I can't even blame the cable networks for this anymore. The History Channel is expanding its repertoire of reality programs as a direct response to the record ratings they've seen with the ones they have now. What do we expect them to do when we don't show up to watch until they throw Ice Road Truckers and Pawn Stars at us? Apparently, we don't want history on the History Channel.

They've heard us, which is why The History Channel is bringing us more reality, starting with a spi-off of the aforementioned Truckers. Extreme Trucking will travel the world looking for the most treacherous roadways anywhere, and the brave men and women who drive them.

We can also look forward to traveling the US with Pickers, as people hunt for rare artifacts. And we'll get down and dirty with a 61-year old feud at a North Carolina NASCAR track with Madhouse. Even more unusual is Sliced, a series where objects are cut in half so we can see what they look like. Hey, if they cut a tree in half we can look at the history of it!

You never know when the most innocuous-sounding panel is going to bring out the A-listers here at the TCAs. But when a big name is behind a project and he or she is passionate about it, that person will brave the room of critics to promote it.

To say Matt Damon is "dedicated" to the new History documentary The People Speak would be an understatement. The family of the Oscar winner lived next door to Professor Howard Zinn, on whose book, A People's History of the United States, is based. He and his Project Greenlight partner Chris Moore have been trying to bring the book to TV for a decade. "I have one of first copies (of Zinn's book) in hardback. It had a huge impact on my life so that's why I stayed with it. The moment we had iany influecne in this town we tried to get thids project off the ground."