Customer Reviews

The Day The Universe Changed

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you're reading this, chances are you already know about James Burke masterworks of Connections 1 and The Day The Universe Changed, and are finally looking to own this magnificent collection on DVD, but I will try to help those not familiar with the series to understand what all the fuss is about. I will also try to update the review with a description of the product's video and sound quality once I've watched a few episodes, but I know the content well enough to review it now, having watched it on old video tapes twice within the last few years.

If you haven't watched TDTUC yet, I envy you. To see this series for the first time is a treat. Television production values have changed since this was filmed in the early 1980's, but in case you are not used to watching 26 year old British documentaries, please do not quickly judge this material based on the music, costumes or James' classic green outfit, as some reviews for Connections have done. This isn't going to be high-def, back-and-forth action, nor does it need to be. In fact, if you're like most who watch this, it will draw you in slowly. You will initially think you are learning about science and inventions, but by the closing credits of final episode World's Without End, you will probably have become a somewhat-changed person, learning about history, culture, as well as why things were invented, or often just stumbled upon. The series defies any existing class or style of documentary -- it is unique.

To be sure, both Connections and TDTUC are "a personal view by James Burke", but if you want to debate his research and the fascinating, sometimes humorous nature of the stories and demonstrations, you will have to come well prepared. James' most controversial idea might be technological development has run amok, and that we depend upon it too much, but I see this balanced by the rest of the series' emphasis on what amazing and useful things that inventions have done. In the end, I don't think he offers a clear answer, as there can be none.

I also found it interesting all of the places they were allowed to film -- I doubt a similar documentary crew today would be given the same access to various military or research premises, for example.

Though one might think the list price of $150 USD (current Amazon list is $135) is expensive, I don't think you can value this set as you might with most movies. You will almost certainly want -- perhaps need -- to watch it a couple of times as it is one of those series where you won't catch it all on the first pass. And as indicated in many reviews, it is highly educational, but also highly entertaining. I am not purchasing a lot of DVD's today, anticipating the upcoming dominance of BluRay format movies and documentaries, but I am not waiting to own this on DVD.

UPDATE: Video quality and sound are very good, and seemed to have been mastered from broadcast tape. Episode 1's opening has the slight bit of video noise, and the rising sun seems slightly blurry, but seconds later as the program gets going, the video is sharp. I've always been able to see a slight difference between DVD's 450 lines of resolution, and super-VHS 420 lines in other recorded media, and I'd estimate the quality of TDTUC to be the latter. If that worries some, believe me it's far better than any VHS copy you would have. Sound is also very clear. In some of the vignettes, I can now understand for the first time some of the mumbling or quiet talking as the characters interact behind James' voice. Absolutely worth the money, which as of this update, just went down to $119 per copy.

There are no extras, and perhaps not surprisingly, no subtitles or really any other kind of DVD features you'd expect to see with movies. The publisher Ambrose DVD seems to have obtained the rights from BBC to make these DVD's, and I am guessing they did not have the budget for extras?? Still, a nice intro from James would have been appreciated. But I cannot lower the product's score because of any of this. 5/5 stars.

I have adored this work for a couple of decades. I, of course, remember it when it aired originally on Public Broadcasting. I have had to make do with the companion book for many years until a VERY costly version came out on video cassette and was available at my local library for me to eagerly watch.

I think I'm so crazy about the series because I believe 'The Day the Universe Change' is the reason I can call myself marginally intelligent about both history and science. James Burke's creations (this and his earlier work 'Connections' have made me love both subjects equally because of his marvelous documentaries.

The genius of this program is that it draws you into the story and makes you start to think about how a people's (a society's) perspective come about. Among all the deep thinking is a roller coaster ride (literally) of all kinds of objects and people and events that have you laughing and, occasionally, saddened, by the curious behaviors that humans are capable of.

I mightily recommend this program, and only wish I could have gotten my hands on it earlier.

