BECKLEY - Audiences across the nation can see the third-season premiere of Morgan Spurlock's "30 Days" at 10 p.m. tonight on cable channel FX.

But a crowd of about 200 got a preview of the season's first episode at a special West Virginia premiere - "the world premiere," Spurlock told the crowd - on Monday night at Tamarack.

"I'm incredibly thankful to all the miners who are here tonight," he said

As the title implies, the show puts people in another's shoes for 30 days. In this season's premiere, Spurlock works as a West Virginia coal miner.

After that, the Beckley native said, having the premiere in West Virginia was a no-brainer.

"For these guys to let us come in to shoot - to open up their homes and their lives for me - for 30 days, it was important to let them see the finished product," he said.

"Also, the experience [of working in the mine] really touched me, and I wanted to let them see that, too,"

Clad in black boots, dark jeans, a black T-shirt and long-sleeve button-up, Spurlock mingled with the crowd of miners, politicians, coal industry types and United Mine Workers members and their friends and family for an hour before the screening.

As he roamed the Tamarack Conference Center, Spurlock took time to pose for pictures and chat with the miners. He spoke glowingly of the miners, calling them "the salt of the earth" and "heroes."

The miners were equally kind toward him.

"He really was a good worker," said miner James Cooper, who worked with Spurlock at the Double Bonus mine in Wyoming County. "I'd hire him any time he wanted to go to work."

Dale Lusk, along with wife Sandy, played host to Spurlock for the 30 days. "He adapted quick, and he worked hard from the first day to the last," said Lusk, who admitted that his first impression of Spurlock was "Ain't no way he could be a miner."

BECKLEY - Audiences across the nation can see the third-season premiere of Morgan Spurlock's "30 Days" at 10 p.m. tonight on cable channel FX.

But a crowd of about 200 got a preview of the season's first episode at a special West Virginia premiere - "the world premiere," Spurlock told the crowd - on Monday night at Tamarack.

"I'm incredibly thankful to all the miners who are here tonight," he said

As the title implies, the show puts people in another's shoes for 30 days. In this season's premiere, Spurlock works as a West Virginia coal miner.

After that, the Beckley native said, having the premiere in West Virginia was a no-brainer.

"For these guys to let us come in to shoot - to open up their homes and their lives for me - for 30 days, it was important to let them see the finished product," he said.

"Also, the experience [of working in the mine] really touched me, and I wanted to let them see that, too,"

Clad in black boots, dark jeans, a black T-shirt and long-sleeve button-up, Spurlock mingled with the crowd of miners, politicians, coal industry types and United Mine Workers members and their friends and family for an hour before the screening.

As he roamed the Tamarack Conference Center, Spurlock took time to pose for pictures and chat with the miners. He spoke glowingly of the miners, calling them "the salt of the earth" and "heroes."

The miners were equally kind toward him.

"He really was a good worker," said miner James Cooper, who worked with Spurlock at the Double Bonus mine in Wyoming County. "I'd hire him any time he wanted to go to work."

Dale Lusk, along with wife Sandy, played host to Spurlock for the 30 days. "He adapted quick, and he worked hard from the first day to the last," said Lusk, who admitted that his first impression of Spurlock was "Ain't no way he could be a miner."

Sandy - whom Dale convinced to participate before he told her cameras were involved - was nervous at being on television, but wouldn't trade the experience and her time with Spurlock.

"We didn't want him to leave. He was like a son," she said. (Indeed, at one point during the event, Spurlock referred to her as "My mom away from mom.")

Before the screening began, Spurlock introduced the episode, saying, "I'm incredibly thankful to all the miners who are here tonight. I'm so excited you are here because for me, this night is for you guys."

Following the screening, Spurlock presented all the miners with whom he worked a group photo. Lusk was also given a sculpture of a coal miner with the inscription "for the honor he brings to coal miners."

As the audience returned to the conference center for a post-screening dessert reception, comments regarding the episode were favorable.

"It was on the money," said "Big John" Atwood, one of the miners who worked with Spurlock. "It did a really good job of explaining things. It will be quite educational for a lot of people."

"It did a great job of focusing on the human element of coal mining," said David Bailey of Charleston.

Spurlock was thrilled with the episode's reception.

"When coal miners come up afterward and say that they like the show and how it portrayed them - that's what matters for me," he said. "They're heroes. They're the backbone of this state, and I think this shows that."

Tamarack will hold free screenings of the "30 Days" episode at 11 a.m., 1 and 3 p.m. today. Spurlock will appear tonight on "The Late Show with David Letterman," which begins at 11:35 on CBS.

To contact Amy Robinson, use e-mail or call 348-4881.