Rerun Mythbusters presented as new [Text View]

pdhenry

12-20-2007, 12:27 PM

Last night I noticed a new Mythbusters episode in the NPL. I checked the Original Air Date and it was 12/19/07. I started to watch it and it looked really familiar - midway into the first myth (can Christmas lights get hot enough to set a tree on fire?) I realized that I had been scammed - this wasn't a new episode.

What's the story? I had seen all of the myths before. Was this an episode spliced together from several others?

The Christmas tree one was the only Christmas-themed myth, and even then they mentioned "Not being able to wait until Christmas to test it."

billboard_NE

12-20-2007, 12:52 PM

My Tivo got scammed also. I watched it anyway.

MikeMar

12-20-2007, 12:54 PM

I want a refund!

It happens

ERooker

12-20-2007, 01:29 PM

Discovery's passing off recap episodes as "new" so this is the next logical step.

Einselen

12-20-2007, 01:41 PM

I thought mine had the R in the description but my Tivo was still picking it up (as I have first run and re-run and off course it has been more then 28 days since I have seen that one) but I will try to remember to check when I get home.

MasterOfPuppets

12-20-2007, 01:42 PM

Kill everybody!

allan

12-20-2007, 01:44 PM

What once was old is now new again.

gwangi

12-20-2007, 01:47 PM

So can the lights start a tree on fire?:confused:

bareyb

12-20-2007, 02:11 PM

So can the lights start a tree on fire?:confused:

Well. Yes and No. :D

I watched it again too. I must have been stoned the first time I watched it because I hardly remembered a thing. One of the advantages of getting old. :D

Did anyone else go and check their Christmas tree lights to see if theirs had a fuse? Our lights do indeed have a fuse. I guess they are newer than I thought... I actually feel a little better after having seen the show. I've been very neurotic about unplugging the lights. Almost seems like that video of the tree burning up was rigged or was using some very old fashioned lights with no protection.

ewolfr

12-20-2007, 03:18 PM

"If you haven't seen it, it's new to you!"

YCantAngieRead

12-20-2007, 04:22 PM

Yeah, I got duped, too.

I didn't really care, though. I figured it was simply a change in programming information and unless it happens again, I'll let it slide.

Combat Medic

12-20-2007, 04:45 PM

I had the same thing happen to me with NCIS and this Mythbusters.

Einselen

12-20-2007, 05:00 PM

I had the same thing happen to me with NCIS and this Mythbusters.

NCIS I believe was supposed to be new and then CBS changed it a few days ago to reruns. I think I have the guide data of the new CSI: NY so I need to be careful if they run it within a month due to the 28 day rule if that is the case.

pdhenry

12-20-2007, 05:22 PM

In the case of Mythbusters the program description is accurate but its original air date is incorrect.

dianebrat

12-20-2007, 05:59 PM

I had the same thing happen to me with NCIS and this Mythbusters.

Except with NCIS it wasn't at all the episode listed in the guide data, with Mythbusters the guide data was right, but the OAD was wrong. (as pd says above)

...just sayin...

Bob_Newhart

12-20-2007, 07:16 PM

Class action!

alansh

12-20-2007, 08:54 PM

Current light strings do have fuses, so you can't just string 20 sets end-to-end. For their test, they brought in enough power drops to directly feed all of the strings. This still doesn't stop you from going crazy with the cube taps (like Adam showed where he melted an extension cord).

To get the tree to actually burn at the end, they used a sparker to ignite it since the lights weren't doing it.

Prior to this episode, they aired reruns of their previous holiday shows. The first one was the clip show with some mini-myths as bumpers, and the second was where they build the Rube Goldberg machine and tested what keeps Christmas trees fresh.

Jeeters

12-20-2007, 09:19 PM

...mine had the R in the description but my Tivo was still picking it up (as I have first run and re-run and off course it has been more then 28 days since I have seen that one) but I will try to remember to check when I get home.That's what happened to me, too - I definitely saw the R. Didn't check the air date before deleting it.

YCantAngieRead

12-20-2007, 09:57 PM

Thinking on it, I think this episode was "relabled" to go with the holiday theme of the evening-they showed the other two Christmas/holiday episodes last night, so this one was relabeled to fit.

mattack

12-20-2007, 10:57 PM

BriGuy20

12-21-2007, 01:47 AM

I think the standard for listing reruns changed a few years ago, the listing services put an N for new instead of an R for rerun. I guess that the TiVo has to use the absence of the flag to decide what's what.

