Into the Universe With Stephen Hawking

slade_x

Apparently a new Documentary that has not yet begun airing:

http://www.tv.com/into-the-universe-with-stephen-hawking/show/78533/summary.html?q=hawking%20universe&tag=search_results;title;2

Want to hear about wormholes and gas-giant-inhabiting aliens and time travel and that sort of mind-blowing thing from a true genius without doing a bunch of channel surfing?
Problem solved: Discovery Channel’s long-awaited Into the Universe with Stephen Hawking launches tonight.
Starting at 9 p.m. Eastern and Pacific Time with a segment titled Aliens and followed up at 10 p.m. by Time Travel, the four-part miniseries promises Hawking’s typical mix of theory and wonder and fact and imagination.
Discovery has several mind-bending “what if?” sort of clips on its site, ranging from visions of life in Europa’s ocean to what a ship pushing near light speed might look like, and while that means a heavy dose of computer-generated effects, really, how else are you going to try and envision what goes on in a forever-voyaging mind like Stephen Hawking’s?
Luckily, he’s also gifted enough to bring us all along for the ride.

Read More http://www.wired.com/geekdad/2010/04/countdown-to-a-launch-into-the-universe-of-stephen-hawkings-mind/#ixzz0mAnlXlI4

http://www.wired.com/geekdad/2010/04/countdown-to-a-launch-into-the-universe-of-stephen-hawkings-mind/

ynotdu

GRAVITY!
now aged 68 and with his health problems sure to overwhelmn him soon:(
I love that He got to experiance weightlessness on the Astronaut training plane(s),He took full editorial control of the script and footage for this new show{i think he intends it to be his Epitaph:(}NASA set Him free from the wheelchair for a few short but Glorious minutes a few years ago.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPeGDfqPPtc

MoonDancer

Looks like I missed it does anyone know if a repeat is coming on?

BULLER

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2oYS9-Ee9U&feature=related

I missed it too but I think this is the episode.

ynotdu

MoonDancer wrote: »

Looks like I missed it does anyone know if a repeat is coming on?

Hi Moondancer, AFAIK it has not been yet shown on Discovery Channel(s) Europe yet,Only in the US so far.I checked the EPGS for Discovery for last Saturday and it was not listed.

So if You have a PVR You wil proably have to wait to see it 'for keeps' a while Yet.

Meanwhile a big Thanks to Buller for the Link!

MoonDancer

OMG I love you!! Thanks for the link, I was seriously dissapointed that I thought I missed it!!

Thanks ynotdu, I'll keep an eye out for it

djhaxman

Just caught the end of the ad but I think it said this series starts next Sunday (9th May) on Discovery channel.

thecommander

Watched the first episode. Wouldn't have been that impressed with it, nothing really that concrete in it. A string of guesses, it read more like an episode of Babylon 5 than a documentary.

Conor108

Part 3 looks good "The Story Of Everything"

ynotdu

Conor108 wrote: »

Part 3 looks good "The Story Of Everything"

Lol Conor that sounds like it Could be a VERY long episode:D

Just to confirm what dj has said,Episode one will be sunday evening on the main Discovery and its +1. Directly followed by a Hubble documentry.
nice double bill!

Leopardi

Having watched 'Stephen Hawking's Universe' in 1997, I recently heard about the new series and eagerly anticipated its screening.

I watched last night's episode with a mixture of horror and disgust. The original series featured interviews with some of the most eminent figures in science, each of whom spoke with authority, yet in an accessible manner, providing viewers with an intriguing array of information about some of the greatest achievements in the history of Science. That series spurred my interest in the subject of Astrophysics.

Last night's episode was a typically dumbed-down affair - a reliance on special effects that would not be out of place in a Disney production, an Americanised Hawking spouting commonplaces about the vastness of the universe which were tagged by nauseating phrases such as "check it." Hawking's role as a deeply insightful populariser of complex theories was all too redundant in the producers' drive to depict him as "cool." Having heard the ideal conditions for life being compared to Goldilocks' porridge, I lost all interest.

Last night's programme clearly has its place - as an educational tool for children, it might well inform and captivate by its reliance upon mesmerizing C.G.I., but for those who were lucky enough to see the original series it is likely to disappoint. Make up your own minds: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jd1tgLQg4ZU

Given the proliferation of mind-numbing pap across most TV channels, it would have been nice to think that Discovery Channel would try to uphold some standards, yet it has capitulated to the shallow criteria of modern media.

shizz

I just saw the repeat of the first episode today and I have to say I agree with Leopardi for the most part. It was pretty much exactly like any other discovery programme, most notably their "The Universe" Series. Absolutley nothing knew or presented differently. I would have prefered the insights of other Physicist's than just general knowledge guesses and explanations.

But having said that I did enjoy it a bit and would like to see the other episodes, but it really did just appear as an episode to capture our imaginations about Aliens.

Also that "check it" was unbelievably cringe worthy. =/

Conor108

Michio Kaku has a new 12 part series 'Physics Of The Impossible'

Here's the promo but it does look VERY lighthearted. Be warned:D

Promo!

djhaxman

What did you expect? Discovery is a general audience channel showing a wide range of stuff. It's the same as BBC's Wonders of the solar system, shown for a general audience. If they'd gone in depth into quantum physics and string theory or whatever, most people would just get confused and switch off.

slade_x

djhaxman wrote: »

What did you expect? Discovery is a general audience channel showing a wide range of stuff. It's the same as BBC's Wonders of the solar system, shown for a general audience. If they'd gone in depth into quantum physics and string theory or whatever, most people would just get confused and switch off.

I'd have to agree. Thats what the books are for :rolleyes:

thecommander

djhaxman wrote: »

What did you expect? Discovery is a general audience channel showing a wide range of stuff. It's the same as BBC's Wonders of the solar system, shown for a general audience. If they'd gone in depth into quantum physics and string theory or whatever, most people would just get confused and switch off.

Theres making a program that 90% of audience can understand and then theres making a dumbed down program with very little actual content in it other than CG scifi bits. Discovery do plenty of docs that aren't like this.

djhaxman

thecommander wrote: »

Theres making a program that 90% of audience can understand and then theres making a dumbed down program with very little actual content in it other than CG scifi bits. Discovery do plenty of docs that aren't like this.

It was a program speculating about whether there are aliens or not. Of course there was very little content! They had to fill the hour somehow.

thecommander

djhaxman wrote: »

It was a program speculating about whether there are aliens or not. Of course there was very little content! They had to fill the hour somehow.

It should have been a portion of another episode rather than its own one.

Leopardi

djhaxman wrote: »

What did you expect? Discovery is a general audience channel showing a wide range of stuff. It's the same as BBC's Wonders of the solar system, shown for a general audience. If they'd gone in depth into quantum physics and string theory or whatever, most people would just get confused and switch off.

I think it's quite obvious what I expected - I did mention a precedent. Apart from the original series, there have been others such as Atom, (screened by the BBC) which gave an informative account of the history of scientific problems along with subsequent developments in a highly accessible way. If the criterion for a Science series is one of 'let's pander to the masses', the glossy images and platitudes will suffice.

thebouldwhacker

I gotta say I agree, I watched the aliens program and was very disappointed. There was one scene with a good 15 seconds showing a special effects meteor falling. Great as a school teaching aid but not much outside of that. Who would have thought that such a fantastic topic could be...... well, boring.:(

murrayp4

Thought the first 2 were pants, won't bother with the rest.

Beeker

Just watched the first one....not very impressed:(

wylo

The second one is much more impressive.