Who are the MythBusters?
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Primary Cast
Adam Savage
Adam Whitney Savage
"Am I missing... an eyebrow?"
Tropes associated with Adam:
- Awesomeness by Analysis: In a few episodes, Adam is given the task of figuring out the measurements of certain props or rigs just by examining video footage. According to Jamie, he's well-known in the industry for his ability to do this. Rather tellingly, the one challenge in the "Ultimate MythBuster" episode that he unequivocally bested Jamie at guessing items' weight.
- Blind Without 'Em: Adam claims this in an early episode dealing with whether or not a regular ceiling fan can decapitate someone. When they ran the final test with a highly modified fan, Adam put his glasses on the ballistics-gel target head note and then announced that the rest of the team would have to tell him what happens because "I can't see a damn thing". And Kari jokes saying if the gel head were alive, it wouldn’t be able to see with his “Coke-bottles” on.
- Brief Accent Imitation: A running gag during the exposition segments is for him to impersonate someone or something (like a walrus).
- Can't Hold His Liquor: During a first-season test of (supposed) ways to beat a breathalyzer test, Adam is getting pretty loopy ... and when tested, blows a 0.03 BAC (For non-US tropers, 0.08 is the minimum blood alcohol level for a Driving Under The Influence charge in most U.S. states, including California). Might be due to the fact that Adam is kind of loopy even when he's stone-cold sober.
- Character Development: Yes, it even applies to people who aren't playing characters. In the show's formative days, Adam was more lively than Jamie, yes, but certainly far more reserved than you see him in future episodes. Apparently as he grew hair, his personality became more vibrant (he started the show with a very short haircut and almost no beard).
- Several other cases throughout the series. For example, in the first episode of season two, Adam had trouble hitting his target with the gun provided (justified as he was a novice shooter at the time). This gave him an early reputation as a poor shot,
which stuck with him until the "Shooting the Scope" myth showed his aim had improved significantly. His shooting skills have since improved to the point that he now seems to be better with a pistol than Jamie.
- Several other cases throughout the series. For example, in the first episode of season two, Adam had trouble hitting his target with the gun provided (justified as he was a novice shooter at the time). This gave him an early reputation as a poor shot,
- Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: Fails onscreen more often than he succeeds, and Jamie usually designs better rigs, but Adam often replicates props from movies using only stills from the film or even occasionally gets the actual props themselves.
- Also, according to Jamie in one of the web videos, Adam is widely known in the special effects business for being able to make good models and machines extremely quickly.
- Dude, Not Funny!: An In-Universe example. Adam enjoys a prank as much as the next person, and probably dishes out more than anyone else on the show by far. But when the build team shocked him with a real electrical current during the "Bagdad Battery" myth, he did NOT take it well.
- It's worth noting the Build Team were directed to do this by one of the show's producers. That producer is no longer with the show. Make of it what you will.
- Eyebrows Burned Off: An accident during a first-season episode provided the page quote.
- Forgets to Eat: According to Jamie, Adam is known to forget to eat, which makes him cranky due to low blood sugar. Which means that Jamie's suggestion that Adam "go have a cookie" during a brief meltdown in the ping-pong ball flotation myth was actually not a joke. Apparently this happens quite a bit off screen as well.
- For Science!: "I ate a radio for science" is just one example of what he will do in the name of science.
- Fun Personified: He's as close to a Real Life example as you're likely to find.
- Fun T-Shirt: Including several with his own quotes.
- Good with Numbers: He's often shown onscreen doing mental calculations, and he rarely gets them wrong.
- Green Around the Gills: His Weaksauce Weakness. Gets seasick during pretty much any myth where he and Jamie take to the water. When the show tested seasickness cures, the NASA-inspired motion sickness chair often triggered a nauseous response within seconds. He even got motion sickness in a few not-so-obvious scenarios (swinging the bone cage, bungee-jump apple bobbing).
- Honest John's Dealership: Adam will occasionally structure his "look what we just built!" into infomercial format. He goes full-Honest John about the thirty-second mark of this set of outtakes
, when he tries selling the viewers cars that he and Jamie just rammed with a reinforced dumptruck. - The Hyena: Laughs a lot, and it's notable whenever he doesn't find things funny because that usually means he's dead serious.
