Bill Nye the Science Guy

Bill Nye the Science Guy
A shot of the opening sequence
Created by	Bill Nye James McKenna Erren Gottlieb
Presented by	Bill Nye
Starring	Suzanne Mikawa Ivyann Schwan Jaffar Smith et al.
Narrated by	Pat Cashman
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	5
No. of episodes	100 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers	Elizabeth Brock Erren Gottlieb James McKenna
Producer	Bill Nye
Running time	26 minutes
Production companies	Disney Educational Productions KCTS Seattle Rabbit Ears Productions
Original release
Network	PBS
Release	September 10, 1993 (1993-09-10) – June 20, 1998 (1998-06-20)

Bill Nye the Science Guy is an educational television program that originally aired from September 10, 1993 to June 20, 1998, hosted by Bill Nye and produced by Buena Vista Television. The show aired on PBS Kids and was also syndicated to local stations, making it the second first-run television program behind The Open Mind. It still airs on some PBS stations as an educational program for in-school use. Each of the 100 episodes aims to teach a specific topic in science to a preteen audience. The show is frequently used in schools as an education medium.

Created by comedian Ross Shafer and based on sketches on KING-TV's sketch program Almost Live!, Bill Nye the Science Guy was produced by Disney Educational Productions and KCTS-TV of Seattle.

Bill Nye the Science Guy won nineteen Emmy Awards during its run.

Contents

The show ran about the same time as and covered similar topics to Beakman's World, in fact sharing one crew member, editor/writer/director Michael Gross. Before this show, Bill Nye had previously worked alongside Christopher Lloyd in Back to the Future: The Animated Series, where Nye played Doc Brown's assistant and demonstrated several experiments.

Bill Nye the Science Guy has been likened to the next generation version of Mr. Wizard. Bill's TV persona is a tall and slender scientist wearing a blue lab coat and a bow-tie. He mixes the serious science of everyday things with fast-paced action and humor. Each show begins with Bill walking onto the set, called "Nye Labs", which is filled with scientific visuals (including many "of science" contraptions announced dramatically, such as "The slingshots of Science!") relevant to the topic of the show. Most episodes contain a mock song parody and music video in the "Soundtrack of Science" by "Not That Bad Records", substituting a scientific roundup of the episode for the lyrics to a popular song. Each show ends with Bill explaining his departure in a clever description of an activity on topic. The credits sometimes rolled next to a series of outtakes from the episode.

Another popular member of the cast is the announcer Pat Cashman, whom Nye knew from his time on Almost Live!. Some announcers who subbed in for Cashman include Ernie Anderson, Gary Owens, and Brian Cummings. In 1996, Bill made a guest appearance on Cartoon Network's talk-show Space Ghost Coast to Coast in its twenty-fourth episode, Boo! with Michael Norman. A year later, he made an appearance on PBS Mister Rogers' Neighborhood.

Theme song

Aside from Bill himself, one of the most memorable things about Bill Nye the Science Guy is its theme song. The bass-heavy theme is set to a house beat with Bill's name shouted throughout the duration of the song. The sound and speed fluctuations of the voice were accomplished through a vocoder and electronic pitch fluctuation. The theme song is credited to Mike Greene.

Production music

The show's episodes consisted of several compositions from Associated Production Music. Some featured tracks include:

• "Acts of Heroism (C)"
• "Blood in the Gutter" by Laurie Johnson
• "Dramatic Impact #3" by Ivor Slaney
• "The Gunfighter" by Ennio Morricone
• "Hit and Run" by Ralph Dollimore
• "Killer Birds" by Gregor Narholz
• "Saw Theme"
• "Spindlelegs" by King Palmer
• "Graveyard"

Many of these tracks were also featured in SpongeBob SquarePants and The Ren and Stimpy Show. Another common track used was the theme from the English show Dave Allen At Large, here used as the theme from "The Jackie Smazz Show." "Killer Birds" was used in an All That episode.

Video game

A computer game for the series, titled Bill Nye the Science Guy: Stop the Rock!, was released in 1996 for Windows and Macintosh by Pacific Interactive. In the game, a large meteoroid called "Impending Dumé" threatens to make a catastrophic collision with the Earth. A team of scientists develop a laser satellite-controlling computer system called MAAX (Meteoroid and Asteroid Exploder) to destroy the meteoroid; however, MAAX develops a personality of its own (in an obvious parody of the sentient computer HAL from the film and novel 2001: A Space Odyssey) and refuses to save the planet unless Earth's scientists can solve seven science riddles. Nye Labs decides to take on MAAX's challenge, and the player, depicted as the newest member of the Nye Labs team, is asked to solve these riddles using Nye Labs' equipment before Impending Dumé hits (represented through an in-game timer). The game featured a fully explorable Nye Labs, as well as video cut scenes featuring Bill Nye and other Nye Labs scientists. However, the characters and cast members from the TV series, sans Bill Nye and a few others, do not appear in this game, instead being replaced by game-exclusive Nye Labs team members and new actors.

