The new Discovery Series - Curiousity with Stephen Hawkings

[malaise]

We do not intend to miss one episode of this series. Starts tonight at 8.00pm ET

What a fucked up anti-scientific review.

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/tv/la-et-curiosity-20110806,0,7295317.story
<snip>

Sometimes the medium really is the message.

"Did God Create the Universe?" is the premiere episode of the new Discovery series "Curiosity," which will air concurrently on TLC and Animal Planet, and there is something hopeful about that. Even in these jaded times, God manages to trump sex, aliens, evil and the panoply of other tantalizing topics that will be explored in future episodes, while, in the world of Discovery anyway, Stephen Hawking, who's featured in the episode, remains a bigger name than Robin Williams, Samuel Jackson, Maggie Gyllenhaal or any of the other A-listers who participated in subsequent episodes.

Of course it is a rhetorical question. Hawking has long insisted that no supreme being was necessary to make the universe or even get the astrophysical ball rolling. "Did God Create the Universe?" is based on his most recent book, "The Grand Design" (co-written with Leonard Mlodinow), which divided critics along religious and scientific lines.

But even those unfamiliar with Hawking and his work are tipped off early on. Hawking acknowledges the controversy in the opening moments of the hour-long segment, reminding the audience that the rift between the scientific and theological communities is a long and bitter one, with the Catholic Church often, over the centuries, attempting to suppress scientific advances and punish those who made them.

[sakabatou]

1. I wanna watch the series too

[Jim__]

2. There's a roundtable discussion on this following the show.

The 9:00 PM is (I believe) eastern time:

Meet the Press host David Gregory will head over to Discovery Channel next month to host a roundtable discussion about Stephen Hawking's take on God.

Did God Create the Universe? will air on Sunday, Aug. 7 at 9 p.m. on the Discovery Channel, directly following the premiere of the network's new landmark series Curiosity.

A group of well-known theologians and scientists will discuss and debate Hawking's position that God did not create the universe and that there is no heaven. NBC's Peacock Productions is behind the special, which is why Gregory is involved.

Panelists will include Roman Catholic theologian John Haught, the head of the Center on Study of Science and Religion at Georgetown University; Paul Davies, the co-director of the Cosmology Initiative at Arizona State University; and CalTech theoretical physicist Sean Carroll.

a little bit more ...

[malaise]

3. Expect the lunatic fringe to come out of the basement

for the serious - remember nothing rational should be be TV

[MountainLaurel]

4. Looking forward to it

Our local Freethinkers group has posted a couple reminders about it, and it was the topic of discussion at our happy hour Wednesday.