Scrapheap Challenge
On Channel 4
A cheerful, accessible engineering competition where teams build working machines from scrap under time pressure, balancing intellectual problem-solving with the playful chaos of improvisation.
Scrapheap Challenge is an engineering game show produced by RDF Media and broadcast on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom. In the show, teams of contestants had 10 hours in which to build a working machine that could do a specific task, using materials available in a scrapheap. The format was exported to the United States, where it was known as Junkyard Wars as a completely different TV series. The US show was also produced by RDF Media, and was originally shown on The Learning Channel. Repeats have aired on another Discovery network, the Science Channel.
Clusters
Questions people ask
Is Scrapheap Challenge scary? No. Less frightening than 92% of series.
Is Scrapheap Challenge sad? No. Less sad than 92% of series.
Is Scrapheap Challenge violent? Barely. Less violent than 89% of series.
Is Scrapheap Challenge easy watching? Yes. More comforting than 86% of series.
Does Scrapheap Challenge leave you hopeful? Yes. More hopeful than 81% of series.
These describe how the series comes across across its whole run, compared with other well-known series. They are not a content list — nothing here was counted or checked episode by episode, so for age-suitability or specific content use a classification board or a dedicated content-warning service.
Cinnamon Score
How much this series gives you that nothing else will, and whether it delivers.
Distinctly its own thing.
How unlike any other series this one feels
How much more it delivers than it promises
How much audiences actually like it
Ensemble
Like Scrapheap Challenge
Nearest across the full emotional profile.
Same Mood as Scrapheap Challenge
Nearest on what's most distinctive about this one.
Like Scrapheap Challenge, But Darker
Similar, pushed toward heavier and more intense.
Like Scrapheap Challenge, But Lighter
Similar, pushed toward warmer and easier.
Like Scrapheap Challenge, But Less Popular
Same territory, far fewer people have seen it.
