Mighty Machines
Mighty Machines is a Canadian educational children's television series that teaches about machines and how they work. The show premiered in 1994 airing 39 episodes over three seasons until 2008.
| Mighty Machines | |
|---|---|
 Mighty Machines DVD | |
| Genre | Educational children's television series |
| Opening theme | "Mighty Machines" by Marvin Dolgay and Glenn Morley |
| Country of origin | Canada |
| No. of episodes | 39 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 23 minutes |
| Production companies | Mighty Machines Productions TVOKids |
| Release | |
| Original network | TVOKids |
| Original release | 1994 – 2008 |
Format
Each Mighty Machines episode focuses on a specific type of heavy equipment or work environment. Machines talk to viewers on screen to explain their jobs. Documentary footage of actual machines in action doing their day-to-day work is presented with voiceovers of the machines addressing the viewers. The children in the audience are invited to follow the machines during a typical day. They explain their abilities and their duties in detail over the course of the episode. Each machine is given its own personality and they often hold conversations with one another as they work. Unlike most documentary-style shows, there is no external narrator.
All of season 1 episodes were done in two formats for the airing: 22-minute full episodes and five-minute excerpts for use as filler.
Honours
Mighty Machines was nominated for a Gemini Award in 1996 in the category of "Best Children's Program or Series".
Production
Mighty Machines first aired as a production of Malofilm, the first season in 1994, second in 2004, and third in 2008 (done by Loten Media, and distributed by Seville Pictures). Most of the episodes were filmed in Toronto, Ontario; Montreal, Quebec; Halifax, Nova Scotia; and Roanoke, Virginia, U.S.
Telecast and home media
The show aired on TVO, Treehouse TV and other channels in Canada, including Access in Alberta, the Saskatchewan Communications Network in Saskatchewan, and Knowledge in British Columbia. It also aired on Discovery Kids in the United Kingdom in 2005, on the now-defunct Qubo in the U.S. until August 31, 2014, and a French-language version airs on TFO in Ontario and on channels in Quebec.
The episodes were put on direct-to-video tapes released by the Disney-owned Buena Vista Home Video in the U.S.
All of the first three seasons' episodes are available on VHS and DVD, individually or in box sets. There is also a 60-minute VHS featuring all of the five-minute episodes from season 1.
DVD releases
- Chomp! Crunch! Tear! features episodes: Car Wreckers, Giant Tow Trucks, and Laying Down the Pipeline
- Tremendous Tools features episodes: On the Farm, At the Sawmill and Deep Underground
- Winter Blast features episodes: In the Snowstorm, At the Ski Hill and In the Forest
- Revved Up features episodes: Building an Airplane' , 'Ride the Mountain Rails and Reach for the Sky
- Diggers and Dozers features episodes: At the Construction Site, At the Demolition Site and At the Quarry
- Machines on the Job features episodes: Bringing In the Harvest, At the Steel Mill and Hot off the Press
- Big Wheels Rollin features episodes: At the Cement Yard, Building a Truck and Trucks, Trucks, Trucks
- Lights and Ladders features episodes: At The Fire Hall, At the Garbage Dump and In the City
- Roadways to Runways features episodes: At the Race Track, At the Airport and On the Road
- Boats to the Rescue features episodes: To the Rescue, Making Waves and In the Harbor
- All About Garbage and Recycling features episodes: All About Recycling and at the garbage dump
- Making Tracks features episodes: At the Train Yard, Making a Road and Buses subways, and trains
- Mega Machines features episodes: Go, Boats, Go, Machines Go to School, Under the Waves, Board the Ferry, and All About Recycling
- Learning, Lifting, and Towing features episodes: Machines go to School, Reach for the Sky! and Giant Tow Trucks
- Planes, Trains, & Automobiles features episodes: Building an Airplane, Ride the Mountain Rails, and Car Wreckers
- Ships Ahoy features episodes: Under the Waves, Go boats go, and Board the ferry
- Producing the Goods Features Episodes: Bringing In The Harvest, At The Steel Mill, Hot Off The Press, And Laying Down The Pipeline
- Smash, Mash, and Crash features: 13 mini episodes