Monster Garage

Monster House and Monster Garage are the Discovery Channel's aggressive alternatives to the more gentile personal improvement programs on TLC or PBS. In each episode of Monster Garage, host Jesse James and his “gang of maverick mechanics” transform a mundane used vehicle into a fully-operational hybrid. James, apparently a direct descendent of the famous outlaw, is a bald, tattooed, goateed kook and he surrounds himself with an eccentric crew of engineers, designers, and artists to meet various challenges. To wit: a 1990 Ford Mustang becomes a drag-racing lawnmower; a 1993 Ford Explorer goes from minivan to garbage truck; and, most impressively, a 1998 Volkswagen Bug overcomes severe buoyancy issues to become a swamp boat. In each 50-minute episode, James and his team are given seven days and $3,000 to create the transformation. You don't need to be a gearhead to enjoy these challenges because the Red Bull-fueled visions of these craftsmen are hilarious and their races against the clock often build genuine suspense. From the early pencil sketches to the flying sparks of the precision welding, Monster Garage only slows down long enough to provide occasional amusing factoids (such as declaring George Washington the “father of the American lawn”). Recommended. Aud: P. (D. Fienberg)