James May's: Big Ideas

James May's Big Ideas is a three-part British television miniseries in which James May, a journalist and self-acknowledged geek travels the globe in search of implementations for concepts widely considered science fiction, or his big ideas. The series is produced by the BBC and the Open University and began airing at 8pm on Sundays on 28 September 2008.

The first episode documents his search for the ultimate form of personal transport, ranging from jetpacks to flying cars. In the second episode, May looks at bionics and robotics and if robots can exceed the boundaries of their programming. The third episode focuses on energy.



Episode list

1 "Come Fly with Me"
James May travels the globe in search of his ultimate flying machine. Vehicles tested include Caspian Sea Monster, a Jetpack, a car that can be transformed into a plane and many others.

2 "Man-Machine"
James May discovers if his childhood dream of a world of robots will ever become true. Episode featured ASIMO.

3 "Power to the People"
In the last of his Big Ideas journeys, James May sets off to find smarter, brighter and bolder ways of powering the planet for future generations. Episode featured sections on solar cars, solar power tower, ENV, Wind Turbine, Pelamis Wave Energy Converter (referred to as the snake), energy from wave power (see Stephen Salter), electricity generated from the tides and the latest development on Nuclear Fusion.