Fractionals

I've been meaning to sing the praises of BBC/The Open University's Rough Science for probably a couple of months now; Ben and I have only seen most of series 5 (on Zanzibar!) and now the beginnings of series 6 (in Colorado, of all places). But what a wonderful idea, and what a wonderful execution - sure, it's a reality show, of sorts, but it's mostly four or five brilliant people working together to see just how much crazily advanced stuff they can do with a couple of parts and their natural surroundings. The scientists are obviously having a lot of fun, and even when they're divided into groups the competition is friendly and spirited rather than spiteful and petty (you get the sense each group would much rather see both sides come up with something cool than anything else).

Plus, I have the sneaking suspicion it may be educational. And it's on TVO at 6:30 on Sundays, perfect for just before The Simpsons/Family Guy.