Connections (British TV series)
An alternative view of historical change through interconnected inventions.
James Burke, a British science historian, created, wrote, and hosted the TV series Connections. Directed by Mick Jackson for the BBC, it aired in 1978 in the UK and 1979 in the US. The show used an interdisciplinary lens to link inventions, discoveries, and historical events, showing how they built upon each other to shape modern technology.
Quick Facts
- Genre
- Science education
- Writer
- James Burke
- Director
- Mick Jackson
- Mike Slee
- Charles Mapleston
- Anthony Willis
- Luke Bellis
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Language
- English
- Series
- 4
- Episodes
- 46
- Runtime
- 50 minutes (22 min, Series 2)
Facts from the source article.
Content
Connections presents an "Alternative View of Change" that rejects conventional linear and teleological views of historical progress. Burke argues that no piece of the modern world can be considered in isolation; instead, the modern world results from a web of interconnected events, each driven by individuals acting for their own motivations—such as profit, curiosity, or religion—without any concept of the final modern outcome. The interplay of these isolated events drives history and innovation. Each episode begins with a past event or innovation and traces a path through seemingly unrelated connections to a fundamental aspect of modern technology. For example, "The Long Chain" traces the invention of plastics from the development of the fluyt, a Dutch cargo ship. Burke also explores three corollaries: that predicting future technological progress is mere conjecture; that as history progresses, the number of events and innovations increases, accelerating the process of change; and that this acceleration raises questions about individual power, liberty, and privacy.
Episodes
The original 1978 Connections series consisted of ten episodes and had a companion book published around the time the middle of the series aired. The book was likely written in parallel to the series and released after postproduction editing. It was re-released in 1995, 1998, and 2007 in hardcover or softcover editions. The television series and companion volumes vary in content, with the book covering some topics in greater depth and breadth than the episodes. A new series titled Connections with James Burke premiered on Curiosity Stream on 9 November 2023.
Related works
A companion book for the first series was written by Burke and published by Little, Brown and Company. The first three Connections series have been released as DVD box sets in the US, and the ten episodes of series one were released in Europe (Region 2) on 6 February 2017. Burke wrote a recurring column for Scientific American that explored the history of science and ideas; these columns were collated into a book in 1995. He also produced The Day the Universe Changed in 1985, a similar documentary series. Richard Hammond's Engineering Connections and Latif Nasser's Connected TV series follow a similar format. A Myst-style computer game titled Connections, featuring James Burke, was released in 1995 and was a runner-up for Computer Gaming World's best "Classics/Puzzles" game award. A clip from the episode "Yesterday, Tomorrow and You" appears in the 2016 video game The Witness.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes of Connections (British TV series) are there?
Connections has 46 episodes across 4 seasons.
When did Connections (British TV series) first air?
Connections first aired on 17 October 1978.
When did Connections (British TV series) end?
Connections last aired on 19 December 1978.
More in 1970s British Documentary Television Series
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