A very cool BBC series wherein the crafty producers take a bunch of scientists and technicians to a remote location and have them recreate sophisticated tools and inventions using only the primitive materials on hand. Vines, wood, bits of metal, shells. Here: make a clock (with bell), or a device to record sounds, or how about a camera, microscope, soap and sunblock?; or go survey and map the island — using tools of your own construction. You don’t know science until you can roll your own. This 10-part program is highly instructional because you get to see technology reduced to its essence — and because not everything works. The DVDs are expensive; fire up your TiVo to catch them on PBS; another new series begins this fall.<\/p>\n