James May's Big Ideas

Last updated

James May's Big Ideas
JMBI.jpg
Starring James May
Narrated by James May
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of episodes3
Production
Producer Nigel Paterson
Running time60 mins
Original release
Network BBC Two
Release28 September (2008-09-28) 
12 October 2008 (2008-10-12)
Related
James May's 20th Century

James May's Big Ideas is a three-part British television miniseries in which James May, a journalist and self-acknowledged geek travels the globe in search of implementations for concepts widely considered science fiction, or his big ideas. The series was produced by the BBC and the Open University and began airing at 8pm on Sundays on 28 September 2008.

Contents

The first episode documents his search for the ultimate form of personal transport, ranging from jetpacks to flying cars. In the second episode, May looks at bionics and robotics and if robots can exceed the boundaries of their programming. The third episode focuses on energy.

Episode list

# Title Airdate
1"Come Fly with Me"28 September 2008 (2008-09-28)
James May travels the globe in search of his ultimate flying machine. Vehicles tested include an ekranoplan, a Jetpack, a car that can be transformed into a plane and many others.
2"Man-Machine"5 October 2008 (2008-10-05)
James May discovers if his childhood dream of a world of robots will ever become true. Episode featured ASIMO.
3"Power to the People"12 October 2008 (2008-10-12)
In the last of his Big Ideas journeys, James May sets off to find smarter, brighter and bolder ways of powering the planet for future generations. Episode featured sections on solar cars, solar power tower, ENV, wind turbine, Pelamis Wave Energy Converter (referred to as the snake), energy from wave power (see Stephen Salter), electricity generated from the tides and the latest development on nuclear fusion.

See also


Related Research Articles

<i>The Big O</i> 1999 Japanese anime television series

The Big O is a Japanese mecha-anime television series created by designer Keiichi Sato and director Kazuyoshi Katayama for Sunrise. The writing staff was assembled by the series' head writer, Chiaki J. Konaka, who is known for his work on Serial Experiments Lain and Hellsing. The story takes place forty years after a mysterious occurrence causes the residents of Paradigm City to lose their memories. The series follows Roger Smith, Paradigm City's top Negotiator. He provides this "much needed service" with the help of a robot named R. Dorothy Wayneright and his butler Norman Burg. When the need arises, Roger calls upon Big O, a giant relic from the city's past.

<i>I, Robot</i> Collection of short stories by Isaac Asimov

I, Robot is a fixup collection made up of science fiction short stories by American writer Isaac Asimov. The stories originally appeared in the American magazines Super Science Stories and Astounding Science Fiction between 1940 and 1950 and were then collected into a 1950 publication Gnome Press in 1950, in an initial edition of 5,000 copies.

<i>Foundation</i> series Science-fiction books by Isaac Asimov

The Foundation series is a science fiction book series written by American author Isaac Asimov. First published as a series of short stories and novellas in 1942–50, and subsequently in three collections in 1951–53, for nearly thirty years the series was a trilogy: Foundation (1951); Foundation and Empire (1952); and Second Foundation (1953). It won the one-time Hugo Award for "Best All-Time Series" in 1966. Asimov later added new volumes, with two sequels: Foundation's Edge (1982) and Foundation and Earth (1986), and two prequels: Prelude to Foundation (1988) and Forward the Foundation (1993).

The Robots of Death is the fifth serial of the 14th season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts on BBC1 from 29 January to 19 February 1977.

<i>Robot Wars</i> (TV series) Robot combat competition

Robot Wars is a robot combat competition that was broadcast on British television from 1998 to 2004 and from 2016 to 2018. Each series involves teams of amateur and professional roboteers operating their own constructed remote controlled robots to fight against each other in an arena formed of steel and bullet proof glass fitted with arena hazards and containing areas occupied by hostile and heavier "House Robots". Earlier series included assault and trial courses for competing robots.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James May</span> English television presenter and journalist

James Daniel May is an English television presenter and journalist. He is best known as a co-presenter, alongside Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond, of the motoring programme Top Gear from 2003 until 2015 and the television series The Grand Tour for Amazon Prime Video from 2016 to 2024. He also served as a director of the production company W. Chump & Sons, which has since ceased operating.

Pamela Fortunee Salem was a British film and television actress. She was born in Bombay, India, and educated at Wispers School and Heidelberg University in Germany, and later at the Central School of Speech and Drama in London, England.

