Bill Nye the Science Guy

This article is about the television program. For its host, see Bill Nye.

Bill Nye the Science Guy
Created by	Bill Nye James McKenna Erren Gottlieb
Presented by	Bill Nye
Starring	Drew Barrymore Bill Nye Candace Cameron Bure Chais Dean Suzanne Mikawa Ivyann Schwan Jaffar Smith
Narrated by	Pat Cashman
Theme music composer	Mike Greene
Composers	Mike Greene Tom McGurk
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	KCTS Seattle Rabbit Ears Productions Walt Disney Television
Original release
Network	PBS
Release	September 10, 1993 (1993-09-10) – June 20, 1998 (1998-06-20)

Bill Nye is the host of the program.

Bill Nye the Science Guy is an American live action educational comedy television program that originally aired from September 10, 1993 to June 20, 1998 and was hosted by Bill Nye. The show aired on PBS Kids and was also syndicated to local stations.

Each of the 100 half-hour episodes aims to teach a specific topic in a natural science to a preteen audience.

Synopsis

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 half-hour show begins with Bill walking onto the set, called "Nye Laboratories", which is filled with scientific visuals including many "of science" contraptions announced dramatically, relevant to the topic of the episode.

There are several individual segments that are featured in each episode, such as "Way Cool Scientist", which features an expert on the show's topic, "Consider the Following", where Bill discusses a certain aspect of the topic, "Nifty Home Experiment," where the audience is shown how to do a simple home experiment relating to the topic, and "Did you know that... ...Now you know," where an interesting factoid relevant to that episodes topic was presented.

Most half-hour episodes contain a mock song parody and music video in the "Soundtrack of Science" by "Not That Bad Records" ("Not that bad" is a line that Bill will often say in episodes), substituting a scientific roundup of the episode for the lyrics to a popular song. This is usually the last segment of each episode. Each half-hour show ends with Bill saying, "Well, that was our show. Thanks for watching. Now, if you'll excuse me..." before explaining in a clever description of an activity on topic, followed by him saying, "See ya!" afterwards. The credits sometimes rolled next to a series of outtakes from the episode.

Soundtrack

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

• "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
• "Spindlelegs" by King Palmer
• "Acts of Heroism (C)"
• "Saw Theme"
• "Graveyard"

Production

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

The announcer was Pat Cashman, whom Nye knew from his time on Almost Live!. The theme song is credited to Mike Greene.

The show has been likened to the next generation version of Watch Mr. Wizard. 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.

The show has been primarily funded by the National Science Foundation and the annual financial support from the viewers/stations of PBS. Other funding sponsors included Ore Ida, The Boeing Company, and Intel.

Episodes

100 half-hour episodes were produced.

Season 1

No.	Title	"Soundtrack of Science" Parody song	Airdate
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	Seasons	A Tilted Development – "Rhyme and Season"; artist name is a parody of Arrested Development (Note: Ross Shafer guest stars in this episode on The Tilted Planet Game segment.)	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	Electricity	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

Season 2

No.	Title	"Soundtrack of Science" Parody song	Airdate
1	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
2	Wind	Wind Dee – "Wind Is In Your Hair" Parody of "Groove Is in the Heart" by Deee-Lite	February 25, 1994
3	Blood and Circulation	AB+ – "Blood Stream" Parody of "Love Shack" by The B-52's	March 4, 1994
4	Chemical Reactions	Chemical Reactions – "Don't Try This at Home" Parody of "State of Attraction" by Paula Abdul	March 11, 1994
5	Static Electricity	The Sticky Socks – "Static Electricity" Parody of "Turning Japanese" by The Vapors	March 18, 1994
6	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
7	Light Optics	Queen Lighteefa – "B.E.N.T." Parody of "U.N.I.T.Y." by Queen Latifah	September 10, 1994
8	Bones and Muscles	Steppenbone – "Bones in my Body" Parody of "Born to Be Wild" by Steppenwolf	September 17, 1994
9	Oceanography	Gulfstream Girls – "Deep Ocean Currents" Parody of "California Girls" by The Beach Boys	September 24, 1994
10	Heat	LeHot – "LeHeat" Parody of "Le Freak" by Chic	October 1, 1994
11	Insects	UB Buggy – "Jah Mon, Insects Rule" Style Parody of UB40	October 8, 1994
12	Balance	Torquer – "Balance This" Parody of "Get Off This" by Cracker	October 15, 1994
13	The Sun	Deep Yellow – "My Favorite Star" Parody of "Highway Star" by Deep Purple	October 22, 1994
14	Brain	En Lobe – "Whatta Brain" Parody of "Whatta Man" by En Vogue with Salt-n-Pepa	October 29, 1994
15	Forests	John Cougar Loggincamp – "Second Growth" Style Parody of John Mellencamp	November 5, 1994
16	Communication	Mary Chapin Communicator – "How Can We Communicate" Parody of "He Thinks He'll Keep Her" by Mary Chapin Carpenter	November 12, 1994
17	Momentum	Momentisey – "The Faster You Push Me" Parody of "The More You Ignore Me, the Closer I Get" by Morrissey	November 19, 1994
18	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
19	Atmosphere	Warm -n- Wetta – "Fresh Aire"; artist name is a parody of Salt N Pepa	December 2, 1994
20	Respiration	Ali Veoli – "What A Pair" Style Parody of Tatyana Ali	January 7, 1995

