Tracking down 268 Mythbusters episodes on DVD
Posted by nealbeast@reddit | mythbusters | View on Reddit | 43 comments
Mega Mythbusters fan here. I’ve seen several posts recently about streaming platforms that have dropped access to a number of Mythbusters episodes, and I can relate to that frustration.
I’ve always loved Mythbusters, but back in 2019 when the Science Channel cancelled the annual Mega Merry-Thon, I decided enough was enough and it was time to collect the original series on physical media. What a challenge…
Linked below is a comprehensive list of how to collect almost all of the original 269 episodes of Mythbusters on DVD in the US. These are officially released DVDs, not bootleg collections. In all, my document shows how to find 263 episodes on Region 1 DVDs, and if you’re not opposed to collecting some Region 4 DVDs (Australia), that will take you to 268 episodes, including a DVD-quality recording of #103: “Special Supersized Myths”. I’ve only been unable to find #209: “Jawsome Shark Special” on any officially released DVD.
I’m sure very few people will attempt to replicate what I’ve done over the last 4 years, but I don’t think there exists a more comprehensive list cataloguing all episodes as well as mine. Notice that some episodes on my list are found in multiple sets, which may give you some alternatives if you can’t find a reasonably priced US set (ex: Season 7).
If this helps you: enjoy and happy hunting!
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1FFzDMSDe6DKTDvb5fGfNsgaFFw4s5G3t3UZu4TbmytY/edit?usp=sharing
heroin_hero_@reddit
Maybe i am a *** but i have all the seasons downloaded and on my hard drive s1-13 with all the specials. But dont think i can share it via dropbox etc if people want i can maybe find a way to share. Or look up the original download link i used to download it. its a shame you cant buy there whole boxset anywhere and even on discovery plus app they dont show all the seasons thats why i downloaded it because i couldn't find it anywhere.
Scum42@reddit
As other people have replied, I am also extremely interested if you still have the link.
N0TJakefromStateFarm@reddit
Same here. This show is the reason why I understand momentum as a little kid, and would love once I have kids of my own, for them to watch them, or for me to be the old fart in the nursing home still watching my Mythbusters.
Strange-Tower7033@reddit
Also interested! :)
Red_Region@reddit
do you still happen to have the link by chance?
wickedhours@reddit
Also interested ^^
IDriveAZamboni@reddit
I'd take that link if you still have it. We all gotta do our part to preserve this legacy if Discovery isn't going to do it.
EngagingFears@reddit
Hey I am interested! Can I send you a PM?
gingersongstress@reddit
This is so cool to see all laid out, thank you! I have been attempting to get at least the US release Season dvds (not the collection sets) and just finally managed to get season 8. I assume since you've made this list you have managed to snag them all in physical and was wondering are your seasons 1 and 4 also the giant standard size dvd cases? I can understand season 1 being that way then all the rest swapping to the slim dvd cases but season 4 being different than the other seasons I found particularly wild like...why did we suddenly backtrack on packaging like that? It drives me nuts that they don't all look the same in their sleeves when you face them sleeve spine out lol I wonder if there are multiple versions and I just happened to get the weirdly large season 4 instead of the slim cases or if they just REALLY did not care about having a cohesive look. Its hard to even find an answer to THIS question because so little information exists about these anywhere online.
nealbeast@reddit (OP)
No problem! So interestingly enough, seasons 1, 3 & 4 are all the standard sized dvd cases for me. Season 2 and 5-9 are all slim cases. Then 10-11 are the big cases with multiple disc holders in them.
https://imgur.com/a/tPxI7jF
No idea why it’s all like this. Maybe the first 4 seasons were standard dvd cases, then maybe they reissued some later as slim cases. It’s definitely annoying to have them in various styles, but the missing episodes from season to season tick me off more.
Deep-Gas-2638@reddit
That season 9 is Hard to find, Can I buy it off you?
nealbeast@reddit (OP)
Sorry, but no
NorikoMorishima@reddit
What about "Young Scientist Special"? According to the list, it can only be found on YouTube.
nealbeast@reddit (OP)
Yes, and also according to my list, plus others, it’s not technically considered a part of the original 269 episodes, even if it’s designated as SP11.
That being said, I’ve seen some evidence that there might be a dvd out there containing it, but still chasing leads.
NorikoMorishima@reddit
The only note I found clarifying what was and wasn't considered an episode was a note about "Car Conundrum". Other episodes that aren't considered episodes just don't appear on the list at all, but "Young Scientist Special" does appear on the list, so you can see why I thought it was considered an episode despite not having a number associated with it.
Good luck with your search 👍🏽
nealbeast@reddit (OP)
Thanks for the good luck wish. My perspective: the "N/A" in the episode number column for the "Young Scientist Special" is enough of a note to indicate that it isn't an official episode. The difference between the "Young Scientist Special", and "Car Conumdrum", despite both being SP's, is that "Young Scientist Special" is original content while "Car Conumdrum" consists solely of recut clips from previous episodes, hence the note at the bottom as to why I didn't include the latter in my overall list.
Curious what you mean by:
This list, as explained in the body of my post, is only tracking the original run of 269 episodes and where to find them on physical media. Plenty of other documents exist that explain other aspects of the series and each episode; feel free to pursue and critique those as you see fit. I felt obligated to also include mention of some kind of all 20 original specials as they occurred during the original run (including SP11 & SP13), but nothing else (reboot seasons, best of recuts, etc.), nor SP21 as it's a remaster of the first episode.
