American Jewelry and Loan:

On Monday, the first two episodes of a show called “Hardcore Pawn” (which is either the worst or best TV show name of the year — it’s hard to decide which) will air on truTV.

The show will feature Detroit pawnshop American Jewelry and Loan and the crazy things it encounters on a daily basis, including customers who try to exchange things like alligators and prosthetic limbs in exchange for cash.

“We’re actually hoping [viewers] do like what they see,” owner Les Gold says in a Metro Times article. “I hope a lot of them tune in, to be honest with you. If you tune in on Monday, you’ll see some strange things come in.”

Metro Times, Dec. 16: (Les’ Son) Seth explains, “The reason why we agreed to do this wasn’t to become famous. It was to shed some light on what we do. Pawn shops have a negative stigma attached to them, and we opened up the door to show what we do so as to kind of take that —” “—to a legitimate, understandable level,” Les concludes.

The Golds’ pawn shop isn’t the first to be featured on a reality show.

A new History Channel show called ‘Pawn Stars’ (again, the porn pun … are we missing something?) also airs on Mondays, at 10 p.m.

This one follows the owners of Gold and Silver Pawn Shop in Las Vegas, but Les Gold says the shows aren’t that similar.

“…The pawnbrokers of “Pawn Stores” deal in higher-end items, “Hardcore Pawn” would feature a more down-to-earth look at the industry,” Les says in a recent Crain’s Detroit Business article.

Only two episodes of “Hardcore Pawn” have been taped so far, but if the ratings are high enough, the show could be picked up on a regular basis.