Sonda was a Polish television popular science series broadcast between 1977 and 1989. It was presented by economist Zdzisław Kamiński and physicist Andrzej Kurek. During the period of 12 years of broadcasting, the programme was the most popular and appreciated science TV show in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

, becoming cult viewing for a generation. The program ended with the death of its hosts in a car accident on September 29, 1989. The programme owes its popularity to its unique formula: in each episode, one particular problem from the field of science or technology was addressed. The show had the form of a “never-ending” discussion between a sceptic and an enthusiast (Kamiński and Kurek), who carried out hands-on demonstrations and experiments to illustrate their arguments. The discussion contained elements of humour and performance: the hosts were often dressed up in costumes. The show was interspersed with documentary footage presenting a broader view of the issues discussed.

Production

A total of 529 episodes were broadcast. Many of the broadcast tapes have been erased (reused for newer episodes), however, a few deleted episodes, which persisted in private recordings ( VCR or

U-Matic U-matic, also known as -inch Type E Helical Scan or SMPTE E, is an analog recording videocassette format developed by Sony. First shown as a prototype in October 1969 and introduced commercially in September 1971, it was among the earliest vi ...

) were set in 2023 into YouTube. The programme is notable for its use of music, much of it by electronic music artists such as

Vangelis Evangelos Odysseas Papathanassiou (, ; 29 March 1943 – 17 May 2022), known professionally as Vangelis ( ; , ), was a Greek musician, composer, and producer of electronic, progressive, ambient, and classical orchestral music. He composed ...

and

Jean-Michel Jarre Jean-Michel André Jarre (; born 24 August 1948) is a French composer, performer and record producer. He is a pioneer in the Electronic music, electronic, Ambient music, ambient and New-age music, new-age genres, and is known for organising out ...

, or by artists associated with the

Sonoton Sonoton Music is a German Production Music Library. it formed in 1965 by Rotheide and Gerhard Narholz in Munich (Germany), the company owns the copyrights of over 130,000 compositions and musical recordings of all genres. With more than 35 subsidi ...

Production Music Library label. The theme tune was a slightly shortened version of an instrumental piece called "Visitation", composed and recorded in 1971 by

Mike Vickers Michael Graham Vickers (born 18 April 1940) is an English musician who came to prominence as the guitarist, flautist, and saxophonist with the 1960s band Manfred Mann. Early life Vickers was born in Staines-upon-Thames, Surrey. At the age of ...

(a former member of

Manfred Mann Manfred Mann were an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. They were named after their keyboardist Manfred Mann (musician), Manfred Mann, who later led the successful 1970s group Manfred Mann's Earth Band. The group had two l ...

). The opening and end titles of later editions were prepared by Kurek using his

ZX Spectrum The ZX Spectrum () is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer developed and marketed by Sinclair Research. One of the most influential computers ever made and one of the all-time bestselling British computers, over five million units were sold. ...

External links

Official page of "Sonda", author: Tomasz Pyć (one of creators of the program)

The surviving episodes of Sonda
Polish educational television series Non-fiction television series 1970s Polish television series 1980s Polish television series 1977 Polish television series debuts 1989 Polish television series endings Telewizja Polska original programming {{poland-tv-prog-stub