cineflix productions

How much does a human head weigh? Can your eyeballs pop out if you sneeze too hard? Can a new shoe control kids'™ TV watching habits? For the answer to these questions and more, tune in to MAD LABS

March 17, 2006

New science series premieres on National Geographic Channel on April 23, at 7:30 pm ET/ 8:30 pm PT

March 17, 2006 : The new Cineflix series, MAD LABS, launches on National Geographic Channel on Sunday, April 23, at 7:30 pm ET/8:30 pm PT. Amusing, irreverent and always entertaining, MAD LABS tackles every imaginable branch of science in an approachable way. It’s hard science made fun and easy through oddball experiments with unexpected results. It’s the way science should be taught in high school.

MAD LABS proves that science is a fascinating part of our everyday lives. It won’t just fascinate our inner geek; science is for everyone who wants to know why things are and what could be – tackling the big questions, like how do you open a bottle of wine without using a corkscrew.

In each episode, MAD LABS recreates wacky experiments that actually have a solid, significant basis. They might seem silly but many of them have played a profound role in genuine scientific research and some of them have ultimately led to surprising scientific breakthroughs or important real world applications.

The series kicks off with:

Episode 1: Alt. Power
Sunday, April 23, 7:30 pm ET/ 8:30 p.m. PT
Tune in and find out how in the not so-distant future, appliances could be powered by a variety of alternative energy sources. Imagine a cleaner, wireless world where our appliances won’t be married to our wall sockets. In this first episode, learn how to open a bottle of wine using shockwaves – no more “lost the corkscrew” letdown! And how about an environmentally friendly fridge that uses sound instead of electricity; it’s super cool and quiet too. Want to whip up some ice cream? Use liquid nitrogen: it’s fast and current-free. Finally, discover an application for that oh-so renewable energy source: batteries fueled by pee-power.

Episode 2: Walking
Sunday, May 7, 7:30 pm ET/ 8:30 p.m. PT
Our first stop on our walking episode is a device that may eradicate mobile phone theft. It measures and recognizes the way we walk, so if someone steals our phone and tries to use it, the phone automatically shuts off. We also test which shoes have the best grip, and the answer could have you laughing all the way to the bank. And since we don’t completely understand the mechanics of walking, we look at a study that’s using guinea fowl to prove a point. Think your kid watches too much TV? How about a shoe with an embedded device that logs the distance a child walks. TV viewing time is regulated by distance walked; once the time has expired, the TV turns off and the child has to log more miles before it goes back on. Finally we visit a lab where a new type of walking has been invented. The only problem is no one can master it!

MAD LABS is Executive Produced by Glen Salzman, Katherine Buck, and André Barro. The Producers are André Barro, David Tibbals and Tom Parkhouse, and the Series Producers are Ed Booth and Maura Kealey. A Canada-UK co-production, MAD LABS is produced by Cineflix and Media Productions, in association with History Television, National Geographic Channel, National Geographic Channel International and Canal Z, with the financial participation of the Quebec Film and Tax Credit administered by SODEC and the Canadian Film or Video Tax Credit, with the participation of the Canadian Television Fund created by the Government of Canada and the Canadian Cable Industry: CTF-License Fee Program and the Rogers Cable Network Fund.

Cineflix is a dynamic, independent television production and distribution company dedicated to entertaining audiences with innovative non-fiction programming. Its growing catalogue of over 200 hours of factual programming includes history, science, documentary and factual entertainment shows, viewed by audiences in more than 50 countries. Cineflix International, its sales and distribution unit headquartered in Dublin and with a sales office in London, oversees the worldwide distribution of the Cineflix catalogue and select third party programs.