To be fair, he could have had another crack at it two weeks later when Voyager 1 launched. ( dont ask me why they did it that way, maybe in charge of numbering, Yoda was.)
10 Likes
It is an amazing show by any measure. I have all 3 seasons on VHS
Ironically I no longer have a VHS player however
10 Likes
I have often said in the intervening decades that colleges should spend a day of orientation week for new students just showing episodes of Connections. It shows that nothing is inevitable yet unintended uses build upon each other, and that seemingly worthless advances in one field can yield amazing results somewhere else.
The greatest value often derives from an intersection of talents.
9 Likes
Such a great show. The lapels might be a bit long for our age (or, coming back in style?) but the content is amazing and beautifully told. We need a GAN/ML high res project on this stat! We watched these w my kids and they loved it.
And the shot was amazing. Had to be an instantaneous launch window (ie go right. now. or try again tomorrow). Imagine if it had blown up…
Now I’ll do my once a year search for an earlier (?) show called Mechanical Universe, which had some lovely early computer graphics iirc.
2 Likes
4 Likes
I don’t think that the Saturn V is located where you could easily see the launch … The Saturn V is closer to SLC 37 (one of the Saturn pads) than to SLC 41 where the Voyager missions were launched.
The launch pad that appears at 0:26 and the one that appears at 0:44 don’t look at all the same, but the juxtaposition invites a viewer to assume that they are the same. So simple, so effective, so sneaky.
Somebody involved with this really knew how to communicate visually. It would be easy for a viewer to take that skill and effort for granted, since the most successful tricks like this won’t be noticed or remembered as tricks at all.
3 Likes
I’m sure glad they stretched it out to 16:9 proportions. I couldn’t appreciate it otherwise.
3 Likes
I just discovered the entire series is available on Archive.org…
He starts right off by talking about the way the uncontrolled spread of unintended consequences through a complexly interconnected world puts us all at the mercy of the whims and mistakes of strangers and experts - from the roof of the World Trade Center. Oof. Wow.
Thanks much for the link; I’ve seen many snippets of this show but I’m not sure I ever had the chance to sit down and watch it for real.
10 Likes
He’d’ve had to sprint like a cheetah to get from the Saturn V display to the viewing plaza.
2 Likes
For Burke and his UK audience these associations were likely a natural follow-on from the mention of Von Braun:
9 Likes
I don’t want to destroy your beliefs, but in that case he would still be waiting for the launch. Replace it with “Swiss” or “Japanese train system”, and the sentence makes much more sense.
5 Likes
Connections 3 was also great.
Now, does anyone else remember the Myst-a-like Connections adventure game? It’s worth playing just for the closing shot of James Burke in Ghostbusters gear shooting Chaos with a proton pack.
4 Likes
“Voyager 2 launched on Aug. 20, 1977, about two weeks before the Sept. 5 launch of Voyager 1. Why the reversal of order? The two were sent on different trajectories, and Voyager 1 was put on a path to reach its planetary targets, Jupiter and Saturn, ahead of Voyager 2.”
9 Likes
I thought I was the only one!
2 Likes
Possibly the best doc series about history ever made. I think this is the way all history should be taught. I wonder if they could convince him to do a 4th series?
3 Likes
Heh; I think I was thinking of the Swiss trains. I’m used to Toronto transit, which is generally 20 minutes late, so I’m sure even the German trains would be more punctual.
2 Likes
9 Likes
“Cut! Sorry, James. You were just a bit behind and the rocket ignited before you finished the line. Ok, everyone, let’s reset. Get that rocket back here.” (Someone whispers to the director) ”I see. Ok, I’ve been told I apparently haven’t been listening to James very closely or else I would have known there’s no turning that rocket off. It’s a wrap, people."
3 Likes
I dunno. I’m starting to get used to vertical video, I had to rescale it to 9:16
2 Likes
Confused… Not sure why this is more amazing than a 30 foot jumper in the final second of a tie game, or a walk-off home run? Sure Burke nailed it, that is why he was on TV and not you… Folks nail it all the time, it is called being the groove.
1 Like
