I've recently been tuning into Mark Rober's new TV show, Revengineers, and I hate to say it, but it's complete garbage. Now, if you're familiar with Mark Rober's YouTube videos, you know he's got this knack for combining science, engineering, and entertainment in a way that's genuinely engaging. But when it comes to Revengineers, it seems like a lot of that charm gets lost.
One of the biggest issues is that the whole thing feels pretty staged. You're watching these pranks unfold and it's hard not to feel like everything's just a bit too perfect, a bit too planned out.
Let's talk about the shopping cart prank from the first episode.
On the surface, the idea is pretty genius: they motorize shopping carts and use remote control to drive them behind the cars of people who can't be bothered to return their carts. It's a clever, humorous way to call out a common and annoying behavior. But the execution? Not so great.
Here's the thing: as soon as the people targeted by the prank start to get upset or try to leave, the Revengineers team just...stops. There's no confrontation, no effort to explain the point of the prank, and no attempt to let the prank play out until the people figure out what they did wrong. It feels like a missed opportunity to really drive the point home.
Instead of using the prank as a teachable moment, they let the people go without any real resolution, which ends up being pretty frustrating to watch. It's like they're pulling their punches and the result is a prank that doesn't quite hit the mark.
In short, as much as I've loved Mark Rober's YouTube content, Revengineers falls short. It leans too heavily into the clichés of reality TV, losing much of the authenticity that made Mark's YouTube videos so popular. It could have been a platform for social change, but it ends up feeling inauthentic and formulaic.
So if you're a fan of Mark's YouTube channel, you might want to lower your expectations for Revengineers.
Here's hoping they can bring more of that YouTube magic into future episodes, but for now, it's not quite hitting the mark.
One of the biggest issues is that the whole thing feels pretty staged. You're watching these pranks unfold and it's hard not to feel like everything's just a bit too perfect, a bit too planned out.
Let's talk about the shopping cart prank from the first episode.
On the surface, the idea is pretty genius: they motorize shopping carts and use remote control to drive them behind the cars of people who can't be bothered to return their carts. It's a clever, humorous way to call out a common and annoying behavior. But the execution? Not so great.
Here's the thing: as soon as the people targeted by the prank start to get upset or try to leave, the Revengineers team just...stops. There's no confrontation, no effort to explain the point of the prank, and no attempt to let the prank play out until the people figure out what they did wrong. It feels like a missed opportunity to really drive the point home.
Instead of using the prank as a teachable moment, they let the people go without any real resolution, which ends up being pretty frustrating to watch. It's like they're pulling their punches and the result is a prank that doesn't quite hit the mark.
In short, as much as I've loved Mark Rober's YouTube content, Revengineers falls short. It leans too heavily into the clichés of reality TV, losing much of the authenticity that made Mark's YouTube videos so popular. It could have been a platform for social change, but it ends up feeling inauthentic and formulaic.
So if you're a fan of Mark's YouTube channel, you might want to lower your expectations for Revengineers.
Here's hoping they can bring more of that YouTube magic into future episodes, but for now, it's not quite hitting the mark.