Richard Hammond's Blast Lab
Encyclopedia
Richard Hammond's Blast Lab is a children's television programme made by DCD Media
-owned September Films
and Hamster's Wheel Productions for the BBC
and shown on the CBBC Channel
and CBBC
outputs on both BBC One
and BBC Two
.
The programme involves two teams of three children – referred to as the Red Team and the Yellow Team – taking part in science-related challenges to win prizes at the end of the show. The team that loses get the honour of blowing up their prizes. Hammond
has taken an approach that has come from years of working on Top Gear
with elements of Brainiac: Science Abuse
. The show also features Hammond's prized 1963 Opel Kadett
car named "Oliver", which he acquired for the Top Gear: Botswana Special
. Richard's "Ninja Nan", who acts as security at the Blast Lab (and who never speaks), is introduced at the start of each episode as substitute for SAS guards who, for a different reason in each episode, are absent. Ninja Nan also displays the prizes the winning team will be taking home with them, as well as those the losing team would have won, after the final challenge, which is called the 'Messy Messy Mess Test' and involves both teams and a large tank of gunge.
Loyal yet incompitant servant-like men Richard refers to as "Lab Rats" also appear in every episode. Lab Rats, who wear lab coats that have one half red and the other half yellow, are always seen taking on dangerous stunts and moaning around the lab. According to the introductory credits, the secret lab is supposed to be located beneath Mapledurham Watermill
in Oxfordshire
. In episode 7, the bias against caravans, which is often brought up in Top Gear and in Brainiac, continues, with one being wrecked by a fiery catapult.
"Mini-Miss", a bespectacled young girl of around ten or eleven years old who wears a lab coat like those sported by the Lab Rats, appears in the 'Mini-Science with Mini-Miss' round. Richard explains to the audience that Mini-Miss is actually his old science teacher whom he attempted to bring back through time with his home-made time machine, but something went wrong and she arrived as a child. Despite having been regressed to a youngster, Mini-Miss is shown to not suffer fools gladly, particularly Richard, whom she always chides for some misdemeanor or other – such as not paying attention, for example – before she goes to give the teams advice prior to the start of the round.
In January 2011, the show was canceled by the BBC. The show began airing in Australia on ABC3
as part of its inaugural lineup in December 2009 and in Ireland on RTE in May 2010.
* Credited on-screen as Jadie Hobson.
The Complete Series 1 & 2 will be available online on 1 April 2011.
airs the imported Australian series Lab Rats Challenge
, which, like Blast Lab, is a sequence of science-themed games.
CBBC has previously aired other science-based entertainment shows such as X-perimental
.
DCD Media
DCD Media plc is a large independent UK and US based group specialising in the production and distribution of factual, entertainment, drama, music and arts programming for television DVD and new media worldwide....
-owned September Films
September Films
September Films, a UK independent television and film production company, is a division of UK independent production and distribution group DCD Media...
and Hamster's Wheel Productions for the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
and shown on the CBBC Channel
CBBC Channel
CBBC is a BBC television channel aimed at 6 to 12 year olds. It complements the CBBC programming that continues to air on BBC One and BBC Two. Launched on 11 February 2002, it broadcasts from 7am to 7pm on Freeview, cable, IPTV and digital satellite, occupying the same bandwidth as, but a different...
and CBBC
CBBC
CBBC is one of two brand names used for the BBC's children's television strands. Between 1985 and 2002, CBBC was the name given to all the BBC's programmes on TV for children aged under 14...
outputs on both BBC One
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
and BBC Two
BBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
.
The programme involves two teams of three children – referred to as the Red Team and the Yellow Team – taking part in science-related challenges to win prizes at the end of the show. The team that loses get the honour of blowing up their prizes. Hammond
Richard Hammond
Richard Mark Hammond is an English broadcaster, writer, and journalist most noted for co-hosting car programme Top Gear with Jeremy Clarkson and James May, as well as presenting Brainiac: Science Abuse on Sky 1.-Early life:...
has taken an approach that has come from years of working on Top Gear
Top Gear (current format)
Top Gear is a British television series about motor vehicles, primarily cars. It began in 1977 as a conventional motoring magazine show. Over time, and especially since a relaunch in 2002, it has developed a quirky, humorous style...
with elements of Brainiac: Science Abuse
Brainiac: Science Abuse
Brainiac: Science Abuse is a British entertainment TV show with a science motif. Numerous experiments are carried out in each show, often to verify whether common conceptions are true or simply to create impressive explosions...
. The show also features Hammond's prized 1963 Opel Kadett
Opel Kadett
The Opel Kadett is a small family car produced by the German automobile manufacturer Opel between 1937 and 1940, and then again from 1962 until 1991 , when it was replaced by the Opel Astra.-Original model :...
car named "Oliver", which he acquired for the Top Gear: Botswana Special
Top Gear: Botswana Special
Top Gear: Botswana Special was an episode of the popular British television series Top Gear, first broadcast on 4 November 2007 on BBC Two, as part of series 10...