Home media

Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment released the series in its entirety on DVD, as part of the series' 20th anniversary. In the United Kingdom, it was distributed on VHS by ViewTech, Bristol.

List of episodes

Episodes

Season	Episode number	Episode name	"Soundtrack of Science" Parody song	Episode name
1	1	Flight (series premiere)	Nyevana – "Smells Like Air Pressure" Parody of "Smells Like Teen Spirit" by Nirvana	September 10, 1993
	2	Earth's Crust	Magmadonna – "Crust" Parody of "Vogue" by Madonna	September 17, 1993
	3	Dinosaurs	J.C. – "Mr. Dino" Parody of "Mr. Wendal" by Arrested Development	September 24, 1993
	4	Skin	No music video	October 1, 1993
	5	Buoyancy	Sure Floats-a lot – "Bill's Got Boat" Parody of "Baby Got Back" by Sir Mix-a-Lot	October 8, 1993
	6	Gravity	Attraction Action – "G-R-A-V-I-T-Y" Parody of "Twilight Zone" by 2 Unlimited	October 15, 1993
	7	Digestion	Dy Gestion – "Can't Eat This" Parody of "Can't Truss It" by Public Enemy	October 22, 1993
	8	Phases of Matter	Phaze Change – "Solid Liquid Gas" Parody of "Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat)" by Digable Planets	October 29, 1993
	9	Biodiversity	Bio Di Versity – "We're all Connected" Parody of "Connected" by Stereo MC's	November 5, 1993
	10	Simple Machines	The Pulley Ramp Five – "ABC's of Machinery" Parody of "ABC" by The Jackson 5	November 12, 1993
	11	The Moon	The Lunatics – "Moon Cycle" Parody of "Bicycle Race" by Queen	November 19, 1993
	12	Sound	Gloria Wavelength and the Vibrations – "Sound is a VIBE" Parody of "I Will Survive" by Gloria Gaynor	November 26, 1993
	13	Garbage	Trash E. Trash – "R.E.C.Y.C.L.E." Parody of "Respect" by Aretha Franklin; artist name is a parody of Doug E. Fresh	December 3, 1993
	14	Structure	Stress N' Tension – "Let's Talk About Stress" Parody of "Let's Talk About Sex" by Salt-n-Pepa	December 10, 1993
	15	Earth's Seasons	A Tilted Development – "Rhyme and Season"; artist name is a parody of Arrested Development	December 17, 1993
	16	Light & Color	The Bent Wavelengths – "Light and Colour" Parody of "Sweating Bullets" by Megadeth	December 24, 1993
	17	Cells	Mighty Chondria – "Cellular Haze" Parody of "Purple Haze" by Jimi Hendrix	January 21, 1994
	18	Electrical Current	Billy Ray Cyrcuits – "AC/DC Charge" Parody of "Achy Breaky Heart" by Billy Ray Cyrus	January 28, 1994
	19	Outer Space	Elve Centuri – "Celestial Hotel" Parody of "Heartbreak Hotel" by Elvis Presley	February 4, 1994
	20	Eyeball	The Eye Doctors – "Two Eyes" Parody of "Two Princes" by The Spin Doctors	February 11, 1994
2	21	Magnetism	N.S. Cool J. – "Opposites Attract" Parody of "Jump" by Kriss Kross; artist name is a parody of LL Cool J	February 18, 1994
	22	Wind	Wind Dee – "Wind Is In Your Hair" Parody of "Groove Is in the Heart" by Deee-Lite	February 25, 1994
	23	Blood and Circulation	AB+ – "Blood Stream" Parody of "Love Shack" by The B-52's	March 4, 1994
	24	Chemical Reactions	Chemical Reactions – "Don't Try This at Home" Parody of "State of Attraction" by Paula Abdul	March 11, 1994
	25	Static Electricity	The Sticky Socks – "Static Electricity" Parody of "Turning Japanese" by The Vapors	March 18, 1994
	26	Food Web	Food Webby Web – "(It's The) Food Web" Parody of "Who Am I (What's My Name)?" by Snoop Dogg	March 25, 1994
	27	Light Optics	Queen Lighteefa – "B.E.N.T." Parody of "U.N.I.T.Y." by Queen Latifah	September 10, 1994
	28	Bones and Muscles	Steppenbone – "Bones in my Body" Parody of "Born to Be Wild" by Steppenwolf	September 17, 1994
	29	Oceanography	Gulfstream Girls – "Deep Ocean Currents" Parody of "California Girls" by The Beach Boys	September 24, 1994
	30	Heat	LeHot – "LeHeat" Parody of "Le Freak" by Chic	October 1, 1994
	31	Insects	UB Buggy – "Jah Mon, Insects Rule" Style Parody of UB40	October 8, 1994
