Einstein’s Big Idea (Nova)
Picture: C+
Sound: C+ Extras: C- Main Program: B
Another exceptional, winning installment of the PBS/WGBH
series Nova is Einstein’s Big Idea, a recent and nearly 2 hour
semi-telefilm hosted in a voice over by John Lithgow in which the origins of E
= mc2 and how several great thinkers in science helped create the
foundation that helped Albert Einstein create his famous equation of The Theory
Of Relativity. Michael Faraday,
Antoine-Laurent Lavoisier, James Clerk Maxwell, Emilie du Châtelet and Lise
Meitner are among those portrayed and give the credit they deserve and/or are
long overdue.
David Bodanis wrote the book this special is based on,
with writer, producer and director Gary Johnstone doing an ace of a job translating
this vital history into an amazing program that is always informative and
entertaining. The production design is
better than usual and the casting and acting is pretty good. You could do entire films on each person,
they are all so interesting and important, but this show does more than justice
to all of them. This is top rate work
and only because it is not longer is why I do not rate it higher. Too bad this was not a mini-series.
The letterboxed 1.78 x 1 image is not great, but not bad,
with more dramatizations than usual to enjoy.
Too bad this was not anamorphically enhanced. There are some detail limits, but that is minor. The Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo has no major
Pro Logic surrounds, but is nicely recorded and Pro Logic only spreads the
sound out slightly. The extras are few,
with descriptive services and printable educational materials. I wish there were more. I guess I will have to pick up the
book. After seeing this winner, you
will want to too.
- Nicholas Sheffo
