How It's Made

How It's Made
Created by Gabriel Hoss
Presented by
  • Mark Tewksbury (2001)
  • Lynn Herzeg (2002–2004)
  • June Wallack (2005)
  • Lynne Adams (2006–2016)
Country of origin Canada
No. of seasons 27
No. of episodes 351 (list of episodes)
Production
Running time 30 minutes (including commercials)
Release
Original network Z (Quebec)
Discovery Science (Canada)
Discovery Channel, Quest, and DMAX (UK)
Science (United States)
Picture format 480i (SDTV) (2001-2009)
1080i (HDTV) (2009-present)
Original release January 6, 2001 – present
External links
Website

How It's Made (Comment C'est Fait in Quebec) is a documentary television series that premiered on January 6, 2001 on the Discovery Channel in Canada, and Science in the United States. The program is produced in the Canadian province of Quebec by Productions MAJ, Inc. and Productions MAJ 2.[1] In the United Kingdom, it is transmitted on Discovery Channel, Quest, and DMAX.[2]

Format

The show is a documentary showing how common, everyday items (including clothing and accessories like alligator handbags, foodstuffs like bubble gum, industrial products such as engines, musical instruments such as guitars, and sporting goods such as snowboards) are manufactured.

How It's Made is filmed without explanatory text to simplify overdubbing in different languages. For example, the show avoids showing a narrator or host onscreen, does not often have employees of featured companies speak on camera, and keeps human interaction with the manufacturing process to a bare minimum.

An off-screen narrator explains each process, often with humorous puns. Each half-hour show usually has three or four main segments, with each product getting a demonstration of approximately five minutes; exceptions are allowed in the allotted time for more complex products. Usually, every show has at least one product with a historic background note preceding it: Showing how and where the product originated, and what people used before it.

In April 2007, all episodes ran in the United States (on the Discovery Channel and Science) had the individual season openings replaced with a new opening used for every episode. Similar to most other Discovery Channel shows, the credits now run during the last segment, with only a blue screen and the request for feedback (and the website) at the end.

In September 2007, the ninth season began airing on Science, along with new openings, graphics, and soundtracks, and Zac Fine replaced Brooks T. Moore as the narrator. However, the eleventh season, which started airing in September 2008, reinstated Moore as the narrator and reverted to a previous title sequence and soundtrack.

In June 2008, the Science Channel commenced to transmit How It's Made: Remix, which consisted of previous segments arranged into theme installments like "Food," "Sporting Goods," and such. In 2013, the Science Channel commenced to transmit How It's Made: Dream Cars, which focused exclusively on high-performance and exotic cars.[3] These were later shown on the Velocity (TV channel) channel.

Languages

The show is transmitted, in English, on Discovery Channel and Discovery Science, and, in French, on Z.

It is also transmitted in the United States (on the Science Channel and less frequently on the Discovery Channel), the UK (on the Discovery Channel of Great Britain and Ireland, Discovery Science, and Quest), in Italy (on various Discovery channels), in Spain (on Discovery Channel and Discovery MAX), in Norway (translated into Norwegian on Discovery Channel and Discovery Science), in Poland (translated into Polish on Discovery Channel Polska and Discovery Science Channel Polska), and in India (on Discovery Science).

In Germany, it is transmitted on DMAX in German under the title So wird's gemacht. The show is also broadcast under various titles: in Portuguese under the title O Segredo das Coisas, in Spanish under the title Así se hace, in French under the title Comment c'est fait, in Polish under the title Jak to jest zrobione, in Hungarian under the title Hogyan készült, in Romanian under the title Cum se fabrică, in Italian under the title Come è fatto, in Russian under the title Как это работает, in Norwegian under the title Hvordan den lages, in Finnish under the title Miten se tehtiin?, in Czech under the title Jak se to dělá, in Turkish under the title Nasıl Yapılır?, and in Bulgarian under the title Как се прави....

UK, US, and international hosts

A different voice-over track is recorded for US audiences by Brooks Moore (as Brooks T. Moore) (Seasons 1-8, 2001–2007, 2008–present) or Zac Fine (2007–2008).

The scripts are almost identical but the main difference in the US versions are that the units of measurement are given in United States customary units instead of metric units. At one point in the US run, a subtitled conversion was shown on-screen over the original narration.

In the United Kingdom, the rest of Europe, and in some cases in Southeast Asia, the series is narrated by Tony Hirst.

All episodes have been shown in the UK on the Discovery, Quest, and the Discovery Science channels.

Episodes

Critical reception

Common Sense Media gave the TV show a rating of 4/5 stars, writing "Curious kids and adults will learn from the show, and some segments can really broaden your perspective".[4] On the show's success despite the formulaic nature of show, Rita Mullin, the general manager of the Science Channel, said "I think what is one of the great appeals of the show as a viewer myself is how little has changed over the years".[5] The Wall Street Journal deemed it "TV's quietest hit".[6]

Accolades

YearAwardCategoryRecipient(s)ResultRef.
2014Young Artist AwardSocial Relations of Knowledge Institute AwardHow It's MadeAwarded[7]

Parodies

The series was spoofed in an episode of Rick and Morty in a segment where a "Plumbus" was being made.[8]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 3959015 Canada, Inc.
  2. ↑ "About How It's Made : Science Channel". Retrieved November 12, 2014.
  3. ↑ "http://science.discovery.com/tv-shows/how-its-made/videos/dream-cars.htm". External link in |title= (help)
  4. ↑ "How It's Made - TV Review".
  5. ↑ Eveleth, Rose. "How 'How It's Made' Is Made". The Atlantic.
  6. ↑ Jurgensen, John (18 December 2014). "'How It's Made': TV's Quietest Hit". Wall Street Journal.
  7. ↑ "35th Annual Young Artist Awards". Young Artist Awards. Retrieved April 14, 2014.
  8. ↑ Blevins, Joe (6 June 2016). "Rick And Morty shows how a plumbus is made, in almost too-graphic detail". Retrieved 16 July 2016.
External video
How It's Made's channel on YouTube
How It's Made - Topic's channel on YouTube
How It’s Made's channel on YouTube
How It’s Made's channel on YouTube
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