List of additional MythBusters cast members
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This is a list of additional cast members of the television series MythBusters. In addition to the core cast members, the MythBusters team includes several honorary MythBusters as well as some recurring guests.
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[edit] Former, current, and honorary MythBusters
[edit] Christine Chamberlain
Christine Chamberlain was a "MythTern" (portmanteau of MythBusters and intern) who joined the MythBusters team as a result of a Discovery Channel contest and was present for the second season of MythBusters. She was injured in some myths but stayed on the show until season 3. She has since left the show due to personal reasons.[citation needed]
[edit] Scottie Chapman
Scottie Chapman is a former member of the Build Team who was called the "Mistress of Metal" for her work in welding and metal craft. Notable for her tattoos (which were used for a myth investigation in one episode), she departed after the third season for "personal reasons", according to a message posted by executive producer/show creator Peter Rees on the official Discovery Channel fansite.[citation needed]. On her MySpace blog, she revealed that she would not be back as a regular, but appeared in the November 14, 2007 episode Supersized Myths, as well as the 2008 "Young Scientists" Mythbusters special.
- Discovery Channel bio of Scottie Chapman
- Scottie Chapman at the Internet Movie Database
- Scottie Chapman at MySpace
[edit] Heather Joseph-Witham
Heather Joseph-Witham is a folklorist whose extensive research in urban legends, myths, and folklore led her to be tapped for information by the MythBusters team. She appeared on camera in the three pilot episodes and the entire thirteen-episode first season. Joseph-Witham's role on the show was eliminated after the third episode of the second season. She received her doctorate from the now defunct Folklore and Mythology Program at UCLA in 1998. She is currently an Associate Professor at Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles, California.[1]
[edit] Robert Lee
Robert Lee is the narrator of the series, who shares the job of explaining experiments and facts with the hosts. In some regions—such as the UK, Denmark, Norway and Sweden—he is replaced by British narrators Robin Banks or Daisy Beaumont. Rufus Hound narrates the version of the show that airs on the BBC.
[edit] Jess Nelson
Jess Nelson was a "MythTern" (MythBusters Intern). She made her first appearance on MythBusters during the "Archimedes' Death Ray" episode as part of the girls' team on the small scale build-off. She appeared again in the "Whirlpool of Death" episode where she was introduced as a "MythTern." In that episode she assisted Adam with the building of scale models to test the whirlpool, and towards the end of the episode got to hold his hand as he vomited in the whirlpool tank, adding her own memorable quote to MythBusters: "Smells like pizza." She then appeared in the "Mega Movie Myths 2 Hour Special" episode where she helped find a car for the use with the ejector seat myth; Once again, she was cited as a "MythTern". She has since been shown assisting the MythBusters in "Air Cylinder Rocket", "Christmas Lights", "Hindenburg Mystery", "Western Myths", "Walking on Water" mixing the Non-Newtonian fluid, "Pirate Special" and "Supersized myths".
On September 12, 2007, Jess announced on her MySpace Blog that the Discovery Channel decided to let her go because they didn't like her as a character on the show. [2]
[edit] Non-human assistants
[edit] Buster
Buster is a crash test dummy that plays an important role in many experiments by taking the place of a human subject in the more dangerous myth tests. The first and most recognized of the dummies used in the show, Buster was introduced in the beginning of the first season for the Exploding Toilet myth. Adam had purchased the dummy to take the place of Jamie (who had second thoughts about testing the myth because he realized the foam he would be using was flammable), and Jamie gave it its name.
Because of the nature of the situations in which the MythBusters use him, Buster has been subjected to forces and situations that far exceed his original design parameters as an automobile crash test dummy. As a testament to the danger of the tests in which he is used — often resulting in his being broken into pieces, burnt, or otherwise mutilated — Buster has had to be extensively repaired and rebuilt over the course of the series to the point that an entire special was devoted to his being completely redesigned and rebuilt as "Buster 2.0". Buster was designed with quick and simple repair in mind, and boasts improved joints, with a more realistic range of movement, and easily-replaceable poplar wood "bones". Poplar was chosen because its shear strength was very similar to human bone, providing an accurate gauge of how bones would react in experiments. Buster's new flesh (with the exception of his face, hands, and feet) is made of a special fire-resistant silicone called Dragon Skin. Buster's original head was retained when he was rebuilt, but it had to be replaced after it was shattered during a mishap on the Escape Slide Parachute myth. His original face was retained to fit over his replacement head. They tested Buster 2.0 by dropping him 60 feet (about 20 meters) off a crane while inside a donated Cadillac.
The MythBusters have at times adapted Buster to fit specialized equipment or give him new functionality. For myths involving holding onto things (such as "Plywood Builder"), his hands are replaced with clamps or quick-release rigs. For myths involving falls, (like "Hammer Bridge Drop"), monitoring equipment, such as accelerometers or shock gauges, is installed within his body. He was even attached to a pneumatic system at one time so he could punch sharks for the Shark Week special.
Just before testing the revisited "Jet Taxi" myth, Buster spoke two lines as chosen by fans: "Adam, I am your father," followed by "I wonder if Mike Rowe is hiring," a reference to the host of Discovery's other popular show, Dirty Jobs. In October 2007, the fan site also uploaded a video spoof of Buster's life[3] narrated by Jim Forbes of Behind the Music and starring Tory, Grant, Kari and Adam.
