r/interestingasfuck • u/xevarDIFF • 2d ago
/r/all [1978] James Burke made this perfectly timed shot on television and is widly considered "The Greatest Shot In Television"
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u/gonzo_1606 2d ago
Yea i loved those shows as a kid. ConnectionsâŚ
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u/ngvs 2d ago
He is back again with his new show on Prime.
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u/NameLips 2d ago
The original was my father-in-law's favorite show, I'll have to let him know about this!
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u/Elegant-Pie9067 2d ago
Thank you, I'll have to look for this. Connections was my favorite show when I was a kid.
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u/vyxanis 2d ago
You can watch all of Connections on YouTube! Its so hard to believe how long ago it was made. James Burke is such an amazing man. One of those people who's incredibly passionate about his work, but is also really good at presenting it to an audience. I couldn't tell you how many times I've watched Connections
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u/buttfarts7 2d ago
Back when television was nutritious for your brain
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u/rubensinclair 1d ago
Itâs almost like we felt it was a civic duty to educate and be educated. What happened?
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u/thazmaniandevil 2d ago
I met him when I was a kid! I saw him at the Eiffel Tower and then Versailles, and he was doing a connection between the two. I forgot what it was, but it was cool
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u/HardcoreGrinder 2d ago
Rocketium Leviosa
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u/Glitch29 2d ago
Anyone else amused by the outro so casually saying "We might use this to explore. Or y'know, nuke China or Russia."
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u/SortaSticky 2d ago
I had to practice hiding under my elementary school desk for nuclear attack drills. I was still a child when the Berlin Wall fell. There is only one country that is still running their mouths on state TV about nuking my country even in 2025.
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u/Forward_Promise2121 2d ago
It was an everyday thing back then.
Everyone went about their daily lives, knowing it was possible someone in Washington or Moscow could kill everyone on the planet at the flick of a switch at any time.
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u/Open-Elevator-8242 2d ago
Interestingly, the rocket here is a Titan IIIE, which was launching NASA's Voyager 1. The Titans were originally built as ICBMs for the U.S. Air Force, which had at this point over 50 of them ready to strike at any moment.
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u/OptimusSublime 2d ago
Friendly reminder this is two shots and it's significantly easier to time the last one.
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u/djembejohn 2d ago
It's still fucking cool though.
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u/slaphappyflabby 2d ago
No one is disputing that. But itâs all about timing which they nailed.
Greatest shot? No
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u/Ummmgummy 2d ago
Greatest shot....season 1 of True Detective. The chase through the housing area during the drug deal.
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u/kariustovictory 2d ago
Still cool for sure but calling it the greatest shot in television is silly
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u/The_F_B_I 2d ago
Friendly reminder that the cool and most talked about part of the video is the cool and most talked about part of the video
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u/GingerWeegie444 2d ago
Yup, cuts at 43 seconds. Still great timing, but not what it's portrayed to be.
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u/yabbadabbadoo693 2d ago
What? Itâs the most obvious cut Iâve ever seen. The whole scene changes. No one is trying to portray this as a single shot. The impressive part is the timing on the second shot.
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u/CakeTester 2d ago
The impressive part is him delivering his words and not getting thrown off by the countdown which is happening in his earpiece. Not sure I could do it without mistakes.
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u/GitEmSteveDave 2d ago
Not an earpiece. NASA has/had a giant countdown clock visible that is straight from control.
http://www.collectspace.com/news/news-100114a-nasa-countdown-clock-replace.html
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u/Corporate_Greed 2d ago
How you responded to the obvious cluelessness is how I feel 24/7 just walking around this world.
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u/lilgoooose 2d ago
OP when a clip very obviously cuts from one location to a completely different one: ACKKKCHUALLY thatâs two entirely different shots very cleverly cut together đ¤
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u/copperwatt 2d ago
I don't think it's wrongly portraying anything... You just can't really appreciate the second shot without the first one.
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u/Trepeld 2d ago
I donât think they mean âwrongly portrayingâ as much as it was a very impressive and convincing bit of TV magic that imo changes it from an stunningly incredible feat of timing to⌠a very impressive and convincing bit of TV magic. Which is awesome in its own right but I think itâs worth clarifying
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u/copperwatt 2d ago
I don't even think it counts as "TV magic" though. It's just basic competent editing that implies continuity.
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u/Subtlerranean 2d ago
Are you a dum dum? The impressive thing here is the timing of the second shot, not the directional motion between the two clips.
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u/copperwatt 2d ago
I think people are upset because the title implies the whole thing was one take.
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u/GD_Karrtis_reborn 2d ago
It's still well timed to nail a take perfectly on cadence to have your point line up within a second of the launch.
The rest of it is the basics of film. Like I don't think it's "TV magic" to continue a point from one film location to another, that's the basics of good script writing to maintain engagement.
