''Nova ScienceNow'' (styled ''NOVΛ scienceNOW'') is a spinoff of the long-running and venerable

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...

science program ''

Nova A nova (plural novae or novas) is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparently "new" star (hence the name "nova", which is Latin for "new") that slowly fades over weeks or months. Causes of the dramati ...

''. Premiering on January 25, 2005, the series was originally hosted by

Robert Krulwich Robert Louis Krulwich (born August 5, 1947) is an American radio and television journalist who currently serves as a science correspondent for NPR and was a co-host of the program ''Radiolab''. He has worked as a full-time employee of ABC, CBS ...

, who described it as an experiment in coverage of "breaking

science Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence for ...

, science that's right out of the lab, science that sometimes bumps up against

politics Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...

art Art is a diverse range of human activity, and resulting product, that involves creative or imaginative talent expressive of technical proficiency, beauty, emotional power, or conceptual ideas. There is no generally agreed definition of wha ...

culture Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups.Tyl ...

". At the beginning of season two,

Neil deGrasse Tyson Neil deGrasse Tyson ( or ; born October 5, 1958) is an American astrophysicist, author, and science communicator. Tyson studied at Harvard University, the University of Texas at Austin, and Columbia University. From 1991 to 1994, he was a po ...

replaced Krulwich as the show's host. Tyson announced he would leave the show and was replaced by

David Pogue David Welch Pogue (born March 9, 1963) is an American technology and science writer and TV presenter. He is an Emmy-winning correspondent for ''CBS News Sunday Morning'' and author of the "Crowdwise" column in ''The New York Times'' Smarter Livi ...

in season 6. The show was originally intended to return with more new episodes in 2015.

Production

Unlike the parent program ''Nova'', ''Nova ScienceNow'' has a whimsical production style. It is not unusual for the show to explain topics as arcane as

RNA interference RNA interference (RNAi) is a biological process in which RNA molecules are involved in sequence-specific suppression of gene expression by double-stranded RNA, through translational or transcriptional repression. Historically, RNAi was known by o ...

using

cartoons A cartoon is a type of visual art that is typically drawn, frequently animated, in an unrealistic or semi-realistic style. The specific meaning has evolved over time, but the modern usage usually refers to either: an image or series of images ...

, or a solution to a two-thousand-year-old math problem related in song. Whereas ''

'' covered a single seamless subject in each hour-long episode, ''NOVA scienceNOW'' covers several related, but distinct, story segments during the course of each program. The show also features 30⁠–⁠60 second short segments between each story segment, taking the place and pace of

commercials A television advertisement (also called a television commercial, TV commercial, commercial, spot, television spot, TV spot, advert, television advert, TV advert, television ad, TV ad or simply an ad) is a span of television programming produce ...

in an otherwise uninterrupted program flow. The show's humor turns on cultural references aimed at viewers from a broad spectrum of age groups. These references, for example, come from movies, TV, music, history, literature, and of course, science. Following the whimsical format, the show's animators often place

joke A joke is a display of humour in which words are used within a specific and well-defined narrative structure to make people laughter, laugh and is usually not meant to be interpreted literally. It usually takes the form of a story, often with ...

s or sight gags into the show's background via humorous or incongruous bits of text in signs, newspapers, etc. These gags are intentionally subtle and meant to be difficult to recognize, presumably as a challenge to the viewer's observational skills. When Tyson became host, he added a final segment in which he would add his own observations on the topic. At the end of this editorial, he always states, "And ''that''... is the cosmic perspective." The series has been nominated for four

Emmy Awards The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

and won a

CINE Golden Eagle Ciné film or cine film is the term commonly used in the UK and historically in the US to refer to the 8 mm, Super 8, 9.5 mm, and 16 mm motion picture film formats used for home movies. It is not normally used to refer t ...

award.

Cast

Host

left the program at the end of the first season. He was replaced by astrophysicist Dr.

, director of the

Hayden Planetarium The Rose Center for Earth and Space is a part of the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. The Center's complete name is The Frederick Phineas and Sandra Priest Rose Center for Earth and Space. The main entrance is located on the no ...

. In addition to the host, several correspondents report on many of the individual stories including Peter Standring, Chad Cohen, Ziya Tong, Carla Wohl,

Rebecca Skloot Rebecca L. Skloot (born September 19, 1972) is an American science writer who specializes in science and medicine.Jessica Teisch, "Floyd Skloot & Rebecca Skloot", in '' Bookmarks'', May/June 2010. Her first book, '' The Immortal Life of Henriet ...

, and David Duncan.

is the host of the show's sixth season.

Seasons

Episodes

Season 1 (2005–06)

Season 2 (2006–07)

Season 3 (2008)

Season 4 (2009)

Season 5 (2011)

Season 6 (2012)

Reception

''NOVΛ scienceNOW'' has received generally positive reviews from television critics and parents of young children. ''

New York Daily News The New York ''Daily News'', officially titled the ''Daily News'', is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, NJ. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in ta ...

'' wrote, "★★★★ Lightyears from the norm."

References

External links

''Nova ScienceNow'' Home page
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nova Sciencenow PBS original programming Television series by WGBH 2005 American television series debuts 2012 American television series endings 2000s American documentary television series 2010s American documentary television series English-language television shows American television spin-offs