The Steve G - Scrapheap

previous period September 2001 to March 2002

next period January to December 2003

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 27th December 2002 - SCRAP TALK, the ALTERNATIVE Scrapheap Forum

Try out SCRAP TALK, the alternative Scrapheap supporter forum. This simple alternative has been set up by my good friend Mark in response to many comments made regarding the users of the official forum site. Give it a go and let us know your comments and feedback on how you would like to see things to progress.

SCRAP TALK, the alternative Scrapheap supporter forum

22nd December 2002 - Scrapheap Mega Challenge - Aeroplanes

Scrapheap Mega Challenge - Aeroplanes

Sunday 22nd December 2002 at 5.15pm until 6.50pm on UK channel 4 television.

This one is the big one ! Scrapheap Mega Challenge Builds Aeroplanes

In this 95 minute Mega Challenge special you will see three teams that have 20 hours to build an AEROPLANE. The teams come from Britain, America and France. The catch is that the teams only have the tools and materials that would have been available to the Wright brothers in the 1900's.

Although the 2002 series was filmed in the UK this special Mega Challenge was filmed in LA and the flight challenge takes place in the Mojave desert in California.

Looks to be a good one .... do not miss this Mega Challenge special

Steve G
Expert to the Chaos Crew and the Megalomaniacs

And of course let's have one more look at the Barley Pickers Proper Job in Slow-Motion.

8th December 2002 - Scrapheap Challenge Grand Final !

Well 'Car Flinger' has marked the end of the 2002 Scrapheap Challenge series. That was one hell of a big build and resources were at the limit for both the teams and the film crew as they all battled to make this episode happen. To mark the end of this 2002 SHC series-5 I have listed below a few pictures taken during the Car Flinger challenge...... if you haven't yet seen the Car Flinger episode then don't go here unless you want to spoil your surprise.

Safety briefing before the challenge gets underway

Robert takes driving lessons

OK guys, are we happy with it then ?

The MODEL and the MONSTER

Well someone has to go up and tie a rope to it !

Now just how straight do you want the trolley guide tube ?

Me and my mate can re-calculate it all if you wish !

Up a bit, stop .......... a bit more, stop ..... that's it.

The 'Catalyst-a-pult' is ready to fire, just wait for the paint to dry.

'A Proper Job', Barley Picker style.

Oh Arh ....... OPPS ! ........we appear to have broken the top off.

The forces completely snapped the solid steel axle shaft

...but at least we threw the car this far.

never mind ...... ALL STILL GOOD FRIENDS.

And of course let's have one more look at the Barley Pickers Proper Job in Slow-Motion.

....NOW HOW LONG IS IT UNTIL THE NEXT SERIES ?

Keep your eye on my website for news of any special Scrapheap events and remember to watch next Sunday 15th December 2002 on UK Channel 4 for a review of this years highlights.

What was your favourite episode or event this year ? Visit the Scrapheap Challenge chat forum to air your views. If you have any special questions or requests then you can contact me here.

Steve G
Expert to the Chaos Crew and the Megalomaniacs

17th November 2002 - Scrapheap Challenge makes history !

Scrapheap Challenge makes history - A hydraulic machine is the winner !

After 5-series and many interesting hydraulic machines in the past, at last with Ian Lewis as their T.C. the Barley Pickers take the Scrapheap belt from the Hammerlocks with their brilliant hydraulic excavator.

RDF asked me to be the behind-the-scene consultant for this Digger challenge. I took a number of interesting photographs whilst on set which a shall post on my website at a later date. In the mean time have a look at these images ....

the official site and click on the tabs to read the teams own diaries.

 Well done to the Barley Pickers.

If anyone wants to know more about this Digger challenge ........ just ask me.

Some other good news for you Scrapheap fans is that I have been informed a new series has been agreed for next year 2003. This is still due for confirmation officially but Scrapheap Challenge WILL BE BACK AGAIN. Keep your eye on the official Scrapheap Challenge site.

Make a note in your dairies. Lisa Rogers is due to have a webchat on 10th November 2002 at 6:35pm (UK time) directly after the 'Tugs of War' episode.

You should be able to access the webchat by clicking here and then just enter the chat name you want to use for the session.
Do not bother to go to this link until after the show on November 10th 2002 as you will find either nothing there or a different chat taking place.

Hopefully this chat will not suffer the technical problem that prevented the Young Ones having their webchat last Sunday.

So get those questions ready for Lisa.

I went to see the WomanWizard show last night and I can well recommend it to everyone. The show takes the form of Robert promoting a new software made by Gendersoft called WomanWizard that helps the male understand the female, and of course the equivalent software ManWizard that helps women understand men. I will not give away too much other than to say that Robert is full of energy and runs through the show without hardly taking a breath. Well worth a visit and don't forget that Robert still has many dates and venues to visit so why not check out his own site at Rob's own tour website site for more detailed information on the dates and places.

