I do my best not to watch too much television, but I do have my favorites that I try not to miss. Included among them are this season’s My Name Is Earl and The Office in the comedy department, and of course The Apprentice (and I’m not talking about that lame Martha Stewart version either.) I gave that one a chance and didn’t make it half way through the second episode.

But if there’s one show on TV for which I would give up all the others, it’s the Discovery Channel’s MythBusters.

So. You’re minding your own business, filling up your gas tank, when your cell phone rings. Hmmm. Should you answer it? Because you’ve heard you shouldn’t use cell phones near gas stations since they can produce small sparks that can ignite big fires.

Just got hit by an on-target skunk and you remember from that Partridge Family episode that taking a bath in tomato juice will get the smell of you? Or is that just an urban myth? This show takes advantage of the fairly recent popularity of proving (or disproving) urban myths and applies modern science and a couple of zany characters to make the show very entertaining. Besides, who hasn’t wanted to grab a huge bunch of helium-filled balloons and float off into the heavens? Can that really work? Or who hasn’t wanted to throw a radio into someone’s bathtub and watch them fry? Did I just say that outloud? And can that really happen? Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman pool their special effects talents to not only bust the myths, but to “replicate the results,” pushing the limits of safety and common sense until something either explodes, gets shot into space or gets sucked into a vaccum cleaner motor. Remember: It’s all fun and games until someone’s lip gets sucked into a vaccum cleaner motor. The best part? Even at 6 years old, Emily loves to watch it with me too.