- Iconic Outfit: His black t-shirt and jeans.
- Identical Stranger: Adam bears a scarier resemblance to Danny Elfman. He's also been compared to a "foul-mouthed Gordon Freeman".
- Comic book artist and animator Bruce Timm looks like a younger, clean-shaven Adam.
- The Klutz: "He gives good pain", says the producers.
- The Lancer: The one most likely to argue with Jamie, and early episodes featured semi-regular "build-offs" where Adam and Jamie would compete against each other. Sometimes, Adam even wins these competitions, or his disagreement with Jamie sees Adam be the one ultimately proven right. Jamie actually specifically selected Adam to be co-host, feeling that Adam was entertaining enough to keep the audience engaged and that their Odd Couple dynamic would make for good television.
- Large Ham: Tory once said that he wasn't surprised Adam would end up in a show like this since he always acted like he was on camera anyway.
- Manchild: His optimism often makes him seem like he's acting like a teenager.
- Medium Awareness: He's the member of the team most likely to "interact" with The Narrator, and to predict how the show will be cut together.
- Motor Mouth: Used to the advantage of the show's production as he's often the one filling us in on the details of what he and Jamie are testing, combined with his quirky personality for flavor.
- One of the Kids: Comports himself with the manic glee of a fourteen year-old with bullfrogs and an unlimited supply of firecrackers.
- Pyromaniac: He burned off his eyebrows in the first season, and still hasn't learned his lesson before, or since, but that's part of his charm.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: The eccentric and excitable Red Oni to Jamie's stoic Blue Oni.
- Snark Ball: He's usually goofy and energetic, but will sometimes grab this. Especially when Jamie is the target of the snark.Adam: Want to try [blowing up a trombone] again?
Jamie: Sure, why not.
Adam: ...you know, it's when you get really excited that I get nervous. If you could just calm down a bit... - Team Dad: Acts as one for the cast of Mythbusters Jr., being the main adult supervisor they have and he clearly adores all of them, a feeling that's clearly mutual.
- Technician/Performer Team-Up: The Performer to Jamie's Technician, being very showy and goofy compared to Jamie's stoicism. They both have commented about how this may lead to the two of them getting on each other's nerves, but it really does bring out the best in each other, as their personalities and professionalism do lend themselves well to making an interesting show for general audiences while still covering all the bases.
- Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: He and Jamie have made it clear that they have a good deal of respect for each other but on an interpersonal level they annoy each other to no end and do not hang out after work. Adam is fond of noting that they've known each other professionally for over twenty years, but have never had dinner together. Occasionally, this makes it past the editing and we see Adam annoyed at Jamie's fussiness and methodical approach. With that said, their mutual joy at what they are doing is often apparent as well, and if Jamie is upset or frightened (such as when they test myths involving extreme heights, which Jamie hates), he does show a fair amount of concern for his co-host.
Jamie Hyneman
James Franklin Hyneman
Tropes associated with Jamie:
- Bulletproof Fashion Plate: Multiple members of the cast and crew have expressed bafflement at how he almost always manages to keep his white shirt spotless (to the point that any instances of it actually getting stained are often made a big deal of). Turns out he actually was using (and continues to use) a special clothing treatment that basically makes any fabric it's applied to impervious to most liquids.
- The Comically Serious: The show gets a lot of mileage juxtaposing his stoic demeanor and Adam's antics.
- Crazy-Prepared: He has a habit of not throwing things away if they could be useful; as a result, a great deal of useful stuff can be found in the vast and iconic "wall of boxes" at M5 (over 700 at last count). He also has this approach to life experiences; "better save up those skills; you never know when they'll come in handy"—as they often do on this show.
- Deadpan Snarker: His stoic exterior conceals a wicked sense of humor. Discovery has exploited this in two series of clips entitled "Jamie's Joke of the Week" and "AHA (Ask the Hyneman Anything)" where he tells jokes and dispenses advice.
