Talk:Connections (British TV series)

Spooky Co-incidence
In the opening of the first episode Burke appears in the World Trade Centre, initially in the plaza, then on the roof. He talks about the fragility of modern civilisation and a power cut which, amongst other things, left Flight 911 on final approach to JFK out of touch with controllers and heading straight for the towers of Manhattan.

Is this worth mentioning on this page?

PaulJohnson 21:01, 10 September 2007 (UTC)

I noticed the spooky co-incidences in that episode too. I think they are just that, spooky and merely co-incidences. I wouldn't want to see James Burke become part of any grand "911 conspiracy theory". LOL! You know...if you fold the new twenty dollar bill the right way, it's all in there! LOL. --Mcrodgers2 08:52, 5 October 2007 (UTC)

No, please don't
Dodgy conspiracy theories do no belong in an encylopedia along with number mysticism and urban myths. In any case I suspect that JB was in error about the aircraft heading for Manhattan after an airport power failures. All instrument approaches have prescibed go around route and altitudes which take the aircraft away from any immediate danger. It is standard procedure to go around if the approach ever becomes unsafe. Think the comment about using other aircraft's radar to land is also way off. Aircraft carry weather radar not area (air traffic control radar). —Preceding unsigned comment added by Rpersse (talk • contribs) 18:04, 7 October 2007 (UTC)


 * Surprise--they are already here -> 911 conspiracy theories. Not that I'm a fan or proponent of any of them, but they are in Wikipedia. - Ageekgal (talk) 04:16, 17 September 2009 (UTC)

I was under the impression that they used the radios on those aircrafts and the radar reports from those landed pilots to find out how to land in the dark (since all those other landed aircrafts did have radios and radars on batteries). I would guess it's even more unsafe to divert when out of fuel and when there is no guarantee that the airport/airfield you'd like to go to is operational. I mean, if I were a professional I'd rather rely on others like me for this, than trying to find another airport in the dark with no guidance (like a blind pedestrian would rather rely on other pedestrians than on audio signals and drivers to cross a street). Remember the blackout was pretty big. (Of course, the lesson is: use a damn battery back-up for essential communications, beacons and radars, maybe even for runway signals.) 70.54.202.152 (talk) 22:48, 13 December 2010 (UTC)

Oh, and if you really want spooky theories (or if you just want a good laugh) just watch "canadian bacon" (with Alan Alda). In that movie they dismiss the war against terror as a non-sellable option. Guess history proved Alan Alda wrong :-) (or :-(  depending which one you prefer). 70.54.202.152 (talk) 22:52, 13 December 2010 (UTC)

Twin Tracks
A book by James Burke in a style similar to "Connections". Each chapter is split into two 'tracks', one on the lefthand pages, the other on the righthand pages.

The reader is supposed to read all the left pages in a chapter, then the right pages and finish up on the last page where he ties the two subjects of each chapter together with how they influenced some invention or other things.

Music
The final episode of Connections (Yesterday, Tomorrow, and You) has a bunch of fun music. For example, O Fortuna from Carmina Burana. Where is the place to put this information?
 * In this article - if it's too much, we can break out a new one in the future! bd2412  T 13:13, 6 April 2006 (UTC)
 * Okay, I put in what I had verified (O Fortuna). I must admit, it's a little silly, since there is a LOT of other music, but I just haven't verified it.  I could take some from the fan page I referenced, I guess.dfrankow 15:43, 6 April 2006 (UTC)

Odd lingo

 * Boffo
 * Noodler
 * Propellorhead

What other silly words and phrases does he use?


 * In "The Long Chain", he says "a few tin pot coal mines". I can guess what it means by context, but I've never heard it used elsewhere. GuildNavigator84 13:06, 20 August 2006 (UTC)


 * Hello! 'Tin-pot' is British slang for something regarded as small, feeble or otherwise somewhat substandard.--McTodd (talk) 19:22, 16 January 2008 (UTC)

More Detailed Episode Guides?
Do you think there should be more detailed episode guides here, especially for the original series? I feel like a fully wikified, hyperlinked complete synopsis of each episode would be both an interesting read and a great resource to those who really love this series, like I do. There are some in the external section, but they aren't complete or hyperlinked to anything else.

