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Prophets of Science Fiction

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Prophets of Science Fiction
GenreDocumentary
Science fiction
Directed byDeclan Whitebloom
Narrated byJonathan Adams
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes8
Production
Executive producersRidley Scott
Gary Auerbach
Julie Auerbach
Henry Capanna
Mary Lisio
David Cargill
David W. Zucker
ProducersChris Chaffin
Joseph Peicott
Kevin Tavolaro
Amy Cron
Simon Brown
Charlie Cook
Running time45 minutes
Original release
NetworkScience
ReleaseNovember 9, 2011 (2011-11-09) –
March 7, 2012 (2012-03-07)

Prophets of Science Fiction is an American documentary television series produced and hosted by Ridley Scott for the Science Channel. The program premiered on November 9, 2011 (2011-11-09).

The series covers the life and work of leading science fiction authors of the last couple of centuries.[1] It depicts how they predicted and, accordingly, influenced the development of scientific advancements by inspiring many readers to assist in transforming those futuristic visions into everyday reality. The stories are told through film clips, reenactments, illustrations and interviews.[2]

The first episode received mixed reviews. Commentators appreciated the approach of combining coverage of contemporary scientific research and biographical exposition,[3] but criticized the series as "light on the substance and heavy on the exaggeration".[4] The series' attempts to link Mary Shelley's Frankenstein to developments such as organ transplants, supercomputers and DNA research were described by one critic as far-fetched[5] but by another as successful.[3]

List of episodes

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The series' first season consists of 8 one-hour episodes which aired on the Science Channel in November 2011 and February 2012.[6]

No. Subject Air date
1 Mary Shelley 9 November 2011
2 Philip K. Dick 16 November 2011
3 H. G. Wells 23 November 2011
4 Arthur C. Clarke 30 November 2011
5 Isaac Asimov 15 February 2012
6 Jules Verne 22 February 2012
7 Robert Heinlein 29 February 2012
8 George Lucas 7 March 2012

References

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  1. ^ "About the Show". Science channel. Retrieved 5 December 2011.
  2. ^ Teague, Jason Cranford (9 November 2011). "The Prophets of Science Fiction Explores Sci-Fi's Best Writers". Wired. Retrieved 5 December 2011.
  3. ^ a b Finn, Ed (2 December 2011). "Keeping It Real in Sci-Fi What Ridley Scott's otherwise-wonderful Prophets of Science Fiction gets wrong about the future". Slate magazine. Retrieved 5 December 2011.
  4. ^ Nowalk, Brandon (9 November 2011). "Prophets Of Science Fiction S1 / E1". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 5 December 2011.
  5. ^ Conroy, Tom (9 November 2011). "'Prophets of Science Fiction,' a stretch: Science Channel series struggles to link writers' insights to later developments". Media Life Magazine. Retrieved 5 December 2011.
  6. ^ "Episode Guide". Science channel. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
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