Science on TV
Wow, great sunrise this morning. . . lotsa peachy-colored clouds on a light blue background, clouds glowing white as the sun appears over the OH DEAR GOD MY EYES SHIT I'M BLIND DAMMIT ARRRRGH CURSE YOU DAY-STAR ARRRRGLBLEGLGHGH
Anyway.
80% of what I watch on TV these days is science or technology based. I watch all those channels whose names end in "Channel" -- History, Discovery, Science, Military, all those. There's tons of good science shows. My zeal for science shows started waaaaay back in the dark ages, also known as the early '80s. I remember the first time I saw the show Cosmos, created by Carl Sagan. . . in particular, I remember always fighting with my brothers, who wanted to watch Knight Rider, which was on at the same time. Cosmos has been available on DVD for a while now, and recently they have been showing it on TV. Ah, nostalgia. Most of what the show presents is common knowledge to any modern grade-schooler, but back then, astronomy was not a typical household subject. Cosmos is the reason I have a telescope sitting in my room right now. Even if I almost never use it, I still have that desire to study and gaze at and understand the stars. . . and it has everything to do with Mr. Sagan and his TV show Cosmos.
Given the TV offerings of late, science shows are a superior choice to anything else. I could not care even a little bit less who is eating what for money, or if they vote another slut off the island, or if another sitcom pushes the envelope. I'd rather watch a show about engineering disasters, or a history of the U.S. Mint, or a show about Da Vinci and his inventions. There's reality TV for you.
Presenting a random list of my favorite science shows:
~Connections. Ah, the first series of Connections has got to be my all-time favorite. James Burke shows how inventions lead to other inventions, and how our world came to be the way it is. Very first show started with the touch-stones used in the 1400's to test whether a metal was gold; an hour later, the Connections ended with the atomic bomb. It very well could have been a dry show, but Burke is an amazing narrator and writer. He makes you interested in all the science going on by emphasizing the human element. He frequently describes how certain events never would have happened if the right person weren't making a shitload of money from them. The show started in a one-hour format, then came the second series, Connections 2 (how aptly named!), which went to half-hour shows (didn't like that as much), and then Connections 3, back up to an hour each. Always fantastic to watch.
~The Day The Universe Changed. Also a show by James Burke, it focused on events and people rather than science. He showed the ideas and events leading up to the Renaissance, the French Revolution, tracked the history of banking and of law. . . A much more intellectual show. In particular, the final episode should be standard viewing for every human on earth. Burke describes the very nature of change, how mankind constantly re-evaluates his concept of the truth, and how whole societies cause that change. He always emphasized that the internet would be the tool to cause the next great change in human behaviour, as it united all the peoples of the globe into one society. Keep in mind that he was saying this in the '80s, when the internet was still a scientific curiosity in college labs. I would love to find this series on DVD. http://www.bbcfactual.co.uk/day_the_universe_changed.htm
~The Secret Life of Machines. God bless Tim Hunkin and Rex Garrod. They are tinkerers and they do special effects work for tons of TV shows. . . and they made an endearing TV show about the devices that we take for granted every day. Presented in layman's terms, and including fantastic animated shorts, the show tells you how things work. MacGuyver owes a fierce debt of gratitude to these guys. . . Tim and Rex do the experiments that we all wanted to do as kids, but couldn't for fear of burning something down. They use normal household stuff to explain concepts so that everyone can understand. One of my favorites: ". . . this is recorded on sticky-tape and rust!" http://www.secretlifeofmachines.com/
~Modern Marvels. This one is hit-or-miss. . . they cover such a huge range of subjects, no one can possibly be interested in all of them. They have the shows about engineering disasters, I think maybe 17 or 18 episodes worth. Earth movers, subway systems, ship building, metal, stone, plumbing, power tools, explosives. . . if you wonder about it, they have a show about it.
~Beakman's World. C'mon, that show rocked! Funny as hell, and they even had science facts here and there. Plus, that blond girl was sizzling hot!
~Mail Call. Not strictly a science show, but always fun to watch. Every show, I learn something new about the military. And R. Lee Ermy is a kick-ass host.
~Tales Of The Gun. Also a specialized show, obviously. But very very good. There's more to guns than just BANG. Guns have been part of history since the Chinese came up with the concept a thousand years ago. Almost every culture has its own relationship with firearms. Also shows the constantly evolving technology of guns, as tools and weapons.
~Einstein's Big Idea. Using historical re-enactments, this two-hour program examines the people and the science that all came together to become the famous e=mc^2. Goes on to show how that theory was applied, and how it brought about the atomic bomb. Briefly mentions that physics is still trying to grasp all the theories that Einstein unlocked with his big idea. The show was on a couple of weeks ago, but it is bound to repeat now and then. Surprisingly well-acted, compelling, and interesting the whole way through. Definitely worth watching again.
~Man, Moment, Machine. New show about how the right person having the right ideas at the right time result in the most fantastic inventions. Last one I saw was about the Bradley fighting vehicle. I have high hopes for this one.
Hm. . . I'd have to look up other series titles, but the whole family of Discovery Channels always has good stuff on. They have more one-shot shows than I would even care to research. Every time I go home and check the cable listings, I know that when I get to the high numbers where the science channels are, I'll find something good to watch.
Science is cool, people. Makes you sexy.
BTW. . . Hey Joe, how's it going with Dark Cloud 2? Glad I turned you on to it? Just remember to use the hell out of that camera, it will be worth it. And my fat robot Steve will ALWAYS be cooler than your fat robot Steve.
