Catching up with the "MythBusters"

Last month I wrote that out of all the hype and publicity at the world's biggest sci-fi, fantasy and pop-culture convention, "the most intriguing story coming out of Comic-Con was the ridiculous amount of excitement for a TV show that would seemingly have no place rubbing shoulders with Marvel superheroes. That show is 'MythBusters,' the six-year-old Discovery Channel program in which special-effects experts Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage prove or disprove popular legends — usually by blowing up things. For the second year in a row, this unassuming pair of pyro-nerds were a huge draw at Comic-Con."

I caught with the pair after their talk to a packed ballroom with 2,500 fans (another 1,000 were turned away at the door). We talked about their appeal, Adam told me about walking the floor in costume unnoticed, and we compared editing Popular Mechanics, as they did for the September issue, with trying to tell a story in 44 minutes on TV.