# Connections by James Burke

33 Hacker News commenters recommended Connections by James Burke and 1 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 8 of 13 months. It meets the Hacker Approved badge rule.

**Verdict:** Influential BBC documentary series tracing surprising links between historical discoveries; fans say it sparked lasting curiosity. Critics note later seasons' connections feel strained.

## Why people recommend it

- Beloved since childhood (3 comments): "I was so lucky to be able to grow up watching quality shows like this." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48090709)) "I watched this show religiously as a kid" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48090870)) "I loved this show as a kid." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48094556))
- Praised as excellent, top docuseries (3 comments): "Connections was kind of like this, and it was excellent." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46905710)) "Connections is the best docuseries I have ever seen." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48091535)) "Hands down one of the best TV shows ever made" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48094066))
- Sparks curiosity about tech history (3 comments): "Connections was so influential that my university (Purdue) introduced a 3 semester series of courses on the history of technology." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48094318)) "an excellent initiation to curiosity about the long tail of human achievement" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48092426)) "it is a presentation of technical development that meets my standard" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49271703))
- Strong finale ties threads together (2 comments): "the final scene of the last episode, "inside the British Airways computer", had me standing on my couch pointing at the screen" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48092738)) "All the ends left about in the preceding episodes are drawn together neatly in the final one." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48096493))

## What people warn about

- Later seasons' connections feel scattershot (3 comments): "as it got into the later seasons the so-called "connections" got tenuous and sometimes quite strained" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46992667)) "Connections 2 and 3 were indeed scattershot because people liked Burke's charming mannerisms" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48091289)) "ends up pretty scattershot" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48091004))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Triumph of the Nerds](https://hackerapproved.com/p/triumph-of-the-nerds.md): 31 recommend
- [All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace by Adam Curtis](https://hackerapproved.com/p/all-watched-over.md): 10 recommend
- [The Century of Self by Adam Curtis](https://hackerapproved.com/p/century-of-self.md): 10 recommend
- [The Secret Life of Machines](https://hackerapproved.com/p/secret-life-of-machines.md): 8 recommend
- [Texico](https://hackerapproved.com/p/texico.md): 8 recommend

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Connections by James Burke", https://hackerapproved.com/p/connections/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).