Sky at Night: Who best to take over from Patrick Moore

[James Harris]

Patrick Moore is a bit of an institution but can't go on forever. I
wondered what other people think of who would be best to replace him
as lead presenter of The Sky at Night.

I know that it's sometimes easier to comment on individuals than to
pick out a name so I've made a list below of people who have appeared.
Maybe you have comments on each of them. I wonder if it would be
possible to come up with a consensus. Unlikely but who knows.

The list is in alphabetical order of surname so does not imply any
preference on my part. Of course, some are more likely than others but
the list represents all those I can think of. If you watch The Sky at
Night what do you think of them?

Paul Abel

Brian Cox

Michelle Dougherty

Pete Lawrence

Chris Lintott

Brian May

Chris North

John Zarnecki

Are there any others I have missed who should be considered?

I have my own opinions, of course, but I'd like to see what other
people think. Any you would rule out? Should there be a rotating
presenter? ... Not a reference to Patrick's swivel chair. :-)

James

[Dave Liquorice]

On Sat, 21 Apr 2012 12:08:28 -0700 (PDT), James Harris wrote:

> Are there any others I have missed who should be considered?

Helen Czerski

--
Cheers
Dave.

[N_Cook]

Dave Liquorice <allsortsn...@howhill.co.uk> wrote in message
news:nyyfbegfubjuvyypb...@srv1.howhill.co.uk...

> On Sat, 21 Apr 2012 12:08:28 -0700 (PDT), James Harris wrote:
>
> > Are there any others I have missed who should be considered?
>
> Helen >

> --
> Cheers
> Dave.
>
>
>

A non-astronomer is no bad thing, avoids the rather faux double act of Paul
Abel (good TV presence so must be high in the list) and Pete Lawrence both
very knowledgeable on the subject.
Czerski with good TV presence and a science background probably a good
contender
I did not realise she was local - I'll have to try and get her to give a
talk on the science of bubbles to the Southamton Sci caf group
http://www.divdev.fsnet.co.uk/scicaf.htm
Any central South Coast atronomers could give a talk? its been a while
since the talk on the CMB

[Quornhog]

Has everybody forgotten Heather Couper and Alex Lovell?

--
"There's no point in being grown up if you can't be childish sometimes."

[Quornhog]

And then there's always Jon Culshaw:

"Good evening. I am the Doctor and you're watching 'The Sky at Night'.
See those stars? I've been to them!"

Just a thought...

[N_Cook]

Quornhog <chryse...@btinternet.com> wrote in message
news:HKSdnZB2zKJq-wvS...@bt.com...

Or even Darra O'Brien after that programme from Jodrell Bank a few months
back .
And his spot-on quip relating to the LHC supraluminal neutrinos and his
request to viewers of the programme , currently in the future, to email back
to confirm the phenomenon

[James Harris]

On Apr 21, 8:08 pm, James Harris <james.harri...@gmail.com> wrote:

Cross-posting this to a wider group as The Sky at Night is known in
other countries. If you watch the show would you care to express an
opinion on the following?

> Patrick Moore is a bit of an institution but can't go on forever. I
> wondered what other people think of who would be best to replace him
> as lead presenter of The Sky at Night.
>
> I know that it's sometimes easier to comment on individuals than to
> pick out a name so I've made a list below of people who have appeared.
> Maybe you have comments on each of them. I wonder if it would be
> possible to come up with a consensus. Unlikely but who knows.
>
> The list is in alphabetical order of surname so does not imply any
> preference on my part. Of course, some are more likely than others but
> the list represents all those I can think of. If you watch The Sky at
> Night what do you think of them?
>
> Paul Abel
>
> Brian Cox
>
> Michelle Dougherty
>
> Pete Lawrence
>
> Chris Lintott
>
> Brian May
>
> Chris North
>
> John Zarnecki
>
> Are there any others I have missed who should be considered?

Additional names suggested in uk.sci.astronomy:

Heather Couper

Helen Czerski

Alex Lovell

Dara O'Briain

So, any opinions on who should take over from Patrick?

James

[N_Cook]

James Harris <james.h...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:ae3244bd-7570-471f...@u14g2000vbm.googlegroups.com...

+++++

Dr Lucy Green

[Al]

"James Harris" <james.h...@gmail.com> wrote:

> Patrick Moore is a bit of an institution but can't go on forever. I
> wondered what other people think of who would be best to replace him
> as lead presenter of The Sky at Night.

The guy is irreplaceable; the S@N format of an old geezer in his study does
not suit anyone else. The show will likely die with him, to be replaced by a
completely new show with a more modern style of presentation.

[Dr J R Stockton]

In uk.sci.astronomy message <87e6a637-6fc4-4502-983d-f4ef783694f4@h9g200
0yqe.googlegroups.com>, Sat, 21 Apr 2012 12:08:28, James Harris
<james.h...@gmail.com> posted:

>Patrick Moore is a bit of an institution but can't go on forever. I
>wondered what other people think of who would be best to replace him
>as lead presenter of The Sky at Night.

The job should become an /ex officio/ duty jointly of the Astronomer
Royal and the Astronomer Royal for Scotland, with power to delegate up
to half of the work to other British astronomers of high public status.

If it should please Her Majesty to appoint Astronomers Royal for Wales
and for Northern Ireland, then they too should join in on equitable
footings.

