The Blender

As I believe I've mentioned a few times on this blog: I freakin' love The Office. A lot. Like, more than a friend. And I'm not one of those "it used to be funny but not anymore" sort of people -- I still am very much infatuated with Michael Scott and company.

For example, one time I got to chat with Rainn Wilson (Dwight Shrute) and it basically made my life.

And tonight, Mr. Will Ferrell is joining the cast, playing Michael's replacement (Steve Carell is leaving the show at the end of this season). It doesn't look like Ferrel will be around next season, but his character will indeed be featured on several episodes this spring. So yeah, check it out at 9pm tonight on NBC.

I blogged a few weeks ago about my obsession with Gold Rush: Alaska, the Discovery Channel reality show about down-on-their-luck Oregonians who head up north in search of riches. Within minutes of posting that piece, I had slated an interview with one of the show's stars, Jimmy Dorsey.

In that interview, Dorsey told me about his time in Alaska, and also why we'll see him leave the mine in an upcoming episode...maybe even on Friday night.

Here's a link to my full story about Dorsey.

Reading this story in the Oregonian this morning about the Discovery Channel's Gold Rush: Alaska, made me realize that I finally have to write something about this oddly engaging reality show.

For those who haven't seen this series yet, it's essentially about a group of out-of-work Oregonians from outside of Portland who head up to Alaska to mine for gold. But here's the thing: few, if any, of them have any idea what they're doing and the whole affair is essentially a train wreck -- which makes for great watching. Oh, and they carry around a ton of guns, ostensibly for protection from bears (one of which they kill during the series) and for some reason brought their kids out to the site.

OH! And there's a kind bearded man named Jimmy that the lead guy is constantly berating.

And ANOTHER thing! They never seem to do any mining, at least not in the first three episodes, and are hilariously incompetent and/or lazy and enjoy saying vague Tea Party slogans. Except for Jimmy, of course.

But as the Oregonian story points out, the show has Alaska officials worried that more Americans from the lower 48 will catch gold fever and head up to the wild to begin mining -- something that requires proper permitting and knowledge to minimize environmental damage.

Regardless, this show is totally worth watching, especially if you enjoy watching people yell at each other and hit trucks with tractors and not find gold.

"You're watching a show hosted by Bob Saget in 2010 and it's not America's Funniest Home Videos and it's actually really funny?" asks my 12-year-old self. That is right before his time-traveling head explodes.

Last night, I watched a mini marathon of Strange Days with Bob Saget on A&E, a reality program in which the former Full House star and raunchy stand-up comic immerses himself in odd subcultures for a week. I saw him join a nerdy (like almost-seem-like-robots-because-they're-so-socially inept sort of nerds) fraternity at Cornell (Andy Bernard is, sadly, not in the episode), spend a weekend in Las Vegas with a bachelorette party, serve as a summer camp counselor and get nearly assaulted up by professional wrestlers.

There's no reason this show should work, but it does. And that's because I have a suspicion that Saget is actually a genius. He's hilarious in his commentary and narration, but he seems genuinely interested in his subjects. He even tears up at one point with the camp kids. Add in the fact that his camera crew, who are at times incorporated into the show, look like a gang of street hoods, and you've got an awesome program.

And to think that this guy also fathered the Olsen Twins...wow, what an American hero.

photo courtesy of A&E.