Mighty Machines
Mighty Machines is a Canadian children's television series about machines and how they work. It airs on TVO, Treehouse TV and other channels in Canada, including Access in Alberta, the Saskatchewan Communications Network, and Knowledge in British Columbia. It also aired on Discovery Kids (UK) in 2005, on Qubo in the U.S., and a French-language version airs on TFO in Ontario and on channels in Quebec. The series did not air on any channels in the United States, but the episodes were put on direct-to-video videos released by Buena Vista Home Video in the US. It was nominated for a Gemini Award in 1996 in the category of Best Children's Program or Series.
Media
When it first aired as a production of Malofilm, the first season in 1994, second in 2004, and third in 2008 (done by Loten Media, and distributed by Seville Pictures). Instead of a human commentator talking to viewers, it uses voice-over actors to make the machines themselves talk to viewers, tell them what's happening, how the machines run, etc. Most of the episodes were filmed in Toronto, Ontario; Montreal, Quebec; and Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Names of Mighty Machines
The Airplanes
- DC-10
- A-320
- Jumbo
- Stearman
- Super Stearman
The Front Loaders
- American Loader
- Irish Loader
- Jaws
- Sally
- Scoop
The Fire Engines
- Pumper
- Sparky
- King (with the voice of Elvis Presley)
The Diggers
- Big Cat
The Trains
- Freddie
- "O" Train
- GO Train
- Shunty
- Diesel
Others
List of episodes
The episodes were done in two formats for broadcast: twenty-two-minute full episodes, and five-minute excerpts for use as filler.
All of the episodes are available on VHS and DVD, individually or in box sets. There is also a sixty-minute VHS featuring all of the five-minute episodes from season one.
Season One (1994) - Malofilms
1. At The Airport
At Toronto Pearson International Airport, DC, a big strong male Canadian Airlines DC-10 jet, explains (and shows) his journey from the hangar to the terminal, before picking up passengers and taking to the sky. He also shows the viewers how he gets cleaned in the hangar. Many other aircraft are featured in the episode including a Canadian airlines Boeing 737 (missnamed as an A320), a British Airways, Air Canada, and Lufthansa Boeing 747, and an American Airlines Boeing 757. This is the series premiere.
2. At The Quarry
Euclid, a dump truck, explains how he grinds rocks from the quarry, turning them into gravel. A gravel conveyor and front-end loaders also explain about how they work in these tasks for moving the gravel and rocks around.
3. In The City
Little Mac, a small municipal pickup truck, takes viewers out onto the streets of Toronto to show how the city streets are cleaned and washed. The featured machines that do this include a street sweeper named Dusty, a vaccuum truck named Vaccuum Vic who cleans out sewers, another truck named Gusher that sprays water on the pavement, a stumper that obliterates stumps, and a tree trimmer named Stretch with a chipper, all of which are to prepare the streets every morning for traffic.
4. In The Harbour
Murphy, a Toronto Police boat, takes viewers out into Toronto Harbour to show many of his harbour friends, including Blackie and Thor, two large freighters; Mckenzie, a fireboat; and Flo and Merryweather a couple of ferry boats Oriole, a Toronto city tours boat; a working replica of a square rigger ship and the two ferries that go to Toronto Island, all of which explain their use of operating in the harbour. Murphy speaks with an Irish accent.
5. At The Construction Site
A caterpillar shovel & motorized steam shovel Named "Big Cat" shows viewers how he and his friends build a hospital from digging the foundation to building the walls. Also a tall Crane named SkyHook from downtown and his friend Carmen, who is also a Crane Build a Tall skyscraper that is almost finished.
6. At The Race Track
A Formula 3000 race car named Goldstar, takes viewers out onto the racetrack and explains how he is transported from the garage, as well as making pit stops and racing against all the other competitors. Goldstar is voiced by Arthur Holden.
