James Burke is long overdue a knighthood. One of the most overlooked national treasures of the “space age”. James Burkes Connections deserves a 4k reboot
James Burke! What a difference he made to my boyhood. Fifty-years on, I work full-time on Mars exploration. Would I be doing this now, without him? Maybe not.
I was lucky enough to enjoy the Apollo missions with James Burke and Patrick Moore as a kid. Very special time.That and Slade, Bowie and the rest. Kids today had Brexit and covid...!
This man, along with Carl Sagan, is one of the greatest explainers and popularizers of scientific endeavour that has ever drawn breath. In the many hours I spent in front of the TV during all of the Apollo missions, the one great constant was James Burke, always there to explain, to narrate, and to enlighten us. What an amazing man.
Absolutely, my friend. James Burke, like Carl Sagan and more recently Prof Brian Cox, brings a sense of humanity, clarity and also gravitas to what most people would view as just incomprehensible scientific mumbojumbo. What a guy. I was really into his TV series, James Burkes Connections. Ahead of its time and what inspired a similar series years later presented by Richard Hammond.
That bit at the end is from the closing scene of the "Connections" episode "Eat, Drink and be Merry." It is one of, if not THE, best examples of perfect timing ever committed to film. Mr. Burke rehearsed and rehearsed until he was able to deliver the lines in a precisely predictable timeframe, and then on launch day, waited until the countdown reached that exact second to begin speaking... ...And we got THAT Destination: The Moon, or Moscow; the planets, or Peking.
Helen may have launched a thousand ships but James Burke launched a million dreams and careers that grew from making CONNECTIONS! Thank you so vey much
The day the universe changed - a 10 part series presented by James Burke (9.1/10 IMDB & 98% liked by Google Users) taught me so much about what made the world the way it is. He’s truly a national treasure
sometimes people contribute so much with their gifts and attitude they outgrow national ownership and are released to the world treasure status. as an aussie ,like our tommy Emmanuel ,he's been elevated from a national treasure to a world treasure . i think james burke is also in this club.
I just got incredibly nostalgic hearing both Burke and Moore - two absolute legends who got a whole generation of kids interested in the space program and astronomy in general.
James Burke, such an extraordinary mind, he pioneered modern TV presenting with his dry wit, self deprecating humour, I'm spelling it the right way, I'm English, LOL. His Cambridge education gave him the skills to back that up with incredible knowledge, despite not coming from a science background in space flight. And here he is, still going strong celebrating that momentous part of modern history, with us. Or rather I'm celebrating his not insignificant part in bringing that drama and excitement to our homes back in the day and also to this day. James Burke, I salute you sir.
I watched this live, my dad made sure all 5 of us saw everything we could about the Apollo on television as a young teen. Whenever he could catch us going from going outside to the woods on our bikes.
the vomit comet part brought such a smile to my face. never seen someone explain it as it happens and be so excited and probably a little scared like that. brilliant.
When the BBC used to be truly great. One of my earliest news memories came courtesy of James Burke. Along with Arthur C Clarke & Patrick Moore, absolute legends.
James Burke's sheer joy whilst going weightless is the the most delightful piece of film I've ever seen. I'm so happy my 10th-grade physics teacher back in the early 1980s used to show "Connections" on 16mm ... it changed my life. This collection is really amazing as it combines awe with clear-headed explanation of how it all worked (I never really understood how the celestial navigation stuff worked until I saw this). Also, the run-down on how the spacesuits worked was the best I'd ever seen.
That BBC coverage of Armstrong's audio going down the ladder was much more comprehensive than anything I'd ever seen. "That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind" bookended by lots of other verbal observations.
This is perhaps the best small series ever created. James always answers those really burning questions in a spectacular and easy to understand way. I'm binging the Connections series today, and I'm amazed that being 40 myself that I somehow missed out on the series in my childhood.
As a 35year old I'm very lucky that my dad introduced me to Connections and The Day the Universe Changed as a kid - it played a huge part of my childhood and definitely had a massive influence on how I think, how I view history and science, my interests, and much more.
