In case you haven’t heard — and c’mon, do you live in some underground cavern with Morlocks and C.H.U.D.S.? — my new TV show "Phil Plait’s Bad Universe" premieres this Sunday night August 29, at 10:00 p.m. on the Discovery Channel (check your local listings; for me it’s on at 8:00).
This first episode is about saving the world from asteroid impacts. In most science TV shows on this topic they’re heavy on the death and destruction, but pretty light on what we can actually do about them. But if you’ve read my book Death from the Skies! you know I’m all about getting off our collective butts and doing something. So in "Bad Universe" we go step-by-step, looking into what can be done to keep an impact from ruining our whole day.
Wanna see a clip? Thanks to Discovery Channel, here’s a sneak peek!
[For a longer teaser of the show, go here.]
Did my stunt double survive? How much destruction did we wreak on the New Mexico desert? And what the frak can we do if we see some nickel-iron bucket o’ death headed our way?
Well, you’ll just have to watch the show and see, won’t you?
And if you think filming this show was fun… it was. And there’s lots more. Tune in and find out!
Oh, and before you go: tomorrow I’ll have another Twitter contest announcement, where I’m giving away lots of cool stuff connected with the show. Stay tuned!
For those who are curious: the picture at the top is me looking through what’s called a Bikini Gauge, named after the nuclear bomb tests in the 1950s (and not the swimsuit, though the latter does provide a lot of fodder for jokes if, like me, you have the sense of humor of a 15-year-old). The gauge measures how much pressure the shock wave from an explosion generates… and we had lots of them for the test. I won’t give away the results, but the measurements we got were not reassuring.
August 24th, 2010 at 10:31 am
Sweetness. Can’t wait…
August 24th, 2010 at 10:31 am
Holy crap, I can’t wait!
August 24th, 2010 at 10:33 am
Not only a sneak preview of the show, but I finally know how to pronounce “Holy Haleakala,” so that’s pretty sweet, too.
August 24th, 2010 at 10:33 am
THE 29th??? WOOT!
Actually, I’ve been in a land without an internet connection. Too bad my cell phone worked, and work could call me.
So this is SOOOOO cool. Really looking forward to it.
August 24th, 2010 at 10:36 am
Phil:
I love ya brother, but think about my DVR conflicts!
Mad Men and Big Brother (I do not apologize for the former, but do for the latter) are both on at 7:00 PM PST are on at the same time. I can only record two shows at once.
Wait a tick! Mad Men repeats for the next few hours. Consider yourself recorded.
But seriously, going against the best drama on TV and the worst (e.g. best) reality show on TV is a tough slot. Nevertheless, I’ll figure it out.
Congrats!
August 24th, 2010 at 10:42 am
For those north of border when the &*%^%^ is it going to aired here. But what you could do is send of you biggest
stalkerfans a copy free. You must have my email at least in your known spammers folders, so send me an email and you can arrange to send me a copy.August 24th, 2010 at 10:47 am
Any plans in the Denver/Boulder area for a premier party?
August 24th, 2010 at 10:52 am
Phil, the look on your face at 2:09 is priceless! Can’t wait to see more of the show!
August 24th, 2010 at 10:54 am
Is it going to be on Hulu or on Discovery’s site? I don’t have cable but I really want to watch it.
August 24th, 2010 at 10:56 am
Damn Discovery Channel Canada!! It’s bad enough that I have to wait weeks and weeks for new Mythbusters, but this is enough to make me nutty! We need some grey-market DVDs sent north PRONTO!
August 24th, 2010 at 10:56 am
I don’t see it on Hulu.
You old people still use DVRs with cable/satellite streamed programming?
August 24th, 2010 at 11:05 am
Oh, didn’t see the contest note but I never seem to win any of the contests.
August 24th, 2010 at 11:07 am
I can only say two great words that work great together:
AWE-SOME!
And this is just the preview!!!
Thanks, Phil. You make my job so much fun. I get to spend the week telling people to tune into your show.
August 24th, 2010 at 11:11 am
I’ve got a six-year old boy that is going to LOVE your show! (Maybe as much as Mythbusters.) Seems to me a continuing series could be rather successful. Do the Discovery execs read your blog?