I do think it's wrong to pass pure reruns off as new, but you can make some argument for reruns with added footage as new. It would have to be at least 1/5 of the show, though (not like that Office 1 hour newpeats crap they pulled last year).

I agree with MasterOfPuppets in regards to the course of action. :)

bicker

12-21-2007, 08:21 AM

I know they broadcast three (or four?) Holiday episodes this week... Was any of them new?

dtle

12-21-2007, 09:33 AM

This is nothing. The last real new episode, about planes, had a description about the on-going Internet forums debate about a plane on a conveyor belt (or treadmill). That segment wasn't shown (it will be later, according to insiders), and needless to say, the forums were in an uproar.

Einselen

12-21-2007, 09:51 AM

So I checked Mythbusters last night and I did have an R, but I record it later at 11 or so hence why it is now a rerun. I checked the OAD and it was 12/19/07. I then quickly zipped through the first segment to see what myths they were doing and I have seen them all and I believe they were all in the same episode when I originally saw it but it is possible they took a few shows and put them together to make a "new" show. So where do I sign up for this class action? I was all excited to have a new MB.

Royster

12-21-2007, 09:53 AM

Cool! A repeat of the first Mythbusters episode I ever saw. I'll have to watch it again now that I know these characters.

/Always either too early or too late for the party.

mrmike

12-21-2007, 10:15 AM

Bah. I noticed Kari wasn't wearing a ring and got my hopes up. Now I see it was just an old episode.

:D

modnar

12-23-2007, 01:22 AM

Tivo does NOT pay attention to the R in the description.
Yep. I've seen lots of episodes of various shows with "R" in the description that were new episodes (and TiVo knew they were new).

nedthelab

12-23-2007, 12:53 PM

Tis the end of the world as we know it

Boot

12-24-2007, 02:59 PM

I got duped by the lack of a rerun tag too. But I watched it anyway, since it featured Jess the Mythtern, who they just recently fired.

bareyb

12-24-2007, 06:39 PM

Rob64

12-24-2007, 09:11 PM

They did it with Survivor man too.

heySkippy

12-24-2007, 09:55 PM

One thing that strikes me as odd about their christmas tree lights result. It would appear from the results that it's all but impossible to get christmas trees to catch on fire using lights. So they conclude "Myth Busted". How do they reconcile that with the fact that there are Christmas tree fires every year in this country and 40 related deaths? Christmas trees catch on fire all the time it seems... Obviously SOMEONE is doing something wrong... :D
They acknowledge there are many Christmas tree fires every year. What they're saying here is those fires aren't caused by the accumulated heat buildup of lots of bulbs. Instead they finger overloaded extension cords, especially older cords that aren't fuse protected.

bareyb

12-25-2007, 03:06 AM

They acknowledge there are many Christmas tree fires every year. What they're saying here is those fires aren't caused by the accumulated heat buildup of lots of bulbs. Instead they finger overloaded extension cords, especially older cords that aren't fuse protected.

That must be it. We don't use any extension cords on our lights so I guess we are safe. I'm still gonna unplug them every time we leave them unattended. It's just too ingrained in me not to. :D

GoHalos

12-25-2007, 01:59 PM

One thing that strikes me as odd about their christmas tree lights result. It would appear from the results that it's all but impossible to get christmas trees to catch on fire using lights. So they conclude "Myth Busted". How do they reconcile that with the fact that there are Christmas tree fires every year in this country and 40 related deaths? Christmas trees catch on fire all the time it seems... Obviously SOMEONE is doing something wrong... :D

Unless they said "fires caused by lights" (and I don't remember because I didn't get scammed by this "fake" new episode, so it's been a while since I've seen it), it could also be other "non-light" related stupidity, like having the tree too close to another heat source, like a wall heater, candles, etc.

bareyb

12-25-2007, 02:26 PM

Unless they said "fires caused by lights" (and I don't remember because I didn't get scammed by this "fake" new episode, so it's been a while since I've seen it), it could also be other "non-light" related stupidity, like having the tree too close to another heat source, like a wall heater, candles, etc.

