Bill Nye the Science Guy is an American television program about science. It was created by Bill Nye, James McKenna, and Erren Gottlieb. Bill Nye played a character based on himself. The show was made by KCTS, a public television station in Seattle, and by McKenna/Gottlieb Producers. Buena Vista Television helped distribute the show, and the National Science Foundation provided financial support.

The show first aired on many TV stations from September 10, 1993, to February 5, 1999. It had six seasons and 100 episodes. Starting in its second season, the show also aired on PBS from October 10, 1994, until September 3, 1999. After the original series ended, Bill Nye continued to appear as the Science Guy in short clips that played during reruns of the show on the Noggin cable channel. A video game based on the show was released in 1996. A later show for adults called Bill Nye Saves the World aired on Netflix from 2017 to 2018.

The show was known for its fun style and fast-paced format, similar to MTV shows. It received praise from critics and was nominated for 23 Emmy Awards, winning 19 of them. Studies showed that people who watched the show regularly were better at explaining and expanding on scientific ideas than those who did not watch it.

Format

Bill Nye is shown as a very energetic, tall, and thin scientist wearing a blue lab coat and a bow tie. He explains everyday science in a fun and fast-paced way, mixing serious topics with humor.

Each 30-minute episode starts with a cold open, where Nye introduces the episode’s theme. This is followed by an opening credit sequence, which shows Nye in a computer-animated scientific world. In this scene, his head spins, radio signals appear, and plastic toy dinosaurs fly. In later seasons, the theme song was cut short by a screen showing static. After the credits (in most episodes), announcer Pat Cashman says, “Brought to you by…,” followed by the name of a product related to the episode’s theme.

Nye then enters the set, called “Nye Laboratories,” which is filled with scientific visuals and many “of science” machines that are announced in an exciting way, all connected to the episode’s theme. The show includes parodies of science-related TV and movie scenes, as well as funny copies of TV commercials.

The show includes many guest appearances. Each episode shows Nye visiting places connected to the episode’s theme, where people talk about their work and contributions. At the end of each episode, Nye thanks the audience and explains a clever description of the theme’s activity. The closing credits show bloopers from the episode.

• Way Cool Scientist: An expert explains the science behind the episode’s theme.
• Consider the Following: Nye discusses a specific part of the episode’s theme.
• Nifty Home Experiment: A viewer demonstrates a simple experiment they can do at home.
• Try This: A viewer shows a simple demonstration.
• Hey! Look at This: An expert gives a closer look at the episode’s theme.
• Check it Out: A viewer talks about environmental issues.
• Clever Science Trick: A viewer shows a simple science trick.
• The Jackie Smazz Show: Pat Cashman acts as a talk show host named Jackie Smazz.
• Great Moments in Science: Cashman narrates a historical science event.
• Great Moments in Communication: Cashman narrates a historical communication event.
• Pet Rock Theater: Animated pet rocks perform an act.
• Better Eating Through Kitchen Chemistry: Ian G. Saunders plays Vivian Cupcake, who demonstrates science-based recipes.
• Richie, Eat Your Crust: Nye and the Family Crust perform an act about encouraging a boy to eat his crust.
• Did You Know That…: A fun fact is shared.
• Luna Van Dyke, Private Eye: Michaela Leslie-Rule plays a private investigator named Luna Van Dyke who solves a story.
• Mind Your Manners with Billy Quan: A parody of a martial arts film related to the episode’s theme, featuring a character based on Bruce Lee. These segments originally appeared on the sketch comedy show Almost Live!.
• Soundtrack of Science: A song parody with a science theme.

History

Bill Nye first worked as an engineer for the Boeing 747 airplane at Boeing in Seattle, where he moved in 1977 after being hired for the job. In his free time, Nye began doing stand-up comedy. He won a contest to look like Steve Martin at a comedy club, which helped him meet other comedians, Ross Shafer and John Keister. In 1985, Nye left Boeing to join Shafer and Keister in writing and performing for Almost Live!, a new sketch comedy show produced by KING-TV, a local NBC station. While working on the show, Nye started to share science knowledge on air. This began when he corrected Shafer’s pronunciation of the word “gigawatt” during a live broadcast. Shafer joked, “Who do you think you are – Bill Nye the Science Guy?” This led to Nye answering science questions from viewers. His first official appearance as “Bill Nye the Science Guy” happened on January 8, 1987, after the scheduled guest for the show canceled. To fill the time, Nye demonstrated how liquid nitrogen can be used at home. He showed the audience how to shatter an onion by submerging it in liquid nitrogen, which earned praise from the audience.

