This weekend, the Science Channel ran a two-part special on the trials and tribulations of getting ready for the Olympics. Titled Building the Olympics, this series has one more episode that will air this week. The first two episodes followed engineers preparing a giant arch, building a ski jump, and constructing the ice rinks, among other things.

Watching this made me say, “Wow.” And not because I was amazed at the skill of the engineers. If I heard one more engineering firm, say, “Well, we’ve never really built anything like this before…” I was going to scream. It made me a little nervous about whether everything in Turin will actually stand up.

I don’t know that I’d go too near that arch. After it was raised, and everyone was congratulating the engineer with “It will stay there,” he offered a very unenthusiastic “I think it’s going to stay.” Perhaps this is just European restraint, but it didn’t exactly inspire confidence in this viewer.

On the serious side, it was an interesting show and if you have a chance to catch episode 3 this week, I think it’s well worth your while.