With weekly talk shows devoted to other TV shows becoming a cottage industry (see: “Talking Dead” on AMC, “Beyond A.D.” on NBC.com), a science-themed talk show does not seem so far-fetched.
Monday at 11 p.m., National Geographic Channel debuts “StarTalk” hosted by Neil deGrasse Tyson (“Cosmos”). It’s based on Tyson’s existing podcast series of the same name.
In Monday’s premiere, Tyson, who has a doctorate in astrophysics, is joined by a co-host-of-the-week, comedian Leighann Lord, and astronomy/physics professor Charles Liu to discuss the role of “Star Trek” in culture, technology and science. Their segments chatting about the 1960s-born phenomenon are interspersed with an interview Tyson conducted earlier with “Star Trek” actor George Takei. Although Takei has become a ubiquitous presence in pop culture in recent years thanks to his popular social media feeds, Tyson’s interview managed to bring out both stories I’ve heard Takei tell before and some new material.
“The Kardashians have been going longer than the original ‘Star Trek,’” Tyson notes.
“Yes, but on ‘Star Trek’ we have the Cardassians,” Takei replies good-naturedly.
A commentary at the end by “Bill Nye The Science Guy” doesn’t add much, but the show’s second episode, featuring Tyson’s interview with “Interstellar” director Christopher Nolan, promises the hope of something fresher with a pop culture figure who’s less overexposed than Takei. (Future guests will include sex columnist Dan Savage, ethologist Richard Dawkins, Twitter co-founder Biz Stone, “All in the Family” creator Norman Lear and former President Jimmy Carter.)
At a January Nat Geo press conference, Tyson said his goal with the TV show is the same as with his podcast.
“It’s a mixture of comedy, science, and pop culture fully blended, every single episode,” he said. “I’m the host, yet I’m the scientist, and my guests are hardly ever scientists.
“Our goal is to hew them from pop culture. It could be entertainment. It could be sports. We’ve even interviewed journalists … and then we orchestrate a conversation around them that constantly detours into science and all the ways (it) has influenced that person’s livelihood. And in this way, we bring science to people who didn’t know they liked science, or maybe thought that they didn’t like science.”
Tyson said his inspiration for the podcast that led to the TV show was public radio’s “Car Talk,” which managed to be entertaining even to non-car aficionados. Similarly, his hope for “StarTalk” is that it can have an appeal beyond science geeks. And he’s not particularly interested in using the series to take on scientific misconceptions.
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