“There’s such a thin line between clever and stupid”

… and the National Geographic Channel proves Spinal Tap’s epigram with its upcoming show, “Dangerous Encounters with Brady Barr: Undercover Hippo.”

No, seriously. From the press release:

“NGC’s intrepid herpetologist Dr. Brady Bar attempts to infiltrate the largest population of wild hippos on earth. The goal: to extract a sample of wild hippo ‘super sweat’ and analyze its protective agents. Armed with a specially designed, lifelike 200-pound Kevlar hippo suit that is covered in hippo dung and mud, Dr. Barr goes on a mission to get within arm’s reach of hippos without harming them or injuring himself.”

That the special isn’t entitled “Hungry Hungry Hippos” suggests that Barr returns from his quixotic mission relatively intact. But if he wanted a sample of hippo sweat, couldn’t he have just asked? I know it didn’t work out so well for Major League Baseball, but then, the natural sciences class I took said that hippos are less obstinate than baseball players.