It takes an evil genius to conceive of some of the projects created on Monster Garage, and if you've seen this show, you know EXACTLY what I mean. If you haven't, it currently (as of Feb. 2003) airs mondays at 8 and 11 PM on the Discovery Channel, and I HIGHLY recommend it.
The premise is this: each week, the host, legendary custom motorcycle builder Jesse James and his team transform an average vehicle into something totally outrageous. Examples include a Porsche transformed into a golf driving-range ball collector (you know, the little caged carts that we all try to hit?), a stretch limousine converted into a working fire engine, and the most recent (as of this writing), a Mini Cooper snowmobile. The team, handpicked from various resources including an application process at the Discovery Channel website, has one week (one design day, five build days, and the seventh day being the challenge day in which their creation faces off against its real-life counterpart in a challenge contest) to complete the project with a $3000.00 budget. If they can sell any stripped parts, that money is added to the budget, as is any loose change they might find in the seats. Of course, there are always exceptions, such as the recent episode in which the team converted a Geo Tracker into a hot air balloon to the tune of some THIRTY thousand dollars!!!
The play by play is provided by Frankie Whiteside, and joining him weekly is the highly entertaining color commentator The Big Schwag, of the Long Beach, CA wrestling promotion Ultimate Pro Wrestling. Funny they are, indeed. but the best comedy, by far, comes from the build team, especially when they hit a snag or keep working when they REALLY should be resting.
Team members differ weekly, and while most of the chosen builders are customizers or mechanics to begin with, each team has a resident expert, such as the firefighter who worked on the limousine fire truck, or the Mini Cooper Corporate Executive who was on the Cooper/snowmobile team. Also included in many teams are non-automotive experts whose particular talents benefit the crews (remember the Hollywood special FX/pyrotechnics artist on the VW Beetle Swamp Boat? It was her special FX foam that made it possible to float the Beetle).
POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD (only applies to those who wish to order the video set from The Discovery Channel Store): Monster Garage is now in its second year, although it doesn't really follow a standard TV season. Each member of the teams who complete the construction of their respective projects gets a full Mac Tools set, complete with case, valued at $3000.00 each, plus other prizes. As of the end of Feb. 2003, there are about sixteen or so episodes, and the teams have a nearly perfect track record of completing either the construction of their projects (with the exception of the failed hearse/car crusher), or the post-construction challenge, good for additional bragging rights. The only challenge lost by a Monster Garage machine was a race between the Mini Cooper snowmobile and a snowmobile driven by Richard Petty. If you must lose a snowmobile race, who better to have beat you?
The premise is this: each week, the host, legendary custom motorcycle builder Jesse James and his team transform an average vehicle into something totally outrageous. Examples include a Porsche transformed into a golf driving-range ball collector (you know, the little caged carts that we all try to hit?), a stretch limousine converted into a working fire engine, and the most recent (as of this writing), a Mini Cooper snowmobile. The team, handpicked from various resources including an application process at the Discovery Channel website, has one week (one design day, five build days, and the seventh day being the challenge day in which their creation faces off against its real-life counterpart in a challenge contest) to complete the project with a $3000.00 budget. If they can sell any stripped parts, that money is added to the budget, as is any loose change they might find in the seats. Of course, there are always exceptions, such as the recent episode in which the team converted a Geo Tracker into a hot air balloon to the tune of some THIRTY thousand dollars!!!
The play by play is provided by Frankie Whiteside, and joining him weekly is the highly entertaining color commentator The Big Schwag, of the Long Beach, CA wrestling promotion Ultimate Pro Wrestling. Funny they are, indeed. but the best comedy, by far, comes from the build team, especially when they hit a snag or keep working when they REALLY should be resting.
Team members differ weekly, and while most of the chosen builders are customizers or mechanics to begin with, each team has a resident expert, such as the firefighter who worked on the limousine fire truck, or the Mini Cooper Corporate Executive who was on the Cooper/snowmobile team. Also included in many teams are non-automotive experts whose particular talents benefit the crews (remember the Hollywood special FX/pyrotechnics artist on the VW Beetle Swamp Boat? It was her special FX foam that made it possible to float the Beetle).
POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD (only applies to those who wish to order the video set from The Discovery Channel Store): Monster Garage is now in its second year, although it doesn't really follow a standard TV season. Each member of the teams who complete the construction of their respective projects gets a full Mac Tools set, complete with case, valued at $3000.00 each, plus other prizes. As of the end of Feb. 2003, there are about sixteen or so episodes, and the teams have a nearly perfect track record of completing either the construction of their projects (with the exception of the failed hearse/car crusher), or the post-construction challenge, good for additional bragging rights. The only challenge lost by a Monster Garage machine was a race between the Mini Cooper snowmobile and a snowmobile driven by Richard Petty. If you must lose a snowmobile race, who better to have beat you?