Behind the Scenes

City Science producer Ricardo Islas on the show

Q: How did you come up with the concept of this program?

A: Actually the concept was brought by the show creator and writer, Mike Davis. We had seen him performing before and we had had the opportunity to talk to him before about the possibility of producing a show, but there’s was no concept until he showed up with a script for the first episode. We read it and we liked it, because we noticed it was different from what we regularly see in local television. It’s written almost as drama/comedy with scenes and characters and we all got very excited at the challenge of doing something like this in our station.

Q: Tell us a bit about what happened behind the scenes and were there any major difficulties you encountered during the process?

A: Shooting a TV show when everything happens in studio (which is what we usually see in local TV) is already a challenge. But in the case of City Science, there was an extra difficult component, being this the fact that almost the whole show was written to take part in different locations; almost like a movie. So scheduling for all these different places was most certainly one of the major challenges.

Q: What will your audience gain from what is being taught in the show?

A: Probably one of the major benefits of watching City Science is to understand that science is everywhere, everyday and not just in some remote laboratory. The way it’s written and produced is such that we can relate to what is the content of the show and feel we can actively participate in using scientific knowledge to improve our daily lives.

Q: In a time where children are exposed to all sorts of technological gadgets and other sources of entertainment, do you feel this show will catch the attention of your audience?

A: This is quite a challenge; not only for our show but for any show. A potential rephrasing of your question could be: Can television compete with all those technological gadgets?… But without getting too philosophical about it, City Science is still in progress in our search for the most entertaining way to educate.

Q: When we speak about raising the level of interest children show in science subjects, 25% of students who graduate college do not pursue professions in science. Will this excite our young viewers and bring back science?

A: I think it will help. One of the reasons students walk away from science is the false perception of this being a subject that is either too difficult or non-applicable to our daily experience, (almost mistaking science with science fiction…) What City Science does is bring science down to earth and to the streets, showing the audience a realistic and fun approach to knowledge that we can use to make a better a world.

City Science producer Stephanie Tichenor on the show

Q: How did you come up with the concept of this program?

A: Mike Davis created the concept for the show.

Q: Tell us a bit about what happened behind the scenes and were there any major difficulties you encountered during the process?

A: This was an interesting production. City Science is the first scripted show that our station has produced in 5 years, so we had high expectations going in to this project. Although we are still working out all the bells and whistles, I feel that we had a wonderfully nurturing and collaborative experience with no major difficulties throughout the production process.

Q: What will your audience gain from what is being taught in the show?

A: What’s great about City Science is that our audience will learn information about how science relates to real world problems. At the same time, they will see and experience wonderful, unique Chicago locations.

Q: In a time where children are exposed to all sorts of technological gadgets and other sources of entertainment, do you feel this show will catch the attention of your audience?

A: Absolutely!

Q: When we speak about raising the level of interest children show in science subjects, a very small percentage of students who graduate college pursue professions in science. Will this excite our young viewers and bring back science?

A: Absolutely!