Popular Mechanics for Kids

*Popular Mechanics for Kids*
Popular Mechanics for Kids
	Opening logo
Directed by	Jean-Louis Cote, Serge Marcil, Zsolt Luka, Sid Goldberg,
Starring	Elisha Cuthbert; Jay Baruchel; Tyler Kyte; Vanessa Lengies; Charles Powell;
Country of origin	Canada
Original language	English
No. of seasons	4
No. of episodes	72
Production
Producer	Jonathan Finkelstein
Running time	30 minutes (approx.)
Production companies	Global Television Network/Shaw Media; Hearst Entertainment; TVA International (final episodes)
Original release
Network	Global TV
Release	7 September 1997 –; 12 February 2001

Popular Mechanics for Kids (sometimes abbreviated to PMK) is an educational Canadian television series based on Popular Mechanics magazine. It was notable for starting the careers of Elisha Cuthbert, Jay Baruchel and Tyler Kyte. The show's intent is to teach viewers how things work. It was awarded the Parents Choice Award in 2003, and was nominated for the Gemini Awards.

The series aired on Global TV from 1997 to 2001, and re-runs of the show continued to air on many channels until 2008. It piloted on BBC Kids and Discovery Kids until December 31, 2009. After the closure of Discovery Kids Canada, BBC Kids stopped airing reruns in all countries except Canada. The reruns on BBC Kids in Canada ended on May 14, 2011. As of 2013^[update] re-runs of the show continue to air on Knowledge Network. Along with Cuthbert and Baruchel, the cast included Charles Powell nicknamed "Charlie" for the series, Tyler Kyte (who replaced Jay in the second series), and eventually Vanessa Lengies.

The show was filmed primarily in Montreal, Quebec, and is currently distributed on VHS / DVD by Koch Vision.

Episode Overview

The show starts off with an overview of the episode. The hosts, (Elisha, Tyler, Jay, and later Vanessa) then start their adventures on the show (amusement park, snowboarding, surfing, visiting a science museum, etc.) Throughout the adventures, short, educational segments are shown.

Another segment is shown, with host Charlie (called Charlie's Experiment / Tip. It is show with him (and sometimes the other hosts) demonstrating an experiment. He sometimes answers frequently asked questions about related science topics. At the start of season 3, one of the hosts (mostly Vanessa) would go on a third adventure. The show then comes to a close, with the co-hosts saying "See you next week!".

Cast

Segments

Maniac Brainiac
Cool Tool
Charlie's Experiment/Tip
Mechanix with Nix and Tix, later known as just Nix & Tix
Action!
Coming Up on PMK
Rewind
Fast Forward
FACTory
Under the Hood
Gear Gutz
Sparks
System Error

Episodes

Season		Episodes	Originally aired (Canadian dates)
Season		Episodes	Season premiere	Season finale
	1	22	September 7, 1997 (1997-09-07)	February 8, 1998 (1998-02-08)
	2	22	September 6, 1998 (1998-09-06)	January 24, 1999 (1999-01-24)
	3	22	September 5, 1999 (1999-09-05)	January 30, 2000 (2000-01-30)
	4	6	January 7, 2001 (2001-01-07)	February 12, 2001 (2001-02-12)

DVDs

A number of VHS copies (and later, DVD's) have been released by Koch Vision and E1 Entertainment.

Slither and Slime
Radical Rockets
Rip Roaring Rollercoasters and All Access to Fun
Gators, Dragons and Other Wild Beasts
Super Sea Creatures and Awesome Ocean Adventures
Lightning and Other Forces of Nature
X-reme rides
Roller Coasters
Zoos
Garbage
Popular Mechanics For Kids: 4 DVD Box Set
Popular Mechanics For Kids: 6 DVD Box Set
Popular Mechanics For Kids: The Complete First Season

References

External links