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Today's cuppa: English breakfast tea

HCTV is mighty fond of "Ice Road Truckers" and its spin-off, "IRT: Deadliest Roads," currently airing Sundays on History. Even the blog mascot, Badger the battery-operated hamster, just can't get enough.

Last season, "IRT: Deadliest Roads" sent some of the "IRT" truckers and some newcomers to pit their skills against harrowing highways in the Himalayas. HCTV got the lowdown on the adventure from Wasilla, Alaska, trucker and "IRT" veteran Lisa Kelly, including an update on the black-and-white puppy she adopted along the way.

This season, "IRT" has dispatched Kelly and some other truckers to South America to try out terrifying routes there, including Bolivia's "Road of Death."

Proving once again that you don't need lots of testosterone to be tough, Kelly has already outlasted one partner. After returning from a long-haul drive over the weekend, she answered some questions by email -- including an update the now-grown dog, which lives with a show producer in the Los Angeles area. (Questions in bold.)

The roads in the Himalayas were challenging, but the ones in South America seem even more difficult. How do you compare the two?

I feel that India was great practice for Bolivia and Peru. Culturally, India was harder, the roads themselves were far worse in South America.

Why do you think your first partner, Southern trucker Dave Redmon, decided to leave?

I think we all deal with life's challenges differently,

How did that make you feel about continuing?

I have never depended on other people to make decisions for me. I also am very goal-oriented and a problem solver, so when things were bad with the truck I sought to make things better before continuing on.

What do you draw upon to keep going through the fear?

There are many things I want to accomplish in life and I don't want my fears to stand in my way. Many things are scary in life but that can't stop you from living it. Now I am drawn to the things that scare me. I feel that if you stop living you start dying.

What does it mean to you to have taken on these challenges?

Now that I've done two seasons of "IRT: Deadliest Roads," I have started to notice patterns in the way I learn and the way I face fears. I'm a little disappointed that I'm not as strong as I thought I was, but I'm so thankful that I know my limits and how to push past them. Now I can almost step outside myself and watch the process that I must go through to overcome obstacles.

Does the Dalton Highway in your native Alaska seem easier after driving in these foreign countries?

The Dalton does seem a lot easier after "Deadliest Roads," but in that, I have to be careful not to get careless, because the Dalton is still a dangerous road that gets you when you aren't paying attention.

What would you say to encourage -- or discourage -- other women from entering the trucking profession?

I would encourage anyone to follow their dreams, because dreams do come true if you want them bad enough. I think every person should challenge themselves so that they can grow.

In the last episode we saw, you were coping with a new partner, Texan G.W. Boles. How did that relationship progress?

With any partner, you have to go through an adjustment period. I don't want to give too much of the show away, but I have heard people say what great drivers they are and yet can't drive, so I needed to see proof. Everyone has to earn each other's trust especially when your life is in someone else's hands. It's very hard to just turn your life over to someone that you have never seen drive and is a complete stranger.  So I think it's interesting to see how trust is built between two people, especially two complete opposites forced to trust each other. 

Do you ever get to see the black-and-white puppy you adopted in the Himalayas that now lives in Southern California?

Every time I get to L.A., I make a point to go see Rampur Jackson. He still remembers me!!

(Kelly even wrote a book about him.)

What's the strangest -- or even the funniest -- fan reaction you've gotten from appearing on "Ice Road Truckers" and "IRT:Deadliest Roads"?

I had one guy who wanted me to shave my autograph in his chest hair. Ha ha ha!. And I had a little kid come up to me and say, "I don't like you!" You gotta respect the honesty of kids!!

We usually see you behind the wheel. What might we be surprised to know about you when you're off the road?

I love trucking, and more and more the audience gets to see that I love so much more than just trucking. I have way too many hobbies to even keep up with. I'm not sure there is much left to be surprised about!

And here's a look at Rampur Jackson, all grown up.

Today's cuppa: English breakfast tea (in honor of the U.K. version of "Top Gear")

Next week, I have a syndicated feature story coming out about my day at the set of History's "Top Gear," airing on Sundays. Print readers will have to wait until Sunday, but you can click here to see it right now at Zap2it.

It chronicles my adventures taking a test drive with the American version of the U.K.'s "tame racing driver," The Stig. No, I did not drive, because if I had, it would have been a very, very slow trip around the show's test track at a former military base in Southern California.

Then I sat down with show hosts Adam Ferrara, Rutledge Wood and Tanner Foust to learn why so few cars survive the tender mercies of Ferrara.

(BTW, the identity of the American Stig remains a mystery, but we might know the name of the U.K. Stig. On the other hand, I've heard this one before).

After you read the story, here's a few photos I took that day ...

Today's cuppa: Irish breakfast tea

You asked, so HCTV asked ...

A number of commenters on the previous post, and a few more folks on Twitter, wanted to know the fate of the black-and-white stray puppy that Alaskan trucker Lisa Kelly adopted during her adventure driving the treacherous and congested mountain roads of northern India on the just-concluded first season of History's "IRT: Deadliest Roads."

