If you get even the most basic cable plan most likely you have access to the Discovery channel. The past few months the Discovery channel has really hooked me. There are 3 shows in general that are just plain awesome: Deadliest Catch, Planet Earth, and Man Vs. Wild.

Deadliest Catch documents the Alaskian king crab season, following several fishing boats for the week long journey to gather king crabs. I guess you could consider it “reality tv” but not in the way MTV does reality tv. This isn’t about dating, back stabbing, or rich kids doing something funny for a gag. This is the real life story of dozens of fisherman who risk their lives every year for the possibility of a big pay off. It’s frightening, exhilirating and unlike most reality tv, actually interesting. They show it all. Less fancy editing and more real life footage make this show a great one to watch.

Planet Earth - “The 11-part series will amaze viewers with never-before-seen animal behaviors, startling views of locations captured by cameras for the first time, and unprecedented high-definition production techniques. Award-winning actress and conservationist Sigourney Weaver is the series’ narrator.” This mini series took five years to film…..five. To say it is like nothing you have ever seen before, well that doesn’t even scratch the surface. It is breathtaking and literally had me going, Oh my goodness and No way! about 50 times. It showed me how little we really know about our planet and how much incredible beauty lies in our world, beauty that needs to be protected by us.

Another awesome show on Discovery is Man Vs. Wild. The show follows Bear Grylls, an adventurer, as he gets dropped off in remote locations, usually with little or no survival gear, and has to stay alive for a week. Obviously he has a camera crew following him but he really is on his own for food, water, shelter and keeping himself safe from wild animals. There are many parts of this show that would seem impossible to most of us, since we aren’t survival experts like he is. You might just learn a thing or two from Bear!

Ok so this probably sounds like I am a tv junkie, believe me I am not. But when I do watch tv I like to watch something that is A-not crap and B-actually shows me a side of the world I am not familar with. All of these shows fit the bill. So if you are sick of watching sitcoms or regular reality tv, tune in to Discovery. They have some amazing programming, not just these shows mentioned above. Another favorite - the Travel channel - but we’ll get to that another time.

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