Do you have any favourite science documentaries?

 

It's your chance to promote your favourites, and it would be very helpful to me as well. I'm in the mood for a few good documentaries in any area of science to keep me entertained after work. I know that people on these forums would know which documentaries to watch and which are to watch out for. That is my main reason for asking. I don't want to accidentally watch something that will brainwash me into believing lies or seeing only half of the story. Thank you!

Edited March 22, 200916 yr by iPeppers

I'm very fond of the BBC's Life In Cold Blood, which, despite a few errors, manages to be very good. I'm also biased because in a brief clip, it showed the mode of snake locomotion I discovered being used in a natural habitat.

The Sky at Night with Sir Patrick Moore, is Most excellent!

I generally like the BBC's Horizon program.

 

However, the scientific content is low. They do have a tendency to sensationalise and scare munger. But then I do feel that any science on TV is better than no science.

I find that TV generally aims at an audience with a relatively low intelligence (sorry to all those who like TV). Good documentaries are rare... and most are boring. Youtube sometimes has some decent documentaries, but often you'll have to search for a while until you find a good one.

 

Recently I watched a movie (or actually a lecture) called "

". It's about the universe when it was still quite young.

 

For the rest, I always loved Sir David Attenborough's nature documentaries... and if I'm linking to youtube anyway, let me give you a link to a short 3-4 min movie about the Lyre bird.

Excellent! I'm looking into a few of these now. Thanks people.

 

As a side, without trying to derail my own thread... has anyone seen the Elegant Universe on Nova with Brian Greene? I know it's probably simplified a lot for laymen and non experts like me, but I thought it was very well done, with a lot of visuals to help me understand the concepts a little better.

also at the risk of derailing, "How it`s Made" is also pretty good, I`m not sure Who it`s aimed at, but I AND my daughter both enjoy watching it.

also at the risk of derailing, "How it`s Made" is also pretty good, I`m not sure Who it`s aimed at, but I AND my daughter both enjoy watching it.

 

That is a great show. I don't watch a lot of tv, but I do quite enjoy that show. There are so many things that I used to clump together into the "they are all just made in a factory somewhere" group, but it's actually interesting to see the details of the manufacturing process that regular people usually wouldn't.

Absolutely Cosmos (Carl Sagan) is up there in my top list. Whoever of you who are in the USA can see it now (legally, for free) in hulu: http://www.hulu.com/cosmos

 

Also, "From the Earth to the Moon" (Docudrama, EXCELLENTLY made!, info here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/From_the_Earth_to_the_Moon_(miniseries) ) is close behind. It's telling the story of the race to the moon through a dramatic depiction of the events but using actual footage when available. BRILLIANT.

 

VERY recommended, both of them.

Absolutely Cosmos (Carl Sagan) is up there in my top list. Whoever of you who are in the USA can see it now (legally, for free) in hulu: http://www.hulu.com/cosmos

 

 

I want to watch that one for sure soon, but I'm still finishing up reading the book.

It doesn't seem like hulu are going to take it off anytime soon, so you still have time, but unlike a drama book, I don't think seeing the move while reading the book ruin the experience

Excellent! I'm looking into a few of these now. Thanks people.

 

As a side, without trying to derail my own thread... has anyone seen the Elegant Universe on Nova with Brian Greene? I know it's probably simplified a lot for laymen and non experts like me, but I thought it was very well done, with a lot of visuals to help me understand the concepts a little better.

Nope, but I've read the book. It's decent. Gave me a nice handle on qualitative aspects of QM before I studied it in detail. He loves his Simpsons analogies...

 

Kaeroll

National geographic has a show (a series of documentaries) which are called "My brilliant brain".

It is about people who are considered geniuses. It explains their capabilities, and attempts to explain what's the differences between their brains and the "average" human brain.

Sagan's Cosmos

BBC Planet Earth

BBC Blue Planet

PBS Nova

PBS Nature

Anything with Neil Tyson

BBC's "Earth Story" with Aubrey Manning is an excellent documentary on the Earth sciences.

James Burke's Connections and The Day the Universe Changed are both excellent, as is Jacob Bronowski's The Ascent of Man.

 

That said, I'm also a big fan of many of the other BBC series that have been listed here, such as Planet Earth. And Carl Sagan's Cosmos is also excellent.

Cosmos is definitely my favourite. I also got some great ideas for science documentaries here. Generally, anything from BBC, Horizon or PBS Nova tends to be good

My top few are:

The Universe: Beyond the Big Bang

Einstein's Big Idea

Cosmos

Atom

 

I also love the movie Hawking I know it is not a documentary per se, but it is amazing.