	32	Balance	Torquer – "Balance This" Parody of "Get Off This" by Cracker	October 15, 1994
	33	The Sun	Deep Yellow – "My Favorite Star" Parody of "Highway Star" by Deep Purple	October 22, 1994
	34	Brain	En Lobe – "Whatta Brain" Parody of "Whatta Man" by En Vogue with Salt-n-Pepa	October 29, 1994
	35	Forests	John Cougar Loggincamp – "Second Growth" Style Parody of John Mellencamp	November 5, 1994
	36	Communication	Mary Chapin Communicator – "How Can We Communicate" Parody of "He Thinks He'll Keep Her" by Mary Chapin Carpenter	November 12, 1994
	37	Momentum	Momentisey – "The Faster You Push Me" Parody of "The More You Ignore Me, the Closer I Get" by Morrissey	November 19, 1994
	38	Reptiles	No music video – the commercial-free PBS version of the episode, however, had a brief spoof entitled "Cold Blooded". Parody of "Hot Blooded" by Foreigner	November 26, 1994
	39	Atmosphere	Warm -n- Wetta – "Fresh Aire"; artist name is a parody of Salt N Pepa	December 2, 1994
	40	Respiration	Ali Veoli – "What A Pair" Style Parody of Tatyana Ali	January 7, 1995
3	41	The Planets	No music video	January 14, 1995
	42	Pressure	PSI Garden – "Pressure" Parody of "Spoonman" by Soundgarden	January 21, 1995
	43	Plants	Rhoda Dendron – "Cross Pollination" Parody of "Human Behaviour" by Björk	January 28, 1995
	44	Rocks and Soil	Sedimentary Fools – "Rocks Rock Harder" Parody of "Basket Case" by Green Day	February 3, 1995
	45	Energy	The ERG's – "N-R-G" Sabotage Parody of the Beastie Boys	February 10, 1995
	46	Evolution	Evolver – "Survival" Style Parody of Veruca Salt	February 17, 1995
	47	Water Cycle	J.A.C. – "Water Cycle Jump" Parody of "Jump" by Kris Kross	March 24, 1995
	48	Friction	Grace Slip – "Friction Happens"; artist name is a parody of Grace Slick	March 31, 1995
	49	Germs	Dose of Soap – "Just Wash Your Hands" Parody of "Don't Turn Around" by Ace of Base	April 7, 1995
	50	Climates	Climate Report – "Whether the Weather" Parody of "Lucas With The Lid Off" by Lucas Secon	April 14, 1995
	51	Waves	Big Amplitude – "Baby I Love Your Wave" Parody of "Baby, I Love Your Way" by Big Mountain (originally by Peter Frampton)	April 21, 1995
	52	Ocean Life	James Baleen – "Power To The Plankton" Style Parody of James Brown	April 28, 1995
	53	Mammals	Fake Fur – "Jennifer's A Mammal" Parody of "Institutionalized" by Suicidal Tendencies	September 8, 1995
	54	Spinning Things	House of Spin – "Spin Around" Parody of "Jump Around" by House of Pain	September 15, 1995
	55	Fish	Salmon Dave – "I'm a Sole Man" Parody of "Soul Man" by Sam & Dave	September 22, 1995
	56	Human Transportation	Carpoolio – "Move Groove" Parody of "Fantastic Voyage" by Coolio	September 29, 1995
	57	Wetlands	Maria and the Mudflats – "Where The Land is Wet"	October 6, 1995
	58	Birds	LL Bloo J. – "Talkin' Bout Birds"; artist name is a parody of LL Cool J	October 13, 1995
	59	Populations	Shirell Crow – "All We Need To Do" Parody of "All I Wanna Do" by Sheryl Crow	October 20, 1995
	60	Animal Locomotion	Bjorn Turun – "Loco Motion" Parody of "Everything Zen" by Bush	October 27, 1995
4	61	Rivers and Streams	Talking Headwaters – "Take Me To The River" Parody of "Take Me to the River" by Talking Heads	November 3, 1995
	62	Nutrition	Knute Trishan – "Good Food"	November 10, 1995
	63	Marine Mammals	Marina Cesealia – "Breathe Like Me" Parody of "I Know" by Dionne Farris	November 17, 1995
	64	Earthquakes	Mistah Richter – "Earthquake Rumble"	November 24, 1995
	65	NTV Top 11 Video Countdown	Mudhoney – "Bill Nye The Science Guy Theme"	December 1, 1995
	66	Spiders	Foo Spighters – "This is A Spiders Life" Parody of "This Is a Call" by Foo Fighters	January 5, 1996
	67	Pollution Solutions	No music video	January 12, 1996
	68	Probability	Steven Odd – "50 Fifty" Parody of "Loser" by Beck	January 19, 1996
	69	Pseudoscience	Dare L. Pseudo – "Pure Proof" Parody of "100% Pure Love" by Crystal Waters	January 26, 1996
