'STAR GAZER'
Question & Answer

Question: What is 'STAR GAZER'?

Answer: 'STAR GAZER' is the world's first and only do-it-yourself syndicated weekly TV series on naked-eye astronomy ( star and planet gazing). Each five minute weekly episode features objects currently visible in the night sky and shows how to find them. It is always current and topical and is aimed at the person who knows little or nothing about astronomy.

Question: When some people hear the word astronomy they think "dull", "over my head", "strictly for eggheads." Is 'STAR GAZER' just a slick packaging device for another dull show?

Answer: 'STAR GAZER' has been called many things but never dull and it is never over the heads of the average person. 'STAR GAZER' is light, lively, fast paced, humorous and at times a little off the wall. In fact, each episode is carefully written so that anyone tuning in for the first time will feel just as much at home as a regular viewer.

Question: What about viewers who live where it's cloudy or overcast or where city lights wash out the night sky a lot of the time?

Answer: As with 'Julia Child', 'The Frugal Gourmet', or 'This Old House', most viewers rarely actually cook the recipes or build a house. It's "knowing how it's done" that fascinates the viewer. It's not necessary that 'STAR GAZER' viewers actually go out and find sky objects in order to enjoy the show. In fact, we receive many letters expressing delight with the show simply because, "it's nice to know where the stars and planets are this week."

Question: Why is 'STAR GAZER' only five minutes long?

Answer: 'STAR GAZER'S' five minute format was originally designed to be aired nightly at
sign-off, thus giving viewers a chance to go outside immediately afterward to find the stars. However, because of 'STAR GAZER'S' popularity and at viewer request, many PBS stations also air 'STAR GAZER' throughout the day.

Question: What makes 'STAR GAZER' different than other shows on astronomy like Carl Sagan's 'Cosmos', periodic 'NOVA' programs and other TV specials?

Answer: 'STAR GAZER' is different in that it is always topical (right down to the current week) and is an active participatory TV experience. It takes the hard science of astronomy and brings it down to earth, translating it into human terms. Both humorous and touching, 'STAR GAZER' attempts to provide the viewer with a personal sense of awe, wonder and fascination of the universe on a level more than the cerebral. Since it first aired in 1976, 'STAR GAZER' immediately attracted an almost cult following similar to that of 'Dr. Who' and 'Star Trek'. However,
'STAR GAZER' has an equally large crowd of science devotees, the 'Nova', 'Cosmos' crowd.