The WORST episodes of Bang Goes the Theory
Every episode of Bang Goes the Theory ever, ranked from worst to best by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The worst episodes of Bang Goes the Theory!
Dallas Campbell, Liz Bonnin, Jem Stansfield and Dr. Yan Wong take on the scientific world by devising their own ingenious ways of explaining cutting-edge developments in technology.
#1 - Nuclear Power
Season 5 - Episode 8 - Aired 10/3/2011
In the aftermath of the Fukushima radiation scare, the team turns its attention to nuclear power. Jem climbs into a reaction chamber to explain how a nuclear power station works and what happened in Japan. Meanwhile, Dallas investigates the clean-up operation for radioactive waste, and Liz looks at what radiation does to the human body.
Watch Now:Amazon#2 - Stem Cell Research, Memory
Season 5 - Episode 4 - Aired 9/5/2011
Liz Bonnin investigates new stem-cell research that could change the face of organ transplant surgery, Dr Yan Wong tries out the Nocebo effect (placebo's evil twin), and at a memory boot camp Dallas Campbell discovers how to remember where he left his keys.
Watch Now:Amazon
#4 - Singing Road, Dad Dancing, DNA Family Tree
Season 4 - Episode 7 - Aired 4/25/2011
This episode of the series that reveals your world with a bang has a royal wedding theme. Jem builds a singing road as a present for the royal couple. Dr Yan explains the science of dad dancing. And Liz uses DNA to track her family tree right back to the earliest humans.
Watch Now:Amazon
#5 - Icelandic Volcano Eruption, Gambling in Vegas, Solar Furnaces
Season 3 - Episode 5 - Aired 10/6/2010
Liz visits the volcano that brought Britain to a standstill, and examines its aftermath and the likelihood of a re-occurrence. Dallas blows the budget in Vegas to explain why people are so bad at predicting probabilities. Jem borrows a solar furnace in France to demonstrate the awesome power of the sun.
#6 - Weather, Wave Power and Evolution
Season 3 - Episode 4 - Aired 9/29/2010
Dallas looks at the origins of our weather and explains how the emergence of seasons allowed life to form, all with the help of a grenade launcher. Jem travels to Scotland to check out the latest green technology - wave power. And Liz meets Richard Dawkins to prove evolution.
Watch Now:Amazon
#7 - Jetlag, Solar System, Square Wheeled Motorbike
Season 3 - Episode 3 - Aired 9/22/2010
Liz conducts an experiment into jetlag and how to avoid it, while Dallas demonstrates the size of the solar system with the help of a bicycle and a fruit bowl. And Jem upgrades his square-wheeled skateboard to a motorbike, before trying to jump it into the record books.
Watch Now:Apple TV
#8 - Sunburn, Smarter, Square Wheels
Season 3 - Episode 2 - Aired 9/15/2010
In the second episode of the series, the team take on more scientific challenges. Liz Bonnin looks at the science behind sunburn, and discovers how much sun damage she has on her face. Dallas Campbell tries to make museum visitors younger and smarter in a series of psychological experiments. And Jem Stansfield proves that wheels don't have to be round by building a square-wheeled skateboard. The programme is co-produced with the Open University. For more ways to put science to the test, go to www.bbc.co.uk/bang and follow the links to The Open University.
#9 - Oil Spill Disaster
Season 3 - Episode 1 - Aired 9/8/2010
In this episode, the team investigate the recent Gulf of Mexico oil disaster. Zoologist Liz Bonnin travels to Louisiana and takes part in the rescue effort to protect the area's wildlife, while Jem Stansfield builds a scale model to explain what happens when an oil well gets out of control, and how to solve the problem. Meanwhile, Dallas Campbell proves Einstein's theory of relativity with the help of a jet plane and a very expensive atomic clock.
#10 - Free Diving, Horsepower and Antimatter
Season 2 - Episode 7 - Aired 5/3/2010
Jem straps a race horse to his car to explain what horsepower is, Liz sets Dallas a free diving challenge that leaves him gasping for air, Dr Yan shows shoppers how to burn steel, and Dallas goes to CERN to see how a cosmic tea party created everything in the universe.
#11 - G-Force, Sport Relief, and Atoms
Season 2 - Episode 2 - Aired 3/22/2010
Liz Bonnin, Dallas Campbell and Jem Stansfield take on more scientific challenges. Engineer Jem becomes a crash test dummy to discover how much g-force his body can take, while scientist Liz gets the Olympic treatment for Sport Relief. Dallas enters the weird world of the atom, and roving reporter Dr Yan Wong dives into a shark tank to explain why there are no long snorkels.
Watch Now:Apple TV
#12 - Antibiotics
Season 7 - Episode 2 - Aired 3/11/2013
In response to recent fears about the future of antibiotics, the team investigates germs and infection. Liz Bonnin reveals why doctors can be reluctant to prescribe antibiotics for coughs and colds, and explains what bacterial resistance is all about. Maggie Philbin finds out whether people are right to worry about catching infections when cooped up inside an aeroplane, and reveals a remarkable new technique that takes the guesswork out of prescribing antibiotics. Meanwhile, Jem Stansfield heads to a scrapyard for a striking demonstration of the difference between viruses and bacteria.
#13 - Safety
Season 7 - Episode 4 - Aired 3/25/2013
The team look at some of the things threatening the safety of your family on a daily basis. Liz finds out why old and very young pedestrians may never be safe crossing the road; on the anniversary of Fabrice Muamba's miraculous survival following a heart attack playing for Bolton Wanderers, Maggie asks how many young people could be carrying a similar time-bomb, and how science can help them; Maggie also investigates a revolutionary new burns dressing that could drastically reduce the risk of scarring; and Jem turns crash-test dummy as he asks why European legislation is preparing to make rear-facing seats compulsory for more children.