- Doesn't Like Guns: He's said on Twitter that while he admires the engineering of a gun's design and enjoys using them in myths, he's never actually owned one and is okay with that.
- Expansion Pack Past: Adam frequently provides details on Jamie's past to the point it's almost a Multiple-Choice Past—apparently Jamie is descended from a line of "track-straighteners" dating back to the middle ages, worked for the mob, and may be an alien and/or over two thousand years old. Or Theodore Roosevelt, to whom he bears a pretty uncanny resemblance. His real past, though not as funny, is genuinely awesome: he ran away from home at 14 and hitchhiked across the U.S., has a degree in Russian linguistics, and has been, in alphabetical order, an animal wrangler, a boat captain, a chef, a concrete inspector, a machinist, a pet shop owner, a scuba divemaster, and a wilderness survival instructor. And that's not even a complete list.
- Four-Temperament Ensemble: Melancholic, complete opposite of the fellow buster he usually works with, Adam.
- Gender-Blender Name: James Franklin Hyneman commonly goes by Jamie.
- Hates Being Touched: Has no problems with handshakes or high-fives, but Jamie apparently doesn't like being hugged.
- Honorary Uncle: Considering Adam's description of the team as "like family", it is fitting that Jamie has been occasionally referred to as "Uncle Jamie" — twice by Adam, of all people ("Ancient Death Ray", 2004 — during the "What is Bulletproof?" segment, and again during "Tablecloth Chaos" in 2010) and also by Robert Lee, the narrator ("Viral Hour", 2008, during the Sawdust cannon section.).
- Human Alien: "This crater is about the same size as the one left by Jamie when he first came to Earth." — Adam Savage
- Iconic Outfit: His button-down white shirt, dark long-sleeved undershirt, and khakis that never, ever get mussed up or stained.
- Identical Stranger: Jamie is starting to bear an increasingly striking resemblance to Dr. Robotnik. Others feel he looks more like Doobie Brothers / Steely Dan guitarist Jeff "Skunk" Baxter, Swedish painter Carl Larsson◊ or, as noted on This Very Wiki, Friedrich Nietzsche◊.
- The Leader: Owns M5 Industries, the shop the show runs out of, and often comes up with the plans for the builds the team will use. More prevalent in earlier seasons, where Jamie wearing his "boss hat" was a source of drama in the show.
- Limited Wardrobe/Iconic Outfit: Rarely will you find Jamie not wearing his white shirt and beret. When he and Adam meet Barack Obama Adam is in a nicely tailored suit and Jamie is in the same clothes he always wears.
- Lampshaded in the Star Wars special, where he first teased Adam about his tendency to dress up, then willingly donned a Luke Skywalker costume for the Death Star swing escape.
- Made of Iron: During initial tests for the pain tolerance episode, Adam was showing his discomfort and Jamie, well, wasn't. Robert Lee commented that Jamie is "a man so tough, he occasionally rusts".
- Memetic Badass: If he isn't among the fanbase, he sure as hell is among the cast and crew, who regularly describe him as "abnormally strong". In the "Car Cling" myth, Adam even cites a number of the badass things that Jamie's done over the course of the show, such as climbing up the side of a building using only a rope, and bashing down a door with his shoulder.
- Multiple-Choice Past: Thanks to Adam's joking around, he is either an alien, a former mobster, or something else.
- Neat Freak: Perfectly encapsulated by the sign he put up in M5: "Clean Up or Die".
- Never Gets Drunk: Plays with the trope. It's often difficult to notice when he's drunk compared to sober, and he seems to be immune to the beer goggles effect. However, as shown in the "Driving Blind" episode, he can get sufficiently drunk to be a road hazard, even by proxy...not to mention a bit goofy.
- Not So Above It All: Put him inside an outfit that fully covers him and obscures his face, such as the recurring bomb suit, and he becomes just as much of a goofball as Adam.
- Not So Stoic: Has gotten more prone to joking around and visibly enjoying himself during myth testing as the show has gone on.
- This is perhaps a case of Character Development as with Adam since it's been mentioned that early on in the show, he was not particularly comfortable on camera and took the job fairly seriously. With time and exposure, it's possible he's gotten comfortable with the idea that for a fairly lighthearted show, it allows for a fairly serious platform for science and education.
