NEWS: New BBC Series Asks Viewers To Deny Ignornace

Starting March 10, 2004, the BBC is running a new current affair series that takes a candid look at what could happen in the near future. The new series is titled �IF� as in �What if��. Each week for 5 weeks a new subject is discussed, and the viewer will be asked to consider possibilities of what could happen in the near future. The scenarios are not real, but the subjects and facts discussed are very real.

BBC
The scenarios are fictional but based on painstaking research
For years governments and businesses have used scenario planning as an aid to policy making in an ever more unpredictable and complicated world.
Now the BBC is doing the same with its new series IF. Editor Peter Barron explains why he is mixing fact and fiction.
First it was the millennium, then 11 September, and suddenly everyone was thinking about the future.
We seem to have two choices. If unexpected and tumultuous events lie ahead we can stick our heads in the sand and hope for the best, or we can try to work out what might be round the next corner and aim to do something about it.
It's called scenario planning and, of course, the big organizations have been doing it for years. Now we all want do it.

The series is actually in two parts with each part having 5 weeks of programming or 5 different scenarios. Each scenario is backed up with hours of research and data accumulation. The BBC has an excellent website to accompany this series. Each week has it's own discussion that you can read to preview the upcoming show. Under each subject is a section titled, �Facts behind the Fiction�. This link takes you to a page that list about a dozen quick facts and sources on the subject.

The fist scenario to be discussed is the possibility of a power outage in Britain. When you consider the power outage that we had on the east coast in the United States last year, this scenario is not that hard to imagine. Our whole civilization is based on electricity, but few people realize how much is involved in bringing power to each home and business. The series starts this Wednesday March 10, 2004.

[Edited on 8-3-2004 by SkepticOverlord]

That actually sounds like it'd be a really interesting program to watch!
I don't get the BBC, but I'm going to ask someone who does if they will tape it. Id like to see this.

edit: the topics dealt with are very interesting.
"if.... the lights go out"
"if.... it was a womans world"
"if.... we don't stop eating"


[Edited on 8-3-2004 by parrhesia]

"If" i wore BLUE socks instead of white ones this morning...
"�f" i decided to use a printer paper rather than a lined paper...
"If" someone smeared dog poop on the white house...
"If" ATS didn't exist...

If you don't wear your seat belt, you could die.
If you do drugs, you could die.
If I kill someone, I'm a criminal.
If I drive after one beer, I could kill someone.
If I'm too smart, I'm a threat to society.

If, if , if, if.....

They make far too many laws based on "What if" scenarios. It's ruining our country, IMO.

"Drink all day and rock all night
The law come to get you if you don't walk right"