On the other hand, some might say that it might violate copyright or be too long or something. I think I'll start writing some soon. Revert them or tweak them and leave some feedback here if you all think they don't belong here. GuildNavigator84 13:06, 20 August 2006 (UTC)
 * I agree. I'd like to see a synopsis of each episode.  To that end, I'm going to start working on the episodes for the first series, since that's the only one of the three that I own.  If it's a copyright violation, somebody stop me!  Lee.crabtree 20:22, 26 March 2007 (UTC)
 * Alright, I've started an article on the first episode. I don't have my DVDs handy at work, so I'll expand it when I make it home.  Lee.crabtree 21:22, 26 March 2007 (UTC)

link problem
hey how can anyone fix it : when i type in connections in search, nothing comes up, it says i am re directed!!

DVD Release?
Have any of the series been released on DVD? Lisiate 00:34, 11 December 2006 (UTC)
 * I believe they all are. Check eBay. I got Series 1 on VHS for $40.00. Discordian 22:00, 21 January 2007 (UTC)
 * http://www.shoppbs.org/sm-pbs-connections-connections-2-and-3-dvd-save-20--pi-1450812.html --Jerome Potts 06:21, 25 January 2007 (UTC)

Series 1 appears to be unavailable on DVD. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 212.188.147.34 (talk) 12:03, 15 April 2008 (UTC)

They are all available on Netflix. John Elson (talk) 07:01, 15 August 2010 (UTC)
 * The ten episodes of Series One were put out on a Region 2 DVD box set in February 2017. Publisher is simplymedia.tv  —    "CDs for the over-50s demographic". Is a ten-hour factual series considered too much for the millennial generation?--217.155.32.221 (talk) 10:04, 4 February 2017 (UTC)

Video Game
There's a computer game too. If there's an article for it I can't find it. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Special:Contributions/ (talk)

The Opening Sequence of Every Connection (Original Series)
Does anyone know what the device is that appears at the beginning of every Connections episode in the original series?

My guess is that it is some sort of tungsten arc lamp, but I'm puzzled by the complicated clockwork mechanisms shown. --Mcrodgers2 08:47, 5 October 2007 (UTC)

It's a carbon arc lamp. As the carbon rods which produce the intense light (by means of the arc of electricity across the gap between them) burn away at the tips, the clockwork mechanism moves them slowly towards each other at the rate at which they burn away, thus keeping a constant-sized gap for the arc. Eventually, of course, the carbon rods burn away completely and have to be replaced, the clockwork then being re-set.--McTodd (talk) 19:26, 16 January 2008 (UTC)

is it clockwork? i understood the mechanism was based on the current, as the rods burn away from each other the current drops, triggering the mechanism to push them closer together --Mongreilf (talk) 19:04, 13 December 2008 (UTC)


 * See Arc lamp. It's also specifically mentioned in episode 9. -- Quiddity (talk) 22:28, 13 December 2008 (UTC)

Going to wiki the whole series
This is a great series, almost made for Wikipedia, only 30 years late. I hope to post what I see while watching. This is a BBC series so may be publicly available. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.71.5.46 (talk) 05:30, 8 May 2009 (UTC)

getting edit conflict. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.71.5.46 (talk) 06:26, 8 May 2009 (UTC)

Err, it seems I even get edit conflict while trying to post to comment page, server problems? Anyway, please post and comment. If I don't hear anything I will move forward. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.71.5.46 (talk) 06:31, 8 May 2009 (UTC)

Hello 70.71.5.46
I was going to revert all the many, many revisions you've made in the last 24 hours because I thought it was vandalism. Please (1) sign in so you have a Talk page where we can contact you (2) type up your changes in an external editor such as Notepad and commit changes all at once. As it is right now, the article is not about the series but just about episode 1. You might put it back the way it was after its edit on 4th May and then collect your observations as you watch the (wonderful) series and only then give episode details. I'll check back in tomorrow. Thanks. Peter4Truth (talk) 12:23, 8 May 2009 (UTC)

I've reverted the changes (before seeing these messages). If you want to write about each episode, please create separate articles (either for each episode, or for each season). Don't replace the text of this article. Mind matrix  14:46, 8 May 2009 (UTC)

