There are those who would call Mike Rowe a muckraker.  And they wouldn’t be too far from the truth, either–assuming they meant it literally.  Today we’re talking about Dirty Jobs Collection 5, which the folks at the Discovery Channel sent me by way of press agent Gaiam.

And Mike Rowe, host of Dirty Jobs, is a man who’s not afraid to get dirty.  Or job hop.  Because it’s Mike’s stock in trade to go forth and do a host of dirty jobs, get wildly messy, endure endless stink, and do bizarre and preposterous things that some people do every day.  Rowe will maintain tar pits, identify the genders of chickens and do plenty of other different things over the course of his career, and you’ll get to see some of these here.

It’s been said that one of the main reasons for Dirty Jobs is to make its viewers feel better about their lousy go-nowhere dead-end jobs where the most toxic thing they come in contact with is a boss that makes Dilbert’s PHB look like a Rhodes scholar.  And indeed, this works for a lot of people, and that by itself is a massive testament to Rowe’s skills as a presenter.

Rowe does a fantastic job of looking like a poor, hapless worker who’s just getting started in a horrible, horrible job.  And his voiceover work is smooth and clear. His reactions, alternating between nonplussed, lightly sarcastic and a strange mix of horror and astonishment, really make the show.

And indeed, there’s a definite quality here that keeps you guessing.  Where so many Discovery Channel shows have a potential to get a bit tedious after a while, Dirty Jobs does a great job of keeping you guessing as you wonder where Mike Rowe will go next, what horrible thing he will DO next, and what nightmarish thing will we encounter that we’re glad we’re not there to SMELL next.

When you can describe any movie or show as being both exciting and keeping you guessing, then you know you’ve got a package that’s well worth your time to watch and get your hands on.  Dirty Jobs Collection 5 is one such package, and the folks at Discovery Channel have yet another winner that’s actually still going on, if I remember correctly.

The Screenhead Ten Scale hands Mike Rowe and his Dirty Jobs Collection 5 a nine out of ten for both grabbing interest and holding on to it.