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The Mythbusters on Steve Jobs: “iGenius” Documentary to Air October 16th

33 points by GBond 15y ago

smackfu 15y ago
I love the Mythbusters, but what an odd choice for this project.
- evilduck 15y ago
  They're the definitive Discovery Channel hosts right now and are probably on retainer or contractually obligated for things like this. Plus, their show is currently airing a new season and they're wildly popular. This just screams to me that it's about advertising to as many eyeballs as possible while it's a hot topic (otherwise, why so quick? the man was literally just buried).
  - dailyrorschach 15y ago
    Definitely a revenue generating opportunity. However, there is just also a great deal of interest, and as long as they have quality content I'm excited to see it. And yes, I imagine they are contractually obligated, like Mike Rowe, who they've over used so much - plus they probably wanted someone more geek for the special.
  - evan_ 15y ago
    It sounds to me like they moved the airing up as a result of recent events, not that they just threw it together in the last week.
GBond 15y ago
Hopefully the choice in host will result in a focus the documentary on "garage" days with Woz. On the subjects of cable specials, I REALLY hope TNT will make a sequel to "Pirates of Silicon Valley" soon!
- pork 15y ago
  > On the subjects of cable specials, I REALLY hope TNT will make a sequel to "Pirates of Silicon Valley" soon It's not a sequel or a cable special, but I believe you're looking for a film called the "Social Network"
  - sukuriant 15y ago
    Why the downvotes? That seems a reasonable sequel to me
    - pork 15y ago
      I think people either took it too literally, or are upset at the (unintended) comparison of Zuck and Jobs.
  - GBond 15y ago
    A sequel would be terrific because, if you recall, the main story arch was the Gate's philosophy of profit by any means wins over Jobs' (misguided) ideals centered around creating a tasteful product. In the end Gates wins (last scene of the movie was Jobs announcing MS bailing out/investing in Apple). That movie came out pre-Apple device dominance. As we all know things have change and the principle of tasteful & desired products actually works out pretty well. However, the next movie will probably not be on TV. With the obvious interest by the mass public of Jobs' life & death, a big-screen movie is probably coming. Maybe using the soon to be published biography as the source.
mrgoldenbrown 15y ago
I hope they are able to get past the lovefest of the recent media coverage, and dig into some of the more interesting issues. Did he really think that taking LSD was one of the most important events in his life? What did he do with all his money? Will there be anything equivalent to the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation? How did he reconcile the idea of creativity and "think different" and the iconic 1984 commerical for the mac with his insistence on locking down the platform, reducing options, and telling the consumer what was good for them?
- raganwald 15y ago
  Why is what he did with his money “interesting?” I’d call that a personal and private matter, very similar to what position he preferred in bed. The word “interesting” to me suggests more than just whether members of the public would like to pry into something. I have no doubt that millions of Justin Bieber's fans are very interested in what he ate for breakfast, but that doesn’t make it interesting. Likewise if someone digs up dirt that Mr. Jobs parked his car in a handicapped spot, that would again fuel a frenzy of “Oh my, such a terrible thing to do” chin-wagging, but how is this interesting? You can’t even make an argument that how he spent his money has anything to do with integrity. He never asked me to buy Apple stock so that his personal fortune could be used for Good Works. He never ran for elected office on the basis of giving back to society. What he did with his money is his affair, and a fascination with it says so much more about the human desire to pry than it does about anything of true intellectual interest.
  - 83457 15y ago
    I'm curious where the wealth that is nearly equivalent to the combined average salary of a quarter million people will be going. I guess that means I'm a bad person.
  - pkulak 15y ago
    He was fantastically wealthy, and it all came from products sold to a huge percentage of the American people. We are interested in where that money went. That's hardly similar to wondering what Bieber had for breakfast, or how someone prefers sex. Does not donating a penny make him a bad person? I'd say not, especially when you consider everything else he's done for this country, even just economically. People like Buffet and Gates have set the bar pretty damn high, though, and I'm happy their public altruism has put pressure on other wealthy people to do the same.
TimGebhardt 15y ago
The program that was previous scheduled to air in that timeslot was called "Can you live forever?" #toosoon ?
- schraeds 15y ago
  Nope, that joke will never be funny.

