The Eyes of Nye
Encyclopedia
The Eyes of Nye is a science program airing on public television in the United States
in 2005 and featuring Bill Nye
. The show was more sophisticated than its predecessor Bill Nye the Science Guy
, as it was aimed more toward adults and teenagers than children. All episodes were rated TV-G, except for "Addiction" and "The Evolution of Sex", both rated TV-PG. The creation of the show was motivated by the success of the television program Bill Nye the Science Guy, as well as a widespread contempt among scientists for scientific journalism
in the media. The program was based in Seattle
and broadcast during primetime by KCTS, the local PBS affiliate.
, which broadcast the original Bill Nye the Science Guy, turned down the offer to distribute Nye's new show. Randy Brinson, a co-producer of The Eyes of Nye, said in an interview that the reason for PBS's rejection of the show was a result of its desire for "more serious, in-depth Nova
-style shows". Brinson went on to say that this and some "local production issues" were the cause of the show's delays, although in an interview for the same article Nye blamed financial problems within KCTS-TV
(the producer of the show) for the delays. However, it was noted that The Eyes of Nye has been picked up for broadcast by about 100 public television stations, and that this may lead to further development.
Twelve of the thirteen episodes are as a set for $49.00 on DVD from Disney Educational Productions. Because the target audience for the show are educational institutions, each episode is available on its own DVD. However, the price of these DVDs is also aimed at this audience, and is a result of the licensing restrictions involved in showing the episodes to classrooms.
and Pat Cashman
, members of the sketch comedy television show Almost Live!
, of which Bill Nye was also a member, made guest appearances. Cashman was also the voice of the announcer for Nye's previous show Bill Nye the Science Guy
. The show was directed by Almost Live!
director & cast member Steve Wilson.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in 2005 and featuring Bill Nye
Bill Nye
William Sanford "Bill" Nye , popularly known as Bill Nye the Science Guy, is an American science educator, comedian, television host, actor, mechanical engineer, and scientist...
. The show was more sophisticated than its predecessor Bill Nye the Science Guy
Bill Nye the Science Guy
Bill Nye the Science Guy is an educational television program that originally aired from September 10, 1993 to June 20, 1998, hosted by Bill Nye and produced by Buena Vista Television. The show aired on PBS Kids and was also syndicated to local stations, making it the second first-run television...
, as it was aimed more toward adults and teenagers than children. All episodes were rated TV-G, except for "Addiction" and "The Evolution of Sex", both rated TV-PG. The creation of the show was motivated by the success of the television program Bill Nye the Science Guy, as well as a widespread contempt among scientists for scientific journalism
Science journalism
Science journalism conveys reporting about science to the public. The field typically involves interactions between scientists, journalists and the public, and is still evolving.-Aim of science journalism:...
in the media. The program was based in Seattle
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
and broadcast during primetime by KCTS, the local PBS affiliate.
Recurring segments
- Straight Talk - Parodies interview shows like Larry King LiveLarry King LiveLarry King Live is an American talk show hosted by Larry King on CNN from 1985 to 2010. It was CNN's most watched and longest-running program, with over one million viewers nightly....
. The guest is always a deep-voiced, overbearing senator whose opinion fluctuates quite wildly with each question. - Opinions Now with Chris David - Parodies "debate" shows like Hardball with Chris MatthewsHardball with Chris MatthewsHardball with Chris Matthews is a talk show on MSNBC, broadcast weekdays at 5 and 7 PM hosted by Chris Matthews. It originally aired on now-defunct America's Talking and later CNBC. The current title was derived from a book Matthews wrote in 1988, Hardball: How Politics Is Played Told by One Who...
. The host is very loud, constantly leans forward and glares at the camera, and demands solid answers, or at least strong opinions, at all times. Taking a jab at modern television news shows, the more level-headed and cautious experts are often ignored in favor of other guests with more extreme and livid views on the subject at hand. - Science with Mr. Sanders - Parodies 1950s-era educational filmEducational filmAn educational film is a film or movie whose primary purpose is to educate. Educational films have been used in classrooms as an alternative to other teaching methods.-Cultural significance:...
s. Mary and Tommy, stereotypical period schoolchildren, ask questions of their teacher, Mr. Sanders. The answers he gives are usually laden with his personal prejudices and disturbing information about his personal life. In a Twilight ZoneThe Twilight Zone (1959 TV series)The Twilight Zone is an American anthology television series created by Rod Serling, which ran for five seasons on CBS from 1959 to 1964. The series consisted of unrelated episodes depicting paranormal, futuristic, dystopian, or simply disturbing events; each show typically featured a surprising...
