Producers of Skeptologists Welcome New Cast Member
Things have been busy behind the scenes of the hopeful TV series, “The Skeptologists.” One of them I would like to briefly share with you today.
What makes The Skeptologists a truly great show concept and a worthy bit of entertainment is firstly, the cast! Our cast is a world-class mix of knowledge, experience and talent from several different areas of expertise. Recently we’ve had to say goodbye to one of them. Dr. Phil Plait leaves the active cast of the Skeptologists to pursue his hosting role on Bad Universe on the Discovery Channel. We are so proud of his new opportunity, and I trust that everyone will greatly support his efforts with that new venture. Dr. Plait has and continues to support our work on the show and of course, we’ll always consider him a very important member of the team, whether he appears on camera or not.
Dr. Gay joins the Cast of The Skeptologists
While we are sad to see Dr. Plait leave the on-camera cast, his departure has opened the door for a new member that we are very excited to announce: Dr. Pamela L. Gay will step in and fill Phil’s mighty big shoes as the resident astronomer and scientist with knowledge regarding all things spacey. You no doubt have heard about her successful podcast, AstronomyCast which she Co-Hosts with Fraser Cain. Her online website StarStryder.com is a great source to find information about some of her many exploits.
Dr. Gay is a tremendous resource for our show she has already begun helping us out behind the scenes to get some new opportunities opened up for us.
We are very glad to have Dr. Gay on board and look forward to a rewarding relationship with her.
Welcome Dr. Pamela Gay!
Hmmm, I love Phil, but I’m always in favor of adding a smart beautiful woman to the roster!
~Rhaco
And you can even add “christian” to the list – isn’t that wonderful?
Astronomy Cast is is evidence enough for me that she keeps her personal beliefs out of fact based science. Squelching a faith based argument in a philosophical question is about as bad as squelching a minority position on a scientific one.
Well said Dimension.
I think Pam’s great; I wish more folks were like her and kept religion out of the classroom. I was just adding another irrelevant factoid to Rhaco’s list.
Sorry, would rather have Phil.
Thanks for the update Ryan – does this mean you’re discussing a network pilot?
Great move. Anyone who regularly listens to Astronomy Cast knows Pamela Gay to be one of the best at bringing difficult science to the public.
Congratulations to both Professor Gay and The Skeptologists.
Dr. Gay is much better looking than Phil anyway. ;) All joshing aside, Dr. Gay is the perfect replacement for Dr. Plait. She is affable, has a great voice and ability to explain scientific information, and has experience that will translate well to the show.
Now, if we can just see the pilot!
This is a great move!! It gives all of us both Phil Plait and Pam Gay. I’ve had the pleasure of having Dr. Gay as a guest on my Space Track for a number of years now and audiences love her. Besides her beautiful looks, as Shawn S. says, she has a wonderful speaking voice, she can talk to any type of audience and not make them feel she is ‘talking down’ to them and she’s is well versed in many areas. As if that isn’t enough, she has huge network of people she can reach out to. Besides all that, while maintaining the seriousness of what she does, Dr. Gay has a marvelous fun side to her that ensures what she takes on is also fun. Kudos for a great addition! Just one favor – don’t schedule her during Dragon*Con!
rain
Director
Dragon*Con Space Track
Yep. Dr Gay rocks. Her personal beliefs don’t seem to matter one bit. Quite a feat IMO, keeping ones beliefs from tainting ones science. I imagine by now being who she is, and who she hangs around with, she is used to reconciling her beliefs with the science she loves.
Now… on with the show!
Oh and we’ll need a decent photoshop job done on the website masthead. :)
I like Phil, but Dr. Pamela Gay is easier on both the eyes and the ears, and her mastery of astronomy is enviable. It would be cool if you could get Dr. Amy Mainzer on the show once in a while too.
Dr. Pamela Gay is an excellent choice. She is more than qualified and is a powerful presence in any educational setting.
Le Astronomer est mort, vive le Astronomer!
The skeptic community is one big family anyway =)
I think Phil is a fun guy and everything, but I have a lot more respect for Dr. Gay.
Excellent choice… now if you could just replace Mark. Maybe with a hedgehog? Hedgehogs are cute.
:P I think Mark’s one of the most interesting characters. I’d like to see him pull tricks relevant to explaining some of the woo-woo.
I won’t disagree that he’s “interesting”. I just don’t personally think his drama and “interestingness” (yes, it’s a word) serves any good purpose. My take on Mark is that he just wants the drama and the spotlight and doesn’t give a rat’s patootie about anything beyond that. Take the Sylvia stunt, for instance; what good did that really do except for his ability to toot his own horn and say “look what I did”?
I could be wrong about him. I have no evidence, of course. *laughs* He just leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I just think nobody loves Mark like Mark. I think he’s going to need physical therapy on his arm in the future from all of that patting himself on the back.
I don’t know what axe you’ve got to grind; Mark is not the only one crashing psychic events, I applaud the party poopers, and I don’t see why that would be considered tooting one’s own horn.
*shrugs* I don’t have an axe to grind. I just don’t care for Mark Edward.
I didn’t say *doing it* was tooting his horn. It was his recounting of the event afterward, as if it were some big deal. It came across to me like he thought it was the greatest “gotcha” moment ever, but I thought it was kinda lame. These, of course, are my opinions and are not to be attributed to anybody else without the consent of Major League Baseball.
What an odd coincidence! I was a hedgehog in a previous incarnation!
I love Astronomy Cast, and if I was ever doubtful of her qualification to bring science to the masses (which I am not), her answer to the question “What is time?” at Dragon*Con this year would dispel any lingering hesitation. This is really exciting news.
Dimension, I love your response to the christian comment. It is fantastic to see a community that is both skeptic and accepting at the same time.
The Skeptologist crew should follow the Sci-Fi Channel’s “Ghost Hunters” episodes and basically follow up on EVERY episode to debunk them. Of course it’s all easy to debunk but I think people need IN YOUR FACE debunking.
I think people would get pretty tired of seeing “What was that!!!” debunked.
I prefer Phil, I think he’s much more entertaining. I stopped listening to Astronomy Cast because I found Pamela to be far too staid and boring.
Have to agree with Citizen Wolf, I gave up on Astronomy Cast because of Pamela Gay’s style. Does everyone with a Phd have to attach it to their name at every opportunity. I didn’t know anything about her being a christian and it had nothing to do with why I couldn’t listen to the show.