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Modern Marvels 
Title card since 2007Genre Documentary Created by Bruce Nash Narrated by Max Raphael (current)
Harlan Saperstein
Will Lyman
Greg Stebner
Bill Ratner
Jack PerkinsCountry of origin United States Language(s) English No. of seasons 14 No. of episodes 546+ (List of episodes) Production Executive producer(s) Don Cambou Running time 44 minutes Broadcast Original channel History, H2 Original run January 1, 1995 – present External links Website Modern Marvels is a documentary television series that premiered on January 1, 1995 on History. The program focuses on how technologies affect and are used in today's society.
Since its debut in 1995, Modern Marvels has produced over 500 episodes covering various topics involving (to list a few) science, technology, electronics, mechanics, engineering, architecture, industry, mass production, manufacturing, and agriculture. Part of the appeal of Modern Marvels and the reason the show has been on the air for this long is the fact that it covers a wide range of subjects. Unlike most other science and technology shows,[citation needed] Modern Marvels focuses a significant portion of the episode on the history of the subject.[1]
The show began to premiere new episodes in January 2010, not having done so through all of 2009.[2] In August 2010, History began to air older episodes that had been edited to fit a 30-minute time slot, under the title Modern Marvels: Essentials.
In October 2011, Modern Marvels began airing first-run episodes on History 2 (formerly History International) in addition to its main run on History.
Contents
Engineering Disasters (sub-series)
Occasionally, the show airs a special sub-series called Engineering Disasters. These periodic episodes describe the circumstances of situations in which technology doesn't work correctly, such as building collapses and airplane crashes, resulting in spectacular (and sometimes fatal) failures. Including an episode on New Orleans, there have been 22 original Engineering Disasters episodes on Modern Marvels.
A former title screenshot of Modern Marvels.
Introduction
Distinct from other History series, the introduction of Modern Marvels features visuals and sounds of a bolt being turned by a ratchet wrench, followed by a partially computer-generated sequence involving construction workers building and hanging the title.
Narration
There have been a few narrators in the history of the series. The most current and longest running is Max Raphael, who has also narrated other History series, such as Command Decisions.
The History Channel has re-packaged some episodes that originally aired in other series and stand-alone specials into episodes of Modern Marvels, such as "Ice Road Truckers," which originally aired in 2000 as part of the series Suicide Missions. These episodes are not narrated by Raphael.
Production
Bruce Nash is credited with creating the series. Don Cambou has acted as executive producer on over 350 episodes for Actuality Productions, the production company behind the series.
Episodes
Main article: List of Modern Marvels episodesSee also
- Factory Floor with Marshall Brain
- How It's Made
- How Do They Do It?
- HowStuffWorks
References
- ^ http://www.history.com/home.do
- ^ Modern Marvels Episode Guide. History.com.
External links
Categories:- History (TV channel) original programs
- American documentary television series
- 1995 television series debuts
- 1990s American television series
- 2000s American television series
- 2010s American television series
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