Question: Did you used to watch science-related shows as a child?

Tom Hartley answered on 21 Jun 2010:

Hi giuola,

Yes, and I think they had a big influence (in the end) on my choice of career. The best of all was David Attenborough’s Life On Earth. But I also remember programmes by David Bellamy, James Burke (Connections), Jonathan Miller, Carl Sagan, Tomorrow’s World (a regular show about science and technology). I used to watch Dr Who avidly – it helped me see scientists as interesting, quirky and even heroic (the current series is back up to the standards I remember as a child, with much better special effects).

I answered another question about this. Here’s what I said about current TV…

“Science on TV went through a bad patch in the last decade, but it is right back on course now – I think somebody really good must have been promoted at the BBC (because most of the good programmes are on BBC). I enjoyed Brian Cox’s Solar System programmes, and I learned something new in every episode. I also saw a really excellent science documentary on BBC4 which was about Jocelyn Bell Burnham, who discovered pulsars – an amazing, resiliant and open-minded scientist. That was one of the most accurate and inspiring programmes about being a scientist I’ve seen – brilliant. Jocelyn made this incredible discovery when she was a PhD student, and her supervisor (who obviously helped her a lot) won the Nobel Prize for it. Even though she missed out (which seemed a bit unfair) she wasn’t too worried. But when her discovery was initially reported she phoned her school science teacher to tell him, and she got a little tearful when she remembered the conversation – you could tell that the opinion of her teacher meant more to her than the Nobel Prize. I found this incredibly moving and I’m tearing up just thinking about it (but I am a bit emotional sometimes).”