
Top Chef Masters
Letters to the President
8 pm/ET HBO2
When a nation plays it as close to the vest as Iran, it's hard to know what goes on behind its borders, but a trio of documentaries seek to give at least a glimpse of what makes the country tick. The first is Letters to the President, a look at Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's correspondence with the populace. It's followed by The Queen and I on June 17 (8 pm/ET), a chronicle of a former revolutionary's relationship with the Shah's widow, and Be Like Others: Transsexuals in Iran on June 24 (8 pm/ET).
Read on for previews of Top Chef Masters, American Masters, Real World/Road Rules Challenge and Mythbusters.
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This Wednesday at 9 pm/ET, Discover Channel's MythBusters — led by Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage — returns with a "Demolition Derby Special," in which our stalwart experimenters try to flip a bus (à la Speed), compact a compact car, and mimic a remarkable Lexus commercial.
In this video Q&A with TVGuide.com, Hyneman and Savage discuss the difficulty they often face in recreating "once in a million occurrences," with Savage admitting, "Sometimes it really kicks our butt."
Also coming up in the show's seventh season: another Alaska special, in which they try to sail a boat made out of sawdust and ice, a nod to Seinfeld (does double-dipping really spread germs?), and an in-depth expose of, yes, the age-old banana-peel slip. Says Hyneman of their look into the slapstick chestnut, "It's hilarious."
See everything the guys had to share after the jump.
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Quincy, M.E.
New releases announced today, February 27:
Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern - Collection 3 will be coming out June 23
Extreme Engineering - Collection 2 will be coming out May 19
MythBusters - Collection 4 will be coming out May 5
Quincy, M.E. - Season 3 will be coming out June 2
Survivorman - Season 3 will be coming out June 9
Swiss Family Robinson (1976) will be coming out June 30
Time Warp (DVD & Blu-ray) will be coming out June 9
Visit TVShowsOnDVD.com for the complete stories on these and other news items.
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Of course you have, who hasn't?! But the real question is: Do you know why you sound like one the Chipmunks after taking a swing of the gas? Mythbusters has the answer and not only does the debunker break down the explanation, but he also demonstrates the opposite affect sulfur hexafluoride. Check it out assuming you promise not to try this at home, of course.
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MythBusters courtesy Discovery Channel and Image Ent.
New releases announced today, September 1:MythBusters - Big Blasts Collection will be coming out December 2 Visit TVShowsOnDVD.com for the complete stories on these and other news items.
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Alvin and the Chipmunks courtesy of Bagdasarian Productions
New releases announced today, February 7:Alvin and the Chipmunks - The Chipmunk Comedies! will be coming out April 1 MythBusters - Collection 3 will be coming out April 8 Bret Michaels in Rock of Love - Season 1 will be coming out April 8 Waiting for God - Season 3 will be coming out June 10 Visit TVShowsOnDVD.com for the complete stories on these and other news items.
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The Closer by Andrew Eccles/TNT
Let's face it, it's pretty hard to avoid the Super Bowl (Sunday on Fox at 6 pm/ET, by the way). But to some people the big game and its inescapable surrounding hoopla is anathema. With that in mind, we present this Football Haters' Survival Guide, a few decidedly non-sporty shows that should appeal to those who think a flea-flicker is a way to kill bugs. Joseph Hudak Fans call the plays in Discovery's 18-hour viewers'-choice marathon of Mythbusters, beginning Sunday at 9 am. Kyra Sedgwick's tireless Brenda Johnson pulls a 12-hour shift as TNT kicks off a marathon of The Closer at noon with the second-season opener, which finds Brenda investigating the double murder of a detective and a drug dealer. Puppy Bowl IV (Animal Planet, 3 pm): Baby dogs romp and roll for three hours inside a pup-sized football stadium in the third-annual cutefest, which repeats through 3 am. Food Network takes the cake with six hours of shows about wedding cakes, beginning with...
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Question: I read your column regularly and never expected to write in. However, after the day-to-day of Gilmore Girls/Alias/24/Lost, I felt it necessary to shine a light on some of the most entertaining TV no one is watching. My wife and I, while huge fans of Lost and Alias, searched out new programming over the six-week holiday break and discovered — Discovery. Two of the best and most informative shows are on that network and deserve high praise. I'm talking about Dirty Jobs and Mythbusters. While these are lumped in to the reality genre, I guess, they are family-friendly, riotously funny (especially Dirty Jobs) and make us feel like we've actually been productive and learned something after watching them. What is your take on these and other shows (No Reservations with Anthony Bourdain is another favorite) that don't fit into the serial, sitcom or cheesy Bachelor-type format?
Answer: Funny, but when I went home to the Midwest for a week during the Christmas break, I also found myself
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