	70	Flowers	Daisy Birdsenbees – "So Many Flowers"	February 2, 1996
	71	Archaeology	Mob Barley – "Diggin'" Parody of "Jamming" by Bob Marley	February 9, 1996
	72	Deserts	Deserette – "Always Dry" Parody of "You Oughta Know" by Alanis Morissette	February 16, 1996
	73	Amphibians	P-Swamp All Stars with DJ Hoppy – "The Amphidelic Mothership Metamorphisis" Style Parody of George Clinton the P-Funk All Stars	February 23, 1996
	74	Volcanoes	Volcanque – "Lavaflows" Parody of "Waterfalls" by TLC	January 31, 1997
	75	Invertebrates	S. Khar Go – "Crawl Away" Parody of "Runaway" by Janet Jackson	February 7, 1996
	76	Heart	Vinny Vein and the Pumpers – "Gimme Back My Heart"	February 14, 1996
	77	Inventions	En Vent and the Process – "It's An 'ing Thing"	February 21, 1996
	78	Computers	La Binary – "One Zero 001" Parody of "Be My Lover" by La Bouche	April 25, 1997
	79	Fossils	Etchton Stone – "Fossil Man" Parody of "Rocket Man" by Elton John	September 5, 1997
	80	Time	The Tim E. Zone Experience – "Time Time Time Time Time..." Parody of "Time Has Come Today" by The Chambers Brothers	September 12, 1997
5	81	Forensics	Krime Seen – "We Will Find You" Parody of "We Will Rock You/We Are the Champions" by Queen	September 19, 1997
	82	Space Exploration	The Space Princess of Galactic Grooviness – "Planets All" Parody of "Set You Free" by Planet Soul	September 26, 1997
	83	Genes	Alice in Genes – "It's Called Genetics" Parody of "Killing in the Name" by Rage Against the Machine'; artist name is a parody of Alice In Chains	October 17, 1997
	84	Architecture	The Artist Formerly Known as Archie T. – "Makin' Plans" Parody of "All Mixed Up" by 311; artist name is a parody of The Artist Formerly Known As Prince	October 24, 1997
	85	Farming	Chris Ballew – "Farm Food" Parody of "Peaches" by The Presidents of the United States of America, of which Ballew himself is a member	October 31, 1997
	86	Life Cycles	Roberta Fungi – "Everything Has A Life Cycle" Parody of "Killing Me Softly" by Roberta Flack	November 14, 1997
	87	Do-It-Yourself Science	Nye & The Family Crust – "Do It Yourself Science" Parody of "Hell" by Squirrel Nut Zippers; artist name is a parody of Sly and the Family Stone	November 21, 1997
	88	Atoms	Third Nye Blind – "Atoms in My Life" Parody of "Semi Charmed Life" by Third Eye Blind	November 28, 1997
	89	Ocean Exploration	The Posies – "Voyage of the Aquanauts"; The Posies are an alternative rock group from Bellingham, Washington.	December 5, 1997
	90	Lakes and Ponds	The Foggy Boyz – "Fond of Lakes and Ponds" Parody of "Tha Crossroads" by Bone Thugs-n-Harmony	February 21, 1998
	91	Smell	Turbinator Two – "Come On Use Your Brain (Smell This)" Parody of "C'mon N' Ride It (The Train)" by Quad City DJ's; artist name is a parody of Terminator 2	February 28, 1998
	92	Caves	Batilda & Guano – "Cave Thing" Parody of "Shake Your Groove Thing" by Peaches & Herb	April 25, 1998
	93	Fluids	Weflo – "Drip it" Parody of "Whip It" by Devo	May 2, 1998
	94	Erosion	Earth, Wind & Ice – "Causing the Erosion" Style Parody of No Doubt; artist name is a parody of Earth, Wind & Fire	May 9, 1998
	95	Comets and Meteors	Halley Comet – "Got Me Looking" Parody of "Shadowboxer" by Fiona Apple	May 16, 1998
	96	Storms	Mighty Might Thundertones – "Stormin'" Style Parody of The Mighty Mighty Bosstones	May 23, 1998
	97	Measurement	The Meter Men – "Every Measurement You Make" Parody of "Every Breath You Take" by The Police	May 30, 1998
	98	Patterns	Downward Spiral – "Patterns of Joy" Style Parody of The Prodigy; artist name reference to Nine Inch Nails.	June 6, 1998
	99	Science of music	"There's Science In Music" Parody of "The Time Warp" by Richard O'Brien	June 13, 1998
	100	Motion (series finale)	Slow Moe – "All in Motion" Parody of "Hot for Teacher" by Van Halen	June 20, 1998