Two things to remember about the Smooth Riders episode that goes out on Sunday October 27th 2002.

1st
Some TV listing times in the UK this week indicate that the Smooth Riders program on Sunday October 27th 2002 is to be aired at 5.30pm but this show may go out at 5.40pm instead. This is not a serious difference but it may be if you set the VCR to turn off at 6.30 thinking the program has finished.

2nd
This Smooth Riders episode features the Barley Pickers from the first program (Mud Monsters winners) verses the Young Ones (Clockwork Cars winners). After the show on October 27th the Young Ones are planned to be on-line for a chat. You can access the chat room at the time by clicking on the link on the Scrapheap Homepage. Remember again that the Scrapheap Homepage reads "Join the Young Ones after this week's challenge for a live online chat. Sun 27th Oct, 6.30 pm." but this could well be after 6.40pm as the program may go out later than planned.

Oh and something else before I go .......... whilst I am writing I can say that in just over one week on October 29th I am due to see Robert Llewelyn in his stand up show called WomanWizard which is touring the UK at this time. Check out Rob's own tour website site for more detailed information on the dates and places. I will also be joined by Andy Middleton of the Chaos Crew (The Muncher, series-3) and Rob Pincham (Mileage Marathon and Gliders, series-2). We are all taking the girls and may well have a beer with the man himself after the show. I'll do a review in a couple of weeks time.

Steve G
Expert to the Chaos Crew and the Megs in series-3
e-mail me by clicking here if you would like a question answered

2nd October 2002 - Change to the link for the official Scrapheap Challenge chat forum
The Scrapheap Challenge chat forum - This link is now changed due to a 'brand new' chat forum site on the Channel 4 website. Go have a look and don't forget to register so that you can reply to the postings made by other like minded Scrapheap fans.

The 3-stages to get the monster 'Muncher' into the air

The Steve G, Liebherr BIG Muncher is full-up

The Goliath Liebherr Muncher begins it work

Liebherr machines owned by the contractor McGee demolition

14th September 2002 - Updates and changes to the links for the official Scrapheap Challenge websites
The links for the website for Scrapheap Challenge past and present have just been updated ready for the new series to begin at 5.25pm on Sunday 15th September 2002 on UK television Channel 4. Please now refer the the following sites and remember to update your bookmarks.

Scrapheap Challenge 2002 - The BRAND NEW 2002 series-5 Scrapheap website

The information the previous two years show can now be found at .....

Scrapheap Challenge 2001 - All the 2001 series-4 Scrapheap challenges that happened last year.

Scrapheap Challenge 2000 - This site details all the challenges for series-3 during 2000. You can follow the links and navigate to the details of the teams, experts and judges for the Demolition Challenge and the site was updated each week to reflect the programs as they were shown.

9th September 2002 - Yahoo, it's back. Scrapheap Challenge 2002 series-5

The TV advance listings indicate that the latest and very new Scrapheap Challenge 2002 series-5 is due to begin THIS COMING SUNDAY 15th September 2002 at 5.25pm on Channel 4 television in the UK.

The first show is Mud Monsters. If you want to know more about the other episodes then ask me

28th August 2002 - Well it is all happening again now. Today I received an e-mail from the new JYW co-presenter Karyn Bryant that in part said <quote>"We hit the airwaves tonight in the US with another killer season!". I understand that the new JYW series hits the screens tonight Wednesday 28th August 2002 and that Karyn is doing a Webcast at 10.00pm Eastern Time after the show. I didn't want anyone over there to accidently miss it, although I dare say you guys are already on the case. Can anyone Stateside tell what the new JYW series is like and what they get up to with the opening episode 'Manic Mud Racers' this evening? tell me

22nd August 2002 - Robert Llewelyn the man himself is embarking on a 2002 UK stand-up tour over the coming months. The show is titled Robert Llewelyn - WomanWizard. Basically it is a stand-up software launch for 'WomanWizard', a COMPLEX program to enable men to understand women, and a SIMPLE program for women to understand men. For the full official run down and also critic reviews and tour date information have a look at Rob the Llew's own tour page. I have already got my tickets for the Stevenage show on October 29th 2002, so maybe I shall see a few of you there. Let me know if you go and I may even buy a beer.

22nd August 2002 - Many thanks for all the replies to my question below on 22nd July about Tyler Harcott verse Henry Rollins. A reliable informant has said that Henry Rollins is in fact a co-host for the new yet to be seen television program 'Full Metal Challenge' where teams of three people take on each other in eliminator rounds to battle their creations around a course. The machines were made by the teams (and helpers) at their home locations and then the machines were shipped in containers from around the world to battle it out at a disused power station in East Kent in the UK. The filming for this new series finished last week and is due to be aired possible late this year in the USA and sometime in 2003 in the UK. The show is brought to you by the makers of Scrapheap Challenge and Junkyard Wars namely RDF media.

