TVSquad

Spike TV has picked up the original, non-scripted series 1,000 Ways to Die. The title of the show says it all -- it just chronicles the many ways people leave this world. It's from Thom Beers, the same guy who produced Ice Road Truckers, The Deadliest Catch, and Ax-Men. There seems to be a theme with Beers's shows, don't you think? The show was originally a two-part special that aired in May on Spike. It performed so well that the network has order ten 30-minute episodes.

Earlier today I did a first take on the Primetime Emmy nominations, sharing with you my first impressions and noting a few surprises. Now, I'm going to finish what I started. Please, share your comments and your opinions about the nominations.

On Tuesday , June 17th at 10 p.m. an all new season of After the Catch will premiere. This five-part series, airing each week after Deadliest Catch, will look deeper into the most dangerous jobs and people who do them. One of these behind-the-scenes looks will feature Captain Phil Harris and Gloucester's legendary fishermen. The captain will sit down with Mike Rowe of Dirty Jobs for an interview. Rowe will also talk to the crew, author Spike Walker and Dutch Harbor bartender Lisa Roberts for the inside scoop on what life is really like in the port town.

Deadliest Catch returned with new episodes Tuesday night on Discovery. This is easily one of my favorite shows on television. I could watch a Deadliest Catch marathon every weekend, it's that good.

Here are nine reasons why I love this show:

1. Mike Rowe. Yes, the Dirty Jobs guy. He's also the voice of Deadliest Catch and there is no one better suited for the job. He may be a goofball on his own show, but he brings out his deep and foreboding voice to follow the fishermen on Catch.

If you turned on your TV over the weekend, you probably noticed that Discovery had gone all Deadliest Catch, all the time. That was, of course, because the new season is upon us today. That's a good thing, because it really is the best of the deadliest, scariest, dirtiest, frozenest job-based programming. To get ready for the big event, I thought I'd toss up this little video from youtube.

As part of the background filming for the show, the Discovery crew headed out to one of the local watering holes, J. R. Phinickeys, with Josh from the Cornelia Marie. After the jump, you get a look at a whole lot of flaming monkey shots being set ablaze. You'll also see the Discovery camera man on the left, and Josh coming in to high five the bartender at the end. One more reason to order up that Discovery HD.

After making Deadliest Catch a huge hit for the Discovery Channel back in 2006, and still going strong, Thom Beers' Original Productions struck gold again with The History Channel's adrenaline rush Ice Road Truckers. Catch chronicles the real-life adventures of Alaskan crab fishers, considered one of the most dangerous jobs in the world, while Truckers is about one of the most dangerous jobs on land, driving big rigs in the Northern Canadian provinces over frozen lakes.

Now, according to Zap2It, Beers has inked an aggressive deal with NBC for three new shows. The network has given a 10-episode commitment to all three and guaranteed they will run at least two in prime time. So what are they about? Apparently, it didn't matter because Beers is working with the network now to figure out the subjects for all three.

Faithful TV Squad reader Gordon Werner has a question, so everyone listen up:

"Will Discovery Channel be airing another season of Deadliest Catch this year?"

The answer, dear Mr. Werner, is "yes." In fact, the third season is currently being filmed and will kick off on April 3, 2007. Make sure you tattoo that information on your body like that guy in Memento, it's a great way to remember things. That's why I have "buy eggs and milk" inked on my inner thigh right now.

Deadliest Catch is a documentary series that began in 2005. It follows six fishing vessels as they fish for crab in the Bering Sea and face serious injury or death due to the rough conditions. The crew not only consists of fisherman who have been on several expeditions, but also "greenhorns" who are experiencing the job for the first time.