MythBusters Jr. is a spin-off of the original MythBusters, but this time it features precocious kids busting myths and doing stunts for TV cameras. One of those stunts on last week’s show had an unfortunate victim: an AW11 Toyota MR2.
The clip can be seen here, an attempt to show how powerful the domino effect can be. The stunt is the climax to an episode that also examined how one could pull the bottom Jenga piece out of the tower without bringing it down.
There was no reason, in other words, for the MR2 to be killed off so unceremoniously, since the point of the episode had nothing to do with the MR2—any car could’ve been in its stead. As we all know, the world needs more MR2s, not fewer MR2s.
If I had to guess, the show’s producers picked the MR2 because it is small and looks very much like a car. I do wonder how much they paid for it, because MR2 prices have been shooting up in recent years; two in December cleared $13,000 on Bring A Trailer alone.
I emailed Beyond Television Productions, which produces the show, and will update this post if I get a response.
Enthusiasts, of course, didn’t take all of this sitting down. Feel free to check out the comments section on MythBusters’s Facebook page. Here is a sample:
I would put more Facebook comments here, but I respect you, my dear reader, too much, and I think you get the picture in either case. It all sucks because until now I’d say most car people enjoyed MythBusters, Adam Savage and his whole crew a lot. But the summary execution of a rad, cheap ’80s sports car won’t put you on anyone’s good side.
RIP MR2, you didn’t deserve this.