This was a really neat show that used to air on TLC. Unfortunately, it seems to be the one series they actually don’t repeat on a regular basis. Does anyone know if this is available on DVD or some such?
I posted this in IMHO instead of Cafe Society since I know lots of GQers likely have watched this show, but I don’t tend to see many of them in CS forum.
Have you checked the BBC’s web site?
They occasionally play 2 & 3 but I haven’t seen 1 in more then 5 years. Shame cause 2 & 3 aren’t that great but 1 and “The Day the Universe Changed” were James Burke at his best.
Anyway there is is. Found by going to Palmer’s James Burke Fan Companion ( a nice fan site) and scrolling down to where you can purchase stuff.
Sadly “The Day the Universe Changed” is still only available on VHS.
Whaddya say we all send TLC an email requesting they re-air this program? 
I sure wish I’d taped it when I had the chance.
You’d probably have better luck with the Discovery Science Channel – they’ve run Connections 2/3 in the last year.
Of course, “better luck” is relative – Discovery doesn’t own the original Connections or “The Day The Universe Changed” (Burke’s best work IMHO), while they do have some ownership of Connections 2/3 (those programs having been partly funded by Discovery).
Your local library might have the first series available on video. (Mine has both Connections 1 & 2 and it’s a pretty crappy library.) We used to watch these in 8th grade science class and I loved them. You can also read Burke’s many books: Connections, The Day the Universe Changed, The Pinball Effect and several others I can’t remember off the top of my head.
It used to be available on DVD at the Discovery Channel Store, we bought it as a present for my father-in-law a few years ago. I don’t know if they still carry it.
Ye gads man, where?? I have been trying to track down a full edition of “The Day the Universe Changed” for months. I own the book, but that series was fantastic. Where Fern where?!
Oh and I checked the link you gave, all the “connections” but not a peep on “Universe”. Arg!
I don’t remember where. It was from source that sold science tapes to schools I found over a year ago. I didn’t bother to put it in favorites since I only wanted the DVD.
I know that when I went to college they had a complete set. That was Wong Audio Visual Library in the Univeristy of Hawaii at Manoa. I don’t think you can get it through Inter-Library Loan though. Maybe you can check your local collegiate libraries, see if they have copies and enquire where they got it?
Actually, dear husband-o-mine, we bought the VHS Connections set for my dad. My parents didn’t even own a DVD player back then. But yes, the VHS set (but not a DVD set) was carried at the Discovery Channel Store.
Unfortunately I don’t get The Discovery Science Channel so I can’t even watch C2&3.
I never thought of looking for it at a library. I’ll give my Univ. library a try for sure.
I love that show! I remember watching it when I was really little, like 5 or 6.
According to my mother, I described James Burke by saying, “He’s a nice man,” whenever I watched “Connections.”
There is a CD-ROM game based on the series.