Michael Rosenfeld, David Dugan, David Elisco and Neil Shubin won for a three-part PBS series on "Your Inner Fish." The winning series described how Shubin, a fish paleontologist, and his colleagues use fossil evidence and our DNA history to trace different features of our anatomy to animals from long ago. Natalie Angier, a science writer for The New York Times, praised the PBS series. "I particularly applaud the segments that reveal what fieldwork is really like," Angier said, "and the graphics really brought the fossils to life."
Shubin, the author of two books on popular science, has spent his career studying the distant reaches of our family tree, looking for evidence of the ancestors that helped shape the human body. Much of how we look today, from our necks and lungs to our limbs and hands, can be traced to our fishy evolutionary forebears, including amphibious creatures who first crawled onto the land more than 300 million years ago. Every reptile, bird and mammal alive today is descended from ancient fish, including us, Shubin notes.
Hudson applauded the "fascinating, creative storytelling with illuminating, effective, high-end graphics throughout." He said the smart pacing and use of humor was a plus, "yet the humor never compromises the consistent focus on scientific discovery." Lila Guterman, a deputy managing editor of Science News, said: "I loved it. It had loads of science, including how it's done." Michael Rosenfeld, executive producer of the series, remarked: "Using multiple scientific disciplines, and with Neil himself as our charismatic presenter, we were able to take our viewers on a journey through millions of years to meet a strange cast of characters — the ancestors that shaped our anatomy."
Shubin added: "I'm thrilled to share this special recognition by the AAAS with Michael and David. One of the great joys of doing the show was the way it became a partnership between scientists and filmmakers, each bringing their different vision to telling" the story.
