Eyewitness (TV)

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Eyewitness
Format	Nature documentary
Created by	Jill Matthews
Country of origin	UK
No. of series	3
No. of episodes	39
Production
Running time	47 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel	BBC
Original run	1995 – 1997

Eyewitness is a natural history television series produced by BBC and DK Vision.^[1] The series is based on the Dorling Kindersley Eyewitness Guides series of children's books.

1 Format
2 Episodes
3 Reception
4 References

[edit] Format

Each half-hour episode focuses on a single subject in the field of natural science, such as the Solar System or the various functions of the human body. The information is presented in the "Eyewitness Museum," a computer-generated science museum. Various exhibits are shown, and stock video footage is usually seen through large windows or other depressions in the wall. The book series and the show share a striking visual style making notable use of the color white. During the newly-produced content (as opposed to stock footage) a background is almost never used in favor of a stark white backdrop, presumably to make the presented object stand out better. In addition, almost every episode features a "Hero." The Hero is a character or object which drives the action of the show and is continually referred back to. These include the weathervane chicken from Weather, the claymation Tyrannosaurus from Dinosaur, and the robotic Human mime artist from Human Machine.

When the series was released on video, episodes from the first two seasons featured brief behind-the-scenes clips after the main program. As of January 2008, the series has yet to be released on DVD.

[edit] Episodes

[edit] Series 1 (1995)

[edit] Series 2 (1996)

[edit] Series 3 (1997)

[edit] Reception

The series was nominated for awards in two categories at the 1996 Emmy Awards.^[1] It won several other awards.

1996 NEA Award^{[citation needed]}
1996 and 1997 Golden Gate Awards^{[citation needed]}
Chicago International Children's Film Festival Excellence in Children's Media^{[citation needed]}

Following its release on video and the end of its run on PBS, however, the show faded into relative obscurity.^{[citation needed]} By contrast the book series which inspired the program has continued, and about 150 unique titles are now available.^{[citation needed]}