. Richard's "Ninja Nan", who acts as security at the Blast Lab (and who never speaks), is introduced at the start of each episode as substitute for SAS guards who, for a different reason in each episode, are absent. Ninja Nan also displays the prizes the winning team will be taking home with them, as well as those the losing team would have won, after the final challenge, which is called the 'Messy Messy Mess Test' and involves both teams and a large tank of gunge.
Loyal yet incompitant servant-like men Richard refers to as "Lab Rats" also appear in every episode. Lab Rats, who wear lab coats that have one half red and the other half yellow, are always seen taking on dangerous stunts and moaning around the lab. According to the introductory credits, the secret lab is supposed to be located beneath Mapledurham Watermill
Mapledurham Watermill
Mapledurham Watermill is a historic watermill in the civil parish of Mapledurham in the English county of Oxfordshire. The mill is driven by the head of water created by Mapledurham Lock and Weir and is preserved in an operational state.- History :...
in Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....
. In episode 7, the bias against caravans, which is often brought up in Top Gear and in Brainiac, continues, with one being wrecked by a fiery catapult.
"Mini-Miss", a bespectacled young girl of around ten or eleven years old who wears a lab coat like those sported by the Lab Rats, appears in the 'Mini-Science with Mini-Miss' round. Richard explains to the audience that Mini-Miss is actually his old science teacher whom he attempted to bring back through time with his home-made time machine, but something went wrong and she arrived as a child. Despite having been regressed to a youngster, Mini-Miss is shown to not suffer fools gladly, particularly Richard, whom she always chides for some misdemeanor or other – such as not paying attention, for example – before she goes to give the teams advice prior to the start of the round.
In January 2011, the show was canceled by the BBC. The show began airing in Australia on ABC3
ABC3
-Future shows:Programming confirmed for future broadcast will include:* After School Care * Bindi's Boot Camp * Bushwacked! * Dance Academy * Dancing Down Under...
as part of its inaugural lineup in December 2009 and in Ireland on RTE in May 2010.
Cast
- Vivienne Jay ..... Ninja Nan
- Jadie-Rose Hobson* ..... Mini-Miss
* Credited on-screen as Jadie Hobson.
DVD
The DVD of Richard Hammond's Blast Lab Blow Ups, released by Universal Pictures, is available now from all major retailers.The Complete Series 1 & 2 will be available online on 1 April 2011.
Series 1 (Early 2009)
| Title | Summary | Date Aired |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | In the opening episode of this spectacular new series, Richard and his two teams of budding young scientists study rocket propulsion. But they don't do this with dusty old text books. Instead, in true Blast Lab tradition, Richard and the teams race some balloons over Îa giant gunge tank and watch a jet pack man propel himself 30 meters in the air as he attempts the world's highest ever basketball slam dunk. | 3 January 2009 |
| 2 | This time, Richard Hammond looks at the weight of liquids. Richard joins one of his lab rats at his top secret test facility to discover what happens when a tonne of water is dropped on to a car from a height of 30 metres. Meanwhile, in his underground laboratory, Richard asks the two teams of young scientists to attempt to guess how much his security guard Ninja Nan and one of his lab rats weigh. But because this is Blast Lab, there's a twist... Ninja Nan and the lab rat have to sit on giant scales, while the contestants must use bottles of water to guess their weight. | 10 January 2009 |
| 3 | This time, Richard explores lift and friction. Richard and the gang build hovercrafts. In the studio they are made out of a bottle top, a CD and a balloon. But at Richard's top-secret test facility, his team of loyal lab rats make a hovercraft out of wood, plastic sheeting and leaf blowers. | 17 January 2009 |
| 4 | Science game show. Richard explores the conservation of energy as the team play a game of magnetic pinball. One of the Lab Rats has a close encounter with a toy pig on a pendulum. | 24 January 2009 |
| 5 | Richard explores the themes of pressure and weight distribution. In the studio, the two teams go balloon surfing, while at Richard's top secret laboratory, his Lab Rats make a huge balloon sandwich and see if it can take the weight of a saloon car without bursting. | 31 January 2009 |
| 6 | Richard explores the theme of fluid dynamics. In Mini Miss's science lesson, the two teams try to encase a team member in a giant bubble dressed as a hedgehog! Steely determination and patience are key to this game as they try to make a giant bubble without it bursting on the spikes. | 7 February 2009 |
| 7 | Richard and his two teams of budding young scientists look at catapults and levers. In the studio the contestants get the rare opportunity to fling eggs at Ninja Nan, all in the name of science. Richard's Lab Rats find out what happens when you use the world's largest trebuchet to fire flaming cannonballs at a caravan! | 14 February 2009 |
| 8 | Richard and his two teams use the Bernoulli principle to make beach balls fly in a game of leaf blower catch. Even Oliver has to wear ear defenders in this very noisy game. At Richard's top secret test facility, a Lab Rat's car is specially adapted to be powered by wind, but will it win the race to beat a Lab Rat on a child's bicycle? | 21 February 2009 |
| 9 | The theme in this episode is air pressure, and Richard's two teams launch their very own rockets using straws, bottles and a foot pump. Launching the rockets also demonstrates Newton's third law of motion. Meanwhile, on location at Richard's top secret testing ground, a rocket expert prepares to launch a giant water rocket, which isn't as easy as it seems. | 28 February 2009 |