- A more serious take on this trope appeared in the second duct tape episode, where they made a bridge using only duct tape. It was revealed then that Jamie is acrophobic (a fact that had been briefly mentioned in the Hammer Bridge Drop myth back in season one), and his voice increasingly betrays his fear as he continues to test the bridge, even as a) he's wearing a safety rig, and b) Adam already successfully crossed under the same circumstances. Becomes a heartwarming/awesome moment when he finally makes it and Adam announces, "Ladies and gentlemen, they are made of brass, Mr. Jamie Hyneman."
- Jamie has some issues with heights. Cue rope bridges and jumping from a 10m platform.
- One of the Kids: While drunk, comports himself with the sleepy goodwill of an exhausted, precocious toddler on a long car ride.
- Putting the Pee in Pool: A major pet peeve of his. Whenever a myth involves both him and Adam swimming in a contained body of water, he will almost inevitably ask Adam if he did this, or warn him against doing so.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: The stoic Blue Oni to Adam's eccentric and excitable Red Oni.
- Ridiculously Human Robots:
- One theory, proposed by Adam is that he's a robot.
- Played for Laughs in a myth-intro skit. The myth was whether the Hollywood hitman stunt of shooting through a wall to kill the target would really work. After the guest star du jour "shot" Jamie, he slid down the wall short-circuiting and leaking blue liquid.
- Screaming Warrior: He does this while charging at Adam with a (fake) dagger when they test the "never bring a knife to a gunfight" myth.
- Shrouded in Myth: According to Adam.Adam: It's been said that this crater is not unlike the one left by Jamie when he first came to Earth.
- Signature Headgear: His trademark beret. He realized that a shaved head looked better than a badly receding hairline but then realized that hair does things like protect the scalp from the sun and helps regulate body temperature so he started wearing hats. The beret stuck around because he wasn’t fond of other kinds of hats like baseball caps and cowboy hats similar to what Adam wears, and because it works for him.
- The Stoic: Especially in earlier episodes, where Jamie calling out Adam and the producers on deliberately trying to provoke him was practically a Running Gag.
- He seems to play up his stoic image for a laugh in the men versus women episode. When the MythBusters are told to show various emotions for a test to see who can read emotions better. Jamie says the emotion... then keeps his face completely expressionless.
- Stout Strength: Visible during his occasional Shirtless Scene, such as while boring out the wooden cannon.
- Technician/Performer Team-Up: The Technician to Adam's Performer, being very straight-laced and by-the-book compared to Adam's lax attitude. They both have commented about how this may lead to the two of them getting on each other's nerves, but it really does bring out the best in each other, as their personalities and professionalism do lend themselves well to making an interesting show for general audiences while still covering all the bases. He himself enforced this when he spoke about the decision to hire Adam in 2021."If you’re like me, then what’s the use of you? I need someone different to work with. I think you see this setup as a very kind of Yin and Yang setup that worked well in the MythBusters."
- Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: He and Adam have made it clear that they have a good deal of respect for each other but on an interpersonal level they annoy each other to no end and do not hang out after work. When this makes it past editing, we notice that Jamie is annoyed by Adam's showmanship, competitiveness and occasionally sloppy work. With that said, their mutual joy at what they are doing is often apparent as well, and whenever Adam has been in trouble, Jamie looks legitimately worried, even to the point of sounding almost panicked when Adam rolled a car over while testing the 'driving on two wheels' myth. When Adam became too motion-sick to continue a bungee-jumping myth, acrophobe Jamie agreed to do the rest of the jumps to spare his co-host.
Secondary Cast
Grant Imahara
Grant Masaru Imahara (October 23, 1970 – July 13, 2020)
"I love those two words - 'bomb robot.'"note
Tropes associated with Grant:
- The All-Solving Hammer: Sometimes, his "build a robot" suggestion is just silly (or at least played for laughs).
