‘Hell on the Highway,’ speed right on by

There is something heroic about the people on reality shows about dangerous occupations, like "Deadliest Catch" and "Ice Road Truckers." Even though they're getting paid to risk their lives, they still come across as selfless and brave in the face of injury and even death.

 

Although the National Geographic Channel's new reality series "Hell on the Highway," about tow-truck drivers who work a dangerous stretch of highway in the Sierra Nevada, constantly reminds us of the hazards of their job, the main emphasis of the show is the drivers' cutthroat competitiveness and greed. It not only lacks larger-than-life characters, it also lacks the spectacular visuals of the above-mentioned shows. A little suspense here and there can't redeem what is essentially a small-hearted and small-minded show.

 

Premiering tonight at 10, the series focuses on the work of four competing tow services that operate on the section of Interstate 80 that runs through the notorious Donner Pass in the Sierras. The sudden blizzards and high winds make for hazardous driving, which means lucrative hauling jobs.

 

The four companies indulge in "poaching" — they listen for radio calls in the hope of arriving at an accident before the truck that has actually been summoned to the scene. The rivalry gets a little heated.

 

Like most of these shows, "Hell on the Highway" tries too hard to pump up the suspense. The narrator always presents the worst-case scenario as a likely event.

 

So when an high-strung driver named Sam Jackson goes to haul a truck that has skidded down an incline into a tree, we're told that the truck could slip further, plunging its driver into an icy stream.

 

Then we're told that while Sam is parked on the side of the road, a car could whip around the curve and smash into him. What's more, a risky "side tow" could flip the truck over on Sam, who adds that if the cable breaks, it could kill him "in a heartbeat."

 

The effect of all this crying wolf is that we stop believing the show. When an actual mishap befalls one of the drivers, it takes a while for us to adjust.

 

Another reason to be skeptical is that for some reason, the crew traveling with the driver didn't catch the crash on film. In general, fans of demolition derby will be disappointed. The drivers come to the scene of the accident after it's occurred.

 

The narrator also stresses the drivers' courage, but we mostly see them talking about how they like beating other drivers to accidents and stealing their business. These are not the laconic, frontier-style heroes of most manly-man shows.

 

Although poaching seems to be legal, the drivers are forbidden to solicit business on the road. This fine distinction is hard for viewers to grasp.

 

In a subplot in the premiere episode, one of the four companies loses its contract with AAA. We understand why this is devastating, but it's not the stuff of macho legends.

 

After Sam damages his truck and gets in trouble with the California Highway Police for soliciting, his boss, a veteran driver named Craig Sutton, won't let him go out in another truck. Sam complains to the camera that he makes Craig lots of money while "Craig sits on his fat lazy ass." Craig says that Sam is a "pink panty man."

 

That kind of mean-spirited bickering occurs regularly in those reality shows set in workplaces like hair salons and PR firms, but it's incongruous amid all the chains and hooks and rugged mountain terrain. One wouldn't expect that the lesson of a show called "Hell on the Highway" is that hell is other people.