This means in fact we understand that it is Tyler Harcott that co-hosts the latest Junkyard Wars with the new co-host Karyn Bryant.

Archive Postings as follows .................

22nd July 2002 - I seem to be a little slow off the mark these days with all my time being spent on keeping up to date with the latest action with the UK Scrapheap Challenge that has just finished filming. We must not forget that the UK Scrapheap Challenge is not the only show to see a new female presenter this year. Our US companions Junkyard Wars also have a new face on the block in the form of Karyn Bryant. Born in Massachusetts, Karyn earned degrees in Sociology and Political Science from Brown University. She currently resides in Los Angeles with her husband Wade and their two dogs. I must admit that Karyn is new to myself and you guys can most likely tell me even more about her, but for the time being go and have a look at her site at http://www.karynbryant.com/ and see for yourself what a wonderful image you have to look forward to on Junkyard. The right hand picture on Karyn's home webpage showing the male and female presenters indicates that Tyler Harcott is still the co-presenter when you hover the mouse pointer over the image, but to me I am NOT so sure it looks like Tyler. Can anyone tell me different ? I have heard the name Henry Rollins mentioned but I have yet to receive any confirmation ..... does anyone know ? if so then please tell me

17th July 2002 - Well another new season of Scrapheap Challenge is now 'in the can' ready for the editing room. Last week saw the completion of filming of the Scrapheap Challenge 2002 UK series-5, and what a series the makers RDF with UK Channel 4 television have lined up for you all this year. The big change for 2002 of course is that as reported by me previously on 14th and 23rd May 2002 (see below) we now have a new female co-presenter with Robert by the name of Lisa Rogers. Lisa has been an absolute hit with the film crew and has persevered well in the rough scrapheap environment, look forward to her excellent input into the program presentation with Robert the Llew when the new series is aired sometime during September 2002. The programs are presently being edited ready for broadcasting and will include some brand new welcome challenges to add to the continuing list of wonderful machines and devices to made by the team members. Whilst on the subject of team members it is fair to say without giving anything away to spoil your enjoyment , that the line up of people who appear on-screen have this year undergone a name change crisis. Those who have to date been known as the 'Expert' attached to each team are now called 'Technical Consultants' or 'T.C.'s' for short, and the person we have previously known as the 'Judge' is now officially known as the 'Expert'. I do however feel that we the viewer will always look at the Judge ....... well as a Judge I suppose, but now he is the 'Expert' by name. Yes, this will all to add to the confusion of people involved but fear not because that raw basic element of the much loved UK Scrapheap Challenge is again to appear on our screens regardless of who is called what.

Similar to the present Junkyard Wars series there is now also a 'Confession Cam' (not a toolbox cam) where team member can go to share their personal thoughts with a mini-cam ............ and of course you the viewer. How do they really feel about the progress ? What is it that has upset them ? What is it that has made them feel SO good ? Find it all out for yourself and share their feelings.

Keep your eyes and ears at the ready and check those UK TV guide listings near to September 2002, and look out for the Channel 4 promotional video clips that normally lead up to the transmission date of a new series. It looks to be a winner, don't miss it.

As you can understand it is not possible to say anything more about the actual challenges or teams at this stage but be prepared to be amazed. More details will become available when the episodes have aired and this website will thereafter contain some exclusive behind the scenes images and reports of the new UK film set and the challenges.

Look forward to happy viewing for SHC 2002 !

4th June 2002 - A Scrapheap/Junkyard buddy has today informed me that the 'Flying Boat' challenge I was unsure about is in fact a hydrofoil as per the Scrapheap series-4 final between the Catalysts and the Mulewrights in 2001. All good stuff ay !

3rd June 2002 - Junkyard Wars new series takes first showing in the UK

Incredible as it may seem the latest on-screen series of the specific American Junkyard Wars series-3 began airing on UK television on Monday May 30th 2002 .............. some seven days before the USA see it for themselves on June 5th 2002. The new series began with the 'Turbines' and Bold3' and their incredible mechanical moles, a very good show indeed. The line up for the forthcoming specific Junkyard series-3 program challenges are as follows :-

1. Mechanical Mole - 'Turbines' take on 'Bold3' (a build like the Catalyst vs. the Mulewrights)

2. Climbing Car (a build like the Mulewrights vs. the McCarknow Clan)

3. Sand Yacht (a build like the Megalomaniacs vs. Driller Thrillers)

4. Garbage Guzzler (a build like the Chaos Crew vs. Catalyst)

5. Flying Boat (a build like a hydrofoil as per the Scrapheap series-4 final between the Catalysts and the Mulewrights in 2001)

6. Fire fighting Flotilla (a build like the NERDS vs. Brothers in Arms)

7. Combat Cars (a build like the Catalyst vs. The Megalomaniacs)

Where things quickly change however is that when the US start to show this new series on June 5th 2002 they show two ... YES TWO ... programs each evening for each week and therefore they quickly end up showing the whole new series before the UK. Fair play to the USA that's what I say.

