History Series / Connections

* FailedFutureForecast: Although the history is sound, Burke spends the last episode of the original series lamenting the future. He predicts that the rise of computers will concentrate power in the hands of the few companies rich enough to own them. The concept of ubiquitous personal computers or the internet were not widely considered at the time (for good reason: the UsefulNotes/IBMPersonalComputer[[note]]Earlier personal computers like the UsefulNotes/AppleI and UsefulNotes/AppleII (the latter of which would have been released during the series' production period) were seen as little more than hobbyist's toys; the IBM PC put the computer in the workplace, driving the expansion of the technology because there was now ''much'' more money in it.[[/note]] was still three years away, and even ''that'' still cost several months' good salary and had extremely limited capabilities, and the Internet itself was one of those "put two technologies--namely computing and telephony--together which nobody thought had anything to do with each other" brilliant moments--one that had arguably already happened when Burke made the series,[[note]]Computers were first linked to each other in the early 1960s, and internetworking--the concept of creating a "network of networks" that forms the backbone of what the Internet is today--dates from the early 1970s. On the other hand, the TCP/IP protocol system that really enabled things to take off came out in 1982.[[/note]] but so recently and obscurely that nobody could have foreseen the consequences) and the central thesis of the episode [[TimeMarchesOn seems quaint now]]. To his credit, Burke changed his tune ''very'' quickly, hinting at the modern Internet society in ''The Day the Universe Changed'' (in 1985, by which point personal computers were clearly a thing and TCP/IP had been written--and Burke was up enough on computers to put two and two together).

Well-regarded 1978 documentary series by British science and technology journalist and historian of science James Burke. Subtitled "An Alternative View of Change", ''Connections'' presented what would come to be known as the web theory of history, rejecting the straight-line notion of technological progress, instead presenting major aspects of the modern world as the end product of long [[WikiWalk strings of happy accidents]] where the historical context causes two otherwise unrelated tracks to run into each other (for example, he attributes rocketry in large part to the coincidence of a meat shortage in England with malaria in the Florida swamps). The series traced paths leading to radar, the atom bomb, the computer, television, plastic, the production line, and similar installments in the modern world.

In the 1990s, The Learning Channel produced two sequel series, ''Connections 2'' and ''Connections 3''. The sequels were paced much faster and did not go into the depth of the earlier offerings. The beginning of each episode was connected to the last, and the final episode of each series linked back to the first, forming a closed circle.

** And on the [[Literature/TheMoteInGodsEye gripping hand]], the reason for his lament about the companies rich enough to own computers would gain unprecedented power--the accumulation of data about people--actually ''has'' proven accurate in the form of Big Data (hello, Facebook Cambridge Analytica scandal!), albeit in a way he didn't foresee (and probably couldn't have even in 1985)[[note]]For reference, Mark Zuckerberg was ''born'' in 1984--he's the same age as the babies in the maternity ward at Pennsylvania Hospital seen in Episode 7 of ''The Day the Universe Changed''.[[/note]].

** And on the third hand, the reason for his lament about the companies rich enough to own computers would gain unprecedented power--the accumulation of data about people--actually ''has'' proven accurate in the form of Big Data (hello, Facebook Cambridge Analytica scandal!), albeit in a way he didn't foresee (and probably couldn't have even in 1985)[[note]]For reference, Mark Zuckerberg was ''born'' in 1984--he's the same age as the babies in the maternity ward at Pennsylvania Hospital seen in Episode 7 of ''The Day the Universe Changed''.[[/note]].

Though not strictly a sequel, the 1985 series ''The Day The Universe Changed'', subtitled "A Personal View", used the same style and techniques, this time tracing paths not to specific inventions, but to aspects of modern society in its philosophical aspects: modern medicine, credit, having a specific field of expertise rather than being a generic [[TVGenius TV Genius]], the notion of "progress" and the like.

