''Rocket City Rednecks'' is an American television show that focuses on

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...

. The show is set in

Huntsville Huntsville is a city in Madison County, Limestone County, and Morgan County, Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Madison County. Located in the Appalachian region of northern Alabama, Huntsville is the most populous city in th ...

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

(known as "Rocket City" for its historic contributions to the American space program), and features Travis Taylor, three of his relatives, and his best friend. All five cast members are highly educated (Travis holds multiple Ph.D. degrees and his brother-in-law also holds a Ph.D.) but, when not working on technical matters, play the part of stereotypical "

redneck ''Redneck'' is a derogatory term chiefly, but not exclusively, applied to white Americans perceived to be crass and unsophisticated, closely associated with rural whites of the Southern United States.Harold Wentworth, and Stuart Berg Flexner, '' ...

s" and use their advanced knowledge to solve "real world" problems (such as creating a rocket that uses

moonshine Moonshine is high-proof liquor that is usually produced illegally. The name was derived from a tradition of creating the alcohol during the nighttime, thereby avoiding detection. In the first decades of the 21st century, commercial dist ...

as fuel). The show was first broadcast on Wednesday September 28, 2011, with Tim Evans as the supervising producer. It is broadcast on the

National Geographic Channel National Geographic (formerly National Geographic Channel; abbreviated and trademarked as Nat Geo or Nat Geo TV) is an American pay television television network, network and flagship (broadcasting), flagship channel owned by the National Geograp ...

, and will be shown in all regions of the United States.

Cast

* Travis Taylor, Ph.D. aka "The Ringleader" * Rog Jones aka "The Sidekick" (Travis' long-time best friend) * Charles "Daddy" Taylor (Travis' father) * Michael "The Kid" Taylor (Travis' nephew) * "Pistol Pete" Erbach, Ph.D. (Travis' brother-in-law)

Format

A typical episode features the five main cast members and possibly the addition of an expert in the field related to the particular challenge of that show. The challenges are varied, usually involving constructing a machine to achieve a particular objective. Examples of challenges include making a mechanical " ironman" suit, a

submarine A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...

, a

spy satellite A reconnaissance satellite or intelligence satellite (commonly, although unofficially, referred to as a spy satellite) is an Earth observation satellite or communications satellite deployed for military or intelligence applications. The ...

, and a machine to fling a frozen

watermelon Watermelon (''Citrullus lanatus'') is a flowering plant species of the Cucurbitaceae family and the name of its edible fruit. A scrambling and trailing vine-like plant, it is a highly cultivated fruit worldwide, with more than 1,000 varieti ...

to simulate an asteroid collision with the southern United States.

Episodes

Series overview

Season 1 (2011)

Season 2 (2012–13)

References

External links

* * {{National Geographic TV 2011 American television series debuts 2010s American documentary television series National Geographic (American TV channel) original programming Culture of Huntsville, Alabama Television shows set in Alabama