American Inventor
Encyclopedia
American Inventor is a reality television series based on a competition to be named America's best inventor. It was conceived by UK entrepreneur Peter Jones
, who appears on the British version of the somewhat similar programme Dragons' Den
, a format originated in Japan
where it is owned by Sony
. It was produced by Jones alongside Simon Cowell
and the producers of American Idol
. It premiered on ABC
on March 16, 2006. It was organized as a competition between the various Inventors resulting in one overall winner.
Janusz Liberkowski
, who invented a new type of child safety seat based on the human womb called the Anecia Safety Capsule, was declared the first season's winner in a live episode on May 18, 2006. The second season premiered on June 6, 2007. Firefighter Greg Chavez, who invented a fire suppression system for Christmas Trees called the Guardian Angel, was the winner of the second season, on August 1, 2007. On March 20, 2008, the show's official website was removed, and the series was not included on the 2008 fall schedule.
, Mary Lou Quinlan, Peter Jones
and Doug Hall
. The 12 semi-finalists are broken down into four groups of three, with each episode focusing on a different group of three. Each of the twelve semi-finalists in each group receives $50,000 to improve their inventions and compete to become one of the four finalists. In the show's live finale, the four finalists present a 30-second commercial advertisement for their product, with the home audience voting by phone for the winner. The winner receives $1,000,000 worth of business support, entrepreneurial counsel, physical resources, and prize money
.
, San Francisco, Chicago
, New York
, Tampa
and Houston, will each receive $50,000 and have one month to develop their inventions. The 1 finalist is narrowed down to three based on the judges' preference. Unlike the first season, the three finalists for voting were declared and were voted on by viewers immediately after the second-to-last show. The season finale was a single show, where the winner is declared among the finalist. In the first season, the finale was a two-episode feature with 30-second commercials on the first and the results of viewer voting on the second part. Also, the first season had four finalists instead of six narrowed to three.
in Canada.
In Malaysia, it is formerly aired on NTV7
which later aired a half bit of Malay subtitles. Latin America had the airings of the show in Sony Entertainment Television
on Saturday nights at 9:00pm (Chile). In Sweden TV4 Plus and later TV400 has aired the show from 2008.
The validity of the claim that the Guardian Angel was invented by Greg Chavez is unclear. This same "invention" was actually a gag product on The Tonight Show
with Jay Leno
on December 16, 1993, the first night Julia Roberts
was a guest on the show. Mr. Leno used a lighter to trigger a smoke alarm within a Christmas tree which then caused the star on the top of the tree to spray a strong burst of water, putting out any potential fire. Several similar patents have been granted over the years and first season judge Doug Hall has also called it unoriginal, writing in his blog that he once worked on something similar for a client.
North America, Inc in association with Peter Jones TV. The executive producers are Simon Cowell, Liz Bronstein, Siobhan Greene, Nigel Hall and Cecile Frot-Coutaz. Co-executive producer is Daniel Soiseth.
Peter Jones (entrepreneur)
Peter Jones, CBE is a British entrepreneur and businessman with interests in mobile phones, television, media, leisure, and property. He became a television celebrity through his appearances on the BBC Two show Dragons' Den and on his American television show American Inventor...
, who appears on the British version of the somewhat similar programme Dragons' Den
Dragons' Den
Dragons' Den is a series of reality television programmes featuring entrepreneurs pitching their business ideas in order to secure investment finance from a panel of venture capitalists. The show originated in Japan as "Manē no Tora"...
, a format originated in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
where it is owned by Sony
Sony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
. It was produced by Jones alongside Simon Cowell
Simon Cowell
Simon Phillip Cowell is an English A&R executive, television producer, entrepreneur, and television personality. He is known in the United Kingdom and United States for his role as a talent judge on TV shows such as Pop Idol, The X Factor, Britain's Got Talent and American Idol...
and the producers of American Idol
American Idol
American Idol, titled American Idol: The Search for a Superstar for the first season, is a reality television singing competition created by Simon Fuller and produced by FremantleMedia North America and 19 Entertainment...
. It premiered on ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
on March 16, 2006. It was organized as a competition between the various Inventors resulting in one overall winner.
Janusz Liberkowski
Janusz Liberkowski
Janusz Liberkowski is the winner of the first season of the show American Inventor. His invention was the Anecia Safety Capsule.He graduated from the Gdańsk University of Technology in Poland in 1981...
, who invented a new type of child safety seat based on the human womb called the Anecia Safety Capsule, was declared the first season's winner in a live episode on May 18, 2006. The second season premiered on June 6, 2007. Firefighter Greg Chavez, who invented a fire suppression system for Christmas Trees called the Guardian Angel, was the winner of the second season, on August 1, 2007. On March 20, 2008, the show's official website was removed, and the series was not included on the 2008 fall schedule.
Season 1
Twelve inventors and their products are chosen from a pool of hundreds by four judges including Ed EvangelistaEd Evangelista
Ed Evangelista is a creative consultant in marketing, entertainment, and advertising, as well as judge for the first season of ABC's reality television show American Inventor...