Since his introduction on the show (in something of a running joke) the cast refer to Buster as if he were an actual living person, and consider him a full member of the cast in his own right. On several myths that involved long drops or intense forces in which Buster was damaged, Adam and others expressed legitimate dismay and concern over Buster having been damaged so extensively, most notably during Escape Slide Parachute.
On the Viewer Pick Special 2 episode, a new Buster was introduced. This Buster is a former crash test dummy provided by Dayton T. Brown, Inc. The new Buster was named "Buster 2.0" -- not to be confused with the remodeled "Buster 1.0". The original Buster has been put up for "retirement".
[edit] Simulaids
Buster has since been supplemented with a family of at least four Simulaids, dubbed "Randy 'Rescue Randy'" (Father), "Jane" (Mother), "Suzy" (Daughter) and an unnamed son. These were added partly because Buster (even after his redesign) was becoming increasingly difficult to repair, and also because not all myths can be accurately tested with Buster due to his size, weight, and other factors. For instance, Suzy (a child dummy) was used to test the myth that a child could go 360 degrees around a swing set. Being representative of an adult man, Buster would not have properly fit the criteria for the myth. The Simulaids were first introduced in the Killer Brace Position myth, primarily because multiple dummies were needed for testing.
[edit] Ted
More recently, the crew has used full-body ballistics gel dummies when they know the subject is likely to be completely destroyed, and the question of how injured a person would be is not important. The first dummy used was created by the Build Team to test the Train Suction myth. The dummy was referred to as Ted (as in bus'ted), and survived testing. It was then reused in testing 22,000 Foot Fall by Savage and Hyneman, in which it was destroyed. Subsequent full body gel dummies have not been given names.
[edit] Buddy
Another Gel dummy, although not full-bodied, named Buddy, for its role as a buddy that got shot, was used on the myth of the Killer Cigarette butts, in which cigarette butts were fired from a rifle into a pig's heart suspended in the dummy. This Torso dummy was the first on MythBusters to be in a ballistic medium that was clear.
[edit] Deadblow
Deadblow, Grant Imahara's Battlebot, aided Grant in several tests from measuring vibrations in the ground (for the "Chinese Invasion Alarm" Myth) to being a cat decoy (in the "Beat the Guard Dog" Myth).
[edit] Earl
Earl is a Cadillac donated by a fan that had been used in many episodes such as the Exploding Gas Tank myth. Originally destined to be destroyed by the exploding gas tank, its failure to explode allowed Earl to be used to test myths in subsequent episodes. It was finally destroyed when it was dropped nose-down from 60 feet in the air to test the resilience of a remodeled Buster, and to satisfy their promise to the fan that they will "Try to do their best to destroy it" .
[edit] Guests
- Frank Doyle: Retired FBI agent – (Cement Removal, Exploding Gas Tank, Exploding Pants, Crimes and Myth-demeanors 2, Exploding Nitro Patches, Voice Flame Extinguisher) Frank assisted the MythBusters by helping load a cement truck with 850 pounds of explosives to cause its destruction. He also provided the tracer ammunition for the revisit of the myth that shooting a gas tank can cause it to explode Car Capers Revisit. He also supervised the making of the explosives for the Exploding Pants myth.
- Sgt. J. D. Nelson: Alameda County Sheriff Sergeant/EOD Team leader - (Exploding Pants, Dynamite Paint Job) "JD" supervises the use of the Alameda County Sheriff's "Range One" in Dublin, California for many of the explosives episodes.
- Eric Gates: Rocketry Expert – (JATO Chevy, Ming Dynasty Astronaut, Swingset 360, Salami Rocket) Eric provided rockets and his rocketry expertise in several myths, starting with the very first experiment—the legend of the Jet Assisted Take-Off Chevy Impala.
- Lt. Alan Normandy: South San Francisco Police Lieutenant/Court-Certified Firearms Expert – (Blown Away, Finger in a Barrel, Catching a Bullet in Your Teeth, Bullets Fired Up, Mega Movie Myths, Firearms Folklore, Myths Revisited, Exploding Tire of Death, Killer Cigarette Butts) Lt. Alan Normandy frequently assists the MythBusters by supplying modern firearms—including fully-automatic weapons—to evaluate myths and legends about guns. A 22-year Police Veteran, Chief Firearms Instructor, former SWAT Officer and Police Sniper. Alan often assists the MythBusters as a Range Safety Officer, he also provides some legal and firearms expertise. A regular guest and often referred to as an "old friend," Alan has been a consultant to the production even before the first episode aired.
- Dr. Roger Schwenke: Acoustician for Meyer Sound – (Does a Duck's Quack Echo?, Brown Note, Breaking Glass) – Dr. Schwenke was called an Honorary MythBuster by Adam in the "Breaking Glass" myth. He also helped bust the Does a Duck's Quack Echo? and Brown note myths as well as demonstrating how to shatter glass using only sound waves.
In addition, several celebrity guests have been brought in to guest on the show, either for their high level of skill or knowledge in a certain area. Famous guests have included world-record-holding card thrower Ricky Jay (Killer Deck), Major League Baseball pitcher Roger Clemens (Baseball Myths), National Football League Punter Ray Guy (Helium Football) and James Bond actress Shirley Eaton (Pilot 3 - Goldfinger).
[edit] References
[edit] External links
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