Summertime. A time for relaxation, fun, and adventure. A time for engineering, physics, and psychology? Summertime. A time to come screaming down to earth at insane speeds, feeling our hearts beat out of our chests, our stomachs rising to our throats. A time to push the limits of what we think our bodies can handle and shout in excitement to discover we are still alive. We survived. Summertime, the perfect time…for rollercoasters.
Ever since the roaring twenties we have loved the thrill we get from riding the perfect coaster. There’s just something about that thrill of controlled danger that keeps coaster fans coming back for more. But, rollercoasters as we knew them back in the twenties are no more. The rollercoaster has evo
lved so extremely since then coaster enthusiasts have given them a new name. They are a new breed, the breed called Supercoaster.
National Geographic’s original series, Thrill Zone, takes an in-depth, ninety minute, look at Supercoasters, exploring the engineering that goes into creating a new coaster, to the physics of coaster design, to the differing psychology of the enthusiasts versus the “coaster phobics.” The world of the Supercoaster is a diverse one, with engineers, physicists, designers, mechanics, and psychologists all working towards a common goal, keeping riders safe and keeping thrills up(who says we can’t all get along).
But, does Thrill Zone succeed in keeping the thrills up? For the most part the answer is yes. Music video style editing keeps the show moving, and tight, dramatic shots add anticipation and mystery. And what, other than actually riding, can be more exciting than seeing that large, initial drop gleaming in the sunrise, patiently awaiting it’s days first load of riders. What’s
more, there’s a story here waiting to be told as well. And it may not be the story you would expect. Thrill Zone: Supercoasters is the story of a war—the war to build the biggest and fastest Supercoaster the world has ever seen. It’s about the adrenaline rush. In its ninety minutes, Thrill Zone introduces viewers to today’s coasters and talks to the many different people who brought these behemoths into being. Often, these people are scientists who stress that if you want to understand the workings of a rollercoaster you must first understand the universal law of gravity, and for many out there, physics is not an easily understood science. The laws of physics, the laws of coaster building, are complex and not easily broken down into easily explainable pieces for the average viewer. But whether Thrill Zone, with its use of metaphor, creative writing, and numerous computer graphics, succeeds in explaining this tough science is a decision to be made by the viewer. Where Thrill Zone does succeed, however, is in keeping viewers interested. And they do this by telling a story, starting with the birth of the Supercoaster and the history the brought it here, visiting the Superco
asters of the present (featuring a surprise coaster you won’t believe, dubbed The Blue Flash), and foreshadowing the Supercoasters of the future.
But beneath it all—all the science and all the chaos—the real theme here is a simple two words: What if? What if, in the quest to build the biggest and fastest Supercoaster, we go too far? What happens when, in our desire for an adrenaline rush, we go too big and too fast? How much are we willing to push the limits of what our bodies can handle just for the next big thrill?
My first rollercoaster is by no means a Supercoaster, but it is famous. The Racer has long been one of the most popular rides at
My Rating:
Additional Links worth checking out:
Roller Coaster Database: http://www.rcdb.com/
How Stuff Works, Roller Coaster G-Forces: http://science.howstuffworks.com/roller-coaster5.htm
Sorry...but at least for now Seasons of Thrill Zone are not available for purchase but you can watch the Supercoasters episode here and more episodes are available on Hulu....
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