, Mary Lou Quinlan, Peter Jones
Peter Jones (entrepreneur)
Peter Jones, CBE is a British entrepreneur and businessman with interests in mobile phones, television, media, leisure, and property. He became a television celebrity through his appearances on the BBC Two show Dragons' Den and on his American television show American Inventor...
and Doug Hall
Doug Hall
Doug Hall is an author and inventor. He is known for his "Jump Start" book series, as well as for his appearance on the ABC television series American Inventor....
. The 12 semi-finalists are broken down into four groups of three, with each episode focusing on a different group of three. Each of the twelve semi-finalists in each group receives $50,000 to improve their inventions and compete to become one of the four finalists. In the show's live finale, the four finalists present a 30-second commercial advertisement for their product, with the home audience voting by phone for the winner. The winner receives $1,000,000 worth of business support, entrepreneurial counsel, physical resources, and prize money
Prize money
Prize money has a distinct meaning in warfare, especially naval warfare, where it was a monetary reward paid out to the crew of a ship for capturing an enemy vessel...
.
Season 2
Instead of 12 finalists receiving $50,000 checks to develop their inventions like in season one, six finalists, one from each of the audition cities of Los AngelesLos Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, San Francisco, Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, Tampa
Tâmpa
Tâmpa may refer to several villages in Romania:* Tâmpa, a village in Băcia Commune, Hunedoara County* Tâmpa, a village in Miercurea Nirajului, Mureş County* Tâmpa, a mountain in Braşov city...
and Houston, will each receive $50,000 and have one month to develop their inventions. The 1 finalist is narrowed down to three based on the judges' preference. Unlike the first season, the three finalists for voting were declared and were voted on by viewers immediately after the second-to-last show. The season finale was a single show, where the winner is declared among the finalist. In the first season, the finale was a two-episode feature with 30-second commercials on the first and the results of viewer voting on the second part. Also, the first season had four finalists instead of six narrowed to three.
Season 1 Finalists
- Anecia Safety Capsule: A car seat shaped like a sphere with a movable sphere inside it. In the event of a car accident, the sphere will move, lessening the force on the baby. Winner
- Word Ace: A game that tells you a letter and a number and you have to come up with a word that starts with the letter and has a number of letters equal to the number. (Final 4)
- Double Traction Bike: A bike with a seat on the handlebars. (Final 4)
- The Catch Vest (aka Receiver Trainer Pole): A bar that sits in front of your body to help you catch footballs properly. (Final 4)
- Inside Umbrella: An umbrella where the top part goes inside the bar. (Final 12)
- Head-Line It: A rubber pad to go on top of your head to prevent sweating and itching under hats, helmets and wigs. (Final 12)
- Sackmaster: A large shovel with a bag inside it to make sand-bag filling easier. (Final 12)
- Here Comes Niya Doll: A multilingual set of dolls. (Final 12)
- Bathroom Clip: A clip to attach to a bathroom door in case the lock is broken. (Final 12)
- Tonerbelt: An exercise belt (Final 12)
- EZ-X Portable Gym: A portable gym (Final 12)
- Pureflush: A toilet that prevents the spread of bacteria upon flushing. (Final 12)
Season 2 Finalists
- Guardian Angel: A small, pressurized tank of water, disguised as a Christmas package, that is placed under the Christmas treeChristmas treeThe Christmas tree is a decorated evergreen coniferous tree, real or artificial, and a tradition associated with the celebration of Christmas. The tradition of decorating an evergreen tree at Christmas started in Livonia and Germany in the 16th century...
and attached to a small hose leading to the top of the tree where a fusible link is disguised as an angel. The heat from a fire pops the link and water suppresses the fire. There is also an alarm that works without a battery & intended to suppress (not fully extinguish) a Christmas tree fire and sound an alarm to get people out of the house alive. Winner - 6-In-1 Convertible BrassiereBrassiereA brassiere is an undergarment that covers, supports, and elevates the breasts. Since the late 19th century, it has replaced the corset as the most widely accepted method for supporting breasts....
: A convertible brassiere that accommodates the full wardrobe of small frame women with a "C" cup or above. This is a traditional brassiere that converts into six configurations and affords the full back to be exposed with comfort because there is no mid-section and it can be worn with full wardrobe. (Chicago Finalist) (2nd) - HT Racers: The design and fabrication of custom vehicles through the use of a computer program and patented tools. Intended for use by individuals and groups ages 9 and up for entertainment and educational purposes, this invention is a kit that lets teens design, engineer, and build remote controlled vehicles. (L.A. Finalist) (3rd)
- The Claw: A ceiling or wall-mounted bicycle storage mechanism. The bicycle wheel is grasped by opposing hooks when the central plunger is depressed. Re-pressing the central plunger opens and locks the hooks for bicycle wheel removal. The bi-stable plunger relies on an internal rotary mechanism. (New York Finalist) (Final 6)
- Wrap-a-Way Cabinet: A station to put in a drawer or attach to a cabinet to dispense paper towels, gift wrap, etc. (Houston Finalist) (Final 6)
- EZT4U: A brewing basket that attaches to the common electric coffee brewing machine in order to brew tea. (Tampa Finalist) (Final 6)
Time slot
American Inventor debuted March 16, 2006 at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. Each subsequent Thursday, it aired at 9 p.m. until the season finale May 18, 2006. American Inventor aired on ABC and on CH in Canada. The second season began on June 6, 2007 at 9pm on ABC. It aired on GlobalGlobal Television Network
Global Television Network is an English language privately owned television network in Canada, owned by Calgary-based Shaw Communications, as part of its Shaw Media division...
in Canada.