-like twist, the characters imply that The Eyes of Nye is merely an educational film they are watching. - The Hippy Couple - Parodies ignorant "New AgeyNew AgeThe New Age movement is a Western spiritual movement that developed in the second half of the 20th century. Its central precepts have been described as "drawing on both Eastern and Western spiritual and metaphysical traditions and then infusing them with influences from self-help and motivational...
" views on science, featuring a stereotypical hippy couple who ramble at length about love, ecological produce, and global warming. In the end, though, the couple really only appear to be interested in growing hempHempHemp is mostly used as a name for low tetrahydrocannabinol strains of the plant Cannabis sativa, of fiber and/or oilseed varieties. In modern times, hemp has been used for industrial purposes including paper, textiles, biodegradable plastics, construction, health food and fuel with modest...
, which seems plausible judging from their stonedCannabis (drug)Cannabis, also known as marijuana among many other names, refers to any number of preparations of the Cannabis plant intended for use as a psychoactive drug or for medicinal purposes. The English term marijuana comes from the Mexican Spanish word marihuana...
appearance.
Episodes
| Show # | Episode | Air Date | Synopsis |
|---|---|---|---|
| 101 | Astrobiology | April 3, 2005 | Does extraterrestrial life exist? How are we working to find it, and what will happen if we do? Bill meets people who are hunting for aliens, visits a "Martian" landscape right here on Earth, and talks with one of astronomy's premier planet finders. |
| 102 | Pseudoscience | April 10, 2005 | Extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof. And to be scientific, a claim or hypothesis must be able to be proven false. Bill exposes techniques used by psychics, explains the science of walking on a bed of flaming coals, and investigates "The Case of the Extraordinary Claim". |
| 103 | Addiction | April 17, 2005 | Bill examines the controversial question of whether addiction is a disease. Segments focus on doctors who seek to better understand addictive behaviors by studying brain chemistry, psychology, and social factors; individuals who live with substance abuse issues; and scientists who are working to identify the genes that may lead to addiction. |
| 104 | Cloning | April 10, 2005 | The possibilities of cloning reach far beyond creating genetically exact duplicates of animals or human beings. The same techniques could potentially be used to cure diseases or repair damaged organs. Bill talks with a developmental biologist about why cloning animals is so difficult, shows how cloning works, and visits a lab where stem cells are used to repair damaged spinal cords. |
| 105 | Nuclear Energy | April 24, 2005 | With evidence of global warming mounting, Americans are revisiting the idea of nuclear energy. It's a clean energy source that can be produced domestically, but dealing with the waste remains a major hurdle. To find out whether the benefits are worth the risks, Bill visits a nuclear reactor and the Yucca Mountain, NV site where the U.S. government wants to store nuclear waste. |
| 106 | Sports | May 1, 2005 | Bill explores the physics of a variety of sports, from the 100-meter sprint of Olympic champion Maurice Green to the cat-like reactions of U.S. women's soccer goalie Hope Solo. |
| 107 | Population | May 8, 2005 | Bill explains what birth and death rates mean and looks at population issues around the world, from demographics to social and cultural aspects, to discover how education and industrialization can affect population. Field reports include stories about population trends in the Third World, a look at consumption trends, and an analysis of mass-media education methods such as soap operas that feature population issues. |
| 108 | Race | May 15, 2005 | Bill explores why people of different skin colors look so different on the outside when the DNA on the inside is so similar, then has his own DNA sequenced to find out what he can determine about his "race". |
| 109 | Antibiotics | May 29, 2005 | The battle between microbes and humans is far from over. In fact, deaths from infectious diseases have increased since the 1980s. Some of the rise is due to new "bugs" such as HIV and hepatitis C, but the alarming increase in antibiotic resistance is also responsible. Bill talks with experts at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention about new narrow-spectrum antibiotics and "bacteriocins" and demonstrates just how important hand-washing really is in the fight against germs. |
| 110 | Genetically Modified Foods | June 5, 2005 | Through genetic engineering, scientists can pull off such outrageous-sounding feats as crossing a tomato with a flounder. In fact, more than half of the foods on grocery store shelves now—even infant formula—have been genetically modified in some way. But do we really know yet whether they are safe for humans and the environment? Bill hears the various sides of this controversial issue by talking to traditional wheat breeders, organic agriculture researchers, and corporate genetic engineers. |