Another new 'item' for the latest Junkyard Wars series is the "Toolbox Cam" where the team members have the opportunity to have their own say direct to the camera. This provides a completely new insight into the show and adds that little extra to the way the team members feel.

Anyway as you can see I have avoided to say anything at all about the actual outcome and so at this point may I say happy viewing to all you Junkyard and Scrapheap fans. Have FUN !

Steve G

23rd May 2002

A question that is raised many times in chat forums and in questions to me personally is "Why is Robert in some shows and not others ?" ... let me explain. There are in fact two completely separate series that are made. For the UK they produce Scrapheap Challenge and for the USA they now produce Junkyard Wars. As at this posting date the last Junkyard filmed is series-3 and the Scrapheap Challenge is now presently filming series-5 which is due to be aired about September this year (2002)in the UK.

It is these two separate series that has brought about the changes to the co-presenters. Robert normally does Scrapheap for the UK (with Cathy Rogers) and George Gray (USA series-1) and later Tyler Harcott (USA series-2) do the Junkyard series (again with Cathy Rogers). Unfortunately we have no longer got Cathy Rogers on-screen and Scrapheap Challenge will now be co-hosted by Lisa Rogers (no relation) for the new UK Scrapheap series-5 for 2002.

The only confusion that may have arisen in the past is that sometimes the original UK Scrapheap Challenge was aired in the USA under the name Junkyard Wars (even thought it was really Scrapheap Challenge). Finally the program received so much support and following that they began to make a series specifically for the USA and continued to name it Junkyard Wars.

This year 2002 Junkyards Wars series-4 is filmed in the USA and Scrapheap Challenge has returned filming to the UK for the new series-5.

NOW I BET YOU ARE REALLY CONFUSED ! .... questions please!

It was also interesting to note that the US series-3 Junkyard Wars is due to premier on the 5th of June 2002 because in the UK they have for the last few weeks been showing the US Junkyard series-2 and the Junkyard demolition final was last Monday. At the end of the program they announced that "Next week the fun continues with the next Junkyard series", this surely can only mean that they are to show what is the new US Junkyard Wars series-3 ....... and that would mean that we see it before the guys in the USA. That can't be right .... can it ?

Wow ! I just remembered that I have a copy of next weeks TV schedule so went downstairs to have a look and YES it is the new US series-3. The first program on Monday 27th May 2002 on UK Channel 4 television is where the 'Turbines' take on the 'Bold3' with a mechanical mole.

Steve G

14th May 2002 - and the NEW GIRLS IS ! ........ the Scrapheap has a new lady.

The new girl on the UK Scrapheap block is the delectable Lisa Rogers, and everyone can have at look at her C.V. (as the Rob the Llew put's it) on Robert's own site at http://www.llew.co.uk/scrapheap/ Lisa is the new co-host with Robert for the UK series-5 Scrapheap.
I am sure that we would all like to wish Cathy the very best with her new projects and her legend will live on the 'heap' forever as the creator of Scrapheap and Junkyard. A big welcome to Lisa and we wish her the very best for the new series. Filming is already underway somewhere in the South of England. Looking forward to September 2002 already.

Saturday 21st April 2002 - The Scrapheap chat forum is now back on-line.

The Scrapheap Challenge chat forum is now back on-line click-here.

Saturday 6th April 2002 - The new Junkyard Wars series begin a UK showing

This coming Monday 8th April 2002 at 8.00pm will see the return of Junkyard Wars to UK television on Channel 4 as we see how the folks from the USA do the business in the scrapheap. This new series, which is the third specific Junkyard series for the United States, has already been shown in the US and those of you who are regular visitors to the Junkyard Wars website may well already know what has been going on and who the teams are but you cannot beat seeing it all happen for yourselves.

Whilst on the subject of a scrapheap, you fans of the UK version Scrapheap Challenge can be rest assured to hear that the latest fifth series of Scrapheap Challenge (UK Scrapheap Challenge - series 5) should begin filming within this month with new teams and new challenges to feast your eyes and mind.

Happy viewing over the coming months as we all watch them create masterpieces of engineering from those things that others deem fit for the SCRAPHEAP.

previous period September 2001 to March 2002

next period January to December 2003

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