Something Better to Watch: Pawn Stars

For the most part reality television isn't reality. It's a fact that most of us have come to live with but there are still some shows based on real life people that are worth watching. One of those happens to be The History Channel's Pawn Stars. Forgive the pun, since it the show has absolutely nothing to do with pornography, though I'm not entirely sure Rick wouldn't buy a piece of pornography if it had a decent dollar value attached to it. The show chronicles the day-to-day events of the Gold & Silver Pawn Shop in Las Vegas, Nevada-a family run business featuring three generations.

While the actual majority of the business is simply pawning items and getting paid on the interest, the history aspect of the show arrives in the form of the weird things that are carried into the shop on a daily basis. Jewelry and things of that nature may be the most obvious things to pawn, but featuring them regularly on the show simply wouldn't make any sense on the history channel. Instead, when someone brings in an old musket or a sun dial, Rick (the present co-owner of the shop with his father) usually calls in an expert on the item and we get a dose of history without feeling like we're stuck in history class.

The show is usually broken up into several pieces, one revolving around the family, a particularly interesting item that was brought in and a few other minor items of interest. The best part of the show is by far when the "big" item is brought into the shop and an expert has to be called in. Sometimes a cringe worthy moment is born when the owner of the item finds out that their prized possession is absolutely worthless or is a complete fake. The center item can also be a restoration job in which one of the guys buys a rare car or even a gas pump and sends it off to a restoration shop in order to sell it for more. Motorcycles and cars are commonplace.

The family dynamic is in full effect since the business is family owned. There's Rick the most commonly seen member of the family, his father lovingly called The Old Man and Rick's son Corey, otherwise known as Big Hoss. Since Corey will inevitably take over the shop much of the interaction comes from Rick and Corey not seeing eye to eye on many of the decisions Corey makes, though from time to time he's managed to prove his father wrong in his dealings.

Pawn Stars provides a dose of history, comedy and entertainment without having to deal with the tired reality contest shows you'll find on network television or the spoiled brats causing trouble that run rampant on cable. If MythBusters is the type of reality television that attracts you, Pawn Stars might just be a good addition to your DVR schedule.