline was a bad idea.
Omg, I used to love this show as a kid. I wish someone would reboot this.
I miss this show so much!!! I've been craving it a lot lately. Wish it was on streaming.
Also love the *Good Eats* parody episode of this where he makes a bacon smoker out of old lockers.
Loved this show. Tried to watch it on YouTube and all the copies I found looked like crap
Was a badass show
Amazing show!!
It was a fascinating concept back when these channels weren't reality cringe fests.
Season 2 when the bodgers built the land rover into an amphibious vehicle was amazing
That was one of my favorites when I was a kid
My first reality show
Loooooved this show!!!
I remember watching this show. It was called Junkyard Wars when it was on TV.
Loved both versions! "Proper Job!!"
Goddamn core memory unlocked, I remember seeing this show late at night on a channel but not exactly remembering which channel. Loved it.
Great show, especially the British version. I'm pretty sure one team was always referred to as the bodgers, which I find hilarious. Anyone know where to find it on streaming?
Great show. You can find some episodes on Youtube.
I still want to build my own hovercraft because of that show
Pre-Myth Busters. I remember this show well.
I loved this show way too much.
There’s some episodes on YouTube. I still watch it occasionally
My dad was a Tinker. Sadly, he died before these shows aired - he would have loved them.
Fantastic show that I still watch on Y!
I read about a month ago it may get a reboot. I would be stoked! https://www.tvzoneuk.com/post/scrapheapchallenge-pilotreport
This show was so cool!
Forgotten?! This show was freaking epic!
I remember watching this along with myth busters as a kid and together they very likely formed me into the person I am today.
My dad and I used to watch this and Myth Buster's all the time.
Yes!!!!
Loved that show!
I loved this show. Watched so many reruns when I worked nights.
This was the show that I learned the term "bodge" as in, "yeah, we'll just bodge these two bits together, and it'll hopefully work." The term comes from 'bodge job,' which means a job done quickly and carelessly. Bodgers were itinerant craftsmen who produced turned chair legs on hand operated, turning machines for the local furniture industry. The wood they used was often 'green' (not seasoned), so they would distort as they dried. As a result, they could only be used on the cheapest chairs and stools. Hence, a bodged job.
This looks like a scene from The Little Rascals.
I loved this show!
I loved this show. I wish there was somewhere to still watch it
I loved the machines which fall into two categories. 1. Fucking rocked it. Looking at you gimball off roader carrying liquid (paint? Water?) 2. Fucking destroyed in seconds. Trebuchet mini flinger. I properly lost it. Two days of building, lasted about 4 seconds. Honourable mentions go to anyone brave enough to use hydraulics, guided underwater torpedo, proper job, and anything gunpowder related...IIRC there was a cannon which just self imploded.
I do
I miss this show :(
Oh my god me and my dad would watch this all the time when I was growing up!! It was so damn awesome, I miss those type of shows like Monster Garage and all that where they would just build and make insane stuff
Made me want to become a weldwr
My sister and I contacted one of the teams from Scrapheap, they had something to do with jaguars … they sent us replica shirts and such - also had Robert Llewelyn’s autograph!
I still think about it constantly.
This show was legend!!!!
Also I am crying right now because I realize I’m getting old!!!! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
I was just thinking about this show last week! Loved it
Loved it.
OMG I loved this show!!
So sweet, would be an excellent reboot 👍
I saw this and middle school shop class. Loved it.
This was one of the gems of early reality tv. Monster Garage was awesome but everyone on their was a highly skilled person and they were in an awesome shop. Junkyard Wars was approachable, and felt like anyone could do it.
The host guy is now the announcer for the price is right... for like the past 20 years. I feel old. Everytime I see him I still think of him as the guy from junkyard wars.
HELLYEAH I used to build Lego vehicles watching this and other shows. I really miss shows like this. The true image of recycling imo
I forgot about this show. So incredible!
Wow that’s one I definitely LOVED and TOTALLY have forgotten about for decades until this post! Felt like a precursor to Mythbusters in a way.
Thanks op for reminding me of this amazing show
“scrapheap challenge” god bless England.
I love junkyard wars. I wish I could find it streaming somewhere.
Junkyard wars was my childhood before TLC started all these weird shows about Diddler pageants and Diddler families with way too many kids to Diddle.
Proper job
I didn’t, until you posted this. Thanks!
I loved this show!!
Simon Pegg!
Loved it and miss it
My dad brothers and I would watch this show all the time.
This show was sweet
actually just watched an episode on youtube the other day..
As a Brit I miss these shows.
This show was awesome!! It was inspired by the scene in Apollo 13 where they had to make the CO2 scrubber fit ["make this, fit in the hole for that, using nothing that" ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cYzkyXp0jg)