| 111 | Transportation | June 12, 2005 | Bill examines the problem of pollution from transportation—which has outstripped manufacturing to become America's largest source of air pollution—by tracing the historical roots of American car culture, trying out some cutting-edge traffic simulation software, and exploring the promise of fuel-efficient cars and state-of-the-art hydrogen technology. |
| 112 | Global Climate Change | June 19, 2005 | The world is getting warmer. Is it our fault? Is the rise in temperature a product of the Industrial Revolution, the burning of fossil fuels, and the modern propensity for driving down to the mini-mart in a car the size of a woolly mammoth? Or is it just part of a natural global cycle? Bill investigates with a visit to the National Ice Core Laboratory in Denver, where scientists identify and evaluate atmospheric gases from 400,000 years ago, and a demonstration of how increased levels of carbon dioxide affect temperatures on Earth. |
| 113 | Evolution of Sex | June 26, 2005 | Why sex? For one thing, with sex we're trying to stay ahead of the germs that are always attacking us. With one act of mixing our genes through sexual reproduction, there are millions of new possible combinations to help fight off the parasites Parasitism Parasitism is a type of symbiotic relationship between organisms of different species where one organism, the parasite, benefits at the expense of the other, the host. Traditionally parasite referred to organisms with lifestages that needed more than one host . These are now called macroparasites... . Includes an explanation of the relationship between sex and parasites, an experiment in which women use scent to detect subtle genetic differences in men, and a discussion of the risks organisms take in reproducing sexually rather than asexually. |
Current status
PBSPublic Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
, which broadcast the original Bill Nye the Science Guy, turned down the offer to distribute Nye's new show. Randy Brinson, a co-producer of The Eyes of Nye, said in an interview that the reason for PBS's rejection of the show was a result of its desire for "more serious, in-depth Nova
NOVA (TV series)
Nova is a popular science television series from the U.S. produced by WGBH Boston. It can be seen on the Public Broadcasting Service in the United States, and in more than 100 other countries...
-style shows". Brinson went on to say that this and some "local production issues" were the cause of the show's delays, although in an interview for the same article Nye blamed financial problems within KCTS-TV
KCTS-TV
KCTS-TV is a public television station in Seattle, Washington, that is a member of the Public Broadcasting Service , that broadcasts on digital channel 9. Its offices and broadcasting center are located at the northeast corner of Seattle Center...
(the producer of the show) for the delays. However, it was noted that The Eyes of Nye has been picked up for broadcast by about 100 public television stations, and that this may lead to further development.
Twelve of the thirteen episodes are as a set for $49.00 on DVD from Disney Educational Productions. Because the target audience for the show are educational institutions, each episode is available on its own DVD. However, the price of these DVDs is also aimed at this audience, and is a result of the licensing restrictions involved in showing the episodes to classrooms.
Personnel
Bob NelsonBob Nelson (comedian)
Bob Nelson is an American stand-up comedian and actor.-Biography:Nelson specializes in rubber-faced comedy characters, much as Red Skelton did in his heyday...
and Pat Cashman
Pat Cashman
Pat Cashman is a comedian and television and radio personality based in the Seattle, Washington, area.On TV, he was a regular cast member of the long-running local comedy show Almost Live! as well as the announcer for Bill Nye the Science Guy...
, members of the sketch comedy television show Almost Live!
Almost Live!
Almost Live! was a local sketch comedy television show in Seattle, Washington, USA, produced and broadcast by NBC affiliate KING-TV from 1984 to 1999. A re-packaged version of the show also aired on Comedy Central from 1992 to 1993, and episodes aired on WGRZ-TV in the late 1990s. The show was...
, of which Bill Nye was also a member, made guest appearances. Cashman was also the voice of the announcer for Nye's previous show Bill Nye the Science Guy
Bill Nye the Science Guy
Bill Nye the Science Guy is an educational television program that originally aired from September 10, 1993 to June 20, 1998, hosted by Bill Nye and produced by Buena Vista Television. The show aired on PBS Kids and was also syndicated to local stations, making it the second first-run television...
. The show was directed by Almost Live!
Almost Live!
Almost Live! was a local sketch comedy television show in Seattle, Washington, USA, produced and broadcast by NBC affiliate KING-TV from 1984 to 1999. A re-packaged version of the show also aired on Comedy Central from 1992 to 1993, and episodes aired on WGRZ-TV in the late 1990s. The show was...
director & cast member Steve Wilson.