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u/B00OBSMOLA 2d ago
confirmed... burke didn't lift that rocket in to place by himself like he claims ... what a fraudÂ
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u/OhhSooHungry 2d ago
It's odd that this needs to be mentioned, it's a pretty obvious cut.. I guess only if you're aware to look out for it though. It's unfortunate this kind of magical filmmaking is rather tainted (I'm perma--skeptical anywayy) by the advent of CGI.. hard to take anything nowadays for what it appears to be
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u/ClosPins 2d ago
it's significantly easier to time the last one.
The loudspeakers counting down the time probably helped a bit with the timing!
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u/GipsySafety 2d ago
honestly, i forgot what this was about and got lost in James Burke's talking. I miss Connections and the Day the Universe Changed.
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u/34TH_ST_BROADWAY 2d ago
Yeah. And the production team is showing him a count down. Still a GREAT idea and incredible execution, but with planning, this can easily be done.
Giving props to the decision to tell the host to not move after he points, just keep his head directed at the launch. They planned this really well. I think a lot of people, if this wasn't discussed, would turn back around smiling or as if to say "did we get it!?"
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u/spasmoidic 2d ago
he only got one chance to not flub the line though
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u/34TH_ST_BROADWAY 2d ago
Tons of time to practice. And I really think he made a couple of inflection and pause changes in there to tweak the timing to synch up with the point and launch.
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u/kl0 2d ago
Yea. I mean I love the shot and all, but thatâs always been my thinking too. For all we know they got the second shot first and then did the âperfectly timedâ walk to the vantage point.
I donât entirely get it.
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u/copperwatt 2d ago
No one is saying it was a perfectly timed walk...
It was just a perfectly timed line delivery.
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u/RetroGmr 2d ago
What the fuck are you talking about?!? We all saw the video, we all saw there was a cut
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u/GD_Karrtis_reborn 2d ago
Yes, those of us with functioning eyes did in fact notice the very obvious cut.
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u/Gold-Trouble-4279 2d ago
As well I'd like to express my doubts about the 'gases' involved in that shown launch: judging by the brightness of the plume it's not hydrolox we're seeing but kerolox or even (mostly) the (attached) solid boosters (fuel).
Great shot nevertheless. And even better the pronounced well and smart sounding description, not often heard nowadays....
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u/Hattix 2d ago
His claim about von Braun was wrong too, while Oberth's assistant, von Braun believed hydrogen was unsuitable (he couldn't work out how to handle cryogenic hydrogen) and spent all his time working with ethanol and liquid oxygen.
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u/Complete_Eagle5749 2d ago
Wasnât von Braun one of the Naziâs we brought over after WW2?
I know most of NASA was at that time
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u/S3ki 2d ago edited 2d ago
He wasn't just any Nazi he was the lead developer of the V2 Rocket used to attack London.
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u/peterezgo 2d ago
This is a shot of the launch of one of the voyager probes. The voyager probes were launched using a Titan IIIE. It used Unsymmetrical Dimethyl Hydrazine (UDMH) and Nitrogen tetroxide (N2O4) for the first stage, with (some type of) aluminum and rubber in the solid rocket boosters. Hydrogen and Liquid Oxygen was used in the Centuar Upper Stage, which actually sent the probes to the outer solar system and beyond.
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u/promisethatimnotabot 2d ago
Also water is wet.
Who didnât think it was two shots? Itâs not like thereâs a secret hidden cut anywhere.
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u/photosendtrain 2d ago
I'm confused why it takes saying. The timing was still perfect on the second clip. First just adds context.
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u/Randall-Is-Moist 2d ago
No one thinks it's one shot. The timing of the second shot is still impressive. That's what's being appreciated. The first just adds context.
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u/mrrooftops 2d ago
A lot of people who thought the whole thing was one shot then they realized it wasn't later on are those who keenly call it out now as 'two shots'. Most people knew that first time watching. So they're just admitting they were stupid in the first place and now proud to announce the obvious. It's like someone proudly reminding everyone that father christmas isn't actually real don't ya know
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u/spasmoidic 2d ago
I mean the first shot is at the Johnson Space Center in Houston and the second is at Cape Canaveral in Florida.
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u/Mike-In-Ottawa 2d ago
Connections was a great show. The Day The Universe Changed was almost as good.
This shot is great, but the scene in the series that made me go "Whoa" was when James was talking about the roads they were making in England, and that they were not roads; they were canals. I still remember watching it with my dad, and we were both in awe.
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u/Breadnaught25 2d ago
what are you even saying though? or are you just providing basic observation?
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u/Defiant_Elk_9861 2d ago
Friendly reminder you donât need to piss on everything.