- Asian and Nerdy: He plays this up for his own (and the audience's) amusement. The guy builds robots on any excuse and used pi as his "prisoner number" in the jailhouse rope episode. As if that wasn't bad enough, when they were testing a lie detector machine, it was revealed he had thought about building a female robot. In another episode, he was reduced to a stammering idiot when he met a high-tech bomb disposal robot. This vibe is intensified when you realize his college degree is in electrical engineering.
- Character Catch Phrase: "This is why we can never have anything nice."
- Crazy-Prepared: Grant can build a robot for anything.
- Fascinating Eyebrow: A skilled practitioner.
- Green Around the Gills: Though not to anywhere near the extent of Adam - he lasts much longer in the motion sickness chair during the seasickness cure trials before eventually succumbing. (Hungover, though, is completely another story.)
- Identical Stranger: Grant looks like he could easily be a close relative of John Cho.
- Mundane Made Awesome: In one episode, Grant spent the entire episode tossing cardboard boxes out of cars and trucks. He somehow makes this look awesome.
- Older Than They Look: He was the same age as Tory was and looked as old as Tory acted.
- Robosexual: His love for robots:
- He was once asked, under polygragh, if he ever considered making a "female robot". He has.
- The gang encounters a bomb-disposal robot. Grant is VERY impressed; where Kari and Tory jokingly tries to set them up. Grant, playing along, awkwardly tries to flirt with it.
- The Smart Guy: He builds the robots and is the closest to a stereotypical nerd.
- He was also the only one with an actual engineering degree among the cast.
- Smart People Build Robots: He specializes in building robots for testing myths.
- Squee: Approaches squee-levels when working with robots.
- Also puppies.
- When All You Have Is a Hammer…: Grant's solution to everything: build a robot.
Tory Belleci
Salvatore "Tory" Paul Belleci
"I see injuries in my future."
Tropes associated with Tory:
- The Big Guy: Of the Build Team members (and possibly the entire MythBusters crew), because he does the most stunts. When testing among the Mythbusters to get average levels of human strength for a given task, Tory almost always sets the high end.
- Brief Accent Imitation: Occasionally, Tory will affect an Italian accent. (He has Italian ancestry, but the accent is used purely for humor.)
- Butt-Monkey: He suffers for our amusement.
- Cloud Cuckoolander: A lot of times, things The Team thinks are dangerous are lost on Tory.
- Gender-Blender Name: Though his full name is Salvatore Belleci (for those who don't know much about Italian names, "Salvatore" is very much not this trope - it is a very masculine name).
- Groin Attack: Compared to Adam, Grant and Jamie, he's gotten the lion's share of these incidents to the point that it's almost as well-known as his failed wagon jump.
- Hidden Depths: He's a competent golfer. When squaring off against Grant's golf ball firing robot, he does better than it.
- Improbable Aiming Skills: He split a lead musket ball on an axe, on his first try at that particular distance.Tory: Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good.
- Iron Butt Monkey: He seemed fine after the bicycle accident, despite falling on his face and getting the bike on his back.
- Takes a lot more punishment than any other Mythbuster, usually for laughs (unlike Adam, who usually elicits a Dude, Not Funny! reaction). He is rarely seriously injured though.
- Apparently the insurance coverage for Kari and Grant would not allow them to perform certain myths, but Tory (who has the same coverage) is apparently allowed to do them. Tory, understandably, does not know if this is a good thing or a bad thing. Especially since it caused Kari and Grant to give him simultaneous evil smirks.
- Made of Iron: His bike crash while jumping a little red wagon shows him clearly faceplanting and he shrugged it off with no ill effects.
- My God, What Have I Done?: During the "Baghdad Battery" myth, Tory felt really bad about his involvement in shocking Adam, which is made clear by the look on his face when Adam got shocked, and after feeling the shock himself he said they can't do it to Adam. Luckily, Adam forgave Tory and the rest of the crew and instead was mad at the producer who made them do it.
- Older Than They Look: He's in his 50s but he still looks young. However, he is starting to go visibly gray.
- Once Done, Never Forgotten: None of the cast have ever let him forget about his failed bicycle jump during his entire tenure on the series.
