MythBusters: Grand Finale + Reunion

March 6, 2016 4:16 AM - Season 16, Episode 9

Adam and Jamie end the show with two grand explosions, a dedication to Buster, and the destruction of past props using a truck ram. Adam and Jamie invite Grant, Tory, and Kari back to reflect on the history of the show and what it meant to them. With send-offs by Barack Obama, Vince Gilligan, James Cameron, Neil deGrasse Tyson, and Stephen Colbert.

MythBusters Grand Totals:

Years of filming: 14

Total number of episodes: 248

Total hours of programming: 282 (including specials)

Total number of myths: 1,015 myths (548 busted, 251 confirmed, 216 plausible)

Total number of experiments: 2,950

Total number of explosions: 900

Total amount of duct tape stuck down: 83 miles

Total number of hours filmed: 9,300

Number of vehicles destroyed: 295

Poundage of explosives: 20.5

Total number of Emmy nominations: 6

Total number of Emmy wins: 0
(Via: Discovery)

posted by FallowKing (9 comments total)

I feel like they could have done a better job at framing the finale as something other than revisiting and amping up previous destruction for fun, this was a great reminder of how, at its best, Mythbusters was something special. They conducted actual science experiments, made people excited about the scientific method, positively influenced national discussion about science, and was entertaining television.
posted by andrewraff at 8:46 AM on March 6, 2016 [2 favorites]

I agree with all of that andrewradd, this felt like a clip show instead of a real episode.

My main complaint with the "reunion" was not a single mention of Scottie, who was awesome right from the start of the show.
posted by hobgadling at 10:12 AM on March 6, 2016 [5 favorites]

I was generally a bit disappointed with the episodes which ended with them saying "Oh well, it didn't do the thing we wanted, let's blow it up".
The explosions are the least interesting thing for me.

I liked the coffee creamer explosion because it was unexpected and huge, or the one where they tried to make diamonds with explosions, but far less interested in blowing up a nice new cement truck for no real reason.

The larger builds and the interesting experiments were the best.
posted by Just this guy, y'know at 6:33 AM on March 7, 2016 [3 favorites]

Poundage of explosives: 20.5

That can't possibly be right? I know it's quoted from the source but maybe they meant tonnage? I remember the cement truck explosion requiring at least hundreds if not thousands of pounds of ANFO.
posted by Wretch729 at 1:01 PM on March 7, 2016

Yep. The ones with real problem solving and imagination were the ones I liked the best. The explosions never really meant much unless they were integral to the question. It was also more interesting when they had to puzzle out ways to measure things without some thousand-dollar device designed to measure exactly what they wanted.
posted by idb at 5:04 PM on March 7, 2016

far less interested in blowing up a nice new cement truck for no real reason.

Well, the cement truck one actually did have a reason the first time around - the myth was something like "if you have a filled-up cement truck and you goofed and let the cement harden, and you have to clean out the truck, can you just use dynamite to loosen the hardened cement?" And - a little dynamite didn't do jack squat, so they added more - and blew the truck up completely. So the answer to "can you use dynamite to loosen the hardened cement" ultimately was "HELL no".

The explosion itself just had such an iconic spot in the hearts of everyone concerned that they had to revisit it at the end.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 12:37 PM on March 9, 2016

Oh yeah, I know that, and I agree that it was the right thing for the finale.
I just meant in general.
posted by Just this guy, y'know at 12:54 PM on March 9, 2016

But....that means that it wasn't "for no reason".
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 1:27 PM on March 9, 2016

Okay, I know that looks like I'm harping on it, but it's a sore spot that often the show is accused of the showmanship coming at the expense of the science - but anything that actually gets people to pay attention to science is good in my book. Science can show us some endlessly fascinating and bizarre things, but all too often it gets dismissed as boring egg-heady stuff and people don't pay attention unless you do something stunty. And if that means you blow stuff up, or make things smell weird or turn things weird colors, then so be it.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 1:30 PM on March 9, 2016 [1 favorite]