# James Burke and his show "Connections" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 19, 2003, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-burke-and-his-show-connections/189547 "2003-07-19T04:45:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Trigonal\_Planar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/0ea827/32.png) [@Trigonal\_Planar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trigonal_Planar)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2003, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-burke-and-his-show-connections/189547/1 "2003-07-19T04:45:16Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Dogface](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9d8465/32.png) [@Dogface](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogface)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2003, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-burke-and-his-show-connections/189547/2 "2003-07-19T04:58:58Z")
Have you checked the BBC’s web site? ---
**Author:** ![Fern\_Forest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/71c47a/32.png) [@Fern\_Forest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fern_Forest)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2003, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-burke-and-his-show-connections/189547/3 "2003-07-19T05:45:47Z")
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](http://www.documentary-video.com/displayitem.cfm?vid=854) 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. ---
**Author:** ![Trigonal\_Planar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/0ea827/32.png) [@Trigonal\_Planar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trigonal_Planar)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2003, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-burke-and-his-show-connections/189547/4 "2003-07-19T16:30:58Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![3waygeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/3/e95f7d/32.png) [@3waygeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/3waygeek)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2003, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-burke-and-his-show-connections/189547/5 "2003-07-19T17:33:05Z")
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). ---
**Author:** ![voguevixen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5ac83/32.png) [@voguevixen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voguevixen)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2003, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-burke-and-his-show-connections/189547/6 "2003-07-19T19:05:44Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![sturmhauke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47c2d/32.png) [@sturmhauke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sturmhauke)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2003, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-burke-and-his-show-connections/189547/7 "2003-07-19T19:18:29Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![NothingMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b77776/32.png) [@NothingMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NothingMan)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2003, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-burke-and-his-show-connections/189547/8 "2003-07-19T19:54:44Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Fern Forest \* > \*\*Sadly “The Day the Universe Changed” is still only available on VHS. \*\* 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! ---
**Author:** ![Fern\_Forest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/71c47a/32.png) [@Fern\_Forest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fern_Forest)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2003, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-burke-and-his-show-connections/189547/9 "2003-07-19T20:29:32Z")
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? ---
**Author:** ![available\_light](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc29f/32.png) [@available\_light](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/available_light)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2003, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-burke-and-his-show-connections/189547/10 "2003-07-19T23:58:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by sturmhauke \* > \*\*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. \*\* 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. ---
**Author:** ![Trigonal\_Planar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/0ea827/32.png) [@Trigonal\_Planar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trigonal_Planar)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2003, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-burke-and-his-show-connections/189547/11 "2003-07-20T03:38:34Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Mirror\_Image\_egamI\_rorriM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e56c9b/32.png) [@Mirror\_Image\_egamI\_rorriM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mirror_Image_egamI_rorriM)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2003, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-burke-and-his-show-connections/189547/12 "2003-07-20T05:45:01Z")
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.” ---
**Author:** ![TPWombat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbce88/32.png) [@TPWombat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TPWombat)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2003, 10:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-burke-and-his-show-connections/189547/13 "2003-07-20T10:24:47Z")
There is a [CD-ROM game](http://www.cdaccess.com/html/quick/connectdr.htm) based on the series.