Review of Planet TV

Host and founder Lucian, who has become Bill Nye the Science Guy for adults, was working as a strategic technology analyst for a think tank in Orlando, FL, when he realized that most of the information that he could access was unavailable to the general public. In July 2005, he began making six to eight-minute episodes, introducing his viewers to developments in science and technology. By the time his show reached its high of 1.87 million downloads in May 2006, the site had developed such a following that the segments were expanded to 20-25 minutes.

Each week, Lucian presents around a dozen news items in each episode. Topics include electronics (like debunking polygraph tests), weather, chemistry (the creation of the first synthetic molecule), biology (a eulogy for Earth’s oldest living creature), medicine (how to help fight anemia in developing nations), robotics (toyota’s robotic musician), and just about anything quirky, geeky, and deemed worthy of a few minutes of screen time (how to have sex

in zero gravity). Needless to say, there’s never a dearth of interesting topics. Each story is annotated with photographs, renderings, and video clips to provide evidentiary support. In addition, the links to related articles supplied in the episode description allow viewers to explore Lucian’s weird science on their own.

This episode features a fantastic four-minute video in which an animated character “auditions” for a film. The episode illustrates the idea of the uncanny valley. Another great story highlighted the iBar, a German liquor bar that features an “intelligent surface system” that lights up when objects are placed on it or moved around. If you can ignore the cheesy music and green-screen background, you’ll enjoy Lucian’s witty narration, amusing segments, an eye for all things fascinating and unusual.