The BBC has always been the best in the world at making science and natural history documentaries.
One of its latest brilliant science documentaries is
Science Britannica, hosted by the youthful-looking University of Manchester physicist and former pop star Professor Brian Cox.
The 45-year-old is a household name in Britain after hosting several other BBC science documentaries, including
Wonders of the Solar System (2010) and its sequel
Wonders of the Universe (2011). He even appeared in a 2012 episode of Doctor Who -
The Power of Three - as himself.
Cox - who used to be the keyboard player in pop band D-Ream, famous for their 1993 hit
Things Can Only Get Better which the Labour Party used as their theme song during the 1997 General Election campaign which they won in a landslide - has got many people in Britain who were never that interested in science before becoming hooked on the subject due to his knack of explaining complicated things in an easy-to-understand way in his friendly Northern accent. He also has many female fans because of his good looks.
In his latest BBC documentary,
Science Britannica, Cox looks at Britain's formidable contribution to science.
Britons Sir Isaac Newton (discoverer of gravity), Isambard Kingdom Brunel (history's greatest engineer) and Sir Tim Berners-Lee (inventor of the World Wide Web) all changed the world through their discoveries and inventions
The British Isles are home to just one percent of the world's population and yet our small collection of rocks poking out of the north Atlantic has thrown up world beaters in virtually every field of human endeavour.
Nowhere is this more obvious than in science and engineering. Edward Jenner came up with vaccines, Sir Frank Whittle ushered in the jet age and Sir Tim Berners-Lee laid the foundations of the world wide web. Sir Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, Michael Faraday, George Stephenson, Isambard Kingdom Brunel… the list is gloriously long.
What is it about Britain that allowed so many great minds to emerge and flourish?
In this three-part documentary, Professor Cox goes on a journey to find out.
The first episode aired last Thursday night at 9pm, with the second episode being aired tonight.
In the first episode,
Frankenstein's Monsters, Professor Cox grapples with science's darker side, asking why, when science has done so much for us, it often gets such a bad press. Starting with the original Frankenstein - the grisly 19th century tale of George Foster's hanging and subsequent 'electrocution', Brian confronts the idea that science can go 'too far'. From the nuclear bomb to genetic modification, British science has always been at the cutting edge of discovery, but are British scientists f eckless meddlers, or misunderstood visionaries whose gifts to humanity are corrupted by the unscrupulous?
In episode two tonight,
Method and Madness, Professor Brian Cox guides viewers through 350 years of British science to reveal what science really is, who the people are who practise it, and how it is inextricably linked to the past, present and future of each and every one of us.
This time, Professor Cox celebrates Britain's pivotal role in creating modern science. From performing Isaac Newton's iconic light experiment to meeting a wartime code breaker and making hydrogen explosions, Professor Cox leads the way through 300 years of British history. Along the way, he introduces the obsessive, eccentric, visionary characters who dragged science into the modern world by developing a powerful new way to investigate nature. He reveals what science really is, explores the mindset of those who practise it, and shows how science runs through the past, present and future of everyone.
Finally, episode three, which will be aired next week,
Clear Blue Skies. British science has a long track record of accidental discoveries improving our lot. Wondering why the sky is blue helped British scientists crack bacterial infection, whilst looking for a way to make quinine helped make our world a much more colourful place, as it led to the discovery of the first synthetic organic dye. But is this the best way to carry on?
Professor Brian Cox ends his homage to British Science by looking at how discoveries are made, asking whether it is better to let the scientists do their own thing, and hope for happy accidents, or to only back scientific winners at the risk of missing the occasional gems.
You can watch the whole of episode one of
Science Britannica:
Science Britannica Frankenstein's Monsters Episode 1 BBC documentary 2013 what science really is ? - YouTube
BBC Two - Science Britannica, Clear Blue Skies
An article by Professor Brian Cox:
The wonder of British science BBC Science - Brian Cox: The wonder of British science