Thank you for the helpful feedback Peter4Truth and Mindmatrix. Looking at my edits again, they were indeed rambling (but so is this great series :). It seems each episode will have pages, so maybe a separate article with summery here, is indeed the best way to go. I hope to make more readable edits in the future. On a side note, is this series in the public domain? Remember reading somewhere that older (and newer?) BBC programs are as BBC is funded by the public. KateKeepdown (talk) 03:44, 7 August 2009 (UTC)

Feedback and the internet
Although the Connections 3 episode Feedback appears to be referring to the internet, he never uses the terms "internet" or "world wide web", which is odd since this came out in 1997 and by the end of 1996 internet access for private individuals was fairly widespread due in large part to the introduction of flat rate access plans priced at $25/mo or less. Most viewers in 1997 would have heard of the internet and would recognize the term.

This makes me wonder if this episode was "in the works" in early 1996 or even 1995. John Elson (talk) 06:57, 15 August 2010 (UTC)

Can anyone add info about the "Reconnections" video(s) ?
I mean those like these: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WV-EQsMbXo

Thanks 70.54.202.152 (talk) 22:42, 13 December 2010 (UTC)

US/UK spelling
Per WP:ENGVAR, I think that the subject of this article has a sufficiently strong tie with the UK to use British rather than American spellings (plow -> plough, vapor -> vapour, etc). I'll make the changes myself if there are no objections. Tevildo (talk) 23:13, 29 March 2013 (UTC)

YouTube Channel
James Burke's YouTube channel has been gone for a while, so I removed it from external links. While there are a lot of YouTube videos of the show up, I could not find an official channel.

Gregrata (talk) 00:10, 12 April 2014 (UTC)

74.136.58.253 (talk) 15:40, 22 May 2015 (UTC)== James Burke connections 2 Content never seen again was only on t.v. Deleted from v.c.r. and dics sold after fact  ==

Last episode of connections 2 he was standing on cliff wind blowing in hair. asking viewers or telling them if the know for fact only three ways world will end? and then says #1 by accident asteroid ,or sun imploding or exploding or nukes of our own doing somehow etc...  #2 the best outcome we all share we solve world population and food mass manufacturing problems by sharing of resources knowledge intellect globally then washers dryers cars houses are same in construction diverse yet 20 models just painted different iso 9000 etc or #3 worst outcome elite rich take over poor best land is gobbled up by them they control us by starvation they rule world iron fist turn all poor into slaves. Then he poses question to the viewer - Which way do you think its going now?. I watched this on ket pbs in 1994 or 95 and immediately ordered copy on vcr tapes  it was not on tapes and I complained they said it never was on there, no one there knew anything about why it was deleted or they just worked there at video company that did reproductions for b.b.c. but all episodes were equal length up to that last one missing 5 minuets ? humm ? I know it was force deleted by those same powers that are elite as he put it. and of course versions I saw on YouTube, same, it was not there as I was hoping someone from across the pond would have a copy of original they posted with deleted scene never happened now erased from history anybody remembering seeing this this please write back to me karl ruplinger vanman@Hotmail.com or confirm on here as it was the single most important future forward poignant thing he said in all of his episodes. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.136.58.253 (talk) 15:23, 22 May 2015 (UTC)

External links modified
Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just modified one external link on Connections (TV series). Please take a moment to review my edit. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit this simple FaQ for additional information. I made the following changes:
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20110223192123/http://kcsm.org/tv/catalog/Reconnections/index.htm to http://www.kcsm.org/tv/catalog/Reconnections/index.htm

When you have finished reviewing my changes, you may follow the instructions on the template below to fix any issues with the URLs.

Cheers.— InternetArchiveBot  (Report bug) 14:41, 2 January 2018 (UTC)

Source for the video game

 * Computer Gaming World review

Remove Latif Nasser's Connected TV series from Related works?
The article says it "follows a similar format", claims who? I watched the first episode (of Connected (2020 TV series)) and I disagree.

(With regards to Richard Hammond's Engineering Connections however, I agree that it follows a similar format). Karl Svartholm (talk) 08:38, 20 July 2023 (UTC)