August 24th, 2010 at 11:13 am
So, just curious as to if there is a specific reason for why 8 feet under? I hope that gets explained in show at the least, unless I missed that in the video shown!
however, I am SUPER excited for this show, I already cleared my sunday night for this show.
August 24th, 2010 at 11:18 am
Neat.
I’m eager to see the show.
August 24th, 2010 at 11:20 am
So the Mythbusters wouldn’t let you borrow Buster?
August 24th, 2010 at 11:24 am
THAT…WAS…AWESOME! Got it ready to record on Tivo. Should also be available on YouTube shortly after broadcast. Not by me, of course.
August 24th, 2010 at 11:24 am
Phil, you are so cool your electrons don’t move!
August 24th, 2010 at 11:25 am
By Dan@2
My exact thought too! Great minds and all that? Or is it fools seldom differ?
Still not happy about not getting your show in Canada. grr.
August 24th, 2010 at 11:31 am
waaahhhh…..waaahhhh…I WANT A TRUCKLOAD OF AMMONIUM NITRATE, TOO!!!
Imagine the fishing possibilities…
August 24th, 2010 at 11:33 am
I’m just waiting, here from Brazil! Awsome!
August 24th, 2010 at 11:33 am
Count me among the Canadians that searched the listings in futility…any ideas when this will be airing in Canada?
August 24th, 2010 at 11:36 am
Is there any way to watch the show from Argentina?
BTW: Explosions = Awesome
August 24th, 2010 at 11:41 am
Well of course your stunt double didn’t survive… You left him there without his hard hat.
August 24th, 2010 at 11:47 am
Now to wait till they show it on Discovery Denmark (if they ever will. I have my doubts)
August 24th, 2010 at 11:49 am
WooHoo! congrats, looking forward to it.
August 24th, 2010 at 12:01 pm
Phil, your unsuppressed nerd joy fills my geek heart with glee. Can’t wait to see the show.
August 24th, 2010 at 12:07 pm
Whoa, that blowed up real good.
August 24th, 2010 at 12:10 pm
I’m blaming you, Phil, for my decreased productivity Monday morning on account of my staying up ’til 11pm on a Sunday night…
…but damn* if I don’t believe** it’ll be worth it.
(* – generic term not used here to indicate the existence of an afterlife)
(** – supposition based on available facts, such as “explosions are cool” and “Phil rocks”, to be backed up by further evidence and research on Sunday night)
August 24th, 2010 at 12:34 pm
Ohhh, I want to try that at home (note to FBI, I’m only kidding)
@ 1:40, did you lock the camera guy outside the bunker?
August 24th, 2010 at 12:38 pm
Hooray!
August 24th, 2010 at 12:39 pm
Phil, that was beautiful.
Ten times I watched the bit from ‘you can push the button’ to ‘look what I just did’.
August 24th, 2010 at 12:44 pm
Didn’t they use similar pressure gauge in Mythbusters for the explosions underwater?
Glad it’s going to be on Sunday nights when I can watch it. Will it be on the High-Def Discovery?
August 24th, 2010 at 12:55 pm
Sweet! I guess a boy never forgets his first explosion!
August 24th, 2010 at 12:55 pm
Phil, will this be streaming online anywhere? If not, tell Discovery that if they bring the show online we’ll all watch each commercial twice to make it worth their while.
Oh, and the show looks very cool, btw. I just hope I’ll be able to watch it!
August 24th, 2010 at 1:03 pm
Can’t wait to watch the show, Mr. Plait! I’ve been a long-time reader of yours, and a television show is more than in order! The fact that your readers can communicate with you via this comment box is wonderful!
August 24th, 2010 at 1:04 pm
Woo! This looks sooo good. I can hardly wait for the show to premiere!
August 24th, 2010 at 1:05 pm
A few thousand pounds of explosives- several thousand dollars.
Truck used to carry explosives- a few tens of thousands of dollars
Backhoe- maybe a hundred thousand dollars
Phil’s expression after setting off the explosives- PRICELESS
Can’t wait to see this! My, how the time flies.
Better set a remainder.
August 24th, 2010 at 1:06 pm
If it’s not available for streaming on the internet, it was never broadcast, as far as I’m concerned.