Season 3

No.	Title	"Soundtrack of Science" Parody song	Airdate
1	The Planets	No music video	January 14, 1995
2	Pressure	PSI Garden – "Pressure" Parody of "Spoonman" by Soundgarden	January 21, 1995
3	Plants	Rhoda Dendron – "Cross Pollination" Parody of "Human Behaviour" by Björk	January 28, 1995
4	Rocks and Soil	Sedimentary Fools – "Rocks Rock Harder" Parody of "Basket Case" by Green Day	February 3, 1995
5	Energy	The ERG's – "N-R-G" Parody of "Sabotage" by the Beastie Boys	February 10, 1995
6	Evolution	Evolver – "Survival" Style parody of Revolution by the Beatles	February 18, 1995
7	Water Cycle	J.A.C. – "Water Cycle Jump" Parody of "Jump" by Kris Kross	March 24, 1995
8	Friction	Grace Slip – "Friction Happens"; artist name is a parody of Grace Slick	March 31, 1995
9	Germs	Dose of Soap – "Just Wash Your Hands" Parody of "Don't Turn Around" by Ace of Base	April 7, 1995
10	Climates	Climate Report – "Whether the Weather" Parody of "Lucas With The Lid Off" by Lucas Secon	April 14, 1995
11	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
12	Ocean Life	James Baleen – "Power To The Plankton" Style Parody of James Brown	April 28, 1995
13	Mammals	Fake Fur – "Jennifer's A Mammal" Parody of "Institutionalized" by Suicidal Tendencies	September 8, 1995
14	Spinning Things	House of Spin – "Spin Around" Parody of "Jump Around" by House of Pain	September 15, 1995
15	Fish	Salmon Dave – "I'm a Sole Man" Parody of "Soul Man" by Sam & Dave	September 22, 1995
16	Human Transportation	Carpoolio – "Move Groove" Parody of "Fantastic Voyage" by Coolio	September 29, 1995
17	Wetlands	Maria and the Mudflats – "Where The Land is Wet"	October 6, 1995
18	Birds	LL Bloo J. – "Talkin' Bout Birds"; artist name is a parody of LL Cool J	October 13, 1995
19	Populations	Shirell Crow – "All We Need To Do" Parody of "All I Wanna Do" by Sheryl Crow	October 20, 1995
20	Animal Locomotion	Bjorn Turun – "Loco Motion" Parody of "Everything Zen" by Bush	October 27, 1995

Season 4

No.	Title	"Soundtrack of Science" Parody song	Airdate
1	Rivers and Streams	Talking Headwaters – "Take Me To The River" Parody of "Take Me to the River" by Talking Heads	November 3, 1995
2	Nutrition	Knute Trishan – "Good Food" Style Parody of Nine Inch Nails/Trent Reznor	November 10, 1995
3	Marine Mammals	Marina Cesealia – "Breathe Like Me" Parody of "I Know" by Dionne Farris	November 17, 1995
4	Earthquakes	Mistah Richter – "Earthquake Rumble" Style Parody of the Dave Matthews Band	November 24, 1995
5	NTV Top 11 Video Countdown	Mudhoney – "Bill Nye The Science Guy Theme"	December 1, 1995
6	Spiders	Foo Spighters – "This is A Spiders Life" Parody of "This Is a Call" by Foo Fighters	January 5, 1996
7	Pollution Solutions	No music video	January 12, 1996
8	Probability	Steven Odd – "50 Fifty" Parody of "Loser" by Beck	January 19, 1996
9	Pseudoscience	Dare L. Pseudo – "Pure Proof" Parody of "100% Pure Love" by Crystal Waters	January 26, 1996
10	Flowers	Daisy Birdsenbees – "So Many Flowers"	February 2, 1996
11	Archaeology	Mob Barley – "Diggin'" Parody of "Jamming" by Bob Marley	February 9, 1996
12	Deserts	Deserette – "Always Dry" Parody of "You Oughta Know" by Alanis Morissette	February 16, 1996
13	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
14	Volcanoes	Volcanque – "Lavaflows" Parody of "Waterfalls" by TLC	January 31, 1997
15	Invertebrates	S. Khar Go – "Crawl Away" Parody of "Runaway" by Janet Jackson	February 7, 1997
16	Heart	Vinny Vein and the Pumpers – "Gimme Back My Heart"	February 14, 1997
17	Inventions	En Vent and the Process – "It's An 'ing Thing"	February 21, 1997
18	Computers	La Binary – "One Zero 001" Parody of "Be My Lover" by La Bouche	April 25, 1997
19	Fossils	Etchton Stone – "Fossil Man" Parody of "Rocket Man" by Elton John	September 5, 1997
20	Time	The Tim E. Zone Experience – "Time Time Time Time Time..." Parody of "Time Has Come Today" by The Chambers Brothers	September 12, 1997

