The Genius of Invention
The Genius of Invention is a British factual television series that was broadcast on BBC Two between 24 January 2013 and 14 February 2013. The series looks over the history of British inventions.
| The Genius of Invention | |
|---|---|
![]()  | |
| Genre | Factual | 
| Directed by | Victoria Bell | 
| Presented by | 
  | 
| Country of origin | United Kingdom | 
| Original language | English | 
| No. of series | 1 | 
| No. of episodes | 4 (list of episodes) | 
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Dominic Crossley-Holland | 
| Producers | 
  | 
| Running time | 60 minutes | 
| Production company | BBC Productions | 
| Release | |
| Original network | |
| Picture format | 16:9 1080i | 
| Audio format | Stereo | 
| Original release | 24 January – 14 February 2013  | 
Production
    
On 23 August 2013, BBC Two controller Janice Hadlow announced the commissioning of the series.[1] The main presenters of the series were Mark Miodownik, Cassie Newland and Michael Mosley.[2]
Episode list
    
| # | Title | Original air date | UK viewers (millions)[3]  | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Power" | 24 January 2013 | 1.60 | |
| How Britain uses power through technology. | ||||
| 2 | "Speed" | 31 January 2013 | N/A | |
| How the steam locomotive, internal combustion engine and jet engine were invented. | ||||
| 3 | "Communication" | 7 February 2013 | N/A | |
| The formation of machines that allow communication across the globe. | ||||
| 4 | "Visual Image" | 14 February 2013 | N/A | |
| The inventors who discovered how to reproduce still and moving images. | ||||
Reception
    
Terry Ramsey of The Daily Telegraph gave the series three out of five stars and said that "despite the jumpy style and occasionally annoying chat, it had a lot of appealing science packed in, all neatly wrapped up so it didn’t even feel like we were learning. And it served as a useful reminder of just how much we rely on electricity."[4] The Independent's Tom Sutcliffe said "everything from presentational style to the level of the material it contains it's essentially a children's programme. In fact, it calls for a new verb: to Bluepeterise, a shorthand for the increasingly fashionable technique of dividing the content up between three puppyishly eager presenters".[5] Lucy Mangan, writing for The Guardian called it "terrible".[2]
DVD release
    
The series was released in the original English as a region 2 DVD set by a Dutch company in 2015.
References
    
- "BBC Two announces raft of new commissions". BBC. 23 August 2013. Retrieved 13 October 2013.
 - Mangan, Lucy (24 January 2013). "TV review: The Genius of Invention; Carved with Love; The Good Wife". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 October 2013.
 - "BARB Top 30s".
 - Ramsey, Terry (25 January 2013). "The Genius of Invention, BBC Two, review". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 13 October 2013.
 - Sutcliffe, Tom (25 January 2013). "Last Night's Viewing: The Genius of Invention, BBC2". The Independent. Retrieved 13 October 2013.
 
