Discovery goes for “Unchained Reaction”

MythBusters fans, be aware that Discovery Channel is moving your series to Sundays starting March 25. But also be aware that this Sunday, March 18 at 10pm ET/PT, Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman premiere their new series, Unchained Reaction, that draws on the mechanical physics skills for which they’ve become so famous. The six-part competition series pits numerous teams against each other in a contest to build the most elaborate chain-reaction contraption.

Not just a bunch of dominoes, mind you — the Unchained Reaction teams are given identical sets of tools and materials, and a specific theme. And from the word go, they have five days to use their ingenuity, skills and imagination to construct the most impressive, most massive and theme-appropriate chain reaction sequence. Whether it involves using a refrigerator as a pendulum, building a guillotine or a flying saucer, everything is fair game.

In Sunday’s Unchained Reaction premiere, the Blecha Brothers — a team of Hollywood set builders who have worked in various art departments for television — take on Team Crash Space, a motley crew of hackers, programmers, builders and artists, in a competition with the theme of “Heavy vs. Light.”

Executive producers on Unchained Reaction, Savage and Hyneman also serve as judges in the series alongside a different guest judge each week. For the premiere, the guest judge will be Adrian Hightower, assistant professor of engineering at Harvey Mudd College in Claremont, Calif.

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Photo: Discovery Channel