Rick Harrison trusts his experts more than he trusts his potential sellers. That's the way he has to run his business on 'Pawn Stars' (Mondays, 10PM on History). That reality came as a shock to the owner of a Porsche 911 Carrera engine., when Danny Koker, Harrison's expert mechanic, said the engine might be damaged.

Koker saw some surface rust, and deduced from the fact that none of the compartments were closed that there was also likely damage inside the engine. "What's going on on the surface is going to be going on, to an extent, inside," said Kokel. "And that's the unknown." The engine's owner didn't like that and flat out called Kokel's assessment wrong, saying it was a good engine.

When Rick Harrison got his first look at the Hotchkiss .37 millimeter revolving cannon on 'Pawn Stars' (Mondays, 10PM on History), he said it looked "like hellfire and damnation." Anyone facing down the weapon when it was used in the 1870s might have felt the same way. Harrison was looking at the cannon as a potential investment, and got to try it out with live ammunition.

Harrison turned the crank and fired the weapon at a bunch of water-filler barrels, hitting the targets with a force that impressed him. But it was the last barrel, rigged with explosives, that was the clincher. When Harrison hit it, the barrel exploded into a high cloud. Rick was giggling like a school kid the whole time.

Rick Harrison is used to picking up old items on 'Pawn Stars' (Mondays, 10PM on History Channel). Usually, they're a lot smaller than the '57 Chevy 150 he bought for the Old Man, his father Richard Harrison, who's part owner of the Gold & Silver Pawn Shop in Las Vegas where the show takes place.

Rick did a good job of setting up the surprise. As they walked through the shop where the car was being held, Richard said, "Rick, there's some nice cars here. You could have got me one for my birthday," and called him a "cheap ass" for only springing for biscuits and gravy. But when they rounded a corner, they were met by a couple dozen people, bunches of balloons, and the classic car, beautifully restored.

When it comes to reality television, the History Channel rarely comes to mind. The channel typically focuses on the major events of World War II, the Kennedy Assassination and top Revolutionary War figures. But on Monday nights at 10PM ET, it's taken over by a reality juggernaut that offers the most entertainment and educational value of any show on television: 'Pawn Stars.'

If you're not watching Pawn Stars, you're missing out. The show profiles Rick Harrison; his father, The Old Man; and his son, Corey, as cameras follow them around their Gold And Silver Pawn Shop in Las Vegas. Some humor is thrown in with the help of Chumlee, Corey's best friend who helps manage the increasingly popular pawn shop.