| ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. | |
| PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids. | |
| OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. | |
| NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
Parents need to know that this science-based series demonstrates some of the real-world applications of technology and construction skills like carpentry and welding. Contestants must work together, combining their know-how and keeping a cool head under pressure to win the competition. In some cases, though, that same pressure causes tempers to flare, so expect occasional strong language (“damn,” mostly) and tense exchanges. Episodes also frequently feature challenge-related fires, explosions, and more. But overall, the series encourages creative thinking and problem-solving and is a fun choice for older tweens and teens.
In CATCH IT KEEP IT, contestants get 48 hours to overcome the scientific and engineering challenges that stand between them and a prize. In each episode, a three-person team must devise a way to protect a specific item -- a guitar, an aquarium, or a year’s supply of beer, for instance -- from the destructive tactics of the show’s resident engineer, Mike Senese, who simultaneously builds his own invention for meeting the same challenge. If the team is successful, they win a prize associated with the episode’s theme.
This no-frills, science-based series is an intriguing choice for older tweens and teens who enjoy watching the problem-solving process in action. The challenges are designed to get viewers’ gears turning along with the contestants’, and families can have fun devising their own solutions to the tasks (which they’re invited to submit via the show’s Web site).
And aside from some occasional strong language as a result of the participants’ stressful working conditions, the content is mostly worry free, so families of tweens and teens can tune in without concern.
Families can also talk about science and its applications. How do
science and technology improve our daily existence? What aspects of
science interest you? What problems would like to
solve? How would you go about it?
What parts of the show are based in pure science, and which do you think might have been added to make for more exciting TV? Would you have been as interested in watching if there weren't any explosions, etc?
How much of what you see on TV is actually advertising? How do TV shows
and movies include product placement in their content? Does the
Internet increase this advertising overload?
| TV rating: | TV-PG |
| Network: | SCIENCE |
| Cast: | Mike Senese, Zach Selwyn |
| Genre: | Educational |