* WikiWalk: The structure of most episodes, albeit a little more linear.
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* {{Oktoberfest}}: As a bit of a RunningGag, whenever the Germans come up in the original series or in ''The Day the Universe Changed'', they will inevitably be singing, playing music of questionable quality, and usually drinking. The actual Oktoberfest is particularly prominent in "Eat, Drink, and Be Merry," in which Germans' preference for lager over ale turns out to be extremely significant.

* InsaneTrollLogic: Going into how, at one point, despite a strong domestic grain growing industry, and the availability of dirt cheap grain and flour from America, the average German at the time couldn't get basic bread. [[note]]The general gist was that the powers that be were blocking the cheap imports, but then turning around and selling off the domestic harvest in foreign trade.[[/note]]

Though not strictly a sequel, the 1985 series ''The Day The Universe Changed'', subtitled "A Personal View", used the same style and techniques, this time tracing paths not to specific inventions, but to aspects of modern society: modern medicine, credit, having a specific field of expertise rather than being a generic [[TVGenius TV Genius]], the notion of "progress" and the like.

* ShoutOut: ''The Day the Universe Changed'' is subtitled "A Personal View," as was Sir Kenneth Clark's series ''Civilisation,'' which set the form for these sort of multi-episode documentary miniseries.

* OminousLatinChanting: There is liberal use of "O Fortuna" from Music/CarminaBurana in the original series, most noticeable during the last episode of the first season.

Well-regarded 1978
documentary series by British science and technology journalist and historian of science James Burke. Subtitled "An Alternative View of Change", ''Connections'' presented what would come to be known as the web theory of history, rejecting the straight-line notion of technological progress, instead presenting major aspects of the modern world as the end product of long [[WikiWalk strings of happy accidents]] where the historical context causes two otherwise unrelated tracks to run into each other (for example, he attributes rocketry in large part to the coincidence of a meat shortage in England with malaria in the Florida swamps). The series traced paths leading to radar, the atom bomb, the computer, television, plastic, the production line, and similar installments in the modern world.

** And on the third hand, the reason for his lament about the companies rich enough to own computers would gain unprecedented power--the accumulation of data about people--actually ''has'' proven accurate in the form of Big Data (hello, Facebook Cambridge Analytica scandal!), albeit in a way he didn't foresee (and probably couldn't have even in 1985)[[note]]For reference, Mark Zuckerberg was ''born'' in 1984.[[/note]].

** And on the third hand, the reason for his lament about the companies rich enough to own computers would gain unprecedented power--the accumulation of data about people--actually ''has'' proven accurate in the form of Big Data (hello, Facebook Cambridge Analytica scandal!).

* AuthorAllusion: A subtle one in the opening of the ninth episode of the 1978 series ("Countdown"), in which Burke, standing by the launch tower at Complex 38 at Cape Canaveral, talks about how the sight of it "brings back—as fresh as if it were yesterday—one of the most profoundly moving events of our lives". He was of course talking about the launch of [[UsefulNotes/{{NASA}} Apollo 11]], for which he had been present as a correspondent for the BBC in 1969 (which is what his British audience nine years later would have known him best from).

Well-regarded 1978 documentary series by British science and technology journalist and historian of science James Burke. Subtitled "An Alternative View of Change", ''Connections'' presented what would come to be known as the web theory of history, rejecting the straight-line notion of technological progress, instead presenting major aspects of the modern world as the end product of long [[WikiWalk strings of happy accidents]] where the historical context causes two otherwise unrelated tracks to run into each other (for example, he attributes rocketry in large part to the coincidence of a meat shortage in England with malaria in the Florida swamps). The series traced paths leading to radar, the atom bomb, the computer, television, plastic, the production line, and similar installments in the modern world.

In the 1990s, The Learning Channel produced two sequel series, ''Connections 2'' and ''Connections 3''. The sequels were paced much faster and did not go into the depth of the earlier offerings.