But I agree with the above commenters: now I know how to pronounce Haleakala.
August 24th, 2010 at 1:16 pm
So very cool, Phil! I look forward to it and hope they decide to buy more episodes.
Just off hand, do you know when the other two will show?
August 24th, 2010 at 1:24 pm
where did you shoot this in new mexico? I also second (or 75th) the requests for a possible stream link. I don’t have cable…
August 24th, 2010 at 1:28 pm
I’d like to some Bad Universe swag that says “Holy Haleakala” on it. I think this is Phil’s very own “ay carumba.”
August 24th, 2010 at 1:46 pm
Fantastic! Can’t wait to see it on the top list at The Pirate Bay
That would be a real measure of success – gazillions of people downloading to watch.
Embrace technology! Go bit torrent!
(hoping the copyright fascists let this go thru)
Cheers!
p.
August 24th, 2010 at 1:52 pm
Phil,
Looks like you’re channeling your inner Mythbuster! Congrats!
The DR is already set and I can’t wait (although I may have to because I will be out of town on Sunday and might not have access to Discovery).
August 24th, 2010 at 1:59 pm
I’m psyched for this program, and I’m really happy for you Phil! How awesome is it to get to use your profession for a TELEVISION GIG?!
August 24th, 2010 at 2:02 pm
Phil Go Bang Bang!
August 24th, 2010 at 2:10 pm
Congratulations, Phil!
Now, when will those of us with no TV be able to see it? Like on Hulu or such?
August 24th, 2010 at 2:18 pm
Price of fertilizer? No idea!
Price of lots of equipment, cameras and crew? Probably a lot!
The look on Phil’s face when the explosives detonate? PRICELESS!
August 24th, 2010 at 2:22 pm
Phil, Adam Savage will be jealous.
Dan, Haleakala is easy. It’s pronounced just like it sounds.
August 24th, 2010 at 2:33 pm
wow wow wow wow wow wow wow wow wow wow wow wow
August 24th, 2010 at 2:41 pm
I can’t wait. Extra credit for my students that watch.
I still hope production videos will be available, like Bill Nye videos.
Jeff
August 24th, 2010 at 2:43 pm
Hulu USUALLY broadcasts shows the day after they’re aired, if they’re going to air them at all. Depends on their contracts with the producers, I guess.
He le a ka la. Just pronounce each vowel,ie, have a vowel movement(Thank you, Robin Williams).
Gary 7
August 24th, 2010 at 2:47 pm
Bad Universe swag! Phil, you need to set up a Cafe Press or Zazzle store. Or else one of your minions, er fans, will do it for you. Hmmm, where is my fabric paint……
August 24th, 2010 at 3:15 pm
Now I’m REALLY regretting not having cable.
August 24th, 2010 at 4:31 pm
“How much destruction did we wreak on the New Mexico desert?”
What desert?
August 24th, 2010 at 4:50 pm
That’s it, Phil. You’ve convinced me. I’m leaving the neighbourhood; preferably for Mars.
August 24th, 2010 at 4:55 pm
Does anyone know if this will be airing in Canada, or is this only in the U.S.A for now.
August 24th, 2010 at 5:15 pm
@52 Jeff
“I can’t wait. Extra credit for my students that watch.”
Heck, my students ARE going to watch, in my classroom! And I’m really liking Through the Wormhole too. That’s it: lab, video, lab, video, lab, video…
August 24th, 2010 at 5:45 pm
Now that was a good explosion. How good? A second after Phil pushed the button on screen, two car alarms went off outside my apartment.
Can’t wait for the show!
August 24th, 2010 at 5:54 pm
One more vote for Hulu for the cable-deprived!
(Funny, I’ve never felt deprived until now.)
August 24th, 2010 at 5:56 pm
I hope those weren’t new pants you were wearing.