I was 15 when I watched all the Apollo 13 reports live on the BBC… and I also never missed a single Apollo broadcast on the BBC from Apollo 8 onwards ..throughout their entire several years of coverage. Quite apart from these remarkable and indeed breathtaking achievements by NASA.. (at that time a thoroughly creditable and respectable organisation revered by the entire world…. Sadly now however the opposite is the case) a couple of things need to be stated.. 1. The way the BBC…. at that time a similarly highly creditable organisation (again no longer sadly) showed unbelievable foresight and groundbreaking broadcasting professionalism in initiating and conducting this coverage was nothing short of historic on the world broadcasting stage and 2. James Burke was probably the most naturally talented technical broadcasters ever to have appeared on screen anywhere on the planet.... an extraordinary talent as is clearly evidenced here.. his lines to camera during the Apollo 13 splashdown coverage were simply stunning in their emotional depth and integrity and stand testimony today of the BBC’s once held precious values and their long lost integrity. A brilliant post .. thanks so much for letting me see this again.
I grew up in the 70's and was introduced to JB by my father. He already knew how special JB was and I instantly connected with him. No-one has communicated science like JB since. Brian Cox has tried but JB was extremely special and as yet unmatched.
I don’t know how I managed to never have seen this man before!!?? He is amazing! He explains spaceflight better than anyone I have ever seen! I learned more about how it all works from him than anything ever from American media! One epiphany after a another, brilliant!
If you've never heard of Connections, Connections 2, and Connections 3, try to find them. Perhaps some of the best science/history documentaries aired. Right up there with Cosmos, by Carl sagan. I saw "Connections" as a kid in the early eighties and it *totally* blew my mind. Heads up. In case you're under ~35, the original series aired back in the '77, so the technology will be primitive by today's standards and you may miss implied references to the Cold War.
I've seen everything I thought there was to see, and read a couple of books too, about Apollo. But I learned many things from this 1 hr show. James Burke is a treasure.
Thank you James. I am in my 60s and remember Neil Armstrong taking his first steps on the moon. I also remember the first moon orbit and Apollo 13 coming back to earth, and sometime later, moon buggies and golf swings. It was an amazing time to live through. We took it all for granted. We believed in ourselves. It is sad that so many people nowadays don't believe that the Apollo missions actually took place, simply because they aren't curious enough to verify a "denier's" claims.Your reporting, along with Patrick Moore and Cliff Mitchelmore, was pure gold.
So much more informative than the spoon fed dumbed down tripe they have on TV these days. James Burke was excellent. Also, Connections was one of these shows ever.
James Burke's coverage of Apollo missions and his documentary work on the moon program were the finest reporting on the U.S. space program. I'm an American and I feel as though I relive my youth each time I see these. Only I see it better explained than by any of the U.S. TV network reporters back then, fine as they were.
I've seen James Burke only through RU-vid, 50 years after those programs but I just can't have enough; his programs are such attention grabbers that even after all that time I sit at the edge of my chair, watching, enthralled, seeking the net for more more more of James Burke!
Having lived through all the Apollo missions, it was James Burke who made all of the jargon and science comprehensible to so many people. His programmes such as 'The Real Thing' and 'Connections' predicted many of the things that we take so much for granted today. His lectures are equally interesting if you get a chance to catch one ; this man could make 'drying paint' absolutely fascinating to watch. Thank you so much for this tribute.
James Burke said that the BBC got access to parts of NASA that other broadcasters didn't. He said that was because of the intelligence of their questions, other journalists would ask about the astronaut's choice of breakfast whereas they would ask ''You know that mid course correction you did, well, wouldn't it have been better to delay that untill tomorrow and do a bigger one then?''
I have never seen any of this in my 55 years of life. I'm a kid who grew up in rural New Zealand and who became super excited with the launch of JWST. This was fascinating and educative. Thanks for sharing this with us.
James Burke really bought the Apollo missions to life.As a school boy watching his coverage it was as though we were with the astronauts every step of the way.He explained everything in a manner that you could understand.Great television what ever part of the mission he was covering it was riveting.
Just phenomenal stuff the Apollo 13 touchdown was so emotional to watch live watching important historical events as they happened is such a privilege 👍
Burke's "Connections" (the original series) is excellent and started my family searching for other connections. Only knew of his Apollo coverage here on RU-vid. Looks like this will be a good overview.
