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''Nova ScienceNow'' (styled ''NOVΛ scienceNOW'') is a spinoff of the long-running and venerable PBS science program '' Nova''. Premiering on January 25, 2005, the series was originally hosted by Robert Krulwich, 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 ...
, 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,
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 ...
". At the beginning of season two, Neil deGrasse Tyson replaced Krulwich as the show's host. Tyson announced he would leave the show and was replaced by David Pogue 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 using cartoons, or a solution to a two-thousand-year-old math problem related in song. Whereas '' Nova'' 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 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 jokes 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 and won a CINE Golden Eagle award.


Cast

Host Robert Krulwich left the program at the end of the first season. He was replaced by astrophysicist Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson, 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, and David Duncan. David Pogue 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'' 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