A slot should be reserved for the Royal Astronomer of Ireland, to be
ready should the post be revived.

And if elsewhere in the world there are other Astronomers Royal,
appertaining to the same or different Monarchs, then they should be
invited, if they will be in the UK at the time, to co-lead with a
British Astronomer Royal.

--
(c) John Stockton, nr London, UK. ?@merlyn.demon.co.uk Turnpike v6.05 MIME.
Web <http://www.merlyn.demon.co.uk/> - FAQqish topics, acronyms and links;
Astro stuff via astron-1.htm, gravity0.htm ; quotings.htm, pascal.htm, etc.
No Encoding. Quotes before replies. Snip well. Write clearly. Don't Mail News.

[N_Cook]

Al <al-n...@agora.com> wrote in message news:jnogpg$i0$1...@dont-email.me...

Format probably like BBC Click, also lost in the nether regions of
scheduling. Just a regular in-camera link-person but moving around various
planetaria/observatories as backgrounds, rather than the nightclubs of
Click. And a cluster of reporter/interviewers for sub-topics.
Click is probably cheap programming but I rate the intro piece of video up
with the best programme idents.

[newshound]

Actually I think that proposal would rather re-invigorate the post of AR

[James Harris (es)]

"James Harris" <james.h...@gmail.com> wrote in message

news:87e6a637-6fc4-4502...@h9g2000yqe.googlegroups.com...

> Patrick Moore is a bit of an institution but can't go on forever. I
> wondered what other people think of who would be best to replace him
> as lead presenter of The Sky at Night.

...

> Paul Abel

Paul is too excitable. For me, it seems that everything he says is too
hurried. I think although he and Pete Lawrence often present together Paul
usually cramps Pete's more measured style.

> Brian Cox

Good at explaining things. Uses good analogies. But I cannot get to like him
as a presenter. Not sure why. Maybe he's overexposed but it's more than
that. Maybe it's the perpetual smile. I don't know. Anyway, I wouldn't want
to see him take over The Sky at Night too.

> Michele Dougherty

When I've seen her Michelle has come across very well. I like her enthusiasm
and realism. She has a lot of detailed knowledge. As a woman I think she
shows greater humility than some of her male counterparts and, as such,
could be good at appearing to lead the audience along with her in new
discoveries rather than telling them things. I haven't seem her present
direct to the camera , though, so the jury is still out.

> Pete Lawrence

Pete is a very good presenter. I like his pace and the way he explains
things. Of those in the regular crop I think he would be the best to follow
Patrick.

> Chris Lintott

Chris is good technically and has the ability to present to the camera
confidently. He seems to be the one being groomed to take over from Patrick
and is a good age to do so. The problem I have with Chris is he seems a bit
arrogant. I find his manner a little more than self-assured and verging on
conceited. If he changed and started to show a lot more more humility and
appreciation I would see him differently but at the moment I wouldn't want
to see him take over.

> Brian May

Surprisingly, Brian shows maybe too much humility. One has to respect
someone who has been successful as a singer and songwriter but also has the
technical knowledge of physics and astronomy to talk knowledgeably as a
guest on The Sky at Night. It's hard to explain why but I don't think he
would be right as main presenter. He it maybe too quiet which, for a rock
star, is unexpected! I'm not sure he would want the job.

> Chris North

I have been quite impressed with Chris North. He knows his stuff and seems
much more user-friendly that Chris Lintott. Comparing the two I would much
rather get rid of Lintott.

> John Zarnecki

John would make an excellent presenter. He knows his stuff and is very easy
to listen to. He seems to be getting on a bit and busy with other
committments. There's also a slight detachment there in his manner. Not sure
how well he would present direct to camera.

> Are there any others I have missed who should be considered?

Here are some whom others have suggested:

> Heather Couper

I don't know her.

> Helen Czerski

I saw her presenting something on TV. First thoughts: nice to look at (at
least initially) but after a while I found her annoying for some reason. I
can't remember why now. Maybe she seemed too cocky.

> Dara O'Briain

He's OK I suppose but I find myself turning off when I see him. I know
that's not very scientific! I don't think his enthusiasm is there for this
kind of work. I cannot in any way see him following Patrick. To put him in
the role would be like dumbing-down a remaining bastion of the old-fashioned
science programme.

Here are two others I've thought of since:

* Aubrey Manning

He would have made a great choice. His knowledge of science coupled with his
humility and his ability to show an almost childlike wonder at the
discoveries of others in his series Earth Story was a model for good
presentation skills. Just checked Wikipedia and he is probably getting too
old now, though.

* Adam Hart-Davis

I didn't think of Adam initially but now I have I think he would make an
excellent presenter of TSAN. I don't think he is an astronomer per se but is
a scientist and is able to present to the camera very clearly and
enthusiastically. He's also somewhat in the old-fashioned mould that Patrick
comes from. As such I can see him taking over from Patrick and making a
great job of it. My one reservation is I've never heard him talking about
astronomy so I don't know how much he knows of the subject. I think the role
needs someone who is a good presenter but also has enough knowledge of the
subject to personally lead the viewer into interesting areas rather than
going where a producer has decided to go.

James

[N_Cook]

James Harris (es) <james.h...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:jt92gn$l9i$1...@dont-email.me...

Dr Lucie Green, solar observer expect, turned up with the Pete Lawrence in
the land of the midnight sun, most recent S@N ToV programme