7. At The Demolition Site
A Sheer Tractor named Deeno shows viewers around the Demolition Site. He demolishes an old factory building while with a bit of help from Dozer, a bulldozer, dynamite is used to demolish two water towers and a tall cement chimney. Mack truck also arrives to pick up beams from the demolition site.
8. At The Train Yard
Two Canadian Pacific and Canadian National freight trains named Shunty, Diesel and Freddie explain how work goes on in the train yard, including switching, putting the cars on the right train and transporting materials long distances. Spike and the tie gang do maintenance on the rails to keep them safe for the freight trains to run on.
9. At The Fire Hall
King, a Mack ladder truck shows viewers how his ladders and tiller work, while Pumper, a pumper truck shows how the hoses work. The episode also features some members of the North York Fire Department doing their training exercise.
10. On The Road
A Semi-trailer truck truck named Big Hoss, takes viewers out on the road and also shows how his cab and trailers work. Big Hoss speaks with a Texan accent. This episode was filmed in Greater Toronto mainly in Bradford, Ontario.
11. At The Garbage Dump
A garbage truck named explains his job of moving garbage from house to house and Big Red, a dump truck and Pee-Wee, a bulldozer, explain how the landfill works.
12. At The Cement Yard
A cement yard receives materials for concrete and a cement truck named Big Boy takes his load to a street and to a tall building. He fixes a road as well.
The first six episodes of season one were written by Doug Atkinson and Fiona Zippan (Denzey), while the remaining episodes were written by Bryan A. Auld.
Season Two (2004) - Seville Pictures
For season two, the scripts were by Bill Freeman, and the voice artists were Alan Bacchus, Edward Daranyi, Suzanne Hersh, Santo Lupo, Christopher Quinn, Patte Rosebank, Tanya Schneider, Oliver Svendsen, and Chuck Vollmar.
13. In the Snowstorm
Buzz, Stretch, and Ranger, a snow removal crew in Montreal, go out to clear the streets after a big snowstorm. The different tasks involved in this process are detailed by Blower, a snowblower machine, Bobcat, a Bobcat loader, and Big Dude, a snowplow.
14. Deep Underground
Range, Driller, and Crusher, a series of machines operating in a salt mine, explain how to find the salt, scoop it up, and carry it to the surface of the mine. This was filmed in Goderich Harbour, Ontario at the Sifto Canada salt mine on Lake Huron.
15. At the Ski Hill
A number of snowmobiles and other ski hill machines explain how they are able to skim across the surface of the snow without getting stuck. All the groomers are busy at nighttime when the skiers have gone home. This episode was filmed in Mont Tremblant, Quebec.
16. In The Sky!
A blue and yellow biplane named Stearman visits an airshow.
17. In the Forest
Feller, a Feller Buncher machine, explains how he cuts only marked trees in the forest. Skidders then explain how they skid logs to the log loader, which demonstrates its agility between loading logging trucks.
18. At the Sawmill
At a busy sawmill, Jaws, a front-end loader, explains how the trees are turned into lumber. His friends Cat, Grapple, Buzz, Scoop, and Big Red are many of the other machines that explain how the lumber will soon be turned into wood.
19. All About Recycling
Backpack Jack, a green recycling truck, explains how he collects all the recycling and sends it through many other machines, so it can be reused again. Big Blue, the sorting machine, shows how all the recycling is compacted. You also get to see how metal is recycled in a junk yard and how a road can be recycled too. This episode was filmed in Toronto, Ontario and Burlington, Ontario.
20. Building A Truck!
A number of machines explain and show how much work it takes to build a truck.
21. Making Waves!
Skipper takes viewers into Halifax Harbour, and while meeting many ferries, cargo ships, and navy ships, he shows how waves were formed.
22. Making A Road
Sammy, a large orange shovel, explains how, through the use of machines, a new road is built and prepared for cars to drive over.
23. On the Farm
Allis a tractor explains how see musy pull Polly a plowing machine to keep the fields ready for farming.
24. To the Rescue!
Sambraro, a coast guard lifeboat, and a rescue lifeboat explains how they recover a man overboard from stormy seas.
