I literally grew up on KISS. Cold Gin was the first song I learned to play on the drums and I used to play along with their albums all the time. My grandmother gave me a new KISS record every Christmas for years and years (let's face it, Gene Simmons has made 78 of them -- most of them with KISS -- so there was always one I didn't have by the next Christmas). I had the make-up kit... well, I was a fan.

I had no idea this was even on until tonight and I gave it a spin, even though I've seen Simmons on other shows and in interviews and he always struck me as a real jerk. And I know how those cats always say that's just an "on-air personality" and so on and so forth, but... well, come on. Still, I was really shocked...

I literally turned after the first 5 minutes, because he was being all "Simmons." It was a bit from an interview he'd done on the Adam Corolla Show and he was being "The Demon" and talking all about how he's slept with so many women and made so much money and never had to marry his lover of 22 years (former model, actress, and Playboy Playmate, Shannon Tweed), and don't we all wish we were him, blahblahblah... and when he does all that, I always think, "Dude, you used to be an English teacher from Hungary!! Give it a rest, huh?"

But while the schedule said Sci-Fi was re-airing tonight's Eureka, it was actually showing last week's Who Wants to be a Superhero?, so I flipped back over and watched the rest of the show, and I'm glad I did, because it's really good.

Simmons dropped the act a little into the show and his family is really cool, really smart, and really funny. Both of his kids are very quick-witted and you can just tell that they are a close-knit family that gets along well and actually laughs a lot. They're really down to earth and it's obvious they've been raised right -- not spoiled -- unlike, say... Jack and Kelly. (Though, to be fair, they seem like really cool kids, too, and we know most of that was for the cameras.)

I was also really impressed with Shannon Tweed, who's not so down to earth and clearly is spoiled, but is very much in love with both her common-law husband and her family. And, unlike her husband, really does have a public image totally different from her private one and knows when to turn it off and on.

But, having said that, the more the show went on, the more I found myself actually liking Gene Simmons. Unlike a lot of reality show "stars" (Beth from Dog, The Bounty Hunter springs to mind first and foremost), he's not as polished at turning his on-camera and off-camera personality on and off, so you could really tell when he was hamming it up and playing to the crowd.

And the funniest -- dare I say... cutest? -- thing was when he was trying to coach his son with his band! It was -- I just hope that one day, I will have a family of my own, and watching this was -- like looking into the future! He was a little kid at play, so excited to have friends who liked his toys, so eager to show them how they all work! It was really refreshing and thoroughly entertaining.

There was no manufactured drama or edited storylines; it was like hanging out with Gene Simmons and family on their day-to-day routine, and it was really fun to watch.

Even if you're not into music or the metal scene -- even if you don't like KISS or reality shows, in general -- I recommend checking this one out at least once. They are such a funny, likeable family that it's hard to resist.

Gene Simmons Family Jewels airs Mondays at 9:00PM, Central on A&E