The best science TV series of all time.

[rasetsu]

I'm not familiar with Rough Science but I will look into it.

The classical answers that I know are PBS Nova and BBC Horizons. Alas, as is often the case, many times they serve more to entertain than to educate, becoming mere vehicles for popularizing the subject than teaching something useful or wonderful. (This has in some ways been paralleled in print. In the 70s, I adored devouring Scientific American from cover to cover. In the decades since, the articles have trended more toward becoming there simply to provide something to put the advertisements around.)

I'll have to think some. Given the trend toward form rather than substance, I've tended to eschew much science programming, being a meat n' potatoes type of girl, but I may know some that aren't coming to mind. Though I found more wonderful, touching and edifying science in the 4 DVD set of David Attenborough's The Life Of Mammals than I would expect in a dozen popularizers. (Though not having cable, my selection is somewhat constrained. There is a documentary titled Clever Monkeys which is also excellent, as well as the How Smart Are Animals which I believe was a Nova ScienceNOW episode. There has been a resurgence of interest in the science behind the behavior and evolution of our canine friends which has produced some excellent documentaries as well, but I don't have a title ready-to-hand.)


(For what it's worth, AtheistForums.org does a better job of attracting knowledgeable science types than Ratz, so if the answer is what interests you, I suggest following up there as well.)

Oh, another title did come to mind. There is a company called The Teaching Company which produces the equivalent of lectures or seminars on DVD and CD. The format is more one of purely learning to learn than be entertained, but they produced hundreds of titles which are of consistently top notch quality. I found that my public library has invested heavily in their materials. Yours might as well, depending on your libraries.

[Don't Panic]

Science...not science fiction

And, I'm with Pappa, though I did absolutely love the "Life" series that was done and Planet Earth, and Nova...but Rough Science makes you want to get up and do science in your kitchen...and you can!

I could spend days watching the various Life series.... well, I'm pretty sure I have a few times when they show them back-to-back.... but yeah, after watching Rough Science I've actually got the urge to do stuff. Like yesterday when I made hydrogen with a few batteries, some gaffa tape, a bowl of water, two test tubes, a couple of bits of wire and some baking soda.

I still have the full run of rough science on my sky+ box to burn to DVD for you.

Keep nagging me to get this done. I spend way too much time procrastinating.

[Jason]

I don't know about best but I really enjoyed James Burke's Connections.

[Sean Hayden]

[FBM]

Nova, way back when. Now BBC Horizons. Of all time? Wouldn't even know where to begin figuring that out.

[hadespussercats]

[hadespussercats]

J and I were remembering a special about intelligent design and debunking notions of science as a religion. It followed an ID court case all the way to the US Supreme Court, and this was the case where many many Nobel Laureates and other prominent scientists wrote an extensive amicus curiae brief...

The show did an excellent job of laying out the arguments in play, the people involved. It was cogent and interesting, and neither of us remember the name of it.

[rasetsu]

J and I were remembering a special about intelligent design and debunking notions of science as a religion. It followed an ID court case all the way to the US Supreme Court, and this was the case where many many Nobel Laureates and other prominent scientists wrote an extensive amicus curiae brief...

The show did an excellent job of laying out the arguments in play, the people involved. It was cogent and interesting, and neither of us remember the name of it.

Meh. If you want that story, get it at TalkOrigins. Not sure where the goto is now. Panda's Thumb seems rather unfocused.

[JimC]

Attenborough's entire body of work, for me...

Also Mythbusters...

[klr]

The best? Cosmos

There are many other great series - most of them commissioned/produced by the BBC - but I would still rank Cosmos as the all-time best.

[PsychoSerenity]

[Pappa]

I still have the full run of rough science on my sky+ box to burn to DVD for you.

Keep nagging me to get this done. I spend way too much time procrastinating.

I found a decent torrent of all six series a little while ago, so we watched the lot recently. Subsequent to that, I discovered they've started selling the DVDs at a sensible price, so I just bought series 1 & 2 and I'll get the rest soon. They're so good, I'd rather pay for them.

[hadespussercats]

J and I were remembering a special about intelligent design and debunking notions of science as a religion. It followed an ID court case all the way to the US Supreme Court, and this was the case where many many Nobel Laureates and other prominent scientists wrote an extensive amicus curiae brief...

The show did an excellent job of laying out the arguments in play, the people involved. It was cogent and interesting, and neither of us remember the name of it.

Meh. If you want that story, get it at TalkOrigins. Not sure where the goto is now. Panda's Thumb seems rather unfocused.

No, no-- it was this particular program we both remembered enjoying.

I don't think it was the best of all time-- maybe Cosmos for that?-- just one we both thought of when we were talking about it.

Ah well. I was betting someone here would recognize it from the description.

[hadespussercats]

Another that wasn't the 'best of all time,' but was important to me when I was young: 3*2*1 Contact!

I used to get the magazine, too.

And it had the Bloodhound Gang! They taught me about pinhole cameras!

[Azathoth]

/thread