As Nye continued to appear on Almost Live!, he dreamed of creating a show focused on his science persona. KING-TV initially refused his idea, but he later got help from former colleagues James McKenna and Erren Gottlieb. Together, they pitched the show as a mix of Watch Mr. Wizard and Pee-wee’s Playhouse. After Pee-wee’s Playhouse was removed from the plan due to legal issues involving its star, the idea was refined. It took four years to convince networks to support the show, but in 1993, a local PBS station, KCTS-TV, agreed to produce a pilot. The pilot aired on KCTS-TV on April 14, 1993, and later on PBS stations nationwide. Nye secured funding from the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Energy. The show became a popular option for stations to meet children’s television requirements, making it the first program to air on both public and commercial stations at the same time.

The theme song for Bill Nye the Science Guy was written by Mike Greene, a former math teacher. Greene created the melody, inspired by Danny Elfman’s work with the band Oingo Boingo. The producers wanted the song to avoid sounding like a typical children’s show, so Greene’s version, which included his own voice, was chosen. The song features a house beat and rappers repeating the word “Bill!” as a rhythmic shout. Greene used rappers from his studio to record the chant, though he could not name them due to contract rules. A female voice, provided by Leslie Kyle-Wilson, also appears in the song.

The show was created in 1992 by Bill Nye, James McKenna, and Erren Gottlieb. It was produced by McKenna/Gottlieb Producers, Inc., in partnership with KCTS-TV in Seattle. The following year, the production team signed a deal with Buena Vista Television, a Disney subsidiary. Under the agreement, Disney received distribution rights for the show, while the production team shared profits. McKenna and Gottlieb had previously worked together on Almost Live!, a Seattle-based comedy show.

The program’s announcer, Pat Cashman, had worked with Nye on Almost Live!. Before Bill Nye the Science Guy, Nye had also worked with Christopher Lloyd on Back to the Future: The Animated Series, where he played Doc Brown’s assistant and demonstrated experiments.

The show is often compared to Watch Mr. Wizard and ran around the same time as Beakman’s World, sharing some crew members, including editor/writer/director Michael Gross.

Funding for the show came from the National Science Foundation, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and PBS stations. Additional sponsors included Ore Ida, The Boeing Company (where Nye had worked until 1986), and Intel. The show was credited as “Produced in Association with the National Science Foundation” during syndicated airings and later changed to “Produced in Association with Walt Disney Television” for PBS broadcasts.

The show originally had 26 episodes for the 1993–1994 season. After its success, it was renewed for a second 26-episode season (1994–1995) and 13 more episodes (1995–1996). In 1996, it was renewed for two more years, totaling 100 episodes. The final episode aired in 1999, even though production ended in 1997.

Although Disney owned the show, it never aired on Disney-owned networks like Disney Channel or ABC in the United States.

In 1999, Bill Nye signed a deal with Noggin, a cable channel owned by MTV Networks and Sesame Workshop. Noggin acquired all 100 episodes of Bill Nye the Science Guy, making it the channel’s first program. Instead of creating new episodes, Noggin made original shorts featuring Nye as the “head sparkologist” of Noggin. Nye also planned to create new shows for Noggin, including a math series and one about teaching kids good judgment.

Impact

KCTS-TV did several studies to check how well Bill Nye the Science Guy worked as an educational tool. One study found that people who watched the show made more observations and used more detailed groupings than those who did not watch. Surveys of elementary students who watched the program showed that most said Nye made them like science more. When asked if Nye was a scientist, actor, or comedian, most students said he was a scientist, and some said he was both. Students described Nye as equally "funny" and "smart," and thought he was a good source of information.

Home media

Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment released each episode of the series individually on DVD, but did not release a complete collection of all episodes on a single set. Instead, each episode was sold separately, totaling 100 DVDs that cost $1,500 altogether. In the United Kingdom, the series was distributed on VHS by ViewTech, Bristol. Between 1994 and 1995, Walt Disney Home Video released five volumes of Bill Nye the Science Guy, including titles 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." These five volumes were sold on VHS, with each volume containing two episodes. As of May 2017, the 1996 episode "Probability" was edited from its original version, with a segment removed that included a cast member stating there are only two genders. Netflix said it did not edit the episode, explaining that it was received in that form by Buena Vista TV. A collection of 31 episodes is also available for purchase on the iTunes Store, divided into two separate volumes: one containing 14 episodes and the other containing 17 episodes. Despite Disney's involvement in the series, it has not been made available on Disney+ due to a disagreement between Disney and Bill Nye about how revenue from the series would be shared.

Video game

A computer game inspired by the TV show, called Bill Nye: The Science Guy – Stop the Rock!, was developed in 1996 for Microsoft Windows and Macintosh computers by Pacific Interactive.