I spent three years working at an NBC station in Birmingham, so I'm more likely than most viewers to be interested in a reality series set in a small town TV station. But while I found the show entertaining and familiar to me, the overall viewing expierence of watching a show on the TV Guide Channel ensures that you'll only want to watch it on your DVR.

First to the show itself.

"Making News: Texas Style" is filmed at the CBS affiliate in Midland-Odessa, Texas. It's a typical small-town TV station, with employees that roughly fit into one of three groups. The first are the hungry journalists just out of college, who see the station as a way to get enough experience to move up the career ladder. Then there are those people on the way down. They're either gone as far as they can go in television, or thanks to age or other problems, they find themselves taking whatever job they can. Finally, there are the ones who are local successes, and enjoy being a big fish in a small pond.

"Making News: Texas Style" has all three types, and it's the chemistry and creative tensions of that dynamic that really drives the episodes. It's not that anyone at the station isn't hungry for success, but there is a certain amount of lethargy in place among the station employees.

In early episodes, a new news director is brought in to shake things up, and he manages to convince a local star anchor to switch stations. That move sends an older anchor back to the reporting beat, and makes for some awkward moments all around.

The show is fascinating to watch, and for those viewers accustomed to big city TV news, it might be jarring to see a TV studio set in offices at the local mall. It's the type of surreal thing you'll find in a smaller market, and the show does a good job of bringing out those moments.

But if you're trying to watch the show live, you'll quickly regret your decision. To be kind, the TV Guide Channel can be a frustrating thing to watch, as it tries to dance this weird line between viewing guide and TV network. I'm assuming that their research shows most viewers tune in and out of the channel frequently, because this show seems to be comprised of about 40% recaps and teases for the next segment.

But if you record the episodes for later viewing, you can blast through an hour episode in less than 30 minutes, and still see all the important parts. It's certainly the only way I would watch the show, and I've become a big fan.

I'll leave the discussion of whether or not original programming on the TV Guide Channel makes sense, and simply say that "Making News: Texas Style" is one of the summer's hidden gems.

Just whatever you do, don't watch it live.

"Making News: Texas Style" airs Monday nights on the TV Guide Channel.