FINLAND: Watch Einstein And Eddington On YLE TV1 Tonight

The 2008 TV drama Einstein And Eddington will air on YLE TV1 tonight in Finland. David Tennant stars as Sir Arthur Eddington and Andy Serkis as Albert Einstein in the story of the Einstein's theory of general relativity and the relationship between the two scientists. The drama was written by Peter Moffat, directed by Philip Martin and produced by the BBC in association with HBO.

Einstein ja Eddington

YLE TV1 - 22.55

Kahden tiedemiehen yhteistyö muutti fysiikan lakeja, vaikka I maailmasota tuli väliin. Albert Einstein työsti teoriaa maailmanjärjestyksestä. Britti Arthur Eddington todisti, että hän oli oikeassa.

Einstein and Eddington

YLE TV1 - 22.55

The co-operation of two scientists changes the laws of physics, despite the intervention of World War I. Albert Einstein proposes the theory of world relativity. British scientist Arthur Eddington testifies that he is right.

HBO Announce Einstein And Eddington Air Date

HBO have announced that Einstein And Eddington will premiere on their network at 21:00pm EDT on 23rd March 2010.

David Nominated For Broadcasting Press Guild Award

David has been shortlisted for the Best Actor award in the 35th annual Broadcasting Press Guild Awards, to be presented next month at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane.
He has been nominated for two roles, as the Doctor in Doctor Who and the British astronomer Arthur Eddington in the one off drama Einstein and Eddington.
Also nominated in the category are Kenneth Branagh and Ben Whishaw.
The highly-prized BPG awards are selected by journalists who write about TV and radio - correspondents, critics and previewers. Previous Best Actor winners include Sir Alec Guinness, Albert Finney, Charles Dance, Robert Hardy, Tim Pigott-Smith, Jim Broadbent, Christopher Ecclestone, Philip Glenister and Colin Firth.
Einstein And Eddington is also nominated for Best Single Drama.
You can visit the official BPG website here.

Einstein And Eddington Update

Screen caps from last night's excellent Einstein And Eddington are now online here.
If you missed the programme or would simply like to watch it all over again then you can do so via the BBC iPlayer here.
American fans will be pleased to hear that Einstein And Eddington is expected to be shown on HBO before the end of the year and UK fans can pre order the DVD, released 1st December 2008, in our shop here.

Einstein And Eddington BBC Two 21:10pm

Don't forget to tune into Einstein And Eddington on BBC Two tonight at 21:10pm. There will be a live chat on our forum at www.david-tennant.net this evening for you to discuss what you thought of the programme.

Einstein And Eddington Articles

We've added a couple of new interviews with David to promote Einstein and Eddington here.
New Scientist have also done a review of the show which you can read here.

Einstein And Eddington Radio Times Cover

Make sure you pick up a copy of the Radio Times this week as David is the cover star. Plus inside you'll find a fantastic diary he has written about filming Einstein And Eddington.
Radio Times is on sale now.

David On Radio This Friday

David will be doing a couple of radio interviews to discuss his latest project, Einstein And Eddington, on Friday 21st November 2008.
First up he will be on The Christian O'Connell Show on Absolute Radio between 09:00am and 10:00am and later he will be interviewed on Radio 1 and Radio 4's Front Row at 19:15pm.

Einstein And Eddington Trailer & Air Date Confirmed

The BBC have confirmed that Einstein And Eddington will air on Saturday 22nd November at 21:10pm on BBC Two.

You can watch the new trailer above and view screen caps from it here.

Einstein And Eddington DVD

The DVD will be released on 8th December and can be pre ordered from our online shop for £11.98.

Einstein And Eddington..Coming Soon

The BBC Press Office have announced that Einstein And Eddington will air between 22nd November - 28th November.

They also have the following interview with David about the show and his charcter, Sir Arthur Eddington:

Tell us about Eddington.
"He is already recognised within his field and has become the Director of the Royal Observatory when the story starts. This is a man who has been recognised at quite an early age as someone who is quite sharp and who is at the forefront of astrophysics. He is described in the script by someone as being 'the best measuring man' in England, and that is very much his thing. He was obsessed with the minutiae of quantification and, as a kid, he tried to count all the words in The Bible. He liked to specify the fact of our existence in numbers."

Tell us about his Quaker beliefs.
"It's certainly what motivated him. His Quakerism and belief in God was fundamental to him and everything he did, particularly with his insistence not to go to war. I don't think for him that was a great moral battle, he just knows what is morally correct in his version of the universe and that's simply how it is to him.
"His religion started to count against him in later life because that became unfashionable. His life was dedicated to marrying science to God – to prove that, far from being mutually exclusive, we are mutually inclusive – and, as time went on, moving into the Thirties and Forties, it became a less-fashionable viewpoint to take. Science became more secular, I suppose. But, for Eddington, there was never a conflict between the two."

