Wreckreation Nation with Dave Mordal

In this entertaining if sometimes silly Discovery Channel series, host Dave Mordal travels to all corners of the country in search of wacky hometown traditions and backyard adventurers. Compiling all 13 first-season episodes from 2009, this three-disc set captures a variety of activities, including lawn mower racing (with machines capable of topping 89 mph); an adult soapbox contest in which participants construct truly scary vehicles and jet down a hill, reaching speeds up to 50 mph; barstool sledding; competitive fruitcake tossing (from a trebuchet, or giant slingshot, designed by Boeing engineers—presumably on their day off); alligator wrestling (in Colorado); a demolition derby; and Bigfoot paintball (a combination of mythical creature hunting and the sport of paintball). And then there's the Super Dave Osborne-like guy who has spent years refining a homemade iron-man suit designed to stop bullets and knives while allowing the wearer to move normally; he's shown tumbling down hills, being knocked off his feet by a heavy sparring bag, and even being run into by a pickup truck with a specially designed bumper ... and walking away. Not all of the pastimes are extreme: in the segment on falconing, a young girl who dons the heavy glove and allows the bird to perch says it was “like holding a thunderstorm.” Highly recommended. Aud: P. (C. Block)