LizTV

glad you enjoyed it!

Ok, It's a 6 part series. Each programme is an hour long documentary on a different engineering subject... Each programme is a standalone film and there is no overlap between the episodes FYI Here's the full rundown of the series Episode 1 Building the Biggest - Diamond Hunters With winter approaching fast the prospectors are in a race to reach their goal. The location, close to the Arctic circle is barren and inhospitable. Above ground there is nothing but the occasional herd of migrating caribou, the odd grizzly bear and a scattering of local inhabitants scraping a living off the land. But all that changes below ground where our prospectors believe there are millions of dollars worth of diamonds. If they are right, this wasteland could become one of the richest pieces of real estate on the planet. All they have to do is claim the land, find the seam of gems, extract samples, get them tested and start building a mine. Sounds easy, but with temperatures about to drop to minus 50 at any moment and investors getting twitchy, this is quite literally a race against time. Their hunt on the surface of the land is contrasted with two mines already hitting paydirt- the one near Yellowknife in the Northwest Territories that started it all and another almost completed in Nunavut, where they are digging deep in the hopes of hauling out millions of dollars in diamonds. The ever changing landscape will reflect the tension, drama, conflict, disappointment and euphoria which are an ever present part of hunting for diamonds. Episode 2 Building the Biggest - Pipes The U.K. is running out of gas at an alarming rate and the solution lies deep beneath the Norwegian Sea. One kilometer below the sea bed they have discovered enough gas to supply the UK for the next 30 years. But to get the gas to Britain, you have to sink huge drills and lay a massive 1200 km pipe that will survive the rocky terrain of the sea bed. It takes 1000 men with the stamina and skill to endure the rough waters of one of the most unforgiving seas on the planet. The schedule is relentless, and as horrendous weather conditions make the job next to impossible and food starts to run out on the ship, the crew begin to get twitchy. Episode 3 Building the Biggest - NASA This is the story of the colossal effort involved in building the biggest human-made structure in space, the International Space Station. The combined person power that has gone into building, launching and in-space assembly of the Space Station to date represents the biggest international construction project in history. A massive undertaking, sixteen nations have come together to build this cosmic outpost. Built across the globe, most of the elements that make up the space station rely on NASA's Space Shuttle for a ride into space. So when the shuttle fleet was grounded in 2003 following the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster, many of the station components due for launch were stuck on earth. In July 2005, the launch of Space Shuttle Discovery heralded the return to flight for the shuttle fleet. In this film we travel to Holland, Germany, Italy, Moscow, Canada, America and outer space as the pieces of this truly international jigsaw take shape and prepare to blast off, boldly crossing the final frontier. Episode 4 Building the Biggest - Underground Think New York, think Paris, London, Los Angeles, Amsterdam and Moscow. Each a thriving metropolis and home to millions. Each commuting centres for industrial and financial operators. Each systematically and unstoppably grinding towards gridlock. One of many common denominators in these cultural cosmopolitan cities are the worlds below their feet, their underground rail networks, their subways. Dank, depressing warrens of migrating humans, or the future for a better way of life above ground? After decades of moving around in intersecting tubes, the jury is still out. But for one city the future is looking exceedingly bright. If you take all the best bits from undergrounds around the world, discard everything that does not work and then throw millions of dollars into further design and construction, then you have the project that has every Singaporean drooling over their dim sum - The Singapore Circle, one of the biggest and certainly best underground railways in the world. In this film we witness the realization of this utopian vision under construction. The spectacle is addictively fascinating. That’s because the mission is fraught with difficulties. Can the team follow through on Lee Kuan Yew’s vision? We also drop in on another great feat of underground construction: Amsterdams North-South line. This historic city is finally getting a Metro Line extension. As it turns out, the planners and construction teams would have had an easier time sending a rocket to the moon. Episode 5 Building the Biggest - Rollercoasters Ever since the American Rosenthal brothers built the Cyclone in 1926, roller coasters have held a terrifying fascination for generations of thrill seekers. The Cyclone quickly became a Brooklyn icon, but in the 1950s families began to abandon the city for the suburbs and the demise of Coney Island mirrored the move from wood to steel in the search for the ultimate gravity defying roller coaster ride. Until now - 50 years later, the wooden coaster is being reborn. "Woodies" offer a very different quality of ride that’s enhanced by a physiological induction of fear. This episode joins the race to build the most terrifying ride, travelling to Indiana, Kentucky and New Jersey where three of the biggest, fastest and tallest wooden roller coasters are under construction. Watch as engineers calculate the winning formula to enthrall, thrill and terrify. Episode 6 Building the Biggest - Railway The west coast main line railway between London and Scotland is one of the busiest in the world. Millions of people regularly commute on new state-of-the-art trains running on century-old tracks. Watch as this episode follows the replacement of the vintage rail line, section by section, up and down the length of the country. At US$14million and with 60 million hours already worked it's the largest current engineering project in Europe. As the line is still in operation, this mammoth engineering feat has to happen over the weekends. Every Friday night, 10,000 workers and millions of dollars worth of machinery roll onto the tracks in a race to get the job done to in time to hand the line back for the Monday morning commuters.

