Q.E.D. (BBC TV series)

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Q.E.D.
BBC QED logo.jpg
Q.E.D. title card
Country of origin United Kingdom
Production
Executive producer(s) Mick Rhodes (1982–84), David Filkin (1985–91), Simon Campbell-Jones (1992), Susan Spindler (1993–94), Tim Haines (1994), Lorraine Heggessey (1995–97), Michael Mosley (1998–99)
Producer(s)
  • Alec Nisbett
  • Liz Tucker
  • Emma Walker
  • John Hayes-Fisher
  • Andrew Thompson
Running time 30 min
Release
Original network BBC1
Picture format PAL
Original release 1982 –
1999

Q.E.D. (quod erat demonstrandum, Latin for "that which was to be demonstrated") was the name of a strand of BBC popular science documentary films which aired in the United Kingdom from 1982 to 1999.[1]

Format

Running in a half hour peak-time slot on the BBC's primary mass-audience channel BBC1, the series had a more populist and general interest agenda than the long-running Horizon series which aired on the more specialist channel BBC2.

Horizon could often be difficult for a scientific novice, requiring a modicum of background knowledge beyond the reaches of many viewers, so Q.E.D. was a more approachable way of introducing scientific stories.

Some notable films

  • A Guide to Armageddon (1982) – the effects of a one megaton nuclear bomb being exploded over London.
  • Simon's War (1983) – the life of Simon Weston, who suffered serious burns in the Falklands War.
  • "Big Brother's Little Test" (1983) - How reliable is polygraphy, the use of lie-detectors? Can the innocent be unjustly condemned? Can the guilty beat them?
  • "In at the Deep End" (1984) - An experiment in which divers spent 9 days at simulated depths of up to 1000 feet, breathing a mixture of hydrogen and oxygen.
  • Round Britain Whizz (1986) – A sped up flight around the coastline of Britain
  • The Foolish Wise Ones (1987) – A look at the talents and worlds of Autistic Savants, such as Stephen Wiltshire
  • With a Goal in Mind (1988) – A sport psychologist works with First Division Queen's Park Rangers for a period of six weeks.
  • John's Not Mad (1989) – following a 15-year-old boy with severe Tourette syndrome.
  • My Best Friend's a Computer (1990) – Exploring the effects of computers on the emotional development of children.
  • Nerve Transplant (1997) – exploring the work of a unique nerve transplant surgeon, bringing back movement to the limbs of previously paralysed patients.
  • Superspecs (1997) – following the travels of a British inventor around Ghana with a pair of glasses made for just a dollar that he is convinced could save the sight of millions.
  • The Burning Question (1998) – on spontaneous human combustion
  • Breathless (1998) – investigating the Buteyko method for treating asthma.

See also

  • EquinoxChannel 4 popular science series, last aired in 2001.
  • Horizon – comparable BBC2 strand, on air since 1964.
  • Nova – documentary series on PBS in the United States, which often bought in and re-voiced Equinox and Horizon films.

References

  1. BBC ditches QED branding, Broadcast, 24 September 1999.

External links