Nova ScienceNow
| Nova ScienceNow | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Presented by |
Robert Krulwich (2005–2006) Neil deGrasse Tyson (2006–2011) David Pogue (2012) |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 6 |
| No. of episodes | 36 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
Paula S. Apsell Samuel Fine |
| Running time | 55 minutes |
| Production company | WGBH |
| Original release | |
| Network | PBS |
| Release | January 25, 2005 – November 14, 2012 |
Nova ScienceNow (styled NOVΛ scienceNOW) is a spinoff of the long-running and venerable PBS science program Nova. Premiering on January 25, 2005, the series was originally hosted by Robert Krulwich, who described it as an experiment in coverage of "breaking science, science that's right out of the lab, science that sometimes bumps up against politics, art, culture". At the beginning of season two, Neil deGrasse Tyson replaced Krulwich as the show's host. Tyson announced he would leave the show and was replaced by David Pogue in season 6.
The show was originally intended to return with more new episodes in 2015.
Production
Unlike the parent program Nova, Nova ScienceNow has a whimsical production style. It is not unusual for the show to explain topics as arcane as RNA interference using cartoons, or a solution to a two-thousand-year-old math problem related in song. Whereas Nova covered a single seamless subject in each hour-long episode, NOVA scienceNOW covers several related, but distinct, story segments during the course of each program. The show also features 30–60 second short segments between each story segment, taking the place and pace of commercials in an otherwise uninterrupted program flow.
The show's humor turns on cultural references aimed at viewers from a broad spectrum of age groups. These references, for example, come from movies, TV, music, history, literature, and of course, science.
Following the whimsical format, the show's animators often place jokes or sight gags into the show's background via humorous or incongruous bits of text in signs, newspapers, etc. These gags are intentionally subtle and meant to be difficult to recognize, presumably as a challenge to the viewer's observational skills.
When Tyson became host, he added a final segment in which he would add his own observations on the topic. At the end of this editorial, he always states, "And that... is the cosmic perspective."
The series has been nominated for four Emmy Awards and won a CINE Golden Eagle award.
Cast
Host Robert Krulwich left the program at the end of the first season. He was replaced by astrophysicist Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson, director of the Hayden Planetarium. In addition to the host, several correspondents report on many of the individual stories including Peter Standring, Chad Cohen, Ziya Tong, Carla Wohl, Rebecca Skloot, and David Duncan. David Pogue is the host of the show's sixth season.
Seasons
| Season | Episodes | Premiere | Finale | Summary | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | January 25, 2005 | January 10, 2006 | ||||
| 2 | 5 | October 9, 2006 | July 24, 2007 | ||||
| 3 | 6 | June 25, 2008 | July 30, 2008 | ||||
| 4 | 8 | June 30, 2009 | September 1, 2009 | ||||
| 5 | 6 | January 19, 2011 | February 23, 2011 | ||||
| 6 | 6 | October 10, 2012 | November 14, 2012 |
Episodes
Season 1 (2005–06)
| No. in series |
No. in series |
Title | Original air date | Production code |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "Mirror Neurons, Hurricanes, Profile: James McLurkin, Booming Sands, Kinetic Sculptor and Conundrum" | January 25, 2005 | 3204 |
| 2 | 2 | "Little People of Flores, T. rex, Profile: Naomi Halas, Stem Cells and Frozen Frogs" | April 19, 2005 | 3209 |
| 3 | 3 | "Fuel cells, RNAi, Fastest Glacier and Profile: Brothers Chudnovsky" | July 26, 2005 | 3210 |
| 4 | 4 | "Artificial Life, Lightning, Profile: Erich Jarvis, Fish Surgery, Don't Ask the Expert: Neil deGrasse Tyson and Hurricane Katrina" | October 18, 2005 | 3214 |
