New skeptical TV show: The Skeptologists

[briandunning]

Many of you have already heard this announced at TAM, or on Skeptic's Guide or Skeptoid, but here is an update for all.

I am co-executive producing a new TV pilot called The Skeptologists, about a team of diverse scientific experts who get the bat signal, jump into the batmobile, and race to the scene of the pseudoscience to debunk with reckless abandon. Think of Queer Eye meets ********!. Each week we'll debunk a different pseudoscientific pop phenomenon.

We have an OPEN CASTING CALL. We've had a great response from all quarters with many applications from professional scientists who are interested in becoming TV personalities. I won't namedrop but virtually all the top names from TAMs past and present have already indicated their interest, so it's going to be quite the community-driven show.

Anyone you know in the field of MD, psychology, electrical engineering, magician/mentalist, or physicist who would make a great TV personality, please advise them to contact us via Skeptologists.com. Our production team is stretched too thin to make cold calls so we are relying on people who contact us.

- Help out your scientist friends who could use a career boost! Make them aware of the opportunity.

- Help out the show for the benefit of all - PASS THIS ALONG to any other forums or communities you belong to!

Go to http://skeptologists.com to apply to be one of the regular stars, or to offer any other type of professional assistance. Please repost and forward wherever appropriate. Mid-February 2008 is the cutoff for casting.

THANKS!!

[Porterboy]

Many of you have already heard this announced at TAM, or on Skeptic's Guide or Skeptoid, but here is an update for all.

I am co-executive producing a new TV pilot called The Skeptologists, about a team of diverse scientific experts who get the bat signal, jump into the batmobile, and race to the scene of the pseudoscience to debunk with reckless abandon. Think of Queer Eye meets ********!. Each week we'll debunk a different pseudoscientific pop phenomenon.

We have an OPEN CASTING CALL. We've had a great response from all quarters with many applications from professional scientists who are interested in becoming TV personalities. I won't namedrop but virtually all the top names from TAMs past and present have already indicated their interest, so it's going to be quite the community-driven show.

Anyone you know in the field of MD, psychology, electrical engineering, magician/mentalist, or physicist who would make a great TV personality, please advise them to contact us via Skeptologists.com. Our production team is stretched too thin to make cold calls so we are relying on people who contact us.

- Help out your scientist friends who could use a career boost! Make them aware of the opportunity.

- Help out the show for the benefit of all - PASS THIS ALONG to any other forums or communities you belong to!

Go to http://skeptologists.com to apply to be one of the regular stars, or to offer any other type of professional assistance. Please repost and forward wherever appropriate. Mid-February 2008 is the cutoff for casting.

THANKS!!

I'm sure you feel very strongly about what you do, but is there any chance you can avoid swearing on your show. I had to stop my kid watching Penn and Teller because she was emulating their vocabulary in front of her school headmistress!:eek:

[TheDoLittle]

Do we know of any networks that will be carrying the show, or is it still being pitched around Horrorwood Hollywood?

[Kiosk]

I'm sure you feel very strongly about what you do, but is there any chance you can avoid swearing on your show. I had to stop my kid watching Penn and Teller because she was emulating their vocabulary in front of her school headmistress!:eek:

If this is an American show, and it's on any network other than HBO, surely that's all taken care of...

I like the idea of making it a fast-moving pop culture type thing - to be worthwhile and avoid preaching to the converted, this show would have to get through to exactly the same demographic who might otherwise watch woo TV and swallow it whole. All you need now is someone capable of condensing complex scientific and logical concepts into elegant soundbites, while being highly telegenic and coming across as likable and charismatic. I can think of many well-known skeptics who are up to one or two of those tasks, but since Carl Sagan died, has there been anyone who can manage all three? People like Randi, Dawkins and Penn & Teller are great, of course, but it's fair to say their styles are not to everyone's taste...

Good luck with getting this past the pilot stage. I do say that with a raised eyebrow, but I also really, really mean it.

[Cueshark]

Really fantastic idea.

You could maybe introduce a way for people to try and bamboozle the experts with their pseudo-science.

I imagine people shouting at the television saying "Our ghost is definately real" - "They couldn't prove me wrong" - If people could write in and challenge the skeptics that could be fun.

Good luck and I looking forward to seeing this programme soon!

Cue.

[briandunning]

This is aimed at Discovery, TLC, Sci-Fi, etc. These networks work in reverse from Hollywood. You make your pilot first, then you shop around your completed pilot. If a network likes it, they don't buy it -- they offer to sell you the airtime. Our production company is experienced in making and selling these type of shows.

We've been lucky to get some proactive interest from the regular networks who actually buy the show with money, but we're proceeding with our pilot.

Don't worry Porterboy, there will be no swearing. :-)

[supercorgi]

Well I don't know of any scientists off hand but if you're going to tackle any archaeology psuedoscience, I recommend Dr. Kenneth L. Feder, he's a professor at Central Connecticut State University and has written a book titled "Frauds, Myths, and Mysteries : Science and Pseudoscience in Archaeology." I went on a field trip with him once, arranged by a local skeptics group, to "America's Stonehenge" and he was pretty interesting and entertaining. His email address is: feder@ccsu.edu

[briandunning]

Thanks -- but unfortunately we don't have the resources to do any cold calling. We're asking that interested parties provide us their contact info on the web page, http://skeptologists.com. If you think he might be interested (though it's pretty far from the LA area), please contact him and point him to the web page for all the info. :-)

[steenkh]

Thanks -- but unfortunately we don't have the resources to do any cold calling.
Is that really so? When you prepare a show of this type, do you always expect possible participants to hear about you themselves and contact you on their own initiative?