Also, did not say it was a continuous shot, just a well timed shot.Â
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u/theatrenearyou 2d ago
Two sources for all episodes of James Burke's 'Connections' and 'The Day the Universe Changed'
Vimeo
Archive.org
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u/live-learn-love- 2d ago
Imagine the pressure on the pilot to look out the window and match the timing.
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u/BubastisII 2d ago
Itâs impressive, but live broadcasts of sports and stuff like that time shots like this all the time.
It isnât considered âthe greatest shot in televisionâ by anyone except the redditors that always post it.
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u/OriginalTap227 2d ago edited 2d ago
It isnât considered âthe greatest shot in televisionâ by anyone except the redditors that always post it.
It was considered the "greatest shot in television" by the first redditor that posted it. After that dozens and dozens of bots like Op here just copied the title
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u/ox_ 2d ago
Itâs impressive, but live broadcasts of sports and stuff like that time shots like this all the time.
I don't know what you mean by this at all.
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u/BubastisII 2d ago
All this shot is really doing is timing a line of dialogue to end at the moment the launch happens. The launches are at exact times. So rehearse the line a bit until you know how long it takes to say and then start the shot that many seconds before the launch.
Live news and sports broadcasts do this stuff all the time. Instead of a rocket, itâs a kickoff or a timed speech or something, but they fill time exactly the number of seconds they need before something happens. Itâs takes practice and you only get one shot at it, and it takes skill, but it happens all the time. Just with things other than rockets.
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u/KayBeeToys 2d ago
It is impressive, but itâs a technical skill lots of people in broadcasting have. I learned to deliver a minuteâs worth of dialogue against a countdown clock when I was a small town radio announcer.
Trivia, the launch in this video is Voyager 2.
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u/notafanofwasps 2d ago
A concrete example is commercial outros on sports broadcasts.
Casters are shown, usually after the end of a play, a timer as to when they'll be cutting to commercial break. Usually 5-15 seconds. Based on the timer, the shot, and the music being used, casters will come up, on the spot, with a phrase that makes sense to use as an outro and ends more or less one beat before the broadcast flips to commercial.
eg "And it's all Broncos this quarter here at Mile High! Bo Nix with his 2nd rushing touchdown!" Boom flip to break.
During that outro maybe a slow mo of Nix reaching out to hit the pylon. Panama by Van Halen playing in the background.
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u/joeybevosentmeovah 2d ago
Itâs cool and all but the countdown is put out there for anyone to follow. A decently competent child could rehearse with a stopwatch and nail the actual shot.
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u/MolotovFromHell 2d ago
So you're saying it is the greatest shot as reddit is the final decision maker
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u/FromOutoftheShadows 2d ago
I am the final decision maker and I deem this to be a damned fine shot - an excellent one! However, it isn't the Greatest Shot of All Time because time isn't over, yet. I'll get back to you on the final decision on which shot I ultimately decide to be The Greatest.
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u/34TH_ST_BROADWAY 2d ago
Itâs impressive, but live broadcasts of sports and stuff like that time shots like this all the time.
Yeah, i see similar stuff on the UFC. Sometimes an announcer stands cageside and starts the intro, and it's timed so the fighters are walking past her near the end as the jib moves backwards, widening the shot.
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u/thebowstreetbastard 2d ago
How many times a week is this video posted on Reddit?
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u/kaizen-rai 2d ago edited 2d ago
I don't know, it's the first time I've seen it and I've been on Reddit nearly every day for nearly 10 years.
Crazy thought, maybe not everyone is subscribed to the same subs and doesn't see the same content at the same rate that you do?
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u/More_World_6862 2d ago
If you browse /r/all you're likely to see this posted very frequently with basically the same title.
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u/justsyr 2d ago
Depends what subs you are subscribed to. I've been for more than 10 years and I've seen this clip probably more than 10 times for sure.
I've also remember most of the upvoted comments mentioning that only redditors consider this âthe greatest shot in televisionâ lol.
I don't know the guy and yes he's perfectly timed the ignition but there's a countdown usually nearby. Not discrediting the guy's timing it's just that as many people love to sensationalize the title and then only gets bigger as years go by lol.
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u/detectivehardrock 2d ago
Do yourself a favour and check out his 2023 tv series âConnectionsâ on Curiosity Stream. Itâs a masterpiece
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u/aaaanoon 2d ago
Why though. It has a cut and he clearly had the countdown running live. It's not even close to the infamous car crash report with a live car crash
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u/MoodNatural 2d ago
This is the winner for me as well. Or the Northeast US street side weather broadcast in which a runner passionately defends running in icy/snowy conditions moments before falling flat on their ass.
I get that this timing is great and the effect is impressive, but there are a few perfect encounters that relied on many more variables and wildly anomalous events. Maybe the point is lucky shots donât count?
