Sonda was a Polish television popular science series broadcast between 1977 and 1989. It was presented by economist Zdzisław Kamiński and physicist Andrzej Kurek. During the period of 12 years of broadcasting, the programme was the most popular and appreciated science TV show in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

, becoming cult viewing for a generation. The program ended with the death of its hosts in a car accident on September 29, 1989. The programme owes its popularity to its unique formula: in each episode, one particular problem from the field of science or technology was addressed. The show had the form of a “never-ending” discussion between a sceptic and an enthusiast (Kamiński and Kurek), who carried out hands-on demonstrations and experiments to illustrate their arguments. The discussion contained elements of humour and performance: the hosts were often dressed up in costumes. The show was interspersed with documentary footage presenting a broader view of the issues discussed.

Production

A total of 529 episodes were broadcast. Most of the broadcast tapes have been erased (reused for newer episodes). The programme is notable for its use of music, much of it by electronic music artists such as

Vangelis Evangelos Odysseas Papathanassiou ( el, Ευάγγελος Οδυσσέας Παπαθανασίου ; 29 March 1943 – 17 May 2022), known professionally as Vangelis ( ; el, Βαγγέλης, links=no ), was a Greek composer and arranger of ...

and

Jean-Michel Jarre Jean-Michel André Jarre (; born 24 August 1948) is a French composer, performer and record producer. He is a pioneer in the electronic, ambient and new-age genres, and is known for organising outdoor spectacles featuring his music, accompani ...

, or by artists associated with the Sonoton Production Music Library label. The theme tune was a slightly shortened version of an instrumental piece called "Visitation", composed and recorded in 1971 by

Mike Vickers Michael Graham Vickers (born 18 April 1940) is an English musician who came to prominence as the guitarist, flautist, and saxophonist with the 1960s band Manfred Mann. He was born in Staines-upon-Thames, Surrey. At the age of seven, his famil ...

(a former member of

Manfred Mann Manfred Mann were an English rock band, formed in London and active between 1962 and 1969. The group were named after their keyboardist Manfred Mann, who later led the successful 1970s group Manfred Mann's Earth Band. The band had two diffe ...

). The opening and end titles of later editions were prepared by Kurek using his

ZX Spectrum The ZX Spectrum () is an 8-bit home computer that was developed by Sinclair Research. It was released in the United Kingdom on 23 April 1982, and became Britain's best-selling microcomputer. Referred to during development as the ''ZX81 Colou ...

External links

Official page of "Sonda", author: Tomasz Pyć (one of creators of the program)

The surviving episodes of Sonda
Polish educational television series Non-fiction television series 1970s Polish television series 1980s Polish television series 1977 Polish television series debuts 1989 Polish television series endings Telewizja Polska original programming {{poland-tv-prog-stub