I’m leaving for FROG tomorrow so only a very short post today. I recently watched the first episode of Bad Universe. It’s a new TV Show by one of my favorite astronomy bloggers Phil Plait. Here is a preview.
I’m a big fan of Phil’s work. I’ve read Death from the Skies
and loved it. And generally I’m a big space geek anyway. So… I was somehow disappointed by the show.
The worst part is that I can’t really put my finger on it. Phil is a funny guy and does a great job at explaining complicated things. It seemed to me like his humor didn’t work very well in the show. His lines were often prepared in advance. Spontaneous gags were cut together. It seemed a bit stiff and contrived. Compared to something like the Mythbusters he might be simply missing a second person.
There were also other things that bothered me such as the experiments and how it wasn’t always that clear what they were supposed to prove. The CGI effects were used way too frequently considering their quality. The comic look of the title seemed goofy too.
But maybe it’s just the awkwardness of the first episode. I really hope Phil and the crew will find their groove in the episodes to come. Until then, in regards of space science shows, the Brits seemed to have found the perfect tone with Wonders of the Solar System.