- Rainbow Pimp Gear: On those occasions when he wears a chain-mail shirt and a football helmet.
- Sarcasm Mode: Firmly in it when describing the Inverted Flat Spin stunt he's going to be doing for the Cold Feet myth.
Kari Byron
Kari Elizabeth Byron Urich
"Science gets more fun when I get a bigger gun!"
Tropes associated with Kari:
- Ascended Extra: Her first appearance was being used as a butt mold subject.
- Break the Cutie: She's every bit as badass as her male co-stars, but she was not able to handle being subjected to Chinese water torture. After enduring it for nearly an hour, she broke down into tears and had to stop.
- Distracted by the Sexy: When she wore a silicone-stuffed bra to test whether or not women with larger breasts received more tips, even Grant and Tory admitted they had a hard time keeping their eyes above her neckline.
- Expensive Glass of Crap: Failed terribly during a taste test during a Vodka filtration myth, rating top-line Vodka as one of the worse quality brands, and cheap control vodka as near top quality.Kari: Guess I'm a cheap date!
- Fiery Redhead: Doesn't take crap from Tory. Ever.
- Girlish Pigtails: One of Kari's three usual hairstyles, the others being clipped back and hanging loosely.
- Gun Nut: Even she was surprised by how well she took to guns, despite being a self-professed "vegetarian city girl from California."
- The Gunslinger: On any occasion where they use guns. Kari is a skilled marksman and was responsible for taking out the engine block of the phonebook bulletproof van. And she cut a tree in half with a Gatling Gun.
- Ms. Fanservice: Sometimes, as she's prone to wearing tight-fitting tank-tops. Also, her first appearance on the show was dressing in spandex leggings to have her butt laser-scanned for computer modeling (to test a myth about getting stuck on an airplane toilet). In some specific episodes she is also seen in a "slave girl" outfit in the Goldfinger body paint revisit, wearing a bikini when out on a boat in the Bahamas and the show used her FHM photos for one of the myths (Diet Coke and Mentos).
- There's also the episode "Laws of Attraction" where the producers intentionally exploited her sex appeal by strapping a stuffed DD-cup bra on her to test if she'd receive more tips, complete with a slow-motion shot of her jogging down the sidewalk.
- Older Than They Look: Would you believe she's 47? She could easily pass for mid-20s.
- Parasol of Prettiness: Under the Californian sun down at the bomb range, or in the parking lot of M7 (for certain tests), Kari has been known to carry one.
- Running Gag: A few of her early appearances, it seemed like Adam or Jamie were deliberately having her be around dead animals or meat for comedic effect, given that she's a pescetarian.
- The Smurfette Principle: The only female regular in the Mythbusters, though early on she also worked alongside Scottie Chapman and Christine Chamberlain.
- Stuff Blowing Up: She's more than once related seeing an impressive explosion to "having your first kiss."
- Tank-Top Tomboy: She's a geeky Wrench Wench and sometimes wears one of these because it's practical for her work.
- Terrified of Germs: As revealed in "Fever Pitch". This quality enabled her to prove that it's possible to avoid contracting a cold or flu via indirect contact if you know what you're doing.
- Wacky Cravings: Admitted to craving her mom's beef stew (and only that recipe) while pregnant. For additional wackiness, she still couldn't handle the meat prep and her husband, equally uncomfortable with it, had to make the stew for her.
- Wrench Wench: She's part of the Build Team so she's obviously handy with tools.
- Written-In Absence: Her pregnancy and ensuing maternity leave during the 2009 season.
Jessi Combs
Jessica M. Combs (July 27, 1980 – August 27, 2019)
Tropes associated with Jessi:
- Action Girl:
- Pulled herself up from hanging off of a helicopter's skid and into its cockpit on the first try, and with far greater ease than either Tory or Grant (it didn't hurt that she weighed less than them).
- Guest-Star Party Member: She was a substitute Mythbuster during Kari's maternity leave.
- Suspiciously Similar Substitute: Jessi Combs was a thin blonde with some tattoos, was proficient in welding and vehicle mechanics, and even copied Scottie's shipping-container-into-ramp trick that she did for the 2nd attempt at the JATO Rocket Car myth.