In Malaysia, it is formerly aired on NTV7
Ntv7
Natseven TV Sdn Bhd or better known as ntv7 is a terrestrial television channel in Malaysia. It was launched nationwide on 7 April 1998 and was the country's third private free-to-air TV station after TV3 and Astro. Its mission is to promote a happier and more enlightened Malaysia...
which later aired a half bit of Malay subtitles. Latin America had the airings of the show in Sony Entertainment Television
Sony Entertainment Television (Latin America)
Sony Entertainment Television, commonly shortened to Canal Sony , is a general entertainment channel co-based in Perú, Chile, Venezuela, Brazil and Miami, Florida, United States. It airs in 26 countries in Latin America, and is owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment...
on Saturday nights at 9:00pm (Chile). In Sweden TV4 Plus and later TV400 has aired the show from 2008.
Controversy
The makers of the program were accused of modeling American Inventor on a similar program called Million Dollar Idea .The validity of the claim that the Guardian Angel was invented by Greg Chavez is unclear. This same "invention" was actually a gag product on The Tonight Show
The Tonight Show
The Tonight Show is an American late-night talk show that has aired on NBC since 1954. It is the longest currently running regularly scheduled entertainment program in the United States, and the third longest-running show on NBC, after Meet the Press and Today.The Tonight Show has been hosted by...
with Jay Leno
Jay Leno
James Douglas Muir "Jay" Leno is an American stand-up comedian and television host.From 1992 to 2009, Leno was the host of NBC's The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Beginning in September 2009, Leno started a primetime talk show, titled The Jay Leno Show, which aired weeknights at 10:00 p.m. ,...
on December 16, 1993, the first night Julia Roberts
Julia Roberts
Julia Fiona Roberts is an American actress. She became a Hollywood star after headlining the romantic comedy Pretty Woman , which grossed $464 million worldwide...
was a guest on the show. Mr. Leno used a lighter to trigger a smoke alarm within a Christmas tree which then caused the star on the top of the tree to spray a strong burst of water, putting out any potential fire. Several similar patents have been granted over the years and first season judge Doug Hall has also called it unoriginal, writing in his blog that he once worked on something similar for a client.
Credits
American Inventor is produced by Simon Cowell's Syco TV and FremantleMediaFremantleMedia
FremantleMedia, Ltd. is the content and production division of Bertelsmann's RTL Group, Europe's second largest TV, radio, and production company...
North America, Inc in association with Peter Jones TV. The executive producers are Simon Cowell, Liz Bronstein, Siobhan Greene, Nigel Hall and Cecile Frot-Coutaz. Co-executive producer is Daniel Soiseth.
See also
- Tycoon (TV series)Tycoon (TV series)Tycoon was an ITV reality television show, based on the existing Peter Jones/Simon Cowell production American Inventor, which began on 19 June 2007 at 9.00pm. It was fronted by Peter Jones, who searched for entrepreneurs with ideas that he helped turn into profit-making companies. The winner was...
A similar show on British TV hosted by Peter Jones. - The Big Idea Another similar show on British TV.
- Dragons' DenDragons' DenDragons' Den is a series of reality television programmes featuring entrepreneurs pitching their business ideas in order to secure investment finance from a panel of venture capitalists. The show originated in Japan as "Manē no Tora"...
A similar program that originated in JapanJapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, and also stars Peter Jones in the United Kingdom. - The New InventorsThe New InventorsThe New Inventors is an Australian television show, broadcast on ABC1, and hosted by broadcaster and comedian James O'Loghlin. Each episode features three Australian inventions and short video tape packages...
An Australian program shown on the ABCAustralian Broadcasting CorporationThe Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
. - America's Got TalentAmerica's Got TalentAmerica's Got Talent is an American reality television series on the NBC television network, and part of the global British Got Talent franchise. It is a talent show that features singers, dancers, magicians, comedians, and other performers of all ages competing for the advertised top prize of...
A show also produced by Simon Cowell shown on NBCNBCThe National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
. - Everyday EdisonsEveryday EdisonsEveryday Edisons is a reality TV show that airs on PBS, featuring different inventors who are trying to launch their inventions in the marketplace. In this regard, it's similar to American Inventor, but with key differences. For one, the contestants don't face elimination...
A PBS television show focused on inventors and their inventions PBSPublic Broadcasting ServiceThe Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
. - Shark TankShark Tank (TV series)Shark Tank is a reality television series based on the Sony TV/BBC TV Dragons' Den. It premiered on ABC television in August 2009 and features a panel of five wealthy entrepreneurs who are called "sharks"...
An ABC show which is a directly licensed American version of Dragons' Den