Popular Mechanics for Kids

Popular Mechanics for Kids
File:Popmechanics.jpg Opening logo
Starring	Elisha Cuthbert Jay Baruchel Tyler Kyte Vanessa Lengies Charles Powell
Country of origin	Canada
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	4
No. of episodes	72
Production
Producer(s)	Jonathan Finkelstein
Running time	30 minutes (approx.)
Production company(s)	Global Television Network/Shaw Media Hearst Entertainment TVA International (final episodes)
Release
Original network	Global TV
Original release	7 September 1997 (1997-09-07) – 12 February 2001 (2001-02-12)
External links
[{{#property:P856}} Website]

Popular Mechanics for Kids (sometimes abbreviated to PMK) was 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 was 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 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. One of the hosts (Elisha, Tyler, Jay, and later Vanessa) then starts his or her first experience on the show (amusement park, snowboarding, surfing, motorbiking, visiting a science museum, etc.) The other host then goes on a different one. Throughout the first two adventures, short, educational segments are shown.

Later, another segment is shown, called Charlie's Experiment / Tip. It is much longer than the mini segments shown throughout the show, and it involves Charlie demonstrating an experiment. Sometimes he 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. After some more real life examples are shown, the two hosts then conclude the show, saying, "See you next week."

File:Popular Mechanics for Kids cast.jpg

Popular Mechanics for Kids cast

Cast

• Elisha Cuthbert
• Jay Baruchel
• Tyler Kyte
• Vanessa Lengies
• Charles Powell

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

Main article: List of Popular Mechanics for Kids episodes

Season		Episodes	Originally aired (Canadian dates)
			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.

File:Popular-Mechanics-For-Kids-Collection.jpg

6 DVD box set

• 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

External links

• Popular Mechanics for Kids at IMDb
• Popular Mechanics for Kids at TV.com
• Popular Mechanics for Kids at TheTVDB.com