❉ Join James Burke on his landmark journey of discovery, and learn how everyone and everything in this world is connected.
Simply Media have announced the release of the long sought-after ‘Connections’: The Complete Series on DVD for the first time.
Originally shown by the BBC in 1978, this fascinating and highly regarded ten-part documentary series is presented by the brilliant science historian, author and television producer / broadcaster James Burke, who rose to fame on the BBC science series Tomorrow’s World. Burke’s visible knowledge and enthusiasm for his subject matter, intensity and sharp wit helped keep viewers enthralled and coming back for more with every fact-filled episode.
The series was acclaimed for its fantastic direction by the multi-award winning Mick Jackson (The Bodyguard), who created a visual spectacle boasting cinematography only seen in films at the time. It was unlike anything ever seen before in TV science programming – or since. Known for his groundbreaking productions, Jackson would go on to direct the critically acclaimed, and visually stunning, triple BAFTA-winning Threads in 1984. ‘Connections’ also proved to be hugely popular when it aired on PBS in USA in 1979, becoming one of the most watched shows aired at the time.
‘Connections’ captivated audiences by tracing the historical relationships between invention and discovery, showing how seemingly completely unrelated scientific achievements, discoveries and world events were in fact interconnected and built from one another successively in a way which led to the development of the modern technologies that surround us today.
Each episode is brimming with information chronicling individual stories of technological development, opening with a particular innovation or event of the past. It traces its timeline through a series of seemingly unrelated ‘Connections’ that led to it being responsible for becoming one of the fundamental parts of the modern world, and shaped the way people think and behave. This format proved popular with viewers, making a programme on science feel more like a detective story.
The series was also famed for its unconventional use of historical re-enactments and intricate working models to bring the stories to life. The production was truly ambitious in its scale, covering 19 countries and 150 locations, taking over 14 months to film, and covering over 12,000 years of history – rarely seen in documentaries made at that time.
From how nautical instruments of Elizabethan times give rise to the atom bomb, to what links Britain’s textile mills to the Information Age and the creation of the computer, Burke dissects the inception of things we often take for granted in very surprising ways.
Become engrossed once again in James Burke’s world of wonders and learn of “An Alternative View of Change” in this revolutionary series.
‘Connections’: The Complete Series will be released on DVD by Simply Media on 6 February 2017.
❉ News source: Simply Media
❉ Simply Media is one the UK’s leading DVD publishers and licensors of classic entertainment from the BBC, Channel 4, Hollywood Classics, MGM, Universal Pictures, Imperial War Museum, and many other high-quality producers.
Is the Connections DVDs from England playable on USA dvd players