Darwinism at work. :p

mattack

12-25-2007, 08:03 PM

I think the standard for listing reruns changed a few years ago, the listing services put an N for new instead of an R for rerun. I guess that the TiVo has to use the absence of the flag to decide what's what.

No, the Tivo uses the "Original Air Date" in the extended info (on the Tivo, hit the Info button when in a specific show episode to see it). When that isn't available, you see the 'generic' info and the Tivo records it in case it's a new episode.

roadkill_97006

01-24-2008, 01:13 PM

No, the Tivo uses the "Original Air Date" in the extended info (on the Tivo, hit the Info button when in a specific show episode to see it). When that isn't available, you see the 'generic' info and the Tivo records it in case it's a new episode.Well, it's happening again - big time. Starting 2/3, there are just loads of Mythbusters marked rerun (and really rerun) showing up in my To Do list, yet I have first run only checked. Stargate Atlantis is showing up the same way right now. I just had to cancel about 10 of them which were all reruns. In the case of the Mythbusters, I run the risk of either filling my HD or missing the "real" new shows, depending on the way I set the limits. Managing my Series 3 is beginning to be like having a VCR.

What the heck are we paying for? This is going downhill fast.

Jonathan_S

01-24-2008, 02:21 PM

Well, it's happening again - big time. Starting 2/3, there are just loads of Mythbusters marked rerun (and really rerun) showing up in my To Do list, yet I have first run only checked. Stargate Atlantis is showing up the same way right now. I just had to cancel about 10 of them which were all reruns. In the case of the Mythbusters, I run the risk of either filling my HD or missing the "real" new shows, depending on the way I set the limits. Managing my Series 3 is beginning to be like having a VCR.

What the heck are we paying for? This is going downhill fast.
I saw these on my TiVo. They have generic guide data, no actual episode information. And unfortunately (to my mind) the TiVo treats episodes with generic guide data as first run on the off chance that they might actually be new.

I wish there was an override where I could tell my TiVos to treat generic guide data as a rerun. (Either on a global or on an individual season pass basis)

However, since the Discovery channel is usually pretty decent about guide information I wouldn't be surprised if those episode get updated info as they get closer to airing, which would let the TiVo know they are really reruns and let it to automatically unschedule them.

mattack

01-24-2008, 10:32 PM

mattack

01-24-2008, 10:34 PM

I wish there was an override where I could tell my TiVos to treat generic guide data as a rerun. (Either on a global or on an individual season pass basis)

It's not that simple, but there's a semi-convoluted way to do this on Tivos that have the newer search features.. That is, I know S3 & TivoHD have them. Did S2s get them? I don't know.

Basically, create an auto-recording wishlist for the show, and add a NEGATIVE keyword for some of the words in the generic description. It works wonders. The original guy's suggestion was for the Daily Show. I use it for that and the Colbert report.

alansh

01-24-2008, 11:54 PM

Feb. 3 is a "viewers choice" marathon (http://dsc.discovery.com/fansites/mythbusters/polls/viewers-choice/2008-01/2008-01.html), so the exact episodes haven't been determined yet.

Jonathan_S

01-25-2008, 10:46 AM

It's not that simple, but there's a semi-convoluted way to do this on Tivos that have the newer search features.. That is, I know S3 & TivoHD have them. Did S2s get them? I don't know.

Basically, create an auto-recording wishlist for the show, and add a NEGATIVE keyword for some of the words in the generic description. It works wonders. The original guy's suggestion was for the Daily Show. I use it for that and the Colbert report.Unfortunatly for me the DirecTV series 2 haven't been updated with the new wishlist functionality.

But I'd seen (and forgotten about) that workaround for the standalong and HD units.

roadkill_97006

01-25-2008, 11:22 AM

Wait until much closer to 2/3 to start complaining. A lot of these end up being 'filled in' with real guide data closer to the airing.I complain when I don't get what I'm paying for. TIVO has the smarts to fix this stuff. The shows may well eventually get updated, but that doesn't address the same thing happening with the Stargate Atlantis reruns. They're TODAY. And they're NOT generic listings (I just looked). My S3 is treating them as first run shows. The SG shows aren't in HD and thus don't present the level of disk space problem that the Mythbusters shows do. They're all too likely to fill my HD or make the TIVO think it'll be filled - which is exactly the state it's in now.