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''Look Around You'' is a BBC Television Comedy series devised and written by Robert Popper and Peter Serafinowicz , and, in the first series only, narrated by Nigel Lambert . The first series of eight 10-minute shorts was shown in 2002 , and the second series of six 30-minute episodes in 2005 . The first series was broadcast on BBC America in early 2005 , with a slightly edited version of the second series airing in March 2006 . SERIES 1 Civilian " (a nonsense word) or "brown iron", called "iron's most basic form" by the show's narrator, which is supposedly created by reacting iron with Sulphuric Acid . The irony of the joke is that this reaction actually produces iron sulphate, which is more complex than the pure elemental iron alone. Bumcivilian has the curious property of absorbing sound particles, which can be demonstrated by ringing a bell in the vicinity.]] In the first series, the episodes were a Satire / Homage of 1970s and early 1980s Educational Videos and schools programmes, with a different scientific subject being discussed in each episode, or "modules" as they are referred to in the series. The modules were, in order of transmission: # Maths # Water # Germ s # Ghost s # Sulphur # Music # Iron # The Brain The humour is derived from a mixture of patent nonsense and faithful references and homages. For instance, fictional items that have a passing resemblance to everyday objects were created (such as the Boîte Diabolique and a performance enhancing chewing gum called "Garry Gum") and each episode began with an authentic "countdown clock", similar to the one used on ITV Schools programmes from 1979 to 1987 . The original accompanying music to the countdown was replaced with a solo Guitar which is heard tuning at the beginning of "The Brain" episode. The subjects were distorted beyond recognition, for instance, Germ s were described as coming from Germany . The general format of an episode would be an introduction to the subject, followed by a series of silly experiments performed by the hapless (and normally mute) Scientist s, played by Popper, Serafinowicz and Edgar Wright , among others. At the end of each module, the narrator would explain what the programme would be about next week such as Reggae , Romance or Italians , although none of these subjects were ever covered. The series has been praised for its attention to detail. For example, the colour and overall look of the film is altered, and passably authentic background music was Overdubbed to complete the parody of the original programmes. A running gag throughout the series is the fastidious labelling of all items, such as Hairdryers , Magnet s, or a jar of Nut s. The series was commissioned off the back of a 20-minute pilot episode (twice the length of an episode in the first series but otherwise identical) about Calcium ; this is included on the DVD release of series 1 as an "advanced double-length module". The DVD extras also include a music video for the song "Little Mouse" (as featured in the module on music), a selection of mock- Ceefax pages, and a creator's commentary. The joke is taken even further by presenting the DVD Subtitles in exactly the same format as those broadcast via Teletext . Trivia >10 PRINT "LOOK AROUND YOU ";:is valid but would produce an Infinite Loop , as demonstrated immediately afterwards.
SERIES 2 The second series was composed of six 30-minute episodes and was presented in the pop-science vein of programmes such as '' How ?'' and '' Tomorrow's World ''. Running from 31 January to 7 March 2005 on BBC Two at 10pm, Series 2 comprised the following episodes: # Music # Health # Sport # Food # Computer s # "Live" Inventor of the Year Final To reinforce the show's retro look, each episode's opening Widescreen . Another thing that was done was to make the footage shot on location appear to be on scratchy 16mm Film , which was also how shows were shot at the time. The second series differed from the first series in that there was dialogue between the four presenters and their guests, leaving behind both the narrated style of the first series and the anonymity given to the scientists. Popper and Serafinowicz starred as presenters Jack Morgan (the artist responsible for the song 'Little Mouse' as featured in the first series) and Peter Packard respectively, alongside the two new female presenters, Pam Bachelor and Pealy Maghti, played by Olivia Colman and Josie D'Arby . Several Running Gag s from the first series also reprise, such as mentions of Imhotep and phrases such as "Thanks, ants. Thants." There was also a measure of continuity throughout this series, as each week inventors (played by a number of UK comic actors) showcased their new products, culminating in the live final programme where a winning invention was chosen, supposedly by " HRH Sir Prince Charles ”. Archive footage of Prince Charles was blended with Look Around You footage, Peter Serafinowicz replacing the prince’s real voice with his own perfectly lip-synched impression of it. Other running jokes in this series were "people who liked (topic) so much, they changed their name to it", such as Synthesizer Patel in the "Music" episode and Computer Jones in the "Computers" episode. The "Music" episode featured a futuristic song contest, showcasing songs we would be hearing in the year 2000. Toni Baxter's 'Sexual Interface' won the contest. The runners-up were "Machadaynu" by Tony Rudd (played by Kevin Eldon ) and Anthony Carmichael's 'Rapping Song'. DVD extras include a quiz, Pages from CEEFAX, an alternative Birds of Britain feature, the Scary Picture and the Test Card (A music video). There is also an Easter Egg. Trivia
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