ONLY IN AMERICA WITH LARRY THE CABLE GUY

America is a wondrous place, with tremendous diversity and accomplishments from coast to coast. And who better to explore this nation than a redneck comedian? Well, that's the take the History Channel goes with on their new show Only in America with Larry the Cable Guy.

Larry the Cable Guy is the tour guide, commentator, and participant in a wide range of places and activities across America. Each episode takes Larry to three different locations, where he talks with experts and gets some hands-on experience with the subject. In the two episodes the History Channel sent the Armchair Critic, Larry: visits the NASA center in Houston; goes on rides at the nation's largest water park in Wisconsin; impersonates himself at a celebrity impersonator show in Las Vegas; makes moonshine in Georgia (and learns how moonshine led to NASCAR); gets etiquette lessons from the grandson of Emily Post in Vermont; and enters a frog-jumping contest in California.

Only in America with Larry the Cable Guy is a bit like getting a history lesson from the class clown. Larry doesn't break character, cracking jokes and remaining lowbrow for most of the show -- and that can get irritating. At the same time, he does convey a sense of appreciation and even wonder at the achievements and people that he comes across during the show. It's far from a perfect mix, but Only in America with Larry the Cable Guy is an affectionate, sometimes too-goofy look at "all the things that make this country great."

Overall grade: B-
Reviewed by James Lynch