TV Views - Battle of the ironsmiths

THERE are shows on the small screen that may not be surrounded by as much hype as Game of Thrones, Empire or Asia’s Next Top Model, but that doesn’t mean they are not worth watching.
There are times when I go channel surfing and come across something that makes me want to continue watching.
Inundated with the endless array of shows dealing with cooking competitions, brides shopping for wedding gowns, or pointless quests to find Bigfoot, sometimes, something different is a relief.
One of my guilty pleasures is Forged in Fire, that airs on History (Astro channel 555). This competition series pitches blacksmiths against each other as they try to create weapons the old-fashioned way.
Hosted by Wil Willis, contestants have to impress three judges – J. Neilson, David Baker, and Doug Marcaida – all of them experts in weapon history and how they were used.
Season one turned out to be really exciting as there was no other show like this on television, and watching these modern-day blacksmiths using their skills and know-how to create knives, blades and all kinds of ancient weaponry was enlightening to say the least.
It was amazing to watch the contestants create such bygone weapons as the katana, chakram and the Viking battle axe, which were then put to the test by the judges.
There was something primal yet educational watching the contestants put their skills to the test, within a limited time period.
Viewers were also given a brief history lesson on the weapons recreated on the series and how they were used.
This is how the competition works: four contestants are picked each week to undergo three rounds of stiff competition to forge a single weapon.
The contestant with the least satisfactory weapon according to the judges is eliminated at the end of each round.
The first round is essentially to make a weapon (usually a blade) based on their own design. The best three will advance to round two, where they have to make a good handle for the weapon.
Then the judges put each of the weapons to its paces including hacking through an ice block and cutting through a thick rope.
The one with the least impressive weapon is eliminated leaving the top two to deal with the task of creating an ancient weapon in one week back home.
It all boils down to creativity, artistry and functionality with the one meeting all these criteria winning the US$10,000 (RM41,000) prize money and bragging rights.
While in season one there were no female smiths featured in this essentially a male-dominated field, thankfully, season two which premiered on History on March 10, saw the show’s first female contestant, Kim Stahl.
There will also be another female contestant appearing later on in the series which airs every Thursday night at 9pm.
Though Stahl was eliminated in the second round, the knife she created was pretty impressive as it slashed through a thick rope easily and even hacked through ice.
Kudos to Forged in Fire’s producers for not forgetting the women.