Another Update.... Just thought you might like to see the trailer for Building the Biggest the series, which the documentary on Wood Coasters is part of. http://www.discoverychannel.co.uk/ontv_highlights/promo1/index.shtml

Hi Nrthwnd, Yes! Discovery Canada have just changed the air date and brought the episode forward in the series, which is good news. So just to confirm Discovery Canada will air Building the Biggest: Coasters on 23 March at 9pm Glad you are all looking forward to it!

Finally I have some air dates for the Discovery Channel documentary on wood coasters. Only UK and Canada at the moment, but USA dates will follow... Discovery Canada airs "Building the Biggest: Coasters” March 23 at 9pm Discovery UK airs "Building the Biggest: Coasters" March 29 at 10pm. http://discoverychannel.ca/on_tv/releases/building_biggest/ Thanks to everyone at TPR! Particularly those who came to our press conference shoot at Beech Bend Park and everyone who posted comments and opinions on this forum, which helped us hugely at the development stage. Enjoy! Liz

To answer your question the film was commissioned as a co-production between Discovery UK and Canada, and this is the reason why it will be premiered in these countries first. Liz

Just a quick update! The film is indeed about the renaissance of wood coaster and features three projects for 2006. We filmed the main part of the programme in October visiting the three construction sites at SF Great Adventures, Beech Bend Park and Holiday World (where they very sweetly documented our trip on their blog http://www.holidayworld.com/holiblog/2005/10/everyones-comedian-early-in-morning.html & http://www.holidayworld.com/holiblog/2005/10/they-never-did-say-blimey.html). We are currently completing the film in the edit, which is a rather lengthy process and our broadcast is due in the Spring first on Discovery UK and Canada and then the USA. I’ll pass on any dates to Rob as soon as I have them. Liz [/url]

Big thanks to absolutely everyone who attended! It was lovely to meet some of you and I'm glad you all enjoyed yourself. The photo's are fantastic - Although I'm not sure about the one of me and David (the director) on the Wild Mouse - Scary!

Hello! I'm glad that so many of you can make it. We're really excited to be covering the event for the Discovery Documentary, and I'm anyone making the trip won't be disappointed as it's an absolutely stunning coaster! I don't think you need to put your name down on a list just arrive for the 12.30 start time. You'll easily spot us, we'll be the team with the big camera's and the very proper British accents, so do feel free to say Hi! Liz

Hi all, I've just returned from a research trip to the States - where I visited a number of constuction sites, met park owners, coaster engineers and designers - many of them your suggestions! There are definately a lot of exciting projects in the pipeline for 2006! We're still very much in the early stages of production and the film is due to air next year. I will let you all know when I have a firm date.

Thanks one again for all your help. I notice, there are quite a lot of Woodie on everyones list and would be interested to know a bit more about the appeal of new woodies as opposed to steel.

Dear All, I just wanted to say a huge thank you for all your replies. I'm at an early stage of research in project, and it's great to hear all of your views. Do keep 'em coming! Lizx