I swear that James Burke could make watching paint dry interesting. I never thought I would see this series on DVD. When I first found it on an education web site for $900 I was very tempted to buy it. (But knew the wife would kill me if I did)
I don't know why it takes 3 weeks to get from Amazon, but it was well worth the wait.
I really enjoyes the historical recreations and felt like I was walking through time seeing how things we take for granted today really did change the way we see the world and the universe.

James Burke is a fellow you would love to have at your dinner party. Affable, articulate, avuncular, with his friendly nimbus of windblown hair crowning a broad forehead with dark thick eyebrows behind heavy framed glasses, his impeccable Oxford diction coddling every phrase with dry wit and charming colloquialisms, he is the perfect paragon of the beloved college professor. You and your guests would never be bored because he can talk agreeably about, well... everything.
Art, architecture, astronomy, biology, chemistry, physics, math, medicine, languages, philosophy, social movements, political history - you name it. Other than in your living room or in a classroom, there is no better place for James Burke than on television.
From its earliest days, psychologists have been skeptical of television's suitability for education because the medium plays to a passive audience and is not designed for the mind's active participation. This view is valid as far as it goes but may slight the power of drama to edify, of well-executed productions to transport and the appeal of charismatic individuals to engage the imagination.
Burke enjoyed a long association with the British Broadcasting Corporation, commencing in 1966, both behind and in front of the camera. In July 1969 he covered the Apollo 11 moon landing for the BBC. From 1996 to 2001 he wrote a regular final page column for "Scientific American" magazine. His discourses maintained a chatty air, constructed with a satisfying circularity, beginning with a fascinating scientific observation, retreating to a salient historical moment, retracing steps and knitting up stitches until returning to his original point. He followed this general outline in four popular science and technology programs for the BBC and PBS networks.
In 1978, "Connections", Burke's series about discovery and inventions, aired in 10 half hour episodes. The 20 segments of "Connections 2" appeared in 1994, with 10 more parts arriving as "Connections 3" in 1997.
In 1985, "The Day The Universe Changed" followed a more leisurely pace, highlighting the social and philosophical ideas that influenced science history in 10 one-hour episodes. Its central premise is that we are "what we know" and that our definition of "knowledge" and our means of ascertaining it arise from cultural frameworks that change over time. The series features:
1. "The Way We Are" The birth of rationalism. Thales of Miletus and the Ionian Greeks begin to see nature as impersonal and explainable in its own terms rather than as a product of supernatural agencies.
2. "In the Light of the Above" The fall of Toledo to 11th century Spanish crusaders yields vast accumulations of ancient learning previously lost to European culture that had been preserved by the Islamic civilization. After a century and a half of translation efforts, medieval scholars gain enough knowledge to found universities and launch the Renaissance.
3. "Point of View" The recovery of the principles of perspective drawing initiates new approaches in art and architecture. Grid lines applied to cartography enable maritime exploration of the African coastline and the discovery of the New World.
4. "A Matter of Fact" Gutenberg's invention of the moveable type printing press banishes human memory as the repository of wisdom, engenders the spread of literacy, empowers free communication of ideas, transforms the meaning of factual information, and undermines the authority of the Church.
5. "Infinitely Reasonable" Copernicus overturns Aristotle's celestial notions that had dominated scholastic thought for nearly 1900 years by locating the sun at the center of the universe. Kepler and Galileo confirm the Copernican worldview through observation and experiment. Newton's "Principia Mathematica" demonstrates in precise mathematical language the laws of motion and gravitation that explain the mechanics of the observable universe.
6. "Credit Where It's Due" Great Britain adopts the Dutch banking and credit system that provides the capital to build canals, harness steam power, spur technological invention, expand factory production, distribute goods to broader markets, transfer labor from farms to cities, and create the Industrial Revolution.
7. "What the Doctor Ordered" The work of surgeons and the survival rate of their patients is improved by the invention of anesthesia and the discovery that deadly sepsis is caused by microorganisms that can be destroyed during medical procedures and controlled during recuperation. Chronic outbreaks of cholera, typhoid and plague are traced to their sources in contaminated water and city planners learn to separate sewage from water intended for consumption.
8. "Fit To Rule" Advances in zoology and comparative anatomy applied to collections of fossils lead to recognition that past species have become extinct. The new science of geology proves that the Earth is far more ancient than anyone knew. Wallace and Darwin propose theories of evolution to explain the diversity and inter-relationships of species. Darwin's ideas are appropriated by social theorists to rationalize utopian ideals.
9. "Making Waves" Electromagnetic phenomena, the wave theory of light, and the discovery of sub-atomic particles force a reevaluation of Newtonian classical physics. Einstein's ideas on gravity and relativity, along with the application of probability theory to quantum mechanics, lead present day physicists to increasingly complex models of the fabric of nature.
10. "Worlds Without End" What is reality? Different societies coexisting in the modern world apprehend different structures of reality. Is there anything objective and ultimate that human beings can universally accept?
With impressive geographic scope, "The Day The Universe Changed" was filmed in the locations where the events occurred that precipitated conceptual departures, often depicted in realistic mini-dramas with period costumes and authentic props. It is James Burke himself, however, who stands front and center, narrator, guide, exhibitor, storyteller, and wit. We are "what we know". "The Day The Universe Changed" is James Burke.