- Tim Taylor Technology: She rigged a nitro-boost system into a car standing in for a Lamborghini (proper dimensions at a lesser cost but not fast enough normally) in the myth of a car skipping across a lake.
- Wrench Wench: Like Scottie, had a knowledge of metalworking that was frequently helpful in testing assorted myths.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: Even though she was always a temporary replacement while Kari was on maternity leave, her disappearance after Kari returned is arguably even more striking than Christine's or Jess's, likely because unlike them, she was both a fill-in for a regular host and was brought in partway through a myth's experimentation process.
Scottie Chapman
Scottie Chapman
Tropes associated with Scottie:
- The Bus Came Back: Made a guest reappearance in the final setup of the first JATO Rocket revisit.
- Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Mid episode during the rolling stones myth, Scottie vanished without note or explanation, and Grant was slotted into her place.
- Early-Bird Cameo: Inverted. She appeared a few episodes after her departure, because the rolling stones myth was recorded over several months, and thus was still rolling when she left.
- Expansion Pack Past: She worked as a clown and thus had some experience to use with the Balloonacy myth.
- Four-Temperament Ensemble: Phlegmatic
- I Was Just Joking: When Tory was goofing around on a bike while at the Alameda Naval Base she infamously said "Let's egg him on until he hurts himself" on camera.
- Put on a Bus: It was suggested later that she got along great with the crew but had some issues with the producers.
- Tattoo as Character Type: Has several notable tattoos, and presents as the toughest, most tomboyish woman among the Mythbusters.
- Tomboy with a Girly Streak: Builds, shoots guns, and welding and metalwork is her specialty. But has a few stereotypically feminine moments, such as admitting that she does talk to her plants.
- Wrench Wench: She is a skilled welder; skilled enough to have the title "Mistress of Metal" during her time on the show.
Christine Chamberlain
Christine Chamberlain
Tropes associated with Christine:
- Ascended Extra: Ish. She got a little more focus in the second half of her tenure.
- Butt-Monkey: In 3 episodes in a row:
- She got a scolding from Jamie for nearly wrecking his lathe.
- Had her face burned by a shattering jawbreaker (which also burned Adam's arm)
- Sliced open her hand with a box cutter.
- Insistent Terminology: Mythtern, not Mythbuster.
- Put on a Bus: Was later described as having left "for love".
- What Happened to the Mouse??: Her disappearance wasn't explained for a while.
Jess Nelson
Jessica Nelson
Tropes associated with Jess
- Deadpan Snarker: Demonstrated this on the few occasions when she spoke on camera, particularly when mocking that Adam put himself through in the course of testing myths.
- One-Steve Limit: Downplayed, as her time on the show didn't overlap with Jessi's, but fans usually refer to her by her shortened name in order to quickly distinguish the two.
- The Quiet One: Compared to Christine, her predecessor as Mythtern, she mostly stayed in the background and helped out with the technical aspects of the experiments.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: When her term as a Mythern ended, she opted to move onto other projects, and the position was never officially filled again during the show's run.
Buster
Buster
The team's crash test dummy, naturally used in place of real humans for all sorts of experiments no real person could or should attempt. Originally your standard crash test dummy, the Mythbusters upgraded him to be more easily repairable, and gave him durability of that more like a human adult male. These upgrades includes a cast aluminum skeleton, poplar wood bones, and flesh and muscles of “Dragon Skin” silicone rubber.
Tropes associated with Buster:
- Ascended to a Higher Plane of Existence: Invoked and Played for Laughs in the finale, in what is about the closest to the trope a real-life person could conceivably come. Buster is dressed up as a superhero, positioned on a rocket sled aimed at a concrete wall, and launched at it at 800 mph. The sheer power of the impact, estimated to be over five million joules of energy, disintegrates Buster in an instant — there's a few flashes of light as he hits the wall and then he just ceases to be, the only thing left behind being a few shreds of his costume and some tiny pieces of debris. The narrator milks the "mysterious" vanishing for all it's worth, and Adam cracks that Buster went to Mythbuster Valhalla, and he could not conceive a more worthy reward for his years of service.