33 points by GBond 15y ago

smackfu 15y ago

I love the Mythbusters, but what an odd choice for this project.

evilduck 15y ago
They're the definitive Discovery Channel hosts right now and are probably on retainer or contractually obligated for things like this. Plus, their show is currently airing a new season and they're wildly popular. This just screams to me that it's about advertising to as many eyeballs as possible while it's a hot topic (otherwise, why so quick? the man was literally just buried).
- dailyrorschach 15y ago
  Definitely a revenue generating opportunity. However, there is just also a great deal of interest, and as long as they have quality content I'm excited to see it. And yes, I imagine they are contractually obligated, like Mike Rowe, who they've over used so much - plus they probably wanted someone more geek for the special.
- evan_ 15y ago
  It sounds to me like they moved the airing up as a result of recent events, not that they just threw it together in the last week.

GBond 15y ago

Hopefully the choice in host will result in a focus the documentary on "garage" days with Woz. On the subjects of cable specials, I REALLY hope TNT will make a sequel to "Pirates of Silicon Valley" soon!

pork 15y ago
> On the subjects of cable specials, I REALLY hope TNT will make a sequel to "Pirates of Silicon Valley" soon It's not a sequel or a cable special, but I believe you're looking for a film called the "Social Network"
- sukuriant 15y ago
  Why the downvotes? That seems a reasonable sequel to me
  - pork 15y ago
    I think people either took it too literally, or are upset at the (unintended) comparison of Zuck and Jobs.
- GBond 15y ago
  A sequel would be terrific because, if you recall, the main story arch was the Gate's philosophy of profit by any means wins over Jobs' (misguided) ideals centered around creating a tasteful product. In the end Gates wins (last scene of the movie was Jobs announcing MS bailing out/investing in Apple). That movie came out pre-Apple device dominance. As we all know things have change and the principle of tasteful & desired products actually works out pretty well. However, the next movie will probably not be on TV. With the obvious interest by the mass public of Jobs' life & death, a big-screen movie is probably coming. Maybe using the soon to be published biography as the source.

mrgoldenbrown 15y ago

I hope they are able to get past the lovefest of the recent media coverage, and dig into some of the more interesting issues. Did he really think that taking LSD was one of the most important events in his life? What did he do with all his money? Will there be anything equivalent to the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation? How did he reconcile the idea of creativity and "think different" and the iconic 1984 commerical for the mac with his insistence on locking down the platform, reducing options, and telling the consumer what was good for them?

raganwald 15y ago
Why is what he did with his money “interesting?” I’d call that a personal and private matter, very similar to what position he preferred in bed. The word “interesting” to me suggests more than just whether members of the public would like to pry into something. I have no doubt that millions of Justin Bieber's fans are very interested in what he ate for breakfast, but that doesn’t make it interesting. Likewise if someone digs up dirt that Mr. Jobs parked his car in a handicapped spot, that would again fuel a frenzy of “Oh my, such a terrible thing to do” chin-wagging, but how is this interesting? You can’t even make an argument that how he spent his money has anything to do with integrity. He never asked me to buy Apple stock so that his personal fortune could be used for Good Works. He never ran for elected office on the basis of giving back to society. What he did with his money is his affair, and a fascination with it says so much more about the human desire to pry than it does about anything of true intellectual interest.
- 83457 15y ago
  I'm curious where the wealth that is nearly equivalent to the combined average salary of a quarter million people will be going. I guess that means I'm a bad person.
- pkulak 15y ago
  He was fantastically wealthy, and it all came from products sold to a huge percentage of the American people. We are interested in where that money went. That's hardly similar to wondering what Bieber had for breakfast, or how someone prefers sex. Does not donating a penny make him a bad person? I'd say not, especially when you consider everything else he's done for this country, even just economically. People like Buffet and Gates have set the bar pretty damn high, though, and I'm happy their public altruism has put pressure on other wealthy people to do the same.

TimGebhardt 15y ago

The program that was previous scheduled to air in that timeslot was called "Can you live forever?" #toosoon ?

schraeds 15y ago
Nope, that joke will never be funny.