Season 5

No.	Title	"Soundtrack of Science" Parody song	Airdate
1	Forensics	Krime Seen – "We Will Find You" Parody of "We Will Rock You/We Are the Champions" by Queen	September 19, 1997
2	Space Exploration	The Space Princess of Galactic Grooviness – "Planets All" Parody of "Set You Free" by Planet Soul	September 26, 1997
3	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
4	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
5	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
6	Life Cycles	Roberta Fungi – "Everything Has A Life Cycle" Parody of "Killing Me Softly" by Roberta Flack	November 14, 1997
7	DIY 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
8	Atoms	Third Nye Blind – "Atoms in My Life" Parody of "Semi Charmed Life" by Third Eye Blind	November 28, 1997
9	Ocean Exploration	The Posies – "Voyage of the Aquanauts" A parody of their 1993 song "Flavor of the Month". The Posies are an alternative rock group from Bellingham, Washington.	December 5, 1997
10	Lakes and Ponds	The Foggy Boyz – "Fond of Lakes and Ponds" Parody of "Tha Crossroads" by Bone Thugs-n-Harmony	February 21, 1998
11	Smell	Turbinator Two – "Come On Use Your Brain (Smell This)" Parody of "C'mon N' Ride It (The Train)" by Quad City DJ's	February 28, 1998
12	Caves	Batilda & Guano – "Cave Thing" Parody of "Shake Your Groove Thing" by Peaches & Herb	April 25, 1998
13	Fluids	Weflo – "Drip it" Parody of "Whip It" by Devo	May 2, 1998
14	Erosion	Earth, Wind & Ice – "Causing the Erosion" Style Parody of No Doubt; artist name is a parody of Earth, Wind & Fire	May 9, 1998
15	Comets and Meteors	Halley Comet – "Got Me Looking" Parody of "Shadowboxer" by Fiona Apple	May 16, 1998
16	Storms	Mighty Mighty Thundertones – "Stormin" Style Parody of The Mighty Mighty Bosstones	May 23, 1998
17	Measurement	The Meter Men – "Every Measurement You Make" Parody of "Every Breath You Take" by The Police	May 30, 1998
18	Patterns	Downward Spiral – "Patterns of Joy" Parody of "Breathe" by The Prodigy; artist name reference to Nine Inch Nails.	June 6, 1998
19	Music	"There's Science In Music" Melodic Style Similar To That Of "The Time Warp" by Richard O'Brien	June 13, 1998
20	Motion (series finale)	Slow Moe – "All in Motion" Parody of "Hot for Teacher" by Van Halen	June 20, 1998

Awards

During its run, Bill Nye the Science Guy was nominated for 23 Emmy Awards, winning nineteen.

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, Sony Felberg, Vince Werner, 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, Sony Felberg, Vince Werner, 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)

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.

As of May 17, 2015, a 31 episode collection is available for streaming on various platforms through Netflix's popular service.

The same set of 31 episodes is also available on iTunes, though they've been split into two separate collections; collection one containing 14 and collection two with 17.

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 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 and other Nye Labs scientists. However, the characters and cast members from the TV series, sans Bill and a few others, do not appear in this game, instead being replaced by game-exclusive Nye Labs team members and new actors.

See also

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

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".
• Video (02:47) - Epic Rap Battle of History: Sir Isaac Newton vs Bill Nye.
• Bill Nye the Science Guy at The Interviews: An Oral History of Television results.
• Bill Nye - Popular Video (02:32) – Warning That Creationism Threatens Science Education in The United States.