Touching upon a subject that sounds about as dull as ditchwater, 'Longitude' brought into focus one of the standards of measurement that we nowadays take sublimely for granted. How easy it is to forget, in our simple, mundane lives, the single-minded search of scientists and engineers who laid down the fabric of modern knowledge and the means to express it. Whole lives often became dedicated to resolving an individual problem or attaining some obscure goal.
The programme added further interest by interplaying a story of instrument restoration with its original creation and perfection, shifting from one period of history and another.
This mini-series (available edited on DVD) had me completely enthralled in a way that I'm rather ashamed to say a documentary might not. The splendid drama helped to drive home the personal intensity of research and painstaking craft in its execution, as well as their implications for family. There was also great insight into the politics of the day. Irons and Gambon set a masterclass in their respective roles. Though, as with all of the best British drama, everyone played their parts to a nicety. Sets, styles, costumes and even period manners were very well observed.
Because so much has been discovered by so many, especially since the enlightenment, 'history' tends to concentrate unfairly upon the 'sexy' and dramatic issues like wars, nation-building and so forth. Even when science is touched upon, it is usually preoccupied with the power to amaze. Yet so much in our acquisition of knowledge was down to dogged determination over years rather than 'eureka moments'. This programme wasn't just an excellent way of revealing the issues of longitude - which it did in a most interesting way - it also served as a microcosm of scientific steadfastness as a whole. We all know the big names, but in their shadows stand many many more without whom even those big names would likely have been unsung. As Isaac Newton himself once observed 'If I see further than other men it's because I stand on the shoulders of giants'.
Very highly recommended, both as a drama and source of education.
The programme added further interest by interplaying a story of instrument restoration with its original creation and perfection, shifting from one period of history and another.
This mini-series (available edited on DVD) had me completely enthralled in a way that I'm rather ashamed to say a documentary might not. The splendid drama helped to drive home the personal intensity of research and painstaking craft in its execution, as well as their implications for family. There was also great insight into the politics of the day. Irons and Gambon set a masterclass in their respective roles. Though, as with all of the best British drama, everyone played their parts to a nicety. Sets, styles, costumes and even period manners were very well observed.
Because so much has been discovered by so many, especially since the enlightenment, 'history' tends to concentrate unfairly upon the 'sexy' and dramatic issues like wars, nation-building and so forth. Even when science is touched upon, it is usually preoccupied with the power to amaze. Yet so much in our acquisition of knowledge was down to dogged determination over years rather than 'eureka moments'. This programme wasn't just an excellent way of revealing the issues of longitude - which it did in a most interesting way - it also served as a microcosm of scientific steadfastness as a whole. We all know the big names, but in their shadows stand many many more without whom even those big names would likely have been unsung. As Isaac Newton himself once observed 'If I see further than other men it's because I stand on the shoulders of giants'.
Very highly recommended, both as a drama and source of education.