The fluffy pup was, at the end, Kelly's only companion (except for the unseen cameraman, of course) when she did a dangerous solo fuel run to help stranded villagers.

I checked with History, and spokesperson Vicky Kahn emailed back, "Lisa made sure that the dog (whose name is RANPUR) was given a great home. Ranpur has been taken in by one of the producers of the show and living in California, and is very happy and well cared for."

So there you have it, Cuppers -- a puppy facing a bleak future wandering the streets of an Indian town is now living a dog's life life in Southern California. Will pass along more details if I can get them (also trying to get a current picture, but no promises!).

Keep on truckin' ...

Today's cuppa: "donut-shop-blend" coffee (no, it's not Dunkin' Donuts blend, which isn't the same unless you buy fresh-brewed it at the drive-thru, which I can't do in L.A. *sniff*)

On Sunday, Dec. 5, History airs the season-one finale of "IRT: Deadliest Roads," which pit three North American truckers (actually four, since Canadian Alex Debogorski quit after a day) against the traffic, weather and precipitous roads of the Himalayas in northern India.

The remaining drivers are Canadian Rick Yemm (left), who's also been featured on History's "Ice Road Truckers," Alabama driver and TV newcomer Dave Redmon (right), and Lisa Kelly (below, left), who joined "Ice Road Truckers" when it shifted location from Canada to the Dalton Highway of Alaska.

Kelly is possibly the most famous resident of Wasilla, Alaska, not named Palin -- Kelly has said she's not acquainted with the city's former mayor, and the state's former governor, Sarah Palin, who has a TLC show of her own -- and the diminutive trucker has earned points for her toughness, tenacity and ability to work around her lack of physical size and big muscles when it comes to fixing her truck or getting herself out of scrapes.

With her blond-streaked hair, Kelly has attracted a lot of attention on the roads of India over the run of the series. She's learned some hard lessons in overcoming her fears and asserting herself, not only in a male-dominated profession but also in a very different society.

It hasn't been easy for any of the North American truckers, as they struggled with cultural and language barriers, rickety bridges, wood-framed trucks, horrendous traffic, dangerous storms, mudslides, rockslides, lack of pavement, lack of passing room, and the ever-present danger of getting a few inches too close to the edge and plunging down steep cliffs to their deaths (as frequently depicted in the Thom Beers Graphics of Doom).

Kelly was kind enough to answer a few email questions from HCTV about her experiences (no word yet on whether there'll be another season of "IRT: Deadliest Roads." but never count out executive producer Thom Beers -- he's always thinking).

Without further ado, Lisa Kelly ...

Q: Knowing what you know now, would you do this again?

A: I would go to India again, if I knew what I do now. I knew I was in for an education of a lifetime, and that it was something that shouldn't be passed up.

Q: Which moment were you most afraid?

A: I was most afraid when a dump truck went off the cliff an hour before I got there (and the person inside had died), and then I had to move over at the same exact spot to let another dump truck by.

Q: What did you learn from this experience?

A: I learned how most of the world lives, (so) I learned how lucky I am, and how spoiled we can be and act.

Q: What were your best and worst decisions?

A: I feel life is a series of decisions and I honestly made the best choice with the information I was given. I would most likely make all the same choices over again. I didn't regret anything.

Q: How happy were you to be driving in North America again?

A: I was very appreciative to be in the U.S. again. I had a harder time adjusting to the right-hand driving again, but I loved how quiet the roads were, and how I could just crank my tunes while driving alone. I have a much higher tolerance now for drivers here.

BTW, if you're wondering what happened to the stray puppy Kelly adopted, click here ...

The quest for energy drives much of human history.

Whether it's gathering firewood, cutting peat, digging for coal or drilling for oil, humans risk life and limb to cook, stay warm and keep the lights on.

 

But none of these pursuits is perhaps as dramatic and as surprisingly romantic as the centuries-long whale hunt, in which men set forth in small wooden boats to take on leviathans in search of the precious oil that could be rendered from their blubber or harvested from the heads of sperm whales.

 

Monday, May 10, on PBS (check local listings), "American Experience" presents "Into the Deep: America, Whaling & the World," in which filmmaker Ric Burns examines three centuries of American whaling, which changed towns, lives, art, literature - including one of the greatest works in the English language, "Moby-Dick" - and the world economy.

 

Of course, it also had a deadly effect on whales, which would be the primary concern of people today.

 

"The contemporary deep empathy for whales," Burns says, "is kind of a silent partner in the film. The one thing you don't have to talk about in the film is how deep the feelings are. It's there; all of us feel it.

 

"I thought, early on, we would have to bring the story further into the 20th century and understand the emergence of an active save-the-whales movement, but that's completely unnecessary. There's not a person today who considers the 200, 300-year history of whaling who would ever want to go back and do that again."

 

Instead, Burns takes an objective look at the industry, which literally helped fuel economic growth leading up to the Industrial Revolution.