August 24th, 2010 at 6:20 pm
Phil, you need to name your stunt double – I suggest “Phil-In”
The show looks to be a lot of fun!
re how to pronounce Haleakala – Hawaiian is easy – every syllable is pronounced, and syllables are 1-3 letters max. For example, there is the Like Like Highway – “lick-ee lick-ee”
Or the triggerfish – Humuhumunukunukuapua’a
August 24th, 2010 at 6:23 pm
“Not only a sneak preview of the show, but I finally know how to pronounce “Holy Haleakala,” so that’s pretty sweet, too.” – Dan, #3
^^ This
August 24th, 2010 at 6:50 pm
Is it going to be available for non-cable subcribers, e.g. via iTunes?
August 24th, 2010 at 7:19 pm
Little known fact: Every new Discovery show requires at least one explosion per episode.
August 24th, 2010 at 7:34 pm
This is gonna be so sweet!
…now, I hope Discovery Canada will air it.
August 24th, 2010 at 7:55 pm
But but but….meteorites don’t impact UNDERNEATH the ground!
And we need to pull in Halley’s comet for a control test! With a bad-ass-gravity-pump.
August 24th, 2010 at 8:08 pm
Looking forward to the show, but… “What physicists call kinetic energy” ?
That line worries me
August 24th, 2010 at 9:20 pm
You wrote a book?
You did a TV show?
You should tell us about these things!
August 24th, 2010 at 11:47 pm
Heck of a way to break out the bikinis!
Now can you find a rocket sled with a 20 degree downslope to show what an object traveling at 700mph will do?
August 25th, 2010 at 1:00 am
Oh boy, is Discovery now all about explosions? I was hoping for a new “Cosmos”
And for all above me waiting to get it in Brazil, Canada, Argentina or Denmark – stop acting naiive, it will be on the web as a handy torrent within hours. I doubt I’ll see it here in Israel any other way anytime soon…
August 25th, 2010 at 1:21 am
Holy Smeg! You destroyed the Cleft! Now how will we get to D’ni?!?
I shall be watcing. For me, it’s on right after Leverage, so that works nicely.
August 25th, 2010 at 2:18 am
There’s no mention of it on Discovery’s UK website. Guess us englishers will have watch via the magic of the interwebs.
August 25th, 2010 at 2:51 am
BOOORING!!!!!
sorry to break all the enthusiasm, but someone had to say it
Bye, then…
August 25th, 2010 at 3:34 am
[...] Here is a sneak preview. Nightsky.ie wishes him lots of success. More news about this here [...]
August 25th, 2010 at 8:16 am
So that’s how you pronounce Haleakala!
Loved your expression when the explosion went off
Any idea when/if this will air in the UK? We let you guys watch Doctor Who like a week after it first airs here, only fair you send us this without a wait of months!
August 25th, 2010 at 9:04 am
I don’t suppose this will actually be shown in France anytime soon :-/
August 25th, 2010 at 10:11 am
Damnit Phil!
I just reduced my cable subscriptions (in order to save some time and money), so I don’t get “The Discovery Channel” anymore. And now you have to go and do this….
Get thee behind me, Satan!
Tim
P.S. Congratulations, anyway. The show looks fantastic!
August 25th, 2010 at 11:14 am
[...] Phil får mycket snart ett eget program på Discovery channel. Trailern gör mig dock lite besviken, men jag antar att Discovery väljer ut [...]
August 25th, 2010 at 11:36 am
@Chris (31)
You should see how many cameramen Discovery goes through in a year. You’re likely to lose one or two in a single taping. Incidentally, that’s why they like “Dirty Jobs” so much. In all these years, Mike hasn’t had a single fatality.
But I jest. Seriously though, being a cameraman for Discovery is dangerous. However, in this case, the shot is set up. They either had the person going in shut and lock the door and then re-open the door for the cameraman, or this wasn’t the last person to really go inside. It’s suggestive, and maybe a bit sneaky, but it tells the story, and you have to remember that television is all about the story, even on Discovery.
August 25th, 2010 at 12:38 pm
[...] In case you haven’t heard — and c’mon, do you live in some underground cavern with Morlocks and C.H.U.D.S.? — my new TV show "Phil Plait’s Bad Universe" premieres this Sunday night August 29, at 10:00 p.m. on the Discovery Channel (Read ahead [...]
August 25th, 2010 at 3:31 pm
This looks GREAT! I agree, Phil’s expression when he throws the switch could not be something they rehearsed ahead of time.