Awards

Daytime Emmy Awards

• 1996 – Outstanding Writing in a Children's Series – Erren Gottlieb, Bill Nye, James McKenna, Scott Schaefer, Adam Gross and Seth Gross
• 1996 – Outstanding Sound Editing – Michael McAuliffe, Dave Howe, Ella Brackett, Thomas McGurk and Jim Wilson
• 1997 – Outstanding Writing in a Children's Series – Kit Boss,Erren Gottlieb, Michael Gross, James McKenna, Bill Nye, Ian G. Saunders, Scott Schaefer and Darrell Suto
• 1997 – Outstanding Directing in a Children's Series – Darrell Suto, Michael Gross, Erren Gottlieb and James McKenna
• 1997 – Outstanding Single Camera Editing – Darrell Suto, Michael Gross, Felicity Oram and John Reul
• 1997 – Outstanding Sound Editing – Thomas McGurk, Michael McAuliffe and Dave Howe
• 1998 – Outstanding Writing in a Children's Series – Erren Gottlieb, James McKenna, Bill Nye, Michael Gross, Darrell Suto, Scott Schaefer, Kit Boss, Lynn Brunelle, Michael Palleschi, Ian G. Saunders and Simon Griffith (Tied with Sesame Street)
• 1998 – Outstanding Performer in a Children's Series – Bill Nye
• 1998 – Outstanding Single Camera Editing – Darrell Suto, Michael Gross, Felicity Oram and John Reul
• 1998 – Outstanding Sound Editing – Dave Howe, Thomas McGurk and Michael McAuliffe
• 1998 – Outstanding Sound Mixing – Dave Howe, Thomas McGurk, Michael McAuliffe, Bob O'Hern, Resti Bagcal and Marion Smith
• 1999 – Outstanding Children's Series – Erren Gottlieb, James McKenna, Elizabeth Brock, Jamie Hammond, Hamilton McCulloch and Bill Nye
• 1999 – Outstanding Directing in a Children's Series – Michael Gross and Darrell Suto
• 1999 – Outstanding Single Camera Editing – Felicity Oram, John Reul, Michael Gross and Darrell Suto
• 1999 – Outstanding Sound Editing – Dave Howe, Thomas McGurk and Michael McAuliffe
• 2000 – Outstanding Writing in a Children's Series – Bill Nye, Michael Gross, Darrell Suto, Ian G. Saunders, Michael Palleschi, Lynn Brunelle and Mike Greene
• 2000 – Outstanding Children's Series – James McKenna, Erren Gottlieb, Elizabeth Brock, Jamie Hammond and Bill Nye
• 2000 – Outstanding Sound Editing – Dave Howe, Michael McAuliffe and Thomas McGurk
• 2000 – Outstanding Sound Mixing – Dave Howe, Michael McAuliffe, Thomas McGurk, Myron Partman and Resti Bagcal (Tied with Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: The TV Show and Bear in the Big Blue House)

See also

• The Eyes of Nye
• Universe of Energy - an attraction at Walt Disney World's Epcot starring Bill Nye.
• Stuff Happens

External links

• Bill Nye, The Science Lab Official Site
• Bill Nye, The Science Guy at Disney.com
• Bill Nye, the Science Guy at IMDb
• Template:Tv.com show
• Episode Review "The Sun", Deep Yellow's "My Favorite Star".
• Bill Nye - Popular Video (02:32) - Warning That Creationism Threatens Science Education in The United States.