Just thought Id throw this one up seeing as thought "Seconds" have done a number of plane crashes ie concorde crash, tenerife crash, british midland crash.
Is it just me or does the latter show over-dramatise everything? I personally don't like it compared to "Mayday"
I just find the investigating and general detail more comprehensive in Mayday while "Seconds" spends to much time on witnesses and human drama...
I prefer Air crash investigation (Mayday) because it:
a) Doesn't over dramatize everything
b) It doesn't spend ages repeating the same points. (On the seconds from disaster concorde episode they kept on repeating that the burst tyre caused a rupture in the fuel tank over and over again.)
c) Seconds from disaster tend to do majorly reported crashes like concorde and comet so you already know what caused the crash before the episode starts
d) Even if you don't know what caused the crash in seconds from disaster the adverts and intro to the show basically tell you ruining the whole point of the show
e) On air crash investigation they interview more profsesionals than second from disaster. (In air crash investigation they interview the head investigator, pilots, people with expertise in what caused the crash, passengers (if they survived) and eye witnesses where as in seconds from disaster they mainly interview eye witnesses.)
I disagree. I like them both equally much.
shareI mostly agree, especially with "D" from above about the adverts and intro. But overall I like both shows.
I have found that when they finally get ramped up, the "final seconds" on SFD are quite compelling.
Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't the guts of both shows produced by the same Canadian firm, and then the productions come along (ACI or SFD) and add their own production values? I'd be curious to know.
Despite the list i did i still like Seconds from disaster. But i would like to add another negative point against it in the list. Is it me or did anybody else find the space shuttle challanger episode pointless. I sat down for one hour just to be told that somebody else decided to do an "investigation" of their own and guess what, came up with the exact same result as the official investigation that we have seen several programmes about anyway.
shareI like both shows equally, Both shows did an episode on the Tenerief air disaster, Air Emergency did a better job with graphics.
"This is where the fish live!"-The touch of Satan
Well, i have to say that i prefer Air Crash (Mayday) over 'Seconds'. Air Crash feels a little more real. I like when they show the 'disaster' then goes back step over step about the problems etc.....its actually more educational, and thats what i like about it.
sharei agree with everything you said. Seconds from Disaster felt a little Hollywood-ish to me.
shareI prefer Air Crash Investigation for the plane accidents, but Seconds from Disaster does other accidents (train crashes, and earth quakes - there was one on the Kyobe Quake on Australian TV recently). Seconds is VERY repetitive, and it is funny to watch where the TV station puts the ads (not where they show seems to have 'gaps' for).
These shows actually make me feel safer (unlike some commenters saying they are more paranoid). Every accident improves knowledge and makes safety...er...safer.
[deleted]
I like the format of Mayday (Air Crash) better. It always starts off with the disaster right up front, which leaves you wanting to find out why it happened. Then it goes through a very detailed account of the investigation, followed by a rebuilding of the events through re-enactment, with step-by-step narration of what is going wrong as it is happening, concluding with the disaster once again, and an explanation of what improvements came out of the disaster.
One small point against the show, which is very minimal, is the actors they get to play the real people sometimes. I remember seeing one re-enactment with this really butt-ugly co-pilot, his face covered in deep pock marks, and then when they interviewed the real co-pilot he was just a normal looking dude with no complexion problems. If I was him, I'd be pissed that they got the worst looking person possible to play him.
Mayday is an awesome show. As morbid as it sounds, I want to keep seeing new episodes.
"ACI" easy, though "SFD" wasn't bad, but the format sucked. My only complaint about ACI is that all of the big crashes have been covered by now. If anything I wish that "ACI" covered even more about the investigations as they usually go on for years. I would think that being a NTSB investigator would be an amazing job although it's sad it has to come to that. It must be very rewarding for those trying to figure out what went wrong & being able to explain to those who both survived & to those that have lost loved ones what exactly happened. This is one of those shows that has stories that are absolutely astounding that if they were made up, you wouldn't believe it. (The pilot outside, Air France hostages, Hawaiian airlines, the mid-air collision etc.) I would hate to wish for more accidents to happen, but unfortunately that is the only way for us to learn. I know it's all about money, but why every system doesn't have at least 1 reduntancy (2 for the major systems such as the hydraulics) built in, is beyond me. You can't put a price on these people yet we do it every day. Anyway love this show, but liked "SFD" pretty well too, but hear it's been canceled.
shareIn Finland both shows are shown by the same channel (FOX) and they are usually broadcast back to back from each other.
I am a student of material engineering so one would assume that Seconds from Disaster is more my favourite. And do like that show. It's amazingly well made and certainly my area of interest..
But also I like Air Crash Investigation. Those are the only shows that I ever watch on FOX. Usually I even save those on the hard drive to watch them even when I miss them when they air.
I would compare these shows to each other very much. Actually I would recommend anyone who likes either show to check out the other.
And as much I like SfD, I still like ACI more. I think it's because they seem to have more of the investigation part in that show. And SfD is more about the drama and effects.