Nerd Men of the Month: The MythBusters

For the geeks and nerds of the world, it's flat out impossible not to love "MythBusters." It's got everything: explosions, science experiments, on-screen math equations, explosions, lightning, hosts getting drunk for the sake of science and oh, did I mention, really cool explosions. But even more importantly, it's got five great personalities -- Jamie Hyneman, Adam Savage, Tory Belleci, Grant Imahara and Kari Byron (who, yes, is a girl but we're going to make her an honorary nerd man anyway) -- bringing all that cool science and know-how to life.

"MythBusters" is one of those shows that's just insanely addictive. I've lost countless weekend afternoons to one of the Discovery Channel's many "MythBusters" marathons. Why? Because some things are far more important than cleaning the yard or feeding your family, like finding out whether or not a vertical leap at the last second in a freefalling elevator will save your life or whether a V-shaped snowplow can really cut a car in two. That's honestly the kind of weird stuff I think about all day, and it is endlessly awesome to know that there are actual qualified people out there proving it right or wrong. Now if they could somehow do an experiment where they shoot a CEO and a mid-level manager out of a canon to see who'd travel farther, I'd appreciate it as I used to spend many a late-afternoon meeting pondering that question.

The science on this show is just as addictive as the cool things that go boom. It's fascinating to watch the trial and error that goes into each experiment as well as all the math, chemistry, biology and other sciences some of us wish we'd paid more attention to in school. This show is so good, in fact, it makes me wish I'd taken physics and that's not an easy thing for an English major to admit.

Beyond the basic premise and awesome execution, though, the thing that makes this show so much fun to watch are the MythBusters themselves. Hyneman and Savage are perfect foils for each other with Hyneman as the taciturn, methodic one (or "the James May" in "Top Gear" terms) and Savage as the exuberant, intuitive-leap guy. And then there's the trio of Belleci, Imahara and Byron who are just flat-out fun to watch. Seeing the three of them do wonderfully crazy things like waterskiing behind a cruise ship or dropping cars from an airplane is a vicarious thrill. Each and every cast member on this show makes learning look fun -- and let's face it, there's not nearly enough of that on TV these days.

So for being smart, entertaining and for showing that science in all its guises can be a blast -- sometimes quite literally -- The Park Bench is pleased to name the MythBusters team as its Nerd Men (and Woman) of the Month.

Tuesday Odds & Ends: G.I. Joe, Flash Forward, historical inaccuracies, space taxis and Mythbusters

+ Say you don't want to go see "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra" but you DO want to see Alan Tudyk wearing a false beard and crying over "The Wonder Years." Then check out this ode to G.I. Joe called, oddly enough, "The Ballad of G.I. Joe" about what all your favorite Joe characters do on their off time. Hee.

The Ballad of G.I. Joe from Olivia Wilde

+ As someone who's still fuming about the gigantor sabre tooth tigers in "10,000 B.C.," I enjoyed this list of the 10 most historically inaccurate movies. Read a book, Roland Emmerich! (I only criticize out of love -- Roland has made some of my favorite cheesy movies of all time, bless his little heart.)

+ Want to learn more about ABC's new fall series, "Flash Forward," where every person in the world blacks out for 2 minutes and 17 seconds (isn't that how we choose our "Idol" winners?) and has a singular vision of the future? Sure you do! Check out this interview with "Flash Forward"'s producer David Goyer.

+ Here's something I didn't know -- seven of the nine writers behind "Mad Men" are women, including "Buffy" alumna Marti Noxon. The Wall Street Journal has a great article on how they put their pen to 1060s chauvenism and general ass-hattery.

+ Have you been secretly developing a commercial passenger transportation service to space and wondering what to do with it? Well, NASA would like to hear from you. I suggest charging for every quarter mile but that's just me.

+ "Family Guy" has more "Star Wars" spoofs planned, says Seth McFarlane, adding, perhaps menacingly depending on your feelings about Freudianism, "Certainly the big worm coming out of the asteroid (in 'Empire Strikes Back') is a big comedy moment for us." Oh dear.

+ And finally, run, don't walk to your local newstand where this month's issue of Popular Mechanics features "Mythbusters" on the cover and includes their guide to gonzo engineering.

The Men of the Discovery Channel

Here's what I love about the Discovery Channel: I can spend an entire Saturday afternoon sprawled out on the couch, eating cookies and watching Mythbusters and totally justify it because it's "educational television." Also, the box of cookies I ate was low-fat, so I can justify that too. (And no, quantity doesn't matter when they're low-fat. No, really, it's true. I learned it on TV.)

For my money, no one gives me better bang for my nerd buck than the Discovery Channel. Week after week, they provide me with compulsively addictive television that expands my knowledge of completely worthless facts -- and I mean that as a total compliment.

Take Mythbusters, for example. The two hosts, Jamie and Adam, go out and try to prove or disprove popular urban myths. As a result of blowing things up or building hovercrafts or trying to break out of prison with salsa, they teach their audience some pretty cool things. For example, I like to know that vodka won't kill bees. It will only make them drunk -- and Russian. I like to know, too, that if someone shoots at me while I'm swimming, the water will slow the bullet. And I like to know that even though it looks really cool, you shouldn't try to ride a giant inflatable raft out of an airplane in mid-flight.

I also like to spend considerable time during the commercial breaks wondering which of the two hosts, Jamie or Adam, would be more fun to be trapped on a deserted island with. Obviously, we would not be trapped for very long because they both could build turbine engines with coconuts and gliders with palm fronds and engineer our great escape within hours of arrival, but still, I wonder. (I'm pretty sure the answer is Adam.)

Another great afternoon killer is Man vs. Wild, although I will admit that when host Bear Gryll starts whining about being disoriented and dehydrated and lost, I start rooting for "Wild" to win. The basic premise of the show is that Bear gets dropped into the middle of a desolate, rough environment with no gear, no tools and "nothing but his wits" and then has five days in which to get himself back to civilization. Um, also they drop him there with a camera guy carrying some Snickers and a cell phone, but he's not allowed to help unless Bear is actually being eaten by something. As much as Bear grates on my nerves sometimes (not even the British accent can save him), the scenery is gorgeous and I have learned a lot of fascinating survival skills that will come in handy if I ever venture beyond the interstate. For example, you can build yourself a warm bed in the wilderness by making a fire, putting rocks in the fire and then burying the rocks with sand. It's like nature's little chunky, electric blanket -- it's going to rearrange your vertebrae by morning, but it'll keep you toasty.

The very best way to spend a weekend with Discovery though is to spend it with Mike Rowe, the tall, funny opera singing host of Dirty Jobs. If you've never seen the show, it involves Mike taking on filthy tasks like collecting garbage from underground storm gutters, vivisecting dead whales, working on a methane-powered farm or scampering around in sewers. While the set-up of the show is great, it's really Rowe with his stunted gag reflex and ability to make even the most disgusting tasks look bearable who makes the show what it is. And when his job is really, really bad, he lets you know. Whether it's bitching at the woman who raised ill-behaved monkeys in Africa or the dudes who taught him to hunt for catfish by shoving his hand into dark underwater holes, Mike's not above unleashing the snark on people. And for that I love him. And for giving me three such entertaining, mind-expanding, ridiculously addictive shows, I love the Discovery Channel, too.