Deep-Gas-2638@reddit
Wow! This is awesome!!! I have almost every dvd, I need to cross ref your list and find More! Nice work
nealbeast@reddit (OP)
Thank you! If you find I left anything off or discover more, please let me know
ChickenPossibleX@reddit
Thanks so much for putting this together. I've gotten frustrated by limited access to this show and I'm going to start collecting the season DVDs this year. Wish me luck in finding them all! 😊🏅
nealbeast@reddit (OP)
Should also mention that I just met Adam Savage recently and pled the case that us fans need an official complete series release. He doubted he could do much, but recommends focus on the Australian sets as much as possible as they have extra content not seen in the American sets. I’ve not seen them all and nothing life changing, but there are some cool extra scenes here and there with those sets!
nealbeast@reddit (OP)
No problem and good luck! If you need help confirming any of the set names or what they look like, send me a DM and I’ll try to help you out!
Jomanderisreal@reddit
I'm really late to the party with this post but thank you for making this! Don't know if I will ever go all the way with collecting this series but it is awesome to have a guide like this ready if it is ever needed!
nealbeast@reddit (OP)
No problem, glad to help!
Nitrocannon300@reddit
Thank you for this!
Rent-Impossible@reddit
A buddy of mine asked me if I could help him search for the complete MythBusters, and my search led me here! Thanks for your dedication!
nealbeast@reddit (OP)
No problem!
Anraiel@reddit
Thanks for putting up this list! I've been trying to gather my own hardcopy collection of all the episodes over the last few years, and I think I've managed to find most of them.
Hopefully with the help of your spreadsheet, I can track down the last few DVDs I need to get as close to complete as possible.
nealbeast@reddit (OP)
No problem and good luck!
jhaul@reddit
Are you interested in ripping and sharing these files at all? Totally understand if you are not, but it could go a long way to preserving the show since it seems clear they will never release a full collection physically.
nealbeast@reddit (OP)
No, sorry. Don't want to delve into that territory.
mattwhite924@reddit
What is the difference between the S1 and C1 DVDs? Specifically in reference to "Hollywood on Trial", that's one episode I never found a physical copy of. I thought I had all the box sets, but I'm not sure what the C1,C2,C3, etc... DVDs are in your spreadsheet.
I had no idea Super Sized Myths was actually released outside of airing on TV. It's not on any discs, digital downloads, or streaming service I've seen. I'm amazed you found it!
I went through a similar adventure a few years ago. I didn't want to limit myself to just DVDs, but I did want to legally get every episode. There were a few I just gave up on. I was also very disappointed in the quality of the DVDs. The first ones are ok, but seems like they started trying to cram as many episodes as possible onto a disc, and also hard coded the letterboxing into the video. Both of those together make for very poor image quality.
ProfessionEast8626@reddit
Trying to collect these in any form is just such a nightmare in general. i use to have collections 1-17 and seasons 1-3 on dvd. That was 7 years of me managing a used movie store worth of hunting. super dissapointing we never got a complete collection or even all the seasons individually.
p_user3@reddit
There's a good-quality bootleg "Complete Series 1-15" 75-disc set floating around. You're likely to encounter some shipping damage with 75 discs packed tightly together, so it might take a few replacements to get a good set.
I'd prefer to have official Discovery / Beyond discs, but given how badly the official releases have been jumbled up, and with the availability of the bootleg Complete box set, that ship sailed (and sank) a long time ago.
nealbeast@reddit (OP)
Yuuup. Whoever mapped out the season and collection DVDs was clearly drunk—there’s no rhyme or reason for certain overlaps, leaving particular episodes out, etc.
That being said, I had some fun “discovering” certain things on the oversea collections. Episodes aren’t always titled the same way in Europe or Australia compared to the US, if that information is even on the case. I was like a kid at Christmas when I found the episode of Ultimate Mythbusters, or Special Supersized Myths. No more potato-quality daily motion videos for me!
drnod7@reddit
Thank you for sharing this. It will go a long way into protecting this great show’s legacy
nealbeast@reddit (OP)
Happy to do it!
DeathMonkey6969@reddit
You are doing god's work my friend.
Get_a_Grip_comic@reddit
Man I remember as a kid the confusion and frustration of getting mythbusters on DVDs , especially when I was trying find “the specials”
And them not appearing on the season dvd box
I swear I was going mad/mandellla effect on me. I thought I was stupid , because even back then the myrhbusters dvd episodes didn’t line up with the ones on google so trying to find a particular episode was brutal.
Then I found out that they put them into their own DVDs.
I got annoyed and pissed, spending $50 nz on each season when as a kid you only got $5 a week was brutal.
Then they expected me to but additional DVDs?!
I stopped buying them because 1: expensive,
2: the recent mythbusters at the time I started to dislike.
3: mythbusters was always on tv anyway
—-
Luckily I did buy them though (up to season 5/6?) because they took mythbusters down and messed up with the DVDs now.
m0rfiend@reddit
makes me sad we never got a complete physical release years back, much less an official bluray upscale release. with physical media sales in the tank now, this list is about as good of an "official" legit box set we may ever get.
nealbeast@reddit (OP)
I truly hope that if streaming continues going the path it’s on now, there will be a growing push back and demand for physical media. It’s starting up here and there—people once in favor of steaming would now rather own their favorites than pay money for a service that gives and takes away seemingly on a whim. I just don’t know if they’ll ever be loud enough to make a difference.
bondfool@reddit
I can easily see it becoming akin to vinyl collection.
Mobius_Arrow@reddit
It's so weird, this show really put discovery Channel on the map but you can't even stream the whole thing there. :\ I'd gladly pay very good money to have a full bluray box set though.
nealbeast@reddit (OP)
Same here friend!