Extreme Engineering
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Extreme Engineering is a documentary television series aired on the Discovery Channel and The Science Channel which features futuristic and ongoing engineering projects. As of 2007, the show aired its sixth season. The show has been hosted by Danny Forster since season 4.[1] The show was renamed Build It Bigger in the US but retains its name when broadcast in Europe[citation needed].
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[edit] Origins of the show
Engineering the Impossible was a pilot produced by Powderhouse Productions for the Discovery Channel that discussed incredible engineering projects. This program won the Beijing International Science Film Festival Silver Award, and earned Discovery's third highest Monday night rating for 2002. After the success of this program, Discovery commissioned the first season of Extreme Engineering. Like Engineering the Impossible, the first season of Extreme Engineering focused on extreme projects of the future. Season 2 (and all seasons since) featured projects already in construction around the world.
WAGtv Ltd. produced 6 episodes for Discovery[citation needed] that were also broadcast in the US as part of the 4th season of Extreme Engineering.
[edit] Episode List [2]
[edit] Engineering the Impossible
- Gibraltar Bridge (being proposed)
- Freedom Ship (being proposed)
- Millennium Tower (Hong Kong) (on-hold/cancelled due to Central Reclamation Phase III lawsuit)
[edit] Season 1: 2003
| Episode name | Premiere | Project | Status at Production | Current Status | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tokyo's Sky City | 2003-04-13 | Tokyo's Sky City | Proposed | Proposed | |
| Subways In America | 2003-04-15 | East Side Access | Proposed (some construction related to other project completed) | Under Construction | |
| Transatlantic Tunnel | 2003-04-16 | The Transatlantic Tunnel | Proposed | Proposed | |
| City in a Pyramid | 2003-04-23 | The Shimizu Mega-City Pyramid | Proposed | Proposed | |
| Bridging the Bering Strait | 2003-04-30 | The Bering Strait Bridge | Proposed | Proposed | |
| Tunneling Under the Alps | 2003-05-07 | Gotthard Base Tunnel | Under Construction | Under Construction | |
| Building Hong Kong's Airport | 2003-05-14 | Hong Kong International Airport | Completed | Completed | |
| Holland's Barriers to the Sea | 2003-05-21 | Maeslantkering and Oosterscheldekering storm surge barriers | Completed | Completed | |
| Boston's Big Dig | 2003-05-28 | Boston's Big Dig | Under Construction | Completed | |
| Widening the Panama Canal | 2003-06-04 | Panama Canal expansion project | Under Construction | Completed |
[edit] Season 2: 2004
9 episodes were produced for season 2. It is also the first season produced in HDTV for HD Theater.
| Episode name | Premiere | Project | Status at production | Current Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Turning Torso | 2004-07-07 | Turning Torso | Under construction | Completed |
| Venice Flood Gates | 2004-07-14 | Venice Tide Barrier Project (MOSE Project) | Under Construction | Under Construction |
| Container Ships | 2004-07-28 | Adrian Mærsk (Maersk Line) | Completed (In service) | |
| Oakland Bay Bridge | 2004-08-04 | San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge | Under construction | Under construction |
| Iceland Tunnels | 2004-09-01 | Kárahnjúkar Hydropower Project | Completed (in service) | |
| Oil Rigs | 2004-09-25 | Jack up oil rigs in Louisiana | ||
| Cooper River Bridge | 2004-10-05 | Cooper River Bridge | Under construction | Completed |
| Millau Viaduct | 2004-11-15 | Millau Viaduct | Under construction | Completed |
| Excavators | 2004-11-22 | Hull-Rust-Mahoning Open Pit Iron Mine |
[edit] Season 3: 2005
WagTV produced 6 episodes that were acquired by Discovery for season 3.
