Discovery show to construct Da Vinci designs

from the hollywood reporter

Discovery builds series around Da Vinci
Show will construct artist's engineering designs
By James Hibberd

Call it "Mythbusters" meets "The Da Vinci Code."

Discovery Channel is teaming with producer Craig Piligian to try to
bring to life the engineering designs of Leonardo Da Vinci.

During the 15th century, the Italian artist conceptualized many
inventions that are now considered hundreds of years ahead of their
time. His journals include blueprints of a helicopter, a tank, a
calculator and the harvesting of solar power.

Most of the designs have never actually been constructed -- until now.

"If Da Vinci had at his disposal the tools we have today, would the
inventions work?" asked Piligian (Discovery's "Dirty Jobs," Sci Fi's
"Ghost Hunters"). "How much of a genius was he really?"

Discovery Channel has ordered six one-hour episodes of the series,
tentatively titled "Doing Da Vinci." Each episode will attempt to
build two of the master artist's designs.

"It's ingenuity under pressure and reaching for the impossible," said
Jeff Hasler, senior vp production and development at Discovery. "It's
right in keeping with our brand."

The "Da Vinci" design team will include a rocket scientist, a
Hollywood special effects expert and an everyday in-the-garage
inventor. Although the team will use modern tools, the building
materials will all be re-creations of what was available during Da
Vinci's era. The series is expected to debut sometime next year.

The network also has ordered 12 episodes of a new half-hour series
from Piligian titled "Destroyed in Seconds," which will debut next
month.

"Seconds" features video clips of disasters where man-made
constructions were destroyed in, well, seconds. Subject matter will
range from the intentional implosion of Dunes Hotel in Las Vegas to a
terror attack on an Israeli marketplace. The show then deconstructs
the disaster to show physically how the destruction happened. Fox
Sports' Ron Pitts will host.

"It's not a show that's going to focus on bad things, it's a show that
explains how these things happen," Hasler said.
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