This series is all about ideas. Big ideas. It's about how the Western World got to be the way it is. And if you think it was all due to wars and politics, this series will open your eyes. I taped it years ago off the air and have since watched it over and over and still am not tired of it. I was starting to despair that it would never make it to DVD. You will see some things that now appear dated, like what Burke has for a personal computer. Other things, though, are timeless, like how we all live up to our necks in debt. That said, $135 is still a bit steep for me, but I think I'll get it anyway. I'm curious about how good a transfer the video is. The series was all shot on location in gorgeous places around the world, so I would like it to be good. But it has to be better than my grainy old VHS tapes.

EDIT 2010: Well, I did buy the DVD set and I still watch it frequently. James Burke is such a sane voice to hear in today's turbulent world. (It was turbulent then, too.) And yes, the video quality is good, but not fantastic. I already look forward to the day when computers can extrapolate the details and bring this to full high-res wide-screen. But for now, I like to watch it in 14:9 mode and it looks good. Quite good.

Another note... It's absolutely true that there are no movie subtitles, but it does have Close Captioning. If you turn on CC on your TV, you will see the text in black boxes. A big plus for getting those unfamiliar exotic names. ... So much to learn. So much to enjoy.

My husband and I loved this series when it came out in the 80's. When I investigated purchasing the video tapes - the company that owned the rights charged a fortune, so we were out of luck. It just happens I was looking for a gift for Father's Day and put in a search on Amazon - yeah! there it was and on DVD. My husband was surprised and very pleased to receive the series.

James Burke has a talent for explaining the thread of scientific discovery over time and it's impact on society and culture. If you love science or history you will enjoy this series.

I remember seeing this series when I was in high school. It's just as eye-opening and inspiring now as it was then. While Burke's fashion-sense may have dated - his explanations as to how simple (or shall we say "taken for granted") advances and discoveries have changed the very way we think and the way society operates. Buy this for an eye-opening "big picture" so often overlooked on how science, technology, engineering and philosopy have influenced our lives and the world around us.

I have looked for this PBS series for years. A capsulated look, with plenty of visuals, of the western advances in science, logic and commerce. A bit pricey, but worth every penny. Amazing!

James Burke has a special gift of explaining science and history in a interesting way. I've been trying to complete my James Burke sets since 1981 and this was the frosting on the cake. I passed Physics in college in an excellerated program thanks to James Burke and his wonderful series.
I'd recomed all of them that you can find. I'd give it 10 stars if I could.

I was 15 when this series originally aired on PBS and while I do have some well-worn video copies of the original series, I am anxiously awaiting the delivery of this dvd set. At the time, I was trudging through my tedious high school years unaware of some of the great stories of history and how we got to where we are today. At the end of each hour of Day the Universe Changed, well, my universe changed and it was so much fun. I highly recommend it.