Parents' Guide to

Unchained Reaction

By Matt Springer, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 9+

Clever competition promotes creative engineering, teamwork.

TV Discovery Channel Reality TV 2012
Unchained Reaction Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this TV show.

Community Reviews

See all

There aren't any parent reviews yet. Be the first to review this title.

What's the Story?

Hosted by mythbusters Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman, UNCHAINED REACTION is a science and engineering reality competition that pits dueling teams of experts against one another to build the most creative and successful chain reaction contraption they can. These massive installations typically require large objects such as pianos, beer kegs, and other items colliding into one another to set off a series of events that is both stunning and surreal to watch. After each team demonstrates their contraption, Savage and Hyneman select a winner.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say: Not yet rated
Kids say: Not yet rated

Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman are TV's Mythbusters, and if you love science and want your kids to love it too, they are your very best TV friends. They've single-handedly helped apply science and engineering to exactly the kind of daffy topics that older kids and teenagers can understand -- are elephants really afraid of mice? Does nervousness cause cold feet? Can you safely stick your hand into molten lead?

On Unchained Reaction, they continue to make applied science and creative engineering far more entertaining than you would ever expect. The teams feature the types of professions that are most likely to come up with crazy solutions to unusual problems -- Hollywood prop masters, for example, or physics professors. Then the show lets these types loose in a warehouse full of unconventional items and lets them figure out the most creative and unexpected ways to set off a chain reaction. Although there is occasional interpersonal conflict played for tension as well as infrequent adult language, overall Unchained Reaction is a great showcase for the power of science and engineering to do amazing things.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about science. How are scientific principles working all around you, in everyday objects and experiences? What kind of experiments would you like to do with everyday objects?

  • Are you tempted to try some of the show's experiments at home? What would you need to do first to prepare for an experiment using household items? What safety precautions would you take?

  • Are science shows boring? What makes the difference between an entertaining educational show and a boring one?

TV Details

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

See all recommended tv lists

Related Topics

Want suggestions based on your streaming services? Get personalized recommendations

Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

See how we rate