. . . oh, and the end of the Kim Possible movie, "So The Drama", Kim and Ron kissing? TOTAL BULLSHIT.
Anyway.
80% of what I watch on TV these days is science or technology based. I watch all those channels whose names end in "Channel" -- History, Discovery, Science, Military, all those. There's tons of good science shows. My zeal for science shows started waaaaay back in the dark ages, also known as the early '80s. I remember the first time I saw the show Cosmos, created by Carl Sagan. . . in particular, I remember always fighting with my brothers, who wanted to watch Knight Rider, which was on at the same time. Cosmos has been available on DVD for a while now, and recently they have been showing it on TV. Ah, nostalgia. Most of what the show presents is common knowledge to any modern grade-schooler, but back then, astronomy was not a typical household subject. Cosmos is the reason I have a telescope sitting in my room right now. Even if I almost never use it, I still have that desire to study and gaze at and understand the stars. . . and it has everything to do with Mr. Sagan and his TV show Cosmos.
Given the TV offerings of late, science shows are a superior choice to anything else. I could not care even a little bit less who is eating what for money, or if they vote another slut off the island, or if another sitcom pushes the envelope. I'd rather watch a show about engineering disasters, or a history of the U.S. Mint, or a show about Da Vinci and his inventions. There's reality TV for you.
Presenting a random list of my favorite science shows:
~Connections. Ah, the first series of Connections has got to be my all-time favorite. James Burke shows how inventions lead to other inventions, and how our world came to be the way it is. Very first show started with the touch-stones used in the 1400's to test whether a metal was gold; an hour later, the Connections ended with the atomic bomb. It very well could have been a dry show, but Burke is an amazing narrator and writer. He makes you interested in all the science going on by emphasizing the human element. He frequently describes how certain events never would have happened if the right person weren't making a shitload of money from them. The show started in a one-hour format, then came the second series, Connections 2 (how aptly named!), which went to half-hour shows (didn't like that as much), and then Connections 3, back up to an hour each. Always fantastic to watch.
~The Day The Universe Changed. Also a show by James Burke, it focused on events and people rather than science. He showed the ideas and events leading up to the Renaissance, the French Revolution, tracked the history of banking and of law. . . A much more intellectual show. In particular, the final episode should be standard viewing for every human on earth. Burke describes the very nature of change, how mankind constantly re-evaluates his concept of the truth, and how whole societies cause that change. He always emphasized that the internet would be the tool to cause the next great change in human behaviour, as it united all the peoples of the globe into one society. Keep in mind that he was saying this in the '80s, when the internet was still a scientific curiosity in college labs. I would love to find this series on DVD. http://www.bbcfactual.co.uk/day_the_universe_changed.htm
~The Secret Life of Machines. God bless Tim Hunkin and Rex Garrod. They are tinkerers and they do special effects work for tons of TV shows. . . and they made an endearing TV show about the devices that we take for granted every day. Presented in layman's terms, and including fantastic animated shorts, the show tells you how things work. MacGuyver owes a fierce debt of gratitude to these guys. . . Tim and Rex do the experiments that we all wanted to do as kids, but couldn't for fear of burning something down. They use normal household stuff to explain concepts so that everyone can understand. One of my favorites: ". . . this is recorded on sticky-tape and rust!" http://www.secretlifeofmachines.com/
~Modern Marvels. This one is hit-or-miss. . . they cover such a huge range of subjects, no one can possibly be interested in all of them. They have the shows about engineering disasters, I think maybe 17 or 18 episodes worth. Earth movers, subway systems, ship building, metal, stone, plumbing, power tools, explosives. . . if you wonder about it, they have a show about it.
~Beakman's World. C'mon, that show rocked! Funny as hell, and they even had science facts here and there. Plus, that blond girl was sizzling hot!
~Mail Call. Not strictly a science show, but always fun to watch. Every show, I learn something new about the military. And R. Lee Ermy is a kick-ass host.
~Tales Of The Gun. Also a specialized show, obviously. But very very good. There's more to guns than just BANG. Guns have been part of history since the Chinese came up with the concept a thousand years ago. Almost every culture has its own relationship with firearms. Also shows the constantly evolving technology of guns, as tools and weapons.
~Einstein's Big Idea. Using historical re-enactments, this two-hour program examines the people and the science that all came together to become the famous e=mc^2. Goes on to show how that theory was applied, and how it brought about the atomic bomb. Briefly mentions that physics is still trying to grasp all the theories that Einstein unlocked with his big idea. The show was on a couple of weeks ago, but it is bound to repeat now and then. Surprisingly well-acted, compelling, and interesting the whole way through. Definitely worth watching again.
~Man, Moment, Machine. New show about how the right person having the right ideas at the right time result in the most fantastic inventions. Last one I saw was about the Bradley fighting vehicle. I have high hopes for this one.
Hm. . . I'd have to look up other series titles, but the whole family of Discovery Channels always has good stuff on. They have more one-shot shows than I would even care to research. Every time I go home and check the cable listings, I know that when I get to the high numbers where the science channels are, I'll find something good to watch.
Science is cool, people. Makes you sexy.
BTW. . . Hey Joe, how's it going with Dark Cloud 2? Glad I turned you on to it? Just remember to use the hell out of that camera, it will be worth it. And my fat robot Steve will ALWAYS be cooler than your fat robot Steve.
. . . oh, and the end of the Kim Possible movie, "So The Drama", Kim and Ron kissing? TOTAL BULLSHIT.
posted by Luminazuma @ 12:30 PM
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