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MUMBAI:
National Geographic Channels International (NGCI) has commissioned
British Indie Renegade Pictures for two new series: Planet
Mechanics and Vegas Comes to China, which will
air in April and May, respectively.
Planet
Mechanics is an eight episode show featuring Dick Strawbridge and Jem Stansfield,
two of Britain’s best green inventors. This dynamic duo uses ingenuity, resourcefulness
and humour to confront ecological challenges head on. Dick and Jem focus on helping
small businesses and individuals go green in their daily lives by creating everything
from an air-propelled motorbike for a takeout delivery restaurant in Bath to saving
a youth hostel by taking it off the grid and powering it from a local stream and
fire hoses. NGCI
executive VP content Sydney Suissa says, “Renegade Pictures has delivered
two compelling series on topics at the forefront of interest. Planet Mechanics
is a refreshing take on green programming, offering optimistic, innovative and
achievable solutions“. Renegade
Pictures creative director Jon Rowlands said, “It was a challenging commission
to make an exciting green engineering show. The key was casting Dick and Jem,
two guys who really knew their stuff, and were passionate about the issues. Then
we gave them problems to solve, which weren’t theoretical but actually impacted
people’s real lives”. Vegas
Comes to China follows the progression of Macau from tiny colonial town to
booming gambling metropolis, surpassing Las Vegas in profit. Two of the world’s
richest men are battling over this new empire, with more than $6.9 billion in
revenue at stake. The series offers a unique microcosm into the fundamental changes
underway throughout China. Renegade
Pictures MD Alan Hayling says, “Vegas Comes to China is a series of which
we're immensely proud. The coming to Macau of Vegas-style casinos and consumerism
on a grand scale is a perfect metaphor for the extraordinary transformation we're
witnessing in China. "We're
grateful to National Geographic Channels International for giving us the opportunity
to make these programmes for them”. Suissa
adds, “With character-driven plots, culture clashes and some significant
high-risk wagers, Vegas Comes to China thoroughly examines East versus
West big business”. | 