| 5 | 5 | "10th Planet, Twin Prime Conjecture, Ivory-Billed Woodpecker, Pandemic Flu, Lab Meat?, Stem Cells Update, Stronger Hurricanes and Profile: Tyler Curiel" |
January 10, 2006 | 3302 |
Season 2 (2006–07)
| No. in series |
No. in series |
Title | Original air date | Production code |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 1 | "Asteroid, Island of Stability, Obesity and Profile: Karl Iagnemma" | October 3, 2006 | 3313 |
| 7 | 2 | "1918 Flu, Mass Extinction, Papyrus and Profile: Cynthia Breazeal" | November 21, 2006 | 3318 |
| 8 | 3 | "Aging, Space Elevator, Maya and Profile: Bonnie Bassler" | January 9, 2007 | 3401 |
| 9 | 4 | "Sleep, CERN, Emergence and Profile: Julie Schablitsky" | July 10, 2007 | 3410 |
| 10 | 5 | "T. Rex Blood?, Epigenetics, Kryptos and Profile: Arlie Petters" | July 24, 2007 | 3411 |
Season 3 (2008)
| No. in series |
No. in season |
Title | Original air date | Production code |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | 1 | "Dark Matter, Of Mice and Memory, Profile: Hany Farid and Wisdom of the Crowds" | June 25, 2008 | 301 |
| 12 | 2 | "Personal DNA Testing, Art Authentication, Capturing Carbon and Profile: Pardis Sabeti" | July 2, 2008 | 302 |
| 13 | 3 | "Saving Hubble, First Primates, Profile: Alfredo Quiñones-Hinojosa and Killer Microbe" | July 9, 2008 | 303 |
| 14 | 4 | "Bird Brains, Space Storms, Profile: Yoky Matsuoka and Smart Bridges" | July 16, 2008 | 304 |
| 15 | 5 | "Leeches, The Search for ET, Stem Cells Breakthrough and Profile: Edith Widder" | July 23, 2008 | 305 |
| 16 | 6 | "Phoenix Mars Lander, Brain Trauma, Mammoth Mystery and Profile: Judah Folkman" | July 30, 2008 | 306 |
Season 4 (2009)
| No. in series |
No. in season |
Title | Original air date | Production code |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 | 1 | "Diamond Factory, Anthrax Investigation, Auto-Tune and Profile: Luis von Ahn" | June 30, 2009 | 401 |
| 18 | 2 | "Hunt for Alien Earths, Art Authentication, Profile: Maydianne Andrade and Autism Genes" | July 7, 2009 | 402 |
| 19 | 3 | "Marathon Mouse, Dinosaur Plague, Profile: Franklin Chang-Diaz and Space Storms" | July 14, 2009 | 403 |
| 20 | 4 | "Picky Eaters, Capturing Carbon, Sea Lions and Walruses and Profile: Sangeeta Bhatia" | July 21, 2009 | 404 |
| 21 | 5 | "Moon Smasher, Secrets in the Salt, Bird Brains and Profile: Lonnie Thompson" | July 28, 2009 | 405 |
| 22 | 6 | "Public Genomes, Algae Fuel, Arctic Ocean Seafloor and Profile: Yoky Matsuoka" | August 18, 2009 | 406 |
| 23 | 7 | "Saving Hubble Update, Gangster Birds, Profile: Alfredo Quiñones-Hinojosa and How Memory Works" | August 25, 2009 | 407 |
| 24 | 8 | "Sleep, First Primates, Earthquakes in the Midwest and Profile: Sang-Mook Lee" | September 1, 2009 | 408 |
Season 5 (2011)
| No. in series |
No. in season |
Title | Original air date | Production code |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 | 1 | "Can We Make It to Mars?" | January 19, 2011 | 501 |
| 26 | 2 | "Can We Live Forever?" | January 26, 2011 | 502 |
| 27 | 3 | "How Does the Brain Work?" | February 2, 2011 | 503 |
| 28 | 4 | "How Smart Are Animals?" | February 9, 2011 | 504 |
| 29 | 5 | "Where Did We Come From?" | February 16, 2011 | 505 |
| 30 | 6 | "What's the Next Big Thing?" | February 23, 2011 | 506 |
Season 6 (2012)
| No. in series |
No. in season |
Title | Original air date | Production code |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 31 | 1 | "What Makes Us Human?" | October 10, 2012 | 601 |
| 32 | 2 | "Can Science Stop Crime?" | October 17, 2012 | 602 |
| 33 | 3 | "How Smart Can We Get? feat. USA Memory Champion Chester Santos" | October 24, 2012 | 603 |
| 34 | 4 | "Can I Eat That?" | October 31, 2012 | 604 |
| 35 | 5 | "What Are Animals Thinking?" | November 7, 2012 | 605 |
| 36 | 6 | "What Will The Future Be Like?" | November 14, 2012 | 606 |
Reception
NOVΛ scienceNOW has received generally positive reviews from television critics and parents of young children. New York Daily News wrote, "★★★★ Lightyears from the norm."