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!

Hey, Brigitte here with TV Squad Daily. I'll be covering the TV stories I find interesting each day, Monday through Friday, in this video blog.

Today on TV Squad Daily:

• Don't want to watch the Superbowl? How do you feel about afghans? Check out your Super Sunday alternatives.
  
• Jesse James of Discovery Channel's Monster Garage is paying hefty fines after his custom-made bikes failed to meet California's emission standards.
• Cashing in on the recent rehab fad, the creators of UK's Big Brother are reportedly working on a new reality show called Rockstars in Rehab.
  

The video's embedded below, or you can download the file directly (Quicktime required). You can also subscribe to this vodcast via our feed.

It turns out all those souped-up choppers and pimped-out rides aren't up to code. California air regulators announced yesterday a nearly $300,000 settlement with Monster Garage's Jesse James and his West Coast Choppers operation. Fifty of his custom-built bikes did not meet California air quality standards. They were built without certified emissions equipment on their exhaust and fuel systems. According to the LA Times, the bikes were spewing hydrocarbons at rates that exceeded state limits times ten.

James isn't the first celebrity grease monkey to get hit with fines. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration fined the customizers behind Pimp My Ride for replacing steering wheel air bags with TV monitors. The between-seat popcorn poppers, rims-turned-fish tanks and fold-out ping-pong tables weren't a problem. I'm surprised it's taken authorities this long to figure out that vehicles nicknamed "666 El Diablo" and the "Undertaker" aren't street legal. As a rule, air regulators, any school bus with a jet engine strapped to its chassis is probably gonna be in violation.