PBS wants you to THINK Wednesday, especially about your inner ancestors!

I confess, I don't watch PBS on a regular basis anymore (or TV in general really because I don't have cable- instead I opt to follow specific shows). However, it was probably the channel I watched the most as a kid- while I have nostalgia for Hey Arnold! and Rugrats like others of my generation, I have even stronger memories of The Magic School Bus, Wishbone, and of course, Bill Nye the Science Guy.

Perhaps on the tailwind of COSMOS, PBS recently started a lineup called "Think Wednesday", a three-hour primetime block from 8-11 PM of science, nature, and technology AWESOME. The first two hours are filled by PBS standbys NATURE and NOVA, and the third is reserved for special programs. Currently, that third slot is filled with Neil Shubin's "Your Inner Fish", a three-part miniseries based on his book of the same name. The first episode (which you can view here) aired last week and continues tonight with "Your Inner Reptile".

Neil is a fish paleontologist based at the University of Chicago and teaches Anatomy & Physiology to a bevy of med students. Some may wonder what someone who does their fieldwork with a shovel instead of a scalpel knows about the way our bodies function, but it actually makes sense- as precursors to tetrapods, you see many similarities between their morphology and ours. While Haeckel's "Ontology recapitulates phylogeny" is a historical footnote in modern biology, side-by-side comparisons of tetrapods at early embryological states are remarkably alike. At a more molecular level, shared expression gradients like Sonic hedgehog indicate relatedness of animals.

No, not that one. Source: Wikia

The graphics are slick, and not as jarring as many other "3D Ancient Life POW!" specials have been. I especially enjoyed seeing prehistoric animals crawl around Neil's locations, half-translucent so their bone structure could be visible.

Neil is a great guide, too- not just another talking head. We follow along with the Tiktaalik discovery, we visit friends (and learn things in the process).

Incidentally, I found out my ear pits are actually a developmental error showing a remnant of my first gill arch.

I am the 1%! Though your odds may be higher if you live elsewhere.

I hope PBS continues this structure beyond the life of "Your Inner Fish"- it's nice to have engaging science content distributed throughout the week (and especially when it doesn't have to fight with other shows in the same timeslot like COSMOS does with The Walking Dead and now Game of Thrones). Props to PBS! Hopefully this is the start of a new age in edutainment.