- Butt-Monkey: Buster's job is to suffer in the name of science.
- Companion Cube: When he takes more serious damage than they planned, The Team tends to react as if a real person had been injured. Somewhat justified, as Buster is meant to look and react more or less the same as a real human, so when the team sees something bad happen to Buster, they're imagining what it would be like for a person to go through it.
- Legacy Character: The original dummy was retired long ago, but the Buster name lives on through other dummies.
- Luke, I Am Your Father: In the Supersized Special, he claimed to be Adam's father.
- Meaningful Name: Buster.
- Killed Off for Real: In the Grand Finale, Buster was busted for the final time via rocket sled aimed at a concrete wall.
- Made of Iron/Made of Plasticine: Buster has seen more punishment than any other crash test dummy ever will, and even though the Mythbusters have made him more durable to withstand the forces they put him through, he still ends up in bits more often than not.
- Mascot: Downplayed, he isn't immediately recognizable but is an inanimate representation of the show and the team.
- Mysterious Past: Buster 1.0 was a Hybrid II model crash test dummy (one model behind the then-current Hybrid III). Adam revealed that he called an unrevealed government agency to request one, and was given Buster on the condition the agency would not be revealed and the deal not publicly acknowledged. Adam even mentioned that he ran into the agent he spoke to on a plane ride, who feigned complete ignorance to having spoken or met Adam before.
- The Voiceless: Except during the Supersized Special, when he got two lines (as submitted by fans).
- They Killed Kenny Again: Buster often "dies" at least once during a myth, and has had to be completely rebuilt a few times.
- We Can Rebuild Him: Often. Doing this was even the focus of one episode.
Robert Lee
Robert Lee
Robert: And in the pouch? Well, let's just say a sample of "genetic legacy" has been obtained...
Jamie: "Genetic legacy"? It's sperm! Any kid in grade-school knows that; helps make babies.
Robert: It's still viable...
Tropes associated with Robert:
- Deadpan Snarker: On occasion. Usually with sarcasm in response to the gang’s antics.
- Rhymes on a Dime: Though not as often as the puns or the alliteration, this occasionally finds its way into his narration as well.
- Talks Like a Simile: Sometimes, but it's easily missed because he uses more wordplay than a British crossword.
Other Folks
Heather Joseph-Witham
Heather Joseph-Witham
Tropes associated with Heather:
- Early-Installment Weirdness: Her presence explaining the myths and their social significance lends the show to feel much different from later episodes.
- Put on a Bus: As the show's focus shifted to the mechanics of testing the myths rather than the social significance, her presence was eventually phased out.
Frank Doyle
Frank Doyle
"Fire in the hole!"
A retired FBI agent who assists the team with some of their more explosive myths.Tropes associated with Frank:
- Bash Brothers: When paired with J.D. Nelson.
- Deadpan Snarker: He is very deadpan.Tory: Frank, why are you standing so far away?
Frank: Because I want to continue to live. - Retired Badass: He's a former FBI special agent.
- Stuff Blowing Up: His job is to make this occur without crossing into "People Blowing Up".
Sgt. J.D. Nelson
Sergeant J. D. Nelson
"I don't think they taught me this in bomb school...."
A member of the Alameda County Sheriff's Department bomb squad, J.D. usually appears whenever the team is blowing something up at the department's bomb squad training range.Tropes associated with J.D.:
- The Alcoholic: While he doesn't have a drinking problem, he's always saddest when the MythBusters destroy or discard alcohol.J.D.: On the record, I'm just gonna say I'm totally against this burning of wine and champagne.
- Bash Brothers: When paired with Frank Doyle.
- Deadpan Snarker: Compared with Frank, not quite as deadpan, but a bit snarkier.J.D.: [after Jamie insists on making a Cartoon Bomb out of the C4 for their experiment] I have no doubt in my mind you're gonna get that Road Runner this time.
- Stuff Blowing Up: His job is to make this occur without crossing into "People Blowing Up". When not working with the MythBusters, his job is the disposal of bombs, old military ordinance, and suspicious packages.
