By Iain Harrison

I mentioned some of the ways in which the mid season blahs might be countered in previous posts and this time around, the producers of Top Shot rolled out a gorgeous (and huge) example of a Victorian machinists' art. Bear in mind that that the 3.2-inch bag gun was made one at a time, and that each individual part was hand fitted to its neighbor over the course of assembly, making the guns incredibly expensive. Also, because of the charging system, there was no effective means of containing propellant gasses inside the breach. If you watched closely, you could see a puff of smoke escaping toward the teams during the challenge.

Although the cannon itself was beyond cool, especially given its provenance, I was left feeling a little flat by the team challenge.

Perhaps we've all been spoiled by the head to head format of previous episodes, but this one, decided as it was by the most insignificant of margins and with each team taking their turn, I felt there was a lot of excitement missing. I understand that there was no way that two identical cannons could be sourced in order to make it a simultaneous challenge, but the more readily available Hotchkiss gun might have been a better choice?

The process of picking the cast of reality TV shows has developed into a fine art. If you have a hankering to apply for the show, expect to go through a battery of psychological exams, interviews and practical tests in order to fill some carefully picked roles. This elimination challenge showed Tim Trefren, a burly Rocky Mountain big-game guide straight out of central casting taken down by a self-proclaimed IT geek. I'm often asked how much of the show is scripted (answer—apart from Colby's intro's—none of it), but this week's episode was the archetypal David & Goliath encounter, with mass audience appeal.

Next week sees the return of a Top Shot staple with trick shots galore, with a teaser of some British guy bringing a few guns from across the pond into play. With the blue team winning streak these past couple of episodes, I wonder if they can keep it together.