Q.E.D. (BBC TV series)

Q.E.D. (quod erat demonstrandum, Latin for "that which was to be demonstrated") was the name of a strand of BBC popular science documentary films which aired in the United Kingdom from 1982 to 1999.^[1]

Format

Running in a half hour peak-time slot on the BBC's primary mass-audience channel BBC1, the series had a more populist and general interest agenda than the long-running Horizon series which aired on the more specialist channel BBC2.

Horizon could often be difficult for a scientific novice, requiring a modicum of background knowledge beyond the reaches of many viewers, so Q.E.D. was a more approachable way of introducing scientific stories.

Some notable films

• A Guide to Armageddon (1982) – the effects of a one megaton nuclear bomb being exploded over London.
• Simon's War (1983) – the life of Simon Weston, who suffered serious burns in the Falklands War.
• "Big Brother's Little Test" (1983) - How reliable is polygraphy, the use of lie-detectors? Can the innocent be unjustly condemned? Can the guilty beat them?
• "In at the Deep End" (1984) - An experiment in which divers spent 9 days at simulated depths of up to 1000 feet, breathing a mixture of hydrogen and oxygen.
• Round Britain Whizz (1986) – A sped up flight around the coastline of Britain
• The Foolish Wise Ones (1987) – A look at the talents and worlds of Autistic Savants, such as Stephen Wiltshire
• With a Goal in Mind (1988) – A sport psychologist works with First Division Queen's Park Rangers for a period of six weeks.
• John's Not Mad (1989) – following a 15-year-old boy with severe Tourette syndrome.
• My Best Friend's a Computer (1990) – Exploring the effects of computers on the emotional development of children.
• Nerve Transplant (1997) – exploring the work of a unique nerve transplant surgeon, bringing back movement to the limbs of previously paralysed patients.
• Superspecs (1997) – following the travels of a British inventor around Ghana with a pair of glasses made for just a dollar that he is convinced could save the sight of millions.
• The Burning Question (1998) – on spontaneous human combustion
• Breathless (1998) – investigating the Buteyko method for treating asthma.

See also

• Equinox – Channel 4 popular science series, last aired in 2001.
• Horizon – comparable BBC2 strand, on air since 1964.
• Nova – documentary series on PBS in the United States, which often bought in and re-voiced Equinox and Horizon films.

References

External links

• Q.E.D., British Film Institute. List of films, with dates.
• Q.E.D. at the Internet Movie Database