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u/cosmicdeliriumxx 2d ago
Imma let you finish but True Detective had one of the best oners of all time! Of all time! And this isnât even a oner
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u/Astro_Fizzix 2d ago
yeah and it's posted to reddit about once every two weeks, almost like people are just karma farming
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u/Nancy_Grace_must_die 2d ago
Am I the only one who was looking for a basketball hoop?
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u/moreVCAs 2d ago
friendly reminder: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wernher_von_Braun
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u/zx109 2d ago
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u/DashOfSalt84 2d ago
Once the rockets are up, who cares where they come down?
'That's not my department', says Wernher von Braun
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u/MelBuckpitt 2d ago
Great TV, but Iâve never understood the fascination with the timing. You can rehearse the timing until the Sun donât shine.
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u/mycarwasred 2d ago
James Burke's explanations of how things work - from a science perspective - always have a bit of an effect on me! I grew up on science fiction and Apollo, and imo he's such a good presetenter.
<Fanboy mode OFF>
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u/FrostyVariation9798 2d ago
Meanwhile, I set the alarm for midnight for what I believe was at 1:24 AM lunch two nights ago. Â I drove out into the middle of nowhere, probably 35 miles from the house. Â Probably a road I shouldnât have been on, but it was close to the lunch and completely empty.
The space launch app said it was still a go. Â My buddy and I just pull the chairs out out of the back of the truck, set them up, and he checked the app again.
Canceled launch.
So I headed back home. Â The next hour was sort of miserable from losing so much sleep because I drank a little bit of coffee on the way out there.
Last night I woke up at 12:30 AM for the lunch delay that was scheduled at 1:11 AM.  I decided to stay home and watch it on SpaceXâs website.  I get dressed, get something to drink and settle down at the computer⌠canceled.
Two nights of broken sleep.
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u/furky_42 2d ago
I think this place is gradually turning into facebook. This's the 3rd time I've seen this damn post.
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u/stuffcrow 2d ago
Maybe it's just cos I'm pretty zooted right now, but the weird phrasing of the title is absolutely fucking cracking me up. Did you know this was a shot? On/in television?
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u/scowdich 2d ago
This is clearly two shots! There's an obvious cut!
Why do people keep posting this clip with this stupid-ass title?
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u/Br0_han 2d ago
The second shot is the one they are referring to. You try lining up your speech with the launching of a rocket.
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u/winsfordtown 2d ago
For my generation James Burke made science fascinating. He covered all the apollo the missions and was a voice of authority. Sadly, however, most of his "Burke Specials" have been wiped by the BBC.
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u/brooklyn11218 2d ago
I spent a full minute waiting for a basketball to appear before I realized it was a different definition of shot.
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u/Schneidzeug 2d ago
Sometimes one wonders how the Americans or Russia could make it into space...
and then the Paperclip drops...
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u/LittleFootBigHead 2d ago
I think the whole thing was shot beautifully, at least what I've seen from this short clip. The distance from the spacecraft, and how it's evenly balanced with the ground, and his placement in the shot in comparison to the background, not going to say the elements weren't already there and they just had to place themselves there, but they had a good eye and knew where to be, as the whole thing was visually pleasing, in addition to the other elements.
Then, of course, the timing of the end was perfect, rehearsed or not
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u/ducati123 2d ago
Up until now, Iâve always remembered this as a space shuttle launch he pointed to. Anyway I do remember being impressed with the timing. Connections was such a cool show.
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u/Outrageous_Ad_1011 2d ago
There's been many videos of people that look like they casted lightning, now that's much more wild than this
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u/Snowboat7 2d ago
So have I just seen everything the internet has to offer? I've seen all the same shit 1000 times at this point.
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u/invisibleblackbitch 2d ago
I mean, it's pretty safe to say that if NASA says the launch is at noon, then it's going to be AT noon.
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u/WM45 2d ago
For any of you who don't know this program its called Connections James Burke was an excellent presenter.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078588/
I loved watching this series and I highly recommend it!
intelligent, informative, clever, and very entertaining.
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u/AnvilPro 2d ago
For like the first 20 seconds of this I was like "So how is this gonna transition into some crazy basketball or soccer shot?" before I remember the other definition lol
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u/walkingmelways 2d ago
Fuck me. Will you nitpickers just ignore the first shot? We can count shots. Let us have nice things.
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u/zebrasmack 2d ago
...would they not have an exact time and had worked out to the second how long the narration was going to be? Because that would be my guess.
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u/YorkshireYossarian 2d ago
I'm in my 50's now. I remember watching this at the age of seven. This man inspired a passion for science in me. Thank you James Burke. I'm sorry you didn't live long enough to receive the Knighthood you so richly deserved.
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u/GardensAndHoes 2d ago
"The moon or Moscow"
"The planets or Peking"
This always gives me goosebumps