 

"Whale oil was petroleum before petroleum in every respect," Burns says. "It lit the streetlights of London and Paris. It was absolutely the middle-class illuminant of choice. It burned brighter and whiter. It was a remarkable product that really did a better job at what it did than anything else comparable."

In recent days, "The Pacific" executive producer Tom Hanks has made some comments about the World War II fight against the Japanese that have generated controversy (click here for BigHollywood.com's take). If you heard and didn't like his comments and might be inclined to not watch the miniseries because of that, I'd ask that you set aside those feelings and tune in anyway.

But, let me warn you -- it'll leave a mark.

Here's my syndicated feature story (watch this space for more on "The Pacific," from my lunch with consultant Marine Capt. Dale Dye (Ret.) ...

The warriors for the working day of HBO's 'The Pacific'

 

"We are but warriors for the working-day; our gayness and our gilt are all besmirch'd, with rainy marching in the painful field." ("Henry V," Act 4, Scene 3)

Among the portrayals of World War II, "The Pacific," a 10-part miniseries premiering Sunday, March 14, on HBO, and airing successive Sundays through May 16, takes Shakespeare's description of the drudgery and misery of war, adds a heaping portion of sheer horror, and renders an unflinching, shattering portrait of hell on Earth.

The production team behind HBO's 2001 WWII miniseries "Band of Brothers," led by executive producers Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks, shifts its focus from the fields and towns of Europe to scattered islands and atolls.

Writer and director Graham Yost worked on "Band" and "The Pacific" and says, "I've seen 'The Pacific' maybe half a dozen times all the way through, and there are certain scenes where I just lose it."

Filmed on location in Australia and Los Angeles during 2007 and 2008, "The Pacific" is based on the true stories of three U.S. Marines: New Jersey-raised sportswriter Robert Leckie (James Badge Dale) and John Basilone (Jon Seda, in photo at top), who boxed and drove a truck; and Alabama doctor's son Eugene Sledge (Joe Mazzello, at right).

Leckie and Sledge wrote memoirs that were among the miniseries' source materials, along with "Red Blood, Black Sand" by Marine Chuck Tatum.

The project takes the Marines from Guadalcanal through Cape Gloucester and Peleliu, across Iwo Jima and Okinawa, and eventually to V-J Day.

This past January, during the biannual Television Critics Association Press Tour, Dale, Mazzello and Seda gathered for a round-table discussion.

Asked how they think real vets will react, Mazzello says, "We have a lot to live up to. Speaking for all of us, we appreciate them, and we hope we can be a part of giving them some sort of closure on it. Just being able to honor them is a wonderful thing."

"They're the real heroes," says Seda (who, like Basilone, was a boxer). "For us, it's just such a privilege and honor to have had the opportunity to portray these men. I've said this before - I only wish and hope that I had an ounce of the same courage that these guys had."

"These guys were just painters and plumbers and electricians," Dale says. "These were just regular guys, car salesmen, who would go and do these things. They're not career warriors.

"To imagine what they were asked to go through is just unfathomable."

Adds Seda, "The freedoms that they fought for are slowly fading away."

To prepare for filming "The Pacific," the actors underwent a boot camp with Capt. Dale Dye, USMC (Ret.), who also advised on "Band of Brothers."

"When we found out we were going to boot camp," Mazzello says, "I'm like, 'Oh, man, we're going to get ripped. We're going to get huge, down five egg yolks a morning.' And it's like, 'Wait a minute, I lost 12 pounds in nine days.'

"They just sucked us dry."

As the conversation turns to Capt. Dye, the door opens and out strides Tom Hanks, who proceeds, using colorful language, to express how the actors' lives will now change.

"Are you having an interview right now?" he finally says. "Oh, sorry, it was an off-the-record comment. They're all magnificent guys."

After Hanks leaves, Mazzello leans into the recorder and says, "That was Steven Spielberg. Steven Spielberg."

"What do we say after that?' Seda says.

Urged to continue talking about boot camp, Seda says, "The beauty, the genius, of Capt. Dale Dye's boot camp, is it teaches you the camaraderie amongst the men, and it gave us just enough of an insight as to what these guys went through, from the good times to the tough times.

"There are times now where I'll see a palm tree, and it'll bring me right back to boot camp."

"It's got to be tough being in L.A., man," Dale (at left) quips.

"Just the other day," Seda continues, "I found myself thinking about a time at boot camp, thinking about the guys and stuff that we went through. I can't imagine what our vets go through when they see something that brings that back to the hell they were in, or even just the whole camaraderie that they had."

As to what they'd like people to know about "The Pacific," Mazzello says, "You get the full spectrum of who these men were before the war, what made them decide to join, how their experiences were while they were there, and how they came out, if they did at all.

"You get a thorough examination of what it's like to transition from private citizen to Marine to citizen again. There's no stone unturned in that regard."

Says Seda, "Nobody should miss out on this opportunity to do their part by helping honoring that generation, just by watching, just by paying attention."