Extreme Engineering (Discovery Channel)

EXTREME ENGINEERING is a documentary-style program about large-scale engineering projects -- both actual and theoretical. Episodes have explored Boston's notorious Big Dig, Hong Kong's airport at sea, and the futuristic Transatlantic Tunnel. Hosted by architect and comedian Danny Forster, the series documents the different stages of a project, showing footage of actual work being done, interviews with engineers and other key folks, and computer-generated graphics demonstrating certain aspects of the engineering process. All of the details of a particular project -- from the weight of a steel wheel and the cost of a concrete plate to the temperature of water in a hydraulic system and the number of years for completion -- are covered.

Though Forster attempts to build excitement through each project's many steps, some episodes are less interesting than others. For example, one that detailed an extremely complicated Swedish project called the Hallandsas Ridge Tunnel is dull despite the narrator's enthusiasm and the pre-commercial break cliffhangers (what will happen after the dynamite blast to that wall?!). The episodes that deal with issues that are more familiar to viewers -- like the one exploring the Big Dig -- are more attention-grabbing. So kids with a particular interest in engineering, construction, science, and math may well find Extreme Engineering fascinating, but others probably won't be converted.