I love the contrast between the standard BBC presenter in the studio, and the more conversational pieces to camera explaining the technical details of the hardware. The demonstration of the space suit especially feels pretty much exactly like his later documentary style, already fully formed.
The original CONNECTIONS and THE DAY THE UNIVERSE CHANGED are still (to my American mind) the two best science history and science popularization programs to have ever been broadcast. Most Americans might name Sagan's COSMOS, but while I am a tremendous fan of that series, really, CONNECTIONS and THE DAY THE UNIVERSE CHANGED are better. More in-depth. Less preachy. With a keener eye to the realities of human nature. And it's *that* key point-when science and its products must interface with the human experience-where Burke's two series excel.
Me and my entire family had a retreat to watch this "live". We watched in awe. After about an hour i walked out to our back field, looked up at the full moon and stared. One of my relatives came out to see where i was and the only thing i said to her was "there are men walking up there. right now". She sat down with me for a while before going back inside to watch the rest. Everyone was glued to the TV.
Science communication is the most important artform in history. The Day the Universe Changed supercharged my understanding of culture, and the human equation.
Fully agree with other conmenters: you don't only speak for all the Brits: me as Anglo(mun)/Dutch(dad) guy living in Ireland: i also grew up with James. In the early years only able to see him when on holiday in England, but later also in Nl think fondly back watching him explaining space to me. Made me the nerd i am, and proudly so😅
I was looking forward to seeing some James Burke appearances on UK TV during the 50th anniversary celebrations. I saw a few programmes about the Apollo 11 Moon landing but only saw American TV coverage , no sign of the UK side. I Was slightly Miffed.
I was lucky enough to watch STS26 launch back in 1988 and can still hear it..... well not so much hear it.... no one's hearing could ever encompass that noise - it fills you up and for a few seconds - THAT'S ALL THERE IS TO EVERYTHING! What must it feel like to sit on top of it??
I like the part in this documentary when the presenter shows an animation of Apollo 8 mission and says the only problem to achieve this is how do you build the Saturn V. Then Burkes describes the rocket, gives me chills down my spine, what an engineering achievement if ever there was one.
I remember seeing him explain the spacesuit after they landed on the moon. I was watching in Canada but the channel, either CBC or CTV, used the clip from the BBC. I don't know if they had access to the BBC's live feed or whether the clip was recorded and sold in advance. I remember the part about the cooling tubes in the suit. I was ten at the time and it stuck in my memory. In the 70's and 80's I was a big fan of "Connections" and the "Day the Universe Changed" but I did not realize that he was the same man who explained the spacesuit. Then I came across this video. Thanks for posting it. I was 10 back then and I will turn 65 in a few weeks.
An excellent tribute to an exceptional man- his films explaining Apollo systems and the voyages were used to fill the gaps between live transmissions - as a wide eyed young boy - I thought they were marvellous ! Thank you so much for the memories !
Some of the producer/directors who created these scenes along with James Burke: Mick Jackson Stuart Harris Tam Fry BBC Apollo Exec. Prod.: Dick Francis Other credits: Graphic animations by Joanna Ball Cinematography: David Feig, Bob Cozens
If it's of interest to anyone..., the BBC remastered much of this footage and more for the 50th anniversary of the Moon Landing which they released on DVD. Moon Landing is a bit slow to watch in real time for obvious reasons but then you get a couple of episodes of James Burke covering Space & NASA on disc 2!
Love Sir Bernard Lovell at the Jodrel Bank telescope listening to Jim Lovell describing the moon, from Apollo 8. Now I want to know if there was any historical family link between the two men.
I am so juvenile. When Sir Lovell said, "It was the most remarkable two minutes I've ever lived through," I thought of something completely different...
I wish they showed the Earth and the Moon to scale, to show how really far away the Moon is. All the illustrations to this day show it much much closer, when in really it's insanely far away.
Is there a place where we die-hard fans of James Burke Documentaries and Knowledge can share and carry on His wonderful legacy? Now that we have the Internet, how do we (As Burke Historians) carry his torch of knowledge. Who are the "James Burkes" of the 21st Century today? #FriendofECCO want to know and connect with each other.
