Cliff Claven fans unite. If
you are a fan of the Cheers actor John Ratzenberger, then perhaps you’ve tuned in to his Travel Channel Show Made in America. Part of me wants to shudder in
revulsion from this show, as it sometimes feels like a gaudy display of patriotism the likes of which post-9/11 I
sometimes feel cloys the culture. But the reality is that I enjoy the show. I love to see factories at work, to see how
stuff is made, to hear the stories behind, say, Smarties Candy or Sam Adams beer. And Cliff, well, he’s not half bad. He
can be a bit over-folksy at times, but he’s generally pretty funny and seems passionate about the gig he’s got, which,
let’s face it, is a pretty good one. I mean, traveling the country checking out how stuff is made? Pretty cool. And all
of this is to say that if you’re a fan of the show, or even if you’re not but are curious about it, you can watch bit of it online.
The bits are too short IMHO, but I guess we’re not supposed to expect a lot for free. Maybe they’ll make them available
on iTunes or something.