American Inventor - The Top Six Are Selected
Episode 6 Recap by Gayl Killough
July 19, 2007
This was the last episode of the audition round for American Inventor. There were six audition cities all together, and the last two cities aired in this episode were Houston and Tampa. One winner will be chosen from each audition city to move on to the next round. The top six finalists each receive $50,000 to further develop their inventions and the next round will start with next episode.
The four previous audition winners were briefly shown and the judges were briefly announced. A woman with pigtails is shown walking into the audition room and she is the first contestant. Wow, that was quick with very little introduction filler.
Rose Feller, 45, self-identified as an "inventor" with a song called "The Love Test". The only thing it did was test my patience. This is one of those times when watching the show that I really hope that she was creatively edited because I kept waiting and waiting to see an invention. I never saw one and what I heard I could have lived without. I do agree with her that music can be a stress reliever, but she did not have anything new. She was a no from the judges and both Peter and George told her that that they thought she was auditioning for the wrong show.
Shirley Blount, 55, with "smarty potty". She makes using a potty sound like someone is going to the bank. Kids are rewarded with a song for making a deposit in the smarty potty. I can totally believe that her occupation is a teacher's assistant. I do not like the idea of making a toy out of something that should be taken seriously by a kid although I can sympathize with the desperation. Also, there are other ways to reward kids without the use of something that will probably be more expensive than a regular kids' potty. This was a no from the judges.
Peter mentions that there are four criteria that the judges are looking for and then I realized that Host Nick had actually announced the four criteria in the introduction about a minute before. The four criteria that the judges are looking for are innovation, mass appeal, marketability, and passion. Now that I think about it, I have heard these words mentioned several times, but it did not really register with me that this is what the judges are actually looking for in the inventions. I think there is an unmentioned fifth criterion that is being used for judging inventions on this show and that is the judges are looking for a product that will be ready in a very short time frame. Actually the audition information for contestants on the American Inventor website mentioned that it should be ready for the market shortly after the show airs. While some may think that marketability covers that point, I believe readiness is a separate criteria from marketability.
Kevin Gilg, 54, a certified prosthesis, has come up with an electric fingernail tool. It looks like he has modified a sander with a slit that he can place his fingernails into it. The judges think it is overkill for an invention and an unnecessary hazard just to trim one nails. I agree that this is not necessary. I could see that trimming one nails could be boring and this offers an exciting alternative, but it just is not needed. Plus, it is too easy to be a hazard if not used exactly in the correct manner. He gets no's from the judges.
Marcus "Sandy" Wall, 51 is shown at his home in footage. During the introduction, I am expecting him to make it to the next round based on how well he is being treated. He is a retired SWAT police officer and his invention is called "Wallbanger". He shows a demo tape of his product being used to force a door open quickly for the purpose of the police being able to enter a building. He has known people that were killed while trying to force a door open by traditional methods. Bullets from inside can kill or injure police officers while forcing a door open in the traditional manner. He was with the Houston police for 28 years and his experience shows in the development of this product. This is a product that the average person would never think about needing and unfortunately, a lot of times when purchasing decisions are made or products are being invented, the people who eventually make the decisions almost never have been in these type of situations to realize the need. I thought the use of the video and his testimony demonstrated the need very well. George and Sara say yes. Peter does not think it has enough mass-market capacity so he says no, but Pat wants to say yes and he does. With 3 yes's, Wall is a finalist within Houston.
Bill Guess, 56, musician, will an automatic steak cooker. Judge Pat describes it as a toaster for steaks. I do have to give the editors of the show props for how this one was edited. Guess has an appropriate last name because he guesses wrong on long it takes his product to work. He firsts says it would only take 10 minutes to cook a medium rare steak. Normally, contestants have a maximum limit of 2 minutes to make their case. The judges are shown being bored. Several times, Guess says a little bit longer. The judges finally decide to take a break and come back. Nearly 40 minutes have passed and they ask if he has a medium rare steak yet. Guess says nervously that it would be rare more so than medium rare. A steak is rare to begin with. Peter tells him to stop and Peter tries out the steak and says that it indeed was a medium rare steak and that it was worth waiting 40 minutes. Based on that Sara says yes. George says no and cooking ware is his area of expertise. Mark this point in history that George says no to an invention when another judge said yes. Pat and Peter think that it took too long and say no. Guess is optimistic that he can make the machine faster in the future.
George Tucker, 63, and Denise Tucker, 55 with "EZT4U" a tea....
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