Anyone bothered by the format?
I know the trend is to have these shows done by elimination rounds but wouldn't a points system be better?
The whole selling point is that the smiths are going to turn in a blade reflecting their personal tastes/technical strengths, but I've seen so many episodes where we don't even get to see what the competitors are capable of. Everyone knows that footage is going to end truncated after editing so couldn't they just give these smiths an extra hour or two per competition and then let all four complete their blades?
I want to see these smiths compete, I want to see every blade tested. And yet, I've seen several episodes where wins have been awarded without tests due to one or more competitors not having a safe or even completed blade.
Then what's the point of the damn show? So that the second half is just filler? Why even air it?
I don't want to set around and just watch an award given for failing upwards, but that seems to be what this show represents.
The latest episode I'd watched -the two hand sword episode- came down to which sword failed the least. But before the final competition -they made a big fuss about having them use coal.
Then they left the studio lights on so that temperature gauging would be guesswork at best, gave them fans/bellows with hand cranks rather than foot pedal operation so that they wouldn't have both hands free to work the steel, and then gave them ducting for the bellows that wasn't secured with ring clamps. Truly?
Take them out of their comfort zones -I get it- but with so much educational material on the craft out there in libraries and on the internet there's no reason, other than cheap drama, for the show's producers to kit these workshops they way they've done. Forged in fire?
Forged in fails.