| Genre: | Reality |
| Presenter: | Kal Penn |
| Judges: | Mark Fuller & Christine Gulbranson |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | English |
| Num Seasons: | 1 |
| Num Episodes: | 8 |
| Runtime: | 45 min. |
| Channel: | Discovery Channel |
| Company: | Pilgrim Studios |
| Last Aired: | [1] |
The Big Brain Theory is an American television show on the Discovery Channel that first aired in 2013, hosted by Kal Penn.[2] Eight episodes were produced.[3]
Each week the contestants enter the blueprint challenge, where they are given 30 minutes to solve an engineering problem using only an electronic blackboard.[4] The 2 contestants with the best solutions are chosen by the judges to be the leaders of the blue team and the red team, who now have to build a working solution.[5] The team leaders pick their members one by one, and they are given a certain time and budget to finish the task; workshop time is limited to 12 hours a day.[6]
Their builds are then tested and the team that fails will face elimination. If both teams fail then nobody is safe from elimination. The judges will determine who leaves the competition. Once eliminated, one competitor can get back in if he/she wins the wild card, decided by the judges.[7]
The winner of the competition gets US$50,000 and a one-year contract to work for WET Enterprises, founded by Mark Fuller.[8] Contestants who have been eliminated cannot participate in the blueprint challenge any more, but they can still be picked for the teams and are eligible for the Judges' Prize, which is US$20,000.[9]
In addition to the full judges, there is always a third guest judge that changes every week. The two full judges are:
Bold denotes team captain.
| Title | Guest judge | Winner | Eliminated | Original airdate | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "The Next Great Innovator" | Michael J. Massimino | - | Joe | ||
| Keep a box full of explosives from blowing up when two trucks collide. Both teams fail. |
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| 2 | "Seek and Destroy" | Bobak Ferdowsi | Red team | Joel | ||
| Build a device remote-controlled from a bunker to hit a missile in the air. |
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| 3 | "Three Little Pigs" | Burt Dalton | Red team | Alison | ||
| Build a shelter to protect a human life under the most extreme conditions. |
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| 4 | "Triathlabots" | Jason Bardis | Blue team | Dan | ||
| Build a robot that can do the 100-yard dash, the javelin throw, and the standing long jump. Bryan Clay demonstrates the 3 athletics events. |
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| 5 | "Waterfall" | Dezso Molnar | Red team | Gui | ||
| Harness a waterfall to power an elevator. Dr. Gulbranson is absent from this episode. |
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| 6 | "The Wild Card" | Brian David Johnson | Blue team | Andrew, Dan | ||
| Design an automated food delivery system. Dan wins the wild card but gets eliminated again. |
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| 7 | "Catching Cars" | Carl Edwards[18] | Blue team | Eric, Tom | ||
| Stop any car that doesn't stop at the checkpoint without injuring the passengers. |
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| 8 | "Bridge Battle" | Buzz Aldrin | Blue team | |||
| Build a bridge for a 3400-pound truck to cross. |
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