25. Trucks, Trucks, Trucks!
Vehicles include a gas truck, a carnival truck, and a cement pumper truck.
26. All Aboard Trains, Buses, and Subways!
Various public transport vehicles are featured in this episode, including Buddy, an OC Transpo bus, a O-Train, a GO Train and a Toronto subway train, who in turn explain their jobs of picking up the passengers and dropping them off exactly where they want to be.
Season Three (2008) - Loren Media / Seville Pictures
27. Building An Airplane
JetGirl comes to visit the airport and tells her story why she left and was made.
28. Ride The Mountain Rails
Diesel locomotive number 95 dumps rocks in the Canadian river, while three White Pass trains take children a tour to see the mountains. This was the only episode filmed outside Canada. It was filmed in Skagway, Alaska, White Pass, and Carcross, Yukon.
29. Car Wreckers
Forks shows children what he does in the car scrap yard. This episode was filmed in Ontario notably in Guelph.
30. Laying Down The Pipeline
Excavator, a backhoe, shows the kids how he digs deep in the ground for pipelines that are to be installed. His friends show how pipelines are connected and installed into the ground.
31. At The Steel Mill
Slabhaulers and other machines show how steel is made.
32. Hot Off The Press
Charlie, a printing press and other printing machines show how the Toronto Star newspaper is made.
33. Giant Tow Trucks
Tow Truck shows viewers all of the gear he carries to different jobs and with the help of another tow truck they pull a tanker that has tipped over
34. Bringing In The Harvest
A group of tractors retrieve tomatoes from the farm and put them into the Factory. Also features Clipper, who clips grapes and a truck who brings them to a factory to make wine.
35. Reach For The Sky
Stretch the crane is going to replace an ac on the top of a tall building, with a little help from another crane big brother stretch is ready to make the big lift while Gipsy Lady a Sikorsky s64 sky crane helps change ac units on the roof of a factory
36. Machines Go To School
Backhoes, earth-moving machines, bull-dozers, and other machines go to school to learn about how to dig, push dirt, carry dirt, and other construction procedures. This episode was filmed in Morrisburg, Ontario.
37. Go, Boats, Go!
Features a Canadian Coast Guard hovercraft, "Fast Forward", a Floridian air boat, and "Empress" a modern paddle wheel cruise ship.
38. Under The Waves
Features a Underwater tour Submarine who wants to tour passengers to see the Coral Reef, and a Submersible which goes underwater to find something for the boss, and a Navy Sub who takes kids to see whats inside
39. Board The Ferry
The Spirit of Vancouver Island, a BCFerries ferry, shows the kids what happens at the dock, the controls of the ship, and other things on the ship. This is the series finale.
DVD releases
- Chomp! Crunch! Tear! features episodes: Car Wreckers, Giant Tow Trucks, and Laying Down the Pipeline
- Tremendous Tools features episodes On the Farm, At the Sawmill and Deep Underground
- Winter Blast features episodes In the Snowstorm, At the Ski Hill and In the Forest
- Revved Up features episodes: Building an Airplane' , 'Ride the Mountain Rails and Reach for the Sky
- Diggers and Dozers features episodes At the Construction Site, At the Demolition Site and At the Quarry
- Machines on the Job features episodes Bringing In the Harvest, At the Steel Mill and Hot off the Press
- Big Wheels Rollin features episodes At the Cement Yard, Building a Truck and Trucks, Trucks, Trucks
- Lights and Ladders features episodes At The Fire Hall, At the Garbage Dump and In the City
- Roadways to Runways features episodes At the Race Track, At the Airport and On the Road
- Boats to the Rescue features episodes To the Rescue, Making Waves and In the Harbor
- All About Garbage and Recycling features episodes All About Recycling
- Making Tracks features episodes At the Train Yard, Making a Road and All Aboard
- Mega Machines features episodes Go, Boats, Go, Machines Go to School, Under the Waves, Board the Ferry, and All About Recycling