Dirty Jobs

This show is more documentary than reality. Mike Rowe is half the fun as the quick witted gross-host-with-the-most. Kinda like the Mr. Wizard of sewage, but more of an engineering slant on the issue. Even though I'm married to a civil engineer who took classes in sewer design, both of us are fascinated by this show and have a new appreciation for Americas' unsung malodorous-heroes. Its not a gross out show. Really. Its kinda weird. You would think they were talking about the surface of Mars based on how little the public knows about the subjects he covers- but in reality, he's covering technology that dates back to the Roman Empire. The sewers of San Francisco have withstood fires and earthquakes, but the vermin and volume of effluence that flow through it are an unheralded architectural monument to the engineering accomplishments of the 1800's mason. Great show. Much better than the usual reality-show drivel equivalent that Mike analyzes on his missions.

While many of my friends and family were enthralled by the reality show craze, I could never get on the bandwagon. Frankly, I don't think throwing a group of strangers together in unusual situations isn't reality. Dirty Jobs is different. It is real. These are jobs people actually do. Therein lies the appeal to this show. Very few of us would ever consider doing these jobs, but our way of life would be near to impossible without these people, a fact host Mike Rowe points out repeatedly. Some of the jobs have had my wife and daughters fleeing the room, screaming, covering their eyes. But they always come back to see what happens next. Mike Rowe is an excellent host. He is witty, mildly sarcastic and insightful. He also is respectful of the people who work these jobs. Simply put, Dirty Jobs shows us a side of life that many of us never see, but should be grateful exists. Otherwise we would have to do these jobs.

The Discovery Channel started to take a turn for the better when they added "Mythbusters" to their TV schedule. It seems, however, that they aren't done there. With "Dirty Jobs" they have another winner on their hands. Host Mike Rowe has excellent comedic timing and brings such a great atmosphere to each dirty job he encounters.

On the negative side (and it's not really "negative") some of the jobs Mike attends aren't that dirty. They should've named the show, "Jobs The Majority of Us Don't Want to Do" but since most of the jobs are really dirty, "Dirty Jobs" fits the bill quite nicely.

My only really worry is that he'll run of out of jobs to attend. It's really neat to see the people behind these careers and how every little thing works. The chick hatchery was especially interesting and equally funny.

I really hope this show stays on for a good while and can get a following like "Mythbusters". I'll end this review with a comment from another IMDb user who had to defend the host, Mike Rowe, because some others unjustly labeled Mike as "annoying" because Mike brings humor to these jobs instead of blinding acceptance and joy for the work:

User: mrp- Comment: "if he liked the jobs it wouldn't be funny

hes supposed to represent the average person who's watching the show, someone who works at walmart or behind a desk, not walking with (stuff) up to their knees down in the sewer

he makes it funny, hes not an employee hes a TV show host and the workers who teach him the jobs know this and I'm sure they don't get annoyed with him because of this

i wouldn't watch this show if he enjoyed all the dirty jobs "

Dirty Jobs. The title rather says it all, but I'll expand just for the sake of possibly winning more possible viewers over. Host Mike Rowe narrates, hosts (obviously) and takes part in all manner of dirty jobs. Many of them are ones that perhaps we only randomly wonder about--like golf ball recovery on courses, roadkill collector, and even ostrich wrangler.

Mike and his crew are amazing people--if they ever do get truly "grossed out" by some of the jobs they do/watch, they hardly ever show it. Heavens forbid this show is ever cancelled, for it is truly amazing and brilliant. And as odd as it might sound, only a few times have I ever been completely grossed out.

Be sure to check this one out. It'll be worth your time.

This is a very entertaining documentary series i have been watching since it first started, love all the episodes, very funny show as well The host is a very interesting guy, adds a lot of fun to the experience of watching the show, watching him work at a dirty job (pig farm, solid waste treatment plant, etc) and its really amazing how dirty some jobs are, really makes u appreciate the job u got, because your thankful your job ain't as nasty as some of these jobs :) Dirty Jobs teaches a lot as well, very educational, seeing all the dirty parts of society that are necessary for our comfortable existence definitely a good show to watch for all u docu fans though, lets hope it stays on the air for a long while, because TV networks have a habit of canceling good shows before their time, and these people that work these dirty jobs deserve recognition for the jobs they do