| Episode name | Premiere | Project | Status at production | Current Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Snøhvit Arctic Gas Processing Platform | 2005-10-19 | Snøhvit platform / MV Blue Marlin | Under Construction | Completed |
| The El Cajon Dam | 2005-11-10 | El Cajon Dam (Mexico) | Under Construction | Completed |
| Hong Kong's Cable Car | 2005-12-02 (?) | Ngong Ping 360 | Under Construction | Completed |
| Woodrow Wilson Bridge | 2005-12-09 (?) | Woodrow Wilson Bridge | Under Construction | Under Construction |
| Gotthard Tunnel | 2006-01-01 | Gotthard Base Tunnel | Under Construction | Under Construction |
| Dubai's Ski Resort | 2006-01-21 | Ski Dubai | Under Construction | Completed |
[edit] Season 4: 2006
Powderhouse Productions produced 6 episodes for season 4 with host Danny Forster. It currently airs under the Build It Bigger name on HD Theater, The Science Channel & Discovery Channel
| Episode name | Premiere | Project | Status at production | Current Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SuperStadium | 2006-02-19 | University of Phoenix Stadium | under construction | completed |
| MegaTunnel | 2006-03-08 | Storm Management And Road Tunnel (SMART) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | under construction | completed |
| Biggest Warship | 2006-05-31 | USS George H. W. Bush (CVN-77) | under construction | Christened |
| Sakhalin Oil & Ice | 2006-06-28 | Sakhalin-II | under construction | |
| Big Easy Rebuild | 2006-07-05 | Reconstruction of New Orleans | under construction | under construction |
| Space Tower | 2006-07-12 | Madrid's Torre Espacio | under construction | Almost complete |
[edit] Season 5: 2006
| Episode name | Premiere | Project | Status at production | Current Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Ferry Subway Station | 2006-10-11 | The New York City Subway's new South Ferry station | Under construction | |
| World's Biggest Arch Bridge | 2006-10-18 | Hoover Dam Bypass | Under construction | Under construction |
| JFK: JetBlue Terminal | 2006-10-25 | Reconstruction of John F. Kennedy International Airport's Terminal 5 | Under construction | Under construction |
| Stonecutters Bridge: Hong Kong | 2006-11-01 | Hong Kong's Stonecutters Bridge | Under construction | Under construction |
| California Academy of Sciences | 2006-11-08 | The rebuilding of the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco, California | Under construction | Under construction |
| Hallandsås Ridge Tunnel: Sweden | 2006-11-15 | Sweden's Hallandsas railway tunnel | Under construction | Under construction |
[edit] Season 6: 2007 [3]
| Episode name | Premiere | Project | Status at production | Current Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Building a Destroyer | 2007-10-16 | Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Maine | Under Construction | Under Construction |
| Fault Zone Tunnel | 2007-10-23 | Freshwater pipeline to support Southern California. Watch a TBM at work. | Under Construction | Under Construction |
| Boot Camp | 2007-10-30 | With Excavators in Boston, Massachusetts. | ||
| World's Tallest Skyscraper | 2007-11-06 | Shanghai World Financial Centre | Under Construction | Under Construction |
| Battle Machines | 2007-11-13 | An M1 Abrams tank undergoing maintenance at Fort Knox, Kentucky | ||
| Coaster Build Off | 2007-11-20 | Griffon a steel rollercoaster in Busch Gardens Europe and the Renegade in Valleyfair | Under Construction | Complete |
| Mountain of Steel | 2007-11-27 | City of Culture of Galicia | Under Construction | Under Construction |
[edit] See also
- Building the Biggest
- Frontiers of Construction
- MegaStructures, a similar show on the National Geographic Channel
- Mega Builders
- Mega Machines
[edit] External links
- Powderhouse Productions homepage
- Discovery Channel page
- Discovery Channel episode guide
- Extreme Engineering at TV.com
- Extreme Engineering at epguides.com
- Woodrow Wilson Bridge Featured On Discovery Channel Tonight (Washington Post article)
- WAGtv homepage
- Symposium W.S.V Simon Stevin, student association of the Mechanical Engineering faculty of the Eindhoven University of Technology
[edit] References
- ^ Discovery Channel::Meet the Host (July 23, 2007). Retrieved on 2007-07-23.
- ^ Discovery Channel::Extreme Engineering (July 23, 2007). Retrieved on 2007-07-23.
- ^ Discovery Channel::Extreme Engineering (November 21, 2007). Retrieved on 2007-11-21.
