Discovery Channel unveiled its lineup for the 2010-11 season this week, and it looks like more stellar programming for the real-life stories network. You can read more about it here, but two that caught my eye are 'Engineering the Impossible,' where a team of specialists search for clues about how some of the world's most fantastic structures were built; and 'The Rising: Rebuilding Ground Zero.' a documentary executive produced by Steven Spielberg.

This made me think about some of my favorite shows on the Discovery Channel, and I realized that they usually involve people in ridiculously disgusting or deadly situations. I think of these as the "real" reality shows, rather than the manufactured reality shows like 'Survivor' and 'The Amazing Race.'

Ok, we'll take Bear Grylls out of the equation, because, clearly, there's no need for him to be dropped into the wilderness and have to drink his own pee. But the others on my list are just awesome people doing death-wish jobs no one else wants to do. Follow me after the jump to see who made my top five list.

1. 'Deadliest Catch.' You know those scrumptious Alaskan King Crabs you eat when you want something really decadent? Their journey from the sea to your plate makes for one of the deadliest jobs on the planet. This series documents how the fishermen in the Bering Sea make it all happen, from dangerous storms to treacherous waters to the tensions among the fishermen themselves. I've actually had offers to tag along on these big-sea adventures as a journalist, but I'm way too chicken.



2. 'Storm Chasers.' There's something totally bizarre about people who run INTO the storm while everyone else is running in the opposite direction. Aside from the obvious death-wish persona of these folks, I love the names of some of their vehicles, like the SRV Dominator, the Tornado Intercept Vehicle, and the Team Twistex. As for whether they HAVE to do this job? Maybe not, but I'm sure their adventures are bringing back valuable weather information to keep us all safer in the long run.



3. 'Man vs. Wild.' I doubt seriously that I'd last long if an apocalypse forced me into the wilderness to fend for myself. But Bear Grylls gets dropped willingly into the wild and somehow manages to come out of every adventure alive. So far. I'm still waiting for the day when they'll find his body ravaged by grizzly bears or dehydrated by the sweltering sun of the desert. And I'd starve before I'd eat a frighteningly large beetle larvae.



4. 'American Loggers.' If you've ever manned a chain saw, then you know the wood-cutting business can be deadly. Multiply that by ten thousand, and you've got 'American Loggers.' Pelletier, Inc. is a family timber business revolving around seven brothers and their sons in the North Maine Woods. This hearty crew cuts roads through mud and snow, harvests timber in one of the most primeval areas in the country, operates fearsome machines, and drags all that wood to trucks which then take it to mills across the country. It's basically man against nature, where even the tiniest error in judgment can mean injury or death. And it's no secret that nature's got the edge.



5. 'Dirty Jobs.' The jobs that everyone else goes "ewwww!" about, Mike Rowe sinks his teeth into with gusto. Well, maybe not always with gusto, but enough to give us a taste of what it's like. And the fact that I'm using teeth and taste in this blurb is just disgusting, because we're talking about pig farmers, worm poop ranchers, bologna makers, maggot farmers, and every other sort of creepy-crawly job. If none of this seems all that bad, maybe you'd like to crawl through a tight space and clean out some sewage. Yes, I consider that a death wish job, and so do the guys who do it. Watch the video here.