Dirty Jobs

Mike Rowe has really come up with a great concept for this series. Not only has he created an interesting show, but the show entertains and educates the viewer as well. I have seen some of these running on the Discovery channel.

The ones on Discovery are 60 minutes long & usually tackle at least 2 terribly dirty or challenging jobs in an hour. What is amazing is that Mike is always asking for requests at the end of every hour, sounding desperate for finding another dirty job, and yet seems to find one every hour. So far in spite of his desperate pleas he is meeting the challenge.

Is there anything Mike won't do? So far I have seen him work dirty from confined spaces to high rise bridges, to working with tools which can cut off limbs. He has absorbed heat & cold. I used to think being a Doctor, Firefighter, or Astronaut was tough until I saw some of these.

This series is incredibly entertaining & to me it does well because of the ideas & daring of host Mike Rowe. He makes "Tim The Toolman Taylor" of the old series Home Improvement look like an amateur when it comes to what he will try to keep his viewers coming back for more.

As more people discover this show, that is exactly what they will do in higher & higher numbers.

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.

This is a show I've wanted to see happen since I was in middle school - more or less. This show is awesome. The people who do the jobs we'd rather not think about finally get their dues in this brilliant show from the creators of "Mythbusters". Host Mike Rowe injects some great observational humor into the proceedings, without being insulting to those brave men (and the occasional he-woman) who take part in these dirty jobs.

You actually watch this show with a sense of reverence rather than in a totally grossed-out state. Rowe and his crew, rather than spending their time being totally freaked out, turn each outing into a fun little adventure. And wouldn't you know it, Mr. Clean sponsors this show.

Check this show out before it goes off the air (God forbid that should happen anytime soon). This is a really unique, entertaining, and fascinating show.

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.

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 "