Watch Now:Amazon
#14 - Plastic
Season 7 - Episode 1 - Aired 3/4/2013
From food-fraud to flu, from plastics to poisons, and from superbugs to sugar, TV science legend Maggie Philbin joins presenters Liz Bonnin and Jem Stansfield as the team investigate the science that makes sense of the stories that affect us all. Over the course of this series: Maggie finds out if planes really are the incubators of disease we think they are, while Liz explains why antibiotics are running out; Jem discovers how gasses are used to keep food fresh, while Liz explores the DNA testing used to identify food that isn't what it claims to be; the team put sugar and plastics on trial to find out if they really are as much of a health risk as some might believe - discovering some surprising new medical uses for both; and child safety comes under the microscope as we ask why the same accidents put young people at risk year after year.
Watch Now:Amazon
#15 - Charles Darwin, Hydrofoil and 3D
Season 2 - Episode 3 - Aired 3/29/2010
Dallas takes on the latest lie detection technology, while Liz looks at the dilemma that threatened to undermine her hero Charles Darwin. Jem faces his toughest challenge yet, to build a human-powered hydrofoil, and Dr Yan gets on the 3D bandwagon.
#16 - Fuel for Free
Season 6 - Episode 1 - Aired 3/12/2012
The team investigates why petrol costs so much, and whether we can use science to make fuel for free. Liz experiences life on an oil rig, Jem and Dallas compete to make their own DIY fuel alternatives, and Jem discovers the link between fossil fuels and a recent earthquake in Lancashire.
Watch Now:Amazon
#17 - Energy
Season 8 - Episode 1 - Aired 3/10/2014
Presenters Jem Stansfield, Liz Bonnin and Maggie Philbin investigate how close Britain might get to running out of electricity. We live in a world where the lights are always on, but will that be the case in 20 years time? Maggie Philbin spends a day in one of Britain's most secret locations, the control room of the National Grid where she monitors our demand for electricity with supply. Here she learns almost half our generating capacity will disappear in our lifetimes. Jem shows how and why most of our electricity now relies on gas and reveals a potential fuel of the future - liquid air. Liz investigates renewable energy and tackles what could really offer viable solutions to our energy needs going forward.
Watch Now:Amazon
#18 - Sugar
Season 7 - Episode 3 - Aired 3/18/2013
Sugar is on trial in this programme. Widely blamed for all manner of health issues beyond rotten teeth and expanding waistlines, the team investigate whether sugar really deserves such a lousy health reputation. Jem sets out to make some pure, white, granulated sugar of his own, while Maggie meets a surprise victim of fatty liver disease. Maggie also discovers how sugar is being used to preserve life-saving vaccines, while Liz explores the power sugar has to switch on our brains.
Watch Now:Amazon
#19 - Flooding
Season 8 - Episode 6 - Aired 4/14/2014
With the waters receding, Bang Goes the Theory takes a more considered look at the recent floods. Did global warming play a part, or is this simply the extreme end of the natural cycle? Maggie investigates the real threat of storm surge as water levels rise, Liz Bonnin looks at how to use nature to 'slow the flow' and the team are joined by Charlie Dimmock who wants to know if her love for patios and decking might have played a part in creating urban flash floods.
Watch Now:Amazon
#20 - Flu
Season 8 - Episode 5 - Aired 4/7/2014
We have got used to hearing scare stories about strange strains of flu with names like H1N1, but is there any real danger? Jem Stansfield explains flu on a cellular level, showing how it can mutate from a cause of winter snuffles to a virus capable of killing millions. Liz Bonnin witnesses the vaccines being made that will protect us next winter. Maggie Philbin visits a lab where healthy patients are infected with flu, and witnesses exactly how it attacks.
Watch Now:Amazon#21 - Humans and Dogs
Season 6 - Episode 8 - Aired 5/14/2012
The team sets out to discover what is behind our special relationship with dogs. In Austria, Liz visits researchers comparing dogs to wolves to see how domestication has shaped canine wits. Philippa Forrester takes her pet to a lab to find out how dogs really can be good for your health, while the team set their very own Dog Mastermind to see if it is dog intelligence that we love.
Watch Now:Amazon#22 - Energy
Season 6 - Episode 6 - Aired 4/23/2012
Jem dreams of flying under his own power by pedalling a homemade plane into the air. He sets out to discover why muscles get tired, and to see if he can boost his own using nothing more than beetroot. Meanwhile, Liz explores how hormones and blood sugar affect our energy levels and mood, and Dallas sweats himself to a standstill as he tries to answer the question 'Do we really need to drink eight glasses of water a day?'.
Watch Now:Amazon#23 - Wireless Signals
Season 6 - Episode 5 - Aired 4/16/2012
The team look at the health implications of wireless signals with the assistance of Howard Stableford. Jem looks at the possibility of electricity without wires and Liz finds out how mobile phones could help protect people from injury.
Watch Now:Amazon#24 - Crowds
Season 6 - Episode 4 - Aired 4/2/2012
Dallas learns how people in crowds can cooperate subconsciously. Liz learns how architects can control the flow of crowds. Jem talks to some scientists who are attempting to understand how crush injuries can occur. Johnny Ball shows how biologists measure population size.
Watch Now:Amazon#25 - Cyber Security
Season 6 - Episode 3 - Aired 3/26/2012
Liz finds out how safe digital storage formats such as DVDs and memory sticks are, and whether the Cloud answers all our problems. Dallas and Jem see what it takes to properly wipe your computer memory, and Maggie Philbin revisits phone security after nearly 30 years, investigating how hackers can access your smartphone.
Watch Now:Amazon