ain't what it used to be.

The one thing that stands out about the Ice-Road Truckers and the rest of this tough job medley, is that they aren't that much different from truck drivers everywhere. I know I used to drive truck. Drew and Hugh have a real beef, Hugh offered him a chance to make some bucks if he could drive harder and longer than any of the other drivers, but Hugh was supposed to keep his rig on the road. Sorry Hugh, you brought him in here, laid out the deal, and you then you complained that he was beating up the equipment. Either you tell him the score, or your put the wheels under him.

I plan to write a novel about my time behind the wheel, and all this just flows together.

Well, that'll be coming to an end.

The writing, i mean. Better than the shows could ever be.

tender-pawed writing, and your description of Ice Road Truckers made me feel as if I had actually WATCHED THE SHOW! It was oddly appealing. The last two shows you described I quickly put out of my mind and would like to thank you for watching them for me so I don't have to.

Why do we have to pretend the ice road guys are Americans?

Heather mentions America three times, lists the regions where the shows take place (Alaska, Texas, the Pacific Northwest, and "in the Arctic Circle"). The History Channel promotes Ice Road Truckers as "An American Original Series." Even on the show itself, familiar American terminology is substituted when the truckers might say something slightly jarring to American ears - like when the cops show up, they are always referred to as the "Division of Motor Vehicles," speeds and speed limits are generally quoted in miles per hour, temperatures in Farenheit, etc.

Is it conceivable that a show could be set in any other country, and then be discussed like this without ever mentioning the name of the country? Could we talk about American working class heroes in Alaska, Texas, the Pacific Northwest, and Krakow, but never actually say the word "Poland?"

The ice road truckers are examples of the hardworking men and women who make Canada great. Their great-grandfathers might also have scraped by in a tiny village in the Carpathain mountains, but their grandfathers came to Newfoundland instead of Pennsylvania. Or maybe their great-great-granfathers got kicked out of America for remaining loyal to Great Britain and refusing to support what they no doubt viewed as an illegal war. You can bet these guys all have an opinion on that question.

The cops who patrol the ice roads are the Royal Canadian Mounted Police; the division that measures ice depth and certifies the safety of the roads is Transport Canada; all the speed limits are in km/h and all the temperatures are in Celsius. Would it be so unpalatable to American viewers to admit this?

Why the cover-up? Why is it necessary to make this intimately Canadian setting look and feel like America? In a post-Iraq, post-9/11 world, wouldn't it be a good idea to let Americans in on the fact that other parts of the world actually look and think slightly differently from us? And if we can't even stomach an authentic view of Canada, how the heck are we ever going to deal with Iran, North Korea, Syria etc?

It's that simple, and that tragic. Seeing people who once had their own stores having to beg Wal-Mart for jobs is one of the most depressing aspects of American life. So Americans like to believe there is still work out there. They also castigate themselves for not being able to get those mostly-etherial jobs; it's not the fault of the Monkey in a Man Suit they elected, it's their own fault for not being good enough.

That reality undercuts the light, snobbish Starbucks Society tone Havrilesky is trying to whip up in this piece. The addition of lesbians trying to run an obviously lesbian business is part of that. (I know lesbian IT specialists, clerks and librarians, but where's the attractive party life in that?)

Despite that, I can't blame her for this week's column. If she didn't write about these niche cable shows, she'd have to write about the ugly prime-time shows the networks are running this summer, which is like shooting dead, rotting fish in a barrel. This is an occasion when Hav deserves some sympathy.

Super good piece, from one of the best writers on Salon. Pop TV is one of the best windows on the real America. I admit to a weird fascination with these workingman shows, but more due to the technical aspects of what they do. Hey, I'm a farmer myself, so I have a few calluses and my own brand of under- the -fingernails dirt.

We're in the midst of a heat wave, just as we were when ice road truckers was on last year. When you can't sleep because you're too sticky, watching guys drive through the frozen tundra at 50 below zero is quite restful.

Charming.

Here's an idea - a show about foul-mouthed, foul-brained bigots busily biggoting. A documentary for the future when, hopefully, their disgusting lifestyle has become history.

Meanwhile, Slate editors, why is Akingu88's nasty post still up?

Regardless of what Seinfeld asserts, there's nothing better than a woman with man hands, with calluses and dirt under the fingernails. Likewise, there's nothing better than a man with the same hands. And it gives me the heeby-jeebies to shake hands with someone whose hands are softer than dough. Likewise, it probably gives them the creeps to shake my rough and dirty hands. It's that class thing. I've been in groups where racism and sexism and heterosexism are discussed, but no one wants to discuss class.

I was in a Wyoming bathroom once and two women with leather for skin entered. They were as leggy and lean as Angelina Jolie, but had more wrinkles on a single finger than Ms. Jolie has everywhere. And they were sexy, for they were real. Ms. Jolie pretends to be tough in movies, but these women were tough. I expect that when things go badly, it will be people like those women (and their male counterparts) who will survive. They know how to suffer and it'll just be another day.

I imagine that reality shows that show people who do dangerous labor allow folks who sit on cushions and sip and watch to consider class. I saw one of those WPA murals that praised people who labor and disparged those who beat ploughshares into swords. That sensibility of respecting labor is long lost and reality shows that turn hard labor into entertainment for soft folks unsettle me.

Heather might like to watch them, but I pass.