August 25th, 2010 at 3:46 pm
You know, it’s great to see mainstream science and astronomy getting popularized again. For a long time it was pretty much just Carl “Billions and Billions” Sagan. He left a big gap when he died, and for a long time there was no one like him to answer the usual daily torrent of pseudoscience.
Now we’ve got TWO well-known popularizers of astronomy: Neil DeGrasse-Tyson and Phil Plait. They should form a double act — Neil can muse eloquently about the grand size and scale of the universe, and Phil can blow stuff up.
Hey, all those explosions are certainly working for the Mythbusters!
August 25th, 2010 at 9:46 pm
Phil make big boom.
August 26th, 2010 at 8:17 am
Ooh! My daughters will *love* this! Maybe we can do this after watching “When Worlds Collide” and discussing astronomy!
Thank you again, Phil. Your hard work, intelligence, and humor are giving me great ideas for things to do with my family!
August 27th, 2010 at 2:04 pm
[...] The excitement here at Discover headquarters is palpable–only three days until we get to watch our Bad Astronomy blogger, Phil Plait, tear up the Discovery Channel with his new TV show, Bad Universe. In the inaugural episode Phil examines the threat of an asteroid impact on Earth, and gets his hands on a whole lot–seriously, a whole truckload–of explosives to model the potential disaster. But it’s not all doom and gloom; he also explains what we can do “to keep an impact from ruining our whole day,” as he says. [...]
August 28th, 2010 at 2:45 am
And when will us inferrior folk over t’other side of the pond get a chance to see it?
August 28th, 2010 at 9:55 am
AAAAARRRRGGGHHHH!!!!! Canadian Discovery Channel is having a Mythbusters marathon at that time: from 7PM Sunday to 4AM monday morning. I don’t see Bad Universe anywhere in the listings at discoverychannel.ca
August 28th, 2010 at 10:48 pm
Okay… How do I get the Little Anthropologists into bed and sleeping by 8PM?! Awesome, and ping:http://open.salon.com/blog/anthropologist_underground/2010/08/28/must_see
August 29th, 2010 at 12:02 am
[...] 2010 by thekosmonavt Welcome to the Kosmonov, fellow humans! For my first trick, I will liveblog Phil Plait’s Bad Universe Premiere. Watch the magic happen here, or follow me on Twitter. I hope to make it epic, [...]
August 29th, 2010 at 4:22 pm
Congratulations on the show! Can’t wait to see it
August 29th, 2010 at 5:29 pm
I, too, would love this to be on Hulu and/or Discovery’s site streaming. However, they have typically been bad about that with Mythbusters, so I doubt this will make it online.
I would love to be wrong, though.
August 29th, 2010 at 8:47 pm
[...] Bad Astronomy blogger on Discovery’s Bad Universe tonight. [...]
August 29th, 2010 at 9:01 pm
Great program! I love it! It is an excellent outreach program to the general public.
I’d just ask that you drop the “Holy Haleakala” — it is kind of annoying after a while and not much of a catch phrase.
August 29th, 2010 at 10:50 pm
So where can I watch this online, preferably somewhere where Discovery knows that I’m interested? I don’t do the TV thing…
Also, I see no mention of Bad Universe on the Discovery Channel website, wtf?
Whether I see it or not, here’s to it being insanely successful! *cheers*
August 31st, 2010 at 5:08 am
[...] night was the premier of the first episode of Bad Universe, Phil Plait’s foray into television. This show is a sort of MythBusters style science show [...]
August 31st, 2010 at 7:09 pm
He really, really needs to quit saying that. If he continues the annoying exclamations TiVo will get a thumbs down for shows he hosts.
September 1st, 2010 at 12:01 pm
[...] talking to Physicists doesn’t boost ratings (unless maybe its Phil Plait) so we won’t get those opinions in the news. You have to go and search them out [...]
September 9th, 2010 at 6:29 pm
When is episode 2?
May 31st, 2011 at 12:12 pm
[...] Mercola. Paul Kurtz resigned from the Center For Inquiry on May 18. Phil Plait’s new TV show Bad Universe premiered (in the US) on August 29. The second TAM London was October 16 – 17 and TAM [...]