K9 (<i>Doctor Who</i>) British sci-fi character, created 1977

K9, occasionally written K-9, is the name of several fictional robotic canines in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who, first appearing in 1977. K9 has also been a central character in three of the series' television spin-offs: the one-off K-9 and Company (1981), The Sarah Jane Adventures (2007–2011) and K9 (2009–2010). Although not originally intended to be a recurring character in the series, K9 was kept in the show following his first appearance because he was expected to be popular with younger audiences. There have been at least four separate K9 units in the series, with the first two being companions of the Fourth Doctor. Voice actor John Leeson has provided the character's voice in most of his appearances, except during season 17 of Doctor Who, in which David Brierley temporarily did so. The character was created by Bob Baker and Dave Martin, to whom rights to the character still belong; consequently, Baker's spin-off series K9, which is not BBC-produced, could not directly reference events or characters from Doctor Who, though it attempted to be a part of that continuity.

James Anthony Coburn was an Australian television writer and producer, who spent much of his professional career living and working in the United Kingdom. He is best remembered for writing the first Doctor Who story, An Unearthly Child.

Philip Michael Hinchcliffe is a retired English television producer, screenwriter and script editor. After graduating from Cambridge University, he began his career as a writer and script editor at Associated Television before joining the BBC to produce Doctor Who in one of its most popular eras from 1974 to 1977. In 2010, Hinchcliffe was chosen by Den of Geek as the best ever producer of the series.

The Greatest Show in the Galaxy is the fourth and final serial of the 25th season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts on BBC1 from 14 December 1988 to 4 January 1989.

"Bad Wolf" is the twelfth episode of the revived first series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. The episode was first broadcast on BBC One on 11 June 2005. It is the first of a two-part story. The concluding episode, "The Parting of the Ways", was first broadcast on 18 June 2005.

<i>Space Precinct</i> British science fiction television series

Space Precinct is a British television series that was first broadcast by syndication in the United States between 1994 and 1995. In the UK, it was first shown on channel Sky One between March and August 1995, and later BBC Two from September 1995 to March 1996. Many US stations scheduled the show in late night time periods, which resulted in low ratings and contributed to its cancellation. The series was based on an unbroadcast 1986 pilot movie titled Space Police featuring Shane Rimmer.

"The Secret War of Lisa Simpson" is the twenty-fifth episode and the season finale of the eighth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on May 18, 1997. Bart gets sent to a military academy as punishment for bad behavior. While visiting the academy, Lisa sees that the school is far more challenging than hers and she decides that she wants to attend as well. It was directed by Mike B. Anderson, written by Richard Appel and featured Willem Dafoe in a guest spot as the school's commandant.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Morrison (jazz musician)</span> Australian jazz musician (born 1962)

James Lloyd Morrison AM is an Australian jazz musician. Although his main instrument is trumpet, he has also performed on trombone, tuba, euphonium, flugelhorn, saxophone, clarinet, double bass, guitar, and piano. He is a composer, writing jazz charts for ensembles of various sizes and proficiency levels.

<i>The Demon Headmaster</i> (1996 TV series) British television series (1996–1998)

The Demon Headmaster is a British television series based on the children's books by Gillian Cross of the same name. Made for CBBC, the drama was first broadcast between 1996 and 1998. The first series contained six episodes, and aired twice weekly from 2 to 18 January 1996, the second series contained seven episodes and aired weekly from 25 September to 6 November 1996, and the third series contained six episodes and aired twice weekly from 6 to 22 January 1998.

<i>Robot of Sherwood</i> 2014 Doctor Who episode

"Robot of Sherwood" is the third episode of the eighth series of the British science fiction television programme Doctor Who. It was written by Mark Gatiss and directed by Paul Murphy, and was first broadcast on BBC One on 6 September 2014.

<i>Love, Death & Robots</i> Adult animated anthology television series

Love, Death & Robots is an adult animated anthology television series created by Tim Miller and streaming on Netflix. Although the series is produced by Blur Studio, individual episodes are produced by different animation studios from a range of countries and explore diverse genres, particularly comedy, horror, science fiction, and fantasy. Each episode is connected to one or more of the three titular concepts. Miller serves as the showrunner and producer alongside Joshua Donen, David Fincher, and Jennifer Miller; most episodes are written by Philip Gelatt, and are adaptations of short stories.

<i>Baymax!</i> American superhero streaming television series

Baymax! is an American animated superhero science fiction comedy television series created by Don Hall that premiered on Disney+ on June 29, 2022, featuring the Marvel Comics character of the same name. The series is a spinoff of the animated feature film Big Hero 6 (2014), and the second television series set in the film's continuity following Big Hero 6: The Series (2017–2021). The series is the first television series produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios.