TVSquad

The show that transformed the Discovery Channel from a stuffy science documentary network that even A/V club nerds found drab and dull into the media franchise it is today is returning to the network that birthed it.

Monster Garage will return to the cable network for a new series run set in Detroit called MG: Motor City. It is set to debut in the fall.

The new series will gather a gaggle of gearheads to task them with turning a timid Ford Model T into a fire-breathing, fuel-guzzling, Firestone tire-eating race dragster. What's the grand prize? What else? A multimillion dollar government bailout!

The show seems to be designed around the recent collapse in the domestic car manufacturing market. The news couldn't have come at a better (or worse, depending on your viewpoint) time since General Motors officially filed for bankruptcy on Monday.

There isn't any word on whether or not hot rodder and chopper chopper Jesse James will return to lead the design team and host the new series. He just started a new show on Spike, and it's unclear if his contract will allow him to jump to the new network or if their schedules even mesh.

Personally, this is great news. Along with Nextstep, Mythbusters and the always irri-taining American Chopper, Monster Garage glued my nose to the TV every time the dial wandered past the Discovery Channel. It would be great if this started an official comeback for the car building series because, well, Karen Carpenter said it best, "What the world needs now are cars that can turn into trash compactors and party barges."