TVSquad

This Wednesday, January 10 at 10pm TV Land will debut a new series called Myths and Legends. The series will supposedly uncover the truth behind such urban legends as Mama Cass' death by ham sandwich, the hanging Munchkin from the Wizard of Oz, and Walt Disney's frozen head.

I only see one problem with this new show: it's completely unnecessary. A lot of the stuff this show plans to cover has already been covered before by other TV specials, and folks who were curious about these things have already investigated with the help of sites like Snopes.com. I'm usually a big fan of TV Land's original shows -- hell, I even liked I Pity the Fool, but someone tell me how this show made it to the air? Do I really want to sit and watch a show that tells me things I already know?

Okay, I won't completely dismiss a show I've yet to see. Maybe they'll approach these old rumors in a cool and refreshing way, but the premise alone feels more than a little stale.

(S03E17) It's been since May that we've seen a new episode of this show, but it's still season 3. This episode dealt with de-mythifying the Hollywood heist myths. You know the ones, where a thief uses all sorts of wild gadgets and tricks to get past advanced security systems. What I'd like to know is, how realistic are some of those crazy Mission Impossible-like security systems?

(S03E16) Another season down. I really couldn't imagine this show not being renewed for another season, so here's looking forward to the next one. This is one of those guilty-pleasure shows that I have to TiVo and watch later in the week, but it's always worth it.

This week, the MythBusters tackle one very weird myth, the myth of the exploding pants, and a few myths that seem very applicable today: the great gas conspiracy.

(S03E15) We're coming up on another season finale of MythBusters next week. This week the MythBusters tackle a couple of ... odd myths.

Painting with Explosives: The myth is, if you blow up a can of paint in a room, will it coat the room fully with the paint? And can the room withstand the explosion? A Mr. Bean episode mocked being able to do this, even showing a silhouette where someone was standing in the way of the paint blast. The MythBusters set up a small room on a bombing range, complete with a Buster for simulating the silhouette. First go, the explosion covers the room about 40% with paint, no silhouette, and destroys part of it in the process. So, myth busted.

(S03E13) This episode actually covered an interesting myth I'd wondered about maybe once or twice before: if someone fires a bullet straight into the air, will it fall back to Earth with deadly force? The MythBusters also grace us with a few more vodka myths, and thankfully I'm not sure there are a whole mot more they can waste our time with.

Speaking of vodka myths, let's start with those.

Can you survive overnight in a blizzard by gutting a dead animal and getting into its carcass?

Could you survive a 50-foot fall into a snow bank like Luke Skywalker did?

Those are just a couple of the questions the MythBusters attempt to answer in this great piece at starwars.com. Many fans of the MythBusters show already know that at least four of the team worked at the famed Industrial Light & Magic studios before starting the show. I'd always dreamed of working at ILM or the Skywalker sound studios, so it's great to see them talk about old times.

[via Digg]