Search - NOVA: Mystery of the Senses on DVD

Not very informative

Rebecca Sutherland | Cambridge, MA | 01/23/2008

(2 out of 5 stars)

"This series was a disappointment. The narrator, Diane Ackerman, apparently an author in her own right, gives a disjointed, rambling discussion of the five senses, with bits of science (interviews with actual research scientists, which Ackerman is not) joined to rather arbitrary examples of how the senses are involved in various cultural activities. Ackerman's examples are often a bit of a stretch, and her monologues are full of distractingly florid language. Kind of a New Age/postmodern pseudo-anthropological view of what science knows so far about the senses. I believe that Ackerman was trying to convey sensuality in her delivery, but I found myself increasingly annoyed by her throaty-yet-girlish voice, heavy make-up, and grating self-involvement. There was too much of her and not enough science. There are far better Nova series out there, and I'm sure that there are better programs about the five senses. I don't recommend this series."

Very Disappointing

Sam B | RHODE ISLAND, US | 02/23/2010

(1 out of 5 stars)

"Oh dear, this was such a disappointment. Diana Ackerman spends too much time in pointless shots (looking a river; admiring her own photos from childhood) and has produced a NOVA series that seriously misses the mark. Too little science, too much irrelevant material. While one can certainly connect art and human experience with scientific knowledge about how the brain works, this series didn't do so successfully. If you were hoping to reveal the wonder of the senses for your students, do not buy this series. Unfortunately, I ordered it through an affiliated store with Amazon and they won't answer my queries about whether/how I can return it."