As a religious man, how did Eddington cope with challenging Newtonian physics?
"Well that's his big defining moment. Having accepted Newtonian physics as the way of explaining the universe, he gets a sniff of something pure, he gets a sniff of something more complicated, bigger – more anarchic actually – but ultimately truer.
"It's not a generally easy decision to make, to fly in the face of received opinion, to fly in the face of all his contemporaries and, at the same time, fly in the face of political sensitivities [because Einstein was German], because they are fighting a war he doesn't want to be involved in. There are all these things he has to combat."

As you touched upon earlier, as a Quaker, he was a pacifist and refused to go to war. Was that a difficult and unpopular decision?
"We used some of his actual words in the script and I think that is very instructive. He got let off [active service] the first time round because Cambridge said that they needed him for research, but then as the war went on and the numbers of available men were dwindling, there was a second round of conscription, and he was called again.
"He did have to go in front of a committee and justify himself, and he said, 'I simply can't believe that God wants me go out and slaughter his people'. It's a very persuasive argument, this idea that we have to go to war for some kind of belief, that we are following what God wants for us. But they believed that in Germany, too, so who's right? It's a persuasive and brilliant argument."
How much research did you do for the role? Did you manage to find out much about Eddington?
"In some ways he is a great, forgotten man, which is why this is an intriguing story to tell. There is one biography which I found and that was very helpful, although there are elements of his private life which are skirted around.
"The story we tell is of a man who couldn't quite face the fact that he was gay."

The script tells of his possible unrequited love for a man who has gone to war. What's your take on that?
"It adds to that tension and that becomes the truth he doesn't pursue. The moment he doesn't tell William how he feels, he doesn't pursue that particular truth. I think that haunts him, in a way, and pushes him to pursue the more difficult choice elsewhere."

Tell us about his relationship with Winnie, who, in the film, is a very glamorous sister.
"She is a very glamorous sister, although we found a photo of her and she wasn't quite as glamorous as Rebecca Hall! One has to make certain assumptions about that relationship, as it's unusual. Perhaps it was less unusual then, that a brother and a sister could live together as husband and wife.
"It was interesting playing the scenes with Rebecca because we'd often stop ourselves and say, 'Are we playing this as husband and wife or brother and sister?' and wonder how much difference there would be in all the years of living together and depending on each other."

Einstein and Eddington were very different men. Why do you think they came together to solve this great scientific mystery?
"What I loved about the story is the sense of beautiful symmetry between these two characters who are almost total opposites, and yet ... they are relatively bohemian within their worlds.
"Eddington is far from bohemian, but there is an unconventionality to him. It's not anarchy because his life is very straight and very buttoned-down, very controlled, but because he has a certain way of thinking, he becomes an anarchist in a sense, whereas Einstein is anarchic and crazy, but, because of his brilliance, he becomes, ultimately, conventional. It is fascinating to set them off against each other."

How did you learn about the General Theory of Relativity?
"I have read a bit. I've found lots in the script quite helpful in terms of coming to an understanding about it. It's about reprogramming your brain because, whenever you start talking about space, you are talking about distances that are so beyond our comprehension that I can't even begin to breathe!
"You look at the pages of Einstein's 1905 paper and your mind boggles as to how people's brains can think in equations that way. Maths was never my favourite subject but I have the beginnings of the grasp of some of the concepts.
"It gets so philosophical sometimes. You start to think back to the Big Bang and the moment of singularity. That is such a concept that is beyond our ken. That moment of singularity... When was it? How can it exist?"

What would you say Einstein And Eddington is ultimately about?
"It's about a moment in time, it's also about human endeavour, it's about those moments when people step up to the plate. I think it also becomes about your own moments in life when you are faced with those decisions. Eddington managed to do that with Einstein."

Einstein And Eddington BAFTA Screening Update

Unfortunately due to work commitments neither David nor Andy Serkis will be taking part in the Q&A session that will follow the BAFTA screening of Einstein And Eddington. The talk will now be done by the director and the producer.

Einstein Amd Eddington BAFTA Screening

Einstein And Eddington will be screened on 28th October at 18:00pm at The Princess Anne Theatre, Piccadilly London.
David and Andy Serkis will be taking part in Q&A session afterwards.
You can get tickets for just £5 here.