Mythbusters gets the nod for great content--the scientific debunking of tall tales--and great personalities. Hyneman and Savage come from backgrounds in special effects and they clearly have a lot of mechanical savvy between them. The pair's creative problem-solving usually comes to the forefront of each hour-long episode as they brainstorm how to attempt to prove / disprove / replicate the results of the assembled myths. Their disagreements over methods is almost as entertaining as seeing them blow stuff up. Almost. The myths themselves, a Snopesian parade of incendiary cell phones, pennies tossed from skyscrapers, and oscillating bridge spans, are intriguing, although probably not intriguing enough to require the services of a resident folklorist. However, the myths do serve ably as great jumping-off points for the scientific slapstick of the hosts. New episodes have been loaded into the Mythbuster's giant compressed-air cannon and will arrive shortly. Until then, catch the first-season reruns on Discovery and chop it up on the MB discussion board.

Harold Check