I saw a 2-hour-long documentary about the Standard Model of particle physics, sometime around 1980. It was basically a presentation, by one man, with graphics (which were pretty good for back then). The presentation was sober, and completely free of gee-whizz hype. I think it must have been BBC.
As I remember it, it was a really good presentation of the discoveries that had recently been made in particle physics. I've spent hours searching archives, just to find a trace of evidence of this programme having ever been broadcast. Nothing. If I only knew the name of the presenter, that would help, because he wasn't a famous TV presenter; I believe he was a physicist. But the presenter's name is linked to the documentary - his name might be in the title.
I'd love to get a clue about how to track down this show.
The sheer amount of incredible mind-expanding content that is held in the BBC archives but not readily accessible (even to a UK taxpayer with a TV license) really kills me inside.
I have a feeling that the programme may have been written and presented by Nigel Calder, former editor of the New Scientist. I'm having no luck tracking down the documentary itself, though. The title might be "The Key To The Universe", for which I've seen a couple of reviews that are consistent with the show I remember.
He seems to have published a book of the same title. The show was screened in 1977, possibly twice, and the show is indeed two hours long. I have a review here that says: "Level: popular science, but viewers without some knowledge of high-energy physics would be handicapped". That sounds about right (when I saw it, my knowledge of high-energy physics was roughly zero, and it's not much better now).
As I remember it, it was a really good presentation of the discoveries that had recently been made in particle physics. I've spent hours searching archives, just to find a trace of evidence of this programme having ever been broadcast. Nothing. If I only knew the name of the presenter, that would help, because he wasn't a famous TV presenter; I believe he was a physicist. But the presenter's name is linked to the documentary - his name might be in the title.
I'd love to get a clue about how to track down this show.