My friends know that I have never been much for the “reality” shows that seem to dominate the prime-time television schedule these days. My feeling is, why tune into Big Brother and The Bachelor when I’m already overdosing on reality in my own life. All I need to do is spend five minutes eavesdropping on the gossip around the coffee pot at the office, and I head about more deceit, double-dealing, and betrayal than I’d ever witness in an entire season of Survivor.

Then, an acquaintance told me about Ice Road Truckers. If you’re not familiar with the program, it showcases a group of truck drivers who bravely navigate a treacherous, ice-covered 400-plus mile road through northern Alaska, delivering supplies to the oil fields on the North Slope. The real-life dangers these drivers face along the route have claimed many a life. So, one Sunday evening I tuned into the History Channel, where it airs, and I was immediately hooked.

I was hyping this show to a friend of mine recently, and he told me something that sure let the wind out of my sails. Ice Road Truckers, he pointed out, is, in fact, a reality show. Faced with this apparent inconsistency of attitude on my part, I scrambled for an appropriate response. So, I offered the explanation that, while his statement was technically accurate, all reality shows are not created the same.

“What’s the difference?” my friend demanded.

Well,” I answered, “one the one hand, you have Lisa Kelley, 28 year-old Ice Road Trucker, a fearless young lady, boldly piloting her big rig, complete with an oversize load of oilfield machinery, across icy, hairpin curves amidst a white-out, where she can’t see ten feet in front of her and one false move could send her and her load plunging over a 100-foot cliff to certain death.”

“On the other hand, you have Paris Hilton crying over her lost Gucci bag.”