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| title | chunk | source | category | tags | date_saved | instance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bill Nye the Science Guy | 3/3 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Nye_the_Science_Guy | reference | science, encyclopedia | 2026-05-05T07:44:55.230353+00:00 | kb-cron |
=== Production === The show was created in 1992 by Bill Nye, James McKenna and Erren Gottlieb, produced by McKenna/Gottlieb Producers, Inc, in partnership with KCTS in Seattle. The following year, the production companies entered a distribution agreement with Buena Vista Television, a subsidiary of Disney. As part of the agreement, the profits of the show were split between Disney and the production team, with Disney owning full distribution rights across linear television, home video, and digital streaming. McKenna and Gottlieb all met while McKenna was a producer on Almost Live!, a Seattle-based comedy show. The announcer for the program was Pat Cashman, whom Nye knew from his time on Almost Live!. Before his show launched, Nye had previously worked alongside Christopher Lloyd in Back to the Future: The Animated Series, where he played Doc Brown's assistant and demonstrated several experiments. The show has been likened to the next-generation version of Watch Mr. Wizard. The show ran about the same time as and covered similar topics to Beakman's World, in fact sharing one crew member, editor/writer/director Michael Gross. The show was primarily funded by the National Science Foundation, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the annual financial support from the viewers/stations of the PBS network. Other funding sponsors included Ore Ida, The Boeing Company (which Nye worked for until 1986, Boeing was also based in Seattle until 2001 when it relocated its corporate headquarters to Chicago, Illinois and later Washington, D.C.), and Intel. The syndicated airings were credited as being "Produced in Association with the National Science Foundation", while the PBS airings changed it to being "Produced in Association with Walt Disney Television". The show began with a 26-episode order for the 1993–1994 television season. After its initial success, it was renewed for a second 26-episode order for the 1994–1995 season, followed by 13 additional episodes for the 1995–1996 season. In February 1996, it was renewed for two more years, bringing the final episode total to 100. The final episode aired in 1999, well after production ended in 1997. Despite Disney's association and ownership with the show, it has never aired on any network owned by Walt Disney Television in the United States (such as Disney Channel and ABC, the latter of which Disney would acquire in 1996, three years after the show premiered.)
=== Noggin shorts ===
In September 1999, Bill Nye signed a multi-year deal to develop and star in original programs for Noggin, a cable channel co-owned by MTV Networks and the Children's Television Workshop (now known as Sesame Workshop). In addition to producing the new content, Noggin acquired all 100 episodes of Bill Nye the Science Guy; this made it the first-ever program acquisition by the channel. Noggin and Nye chose not to develop new episodes of the show, and instead created original shorts featuring Nye, in character and costume from Bill Nye the Science Guy. In the shorts, Nye's "Science Guy" persona worked as the "head sparkologist" of Noggin, and he tried to find out what topics sparked viewers' imaginations. Bill Nye told Multichannel News that he was interested in creating multiple original shows for Noggin, including a math-based series and one "showing kids how to exercise good judgment." Bill Nye also hosted "Noggin's What Sparks You? Special," a half-hour special that aired on April 7, 2000.
== Impact ==
In conjunction with the production of Bill Nye the Science Guy, KCTS-TV conducted several research studies that evaluated how effective the program was as an educational tool. In one study, it was found that viewers of the program made more observations and sophisticated classifications than non-viewers. In surveys of elementary students who watched the program, most children concluded that Nye made "kids like science more". When surveyed whether Nye was a scientist or actor and comedian, most students asserted he was a scientist, though many said both. Students also described Nye almost equally as both "funny" and "smart", and believed he was a "source of good information."
== Awards ==
During its run, Bill Nye the Science Guy was nominated for 23 Emmy Awards, winning nineteen.
== Home media == Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment has released every episode individually on DVD, but never released a full series set. Instead, each episode was released separately on its own DVD, for a total of 100 DVDs costing a combined $1,500. In the United Kingdom, it was distributed on VHS by ViewTech, Bristol. In 1994 and 1995, Walt Disney Home Video released five volumes of Bill Nye the Science Guy, such as "The Human Body: The Inside Scoop", "Powerful Forces: All Pumped Up", "Dinosaurs: Those Big Boneheads", "Reptiles & Insects: Leapin' Lizards", and "Outer Space: Way Out There". All five volumes were released on VHS, containing two episodes. As of May 2017, the 1996 episode "Probability" is edited from its original airing, with a segment removed featuring a cast member saying there are only two genders. Netflix denied allegations they edited it (their new series Bill Nye Saves the World features Nye stating gender is on a spectrum) saying "It was delivered to us that way by Buena Vista TV." A set of 31 episodes is also available for purchase on the iTunes Store, though they have been split into two separate volumes; one containing 14 episodes and the other containing 17 episodes. Despite Disney's involvement in the series, the series has not been available on Disney+ due to a dispute with Nye over revenue sharing.
== Video game == A computer game based on the series, titled Bill Nye: The Science Guy - Stop the Rock!, was released in 1996 for Microsoft Windows and Macintosh by Pacific Interactive.
== See also == Stuff Happens The Eyes of Nye Carl Sagan Universe of Energy – an attraction at Walt Disney World's Epcot starring Bill Nye Dinosaur – another Walt Disney World attraction, located in Disney's Animal Kingdom; it features Nye in the queue area via voiceover Bill Nye–Ken Ham debate
== Notes ==
== References ==
== External links ==
Bill Nye, The Science Lab Official Site Bill Nye, the Science Guy at IMDb Episode Review "The Sun", Deep Yellow's "My Favorite Star". Video (02:47) – Epic Rap Battles of History: Sir Isaac Newton vs Bill Nye. Bill Nye the Science Guy at The Interviews: An Oral History of Television results. Human Timeline (Interactive) – Smithsonian, National Museum of Natural History (August 2016).