| 10 | The themes are friction and inertia as the teams compete to see who can get the greatest number of eggs into glasses of water by whisking away a mat. A steady hand and a keen eye are essential if the eggs are not to break. At Richard's top secret test facility a Lab Rat tries to cook eggs and bacon by the unconventional means of hitching his frying pan to the back of a van. Will friction be enough to fry our Lab Rat's breakfast? | 7 March 2009 |
| 11 | The theme is pressure and the two teams of budding scientists set off mini rockets by dropping fizzy tablets into pots of various sorts of liquid. They have to seal the lids on quickly so that the pressure can build up inside before exploding. Meanwhile on location at the top secret test lab, it is time for a game of skittles with an air cannon. | 14 March 2009 |
| 12 | The theme is force and weight distribution. The teams demonstrate with a game called Anti-Gravity Grip, where they hang items on a coat hanger which is attached with Velcro. As the hanger gets heavier, it is just a matter of time before it cannot take the strain any more. Meanwhile, at Richard's top secret test laboratory, a lab rat who thinks he is Velcro Man tries to scale a wall. | 21 March 2009 |
| 13 | Richard challenges two teams of siblings to take part in a water-tension themed experiment, in which they must hold a container of water over their team-mate's head - with the catch being that the container is full of holes. | 28 March 2009 |
Series 2 (Summer 2009)
| Title | Summary | Date Aired |
|---|---|---|
| 1 (14) | Two teams join the Top Gear presenter to experiment with vitamin C rockets and find out who can get them to fire the furthest. At the secret testing site, the Lab Rats use compressed air to propel objects in a bid to beat the fastest recorded tennis serve. | 20 June 2009 |
| 2 (15) | The two teams use Archimedes' principle of buoyancy to determine whether items will float or sink, and the Lab Rats try to build a boat using cardboard. | 27 June 2009 |
| 3 (16) | The two teams learn about the strength of structures and weight distribution, and the Lab Rats try to build a bridge out of paper. | 4 July 2009 |
| 4 (17) | The theme is the movement of air, featuring a race between a Spitfire aeroplane, a rocket and a lab rat called Mercury. | 11 July 2009 |
| 5 (18) | The teams explore air pressure by trying to score a conversion in a rugby game with an air cannon and building a rocket launcher using a plastic bottle, a snorkel and paper. | 18 July 2009 |
| 6 (19) | Two teams join the Top Gear presenter to explore air movement and low pressure using giant leaf blowers, and the theory that ants have a non-fatal terminal velocity is tested. | 25 July 2009 |
| 7 (20) | Two teams compete, using reason and logic to answer questions, perform scientific experiments and predict the outcome of jaw-dropping stunts. They battle to win prizes in a furiously messy final game. This show is about the transfer of energy. The two teams are busy transferring potential energy into kinetic energy by firing catapult planes through targets. Whilst out on Richard's secret test facility the Lab Rats try firing something much, much bigger - a washing machine! | 1 August 2009 |
| 8 (21) | Richard Hammond's Blast Lab is an entertaining and anarchic studio-based science game show set in the surreal world of Richard's secret laboratory, found under the watermill of his fictitious country mansion. Two teams of three contestants compete with each other over four rounds. | 8 August 2009 |
| 9 (22) | Two teams compete, using reason and logic to answer questions, perform scientific experiments and predict the outcome of jaw-dropping stunts. They battle to win prizes in a furiously messy final game. Richard examines the effect that moving air particles can have on objects. In the Lab, the two teams play Ping Pong Pass where they have to pass ping pong balls from one team member to the next using the flow of air created by hairdryers. | 15 August 2009 |
| 10 (23) | Science game show. Two teams compete, using reason and logic to answer questions, perform scientific experiments and predict the outcome of jaw-dropping stunts. They battle to win prizes in a furiously messy final game. In the Lab the two teams use the convection created by hairdryers to keep bags in the air. Then, using great skill and dexterity, they have to negotiate an obstacle course. Out on Richard's secret test facility the Lab Rats try to make a giant solar balloon. | 22 August 2009 |
| 11 (24) | Using reason and logic to answer questions, perform scientific experiments and predict the outcome of jaw-dropping stunts. This episode the theme is air pressure. In the Mini Science round, the two teams have to have to place a postcard across a cup of water and turn it upside down without spilling any water. The teams must then navigate an obstacle course. The Lab Rats try to use air pressure to crush large metal barrels. | 29 August 2009 |
| 12 (25) | Using reason and logic to answer questions, perform scientific experiments and predict the outcome of jaw-dropping stunts. This episode the theme is lasers. In the Mini Science round, the two teams have to have use mirrors to reflect a laser beam around a maze. | 5 September 2009 |
| 13 (26) | Richard Hammond's Blast Lab is an entertaining and anarchic studio-based science game show set in the surreal world of Richard's secret laboratory, found under the watermill of his fictitious country mansion. Two teams of three contestants compete with each other over four rounds. | 12 September 2009 |
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