If you live in the UK then grab the episodes onto your iPlayer now. If you live outside the UK get the DVD as soon as you can or find a way to watch it. The five successive days of Torchwood represented the sort of outstanding drama that makes the BBC unique and justifies the license fee. I won't spoil the story, but this was not goody and baddy science fiction. It was a well thought through morality play, and one in which there was no right answer, no easy way, only hard choices. You could teach an entire ethics course on the material covered. Eve Myles is at her raven haired best, her witness to the end, before the resolution an outstanding script wonderfully portrayed, made all the more poignant by her pregnancy.
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Comments (3)
From Wikipedia:
The series is set in Cardiff and follows the Welsh branch of a covert agency called the Torchwood Institute which investigates extraterrestrial incidents on Earth and scavenges alien technology for its own use. . . To paraphrase Torchwood Three's commander-in-chief, Captain Jack Harkness, the organisation is separate from the government, outside the police, and beyond the United Nations. Their public perception is as merely a 'special ops' group.
Sounds good Dave, esp. since it's a Welsh branch :-)
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Since we're on the subject of a TV series I'll place a plug for a U.S. series that exemplifies working in the COMPLEX (and sometimes CHAOTIC) quadrant of the Cynefin Framework. In “Burn Notice” the Michael Weston character (Jeffrey Donovan) will PROBE an unknown-unknown situation to convert some of the tableau into a KNOWN that will enable him to make a better decision. He evokes a reaction from players to clarify the way forward in a highly ambiguous situation. From your HBR paper: . . "leaders must patiently allow the path forward to reveal itself. They need to probe first, then sense, and then respond."
Weston also narrates and provides background so he’s teaching you why he’s doing things as the story unfolds. Edu-tainment for sure, but with lots of KM overtones.
Spy (looking for those weak signals) movies tend to do this but "Burn Notice" exemplifies it over and over.
Another blogger (Steve Barth - founding editor of “Knowledge Management” magazine) has also made connections between KM and “Burn Notice.”
Hone your Spy/KM Skills, Steve Barth, Feb09
http://reflexions.typepad.com/reflexions/2009/02/hone-your-spykm-skills.html
EXCERPTS
If you want to learn how to be a spy, watch Burn Notice. If you want to learn how to be a knowledge manager, watch Burn Notice.
Burn Notice is the best simulation I've ever seen of effective knowledge management techniques.
"Spies go to bars for the same reason people go to libraries: full of information if you know where to ask."
Every episode features Michael's voice-over annotations that turn you into an apprentice while watching everything he does. Tips, tricks and other knowledge nuggets.
"Dealing with a trained operative is like playing chess with a master. Dealing with criminals, on the other hand, is like playing checkers with a three-year-old: they like to change the rules."
It's not about making expertise explicit. It's about connecting text to context and subtext. The other thing that makes it work is actor Jeffrey Donovan's voice, which is as addictive for its cadence as for its confidence. The voice says "Listen to me and I'll get you out of trouble" and you believe it. He tells. He shows. He keeps it in context. He makes it sexy. Learning should be sexy. We should all talk like this at work.
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FYI Dave: My final paper for a KM Master's degree (undergrad is Physics) is exploring the Cynefin Framework and applications to business and science. Thanks for posting your many lectures online.
Posted by Mike Sivertsen | July 11, 2009 10:10 PM
Posted on July 11, 2009 22:10
From Wikipedia:
The series is set in Cardiff and follows the Welsh branch of a covert agency called the Torchwood Institute which investigates extraterrestrial incidents on Earth and scavenges alien technology for its own use. . . To paraphrase Torchwood Three's commander-in-chief, Captain Jack Harkness, the organisation is separate from the government, outside the police, and beyond the United Nations. Their public perception is as merely a 'special ops' group.
Sounds good Dave, esp. since it's a Welsh branch :-)
----------------------------------
Since we're on the subject of a TV series I'll place a plug for a U.S. series that exemplifies working in the COMPLEX (and sometimes CHAOTIC) quadrant of the Cynefin Framework. In “Burn Notice” the Michael Weston character (Jeffrey Donovan) will PROBE an unknown-unknown situation to convert some of the tableau into a KNOWN that will enable him to make a better decision. He evokes a reaction from players to clarify the way forward in a highly ambiguous situation. From your HBR paper: . . "leaders must patiently allow the path forward to reveal itself. They need to probe first, then sense, and then respond."
Weston also narrates and provides background so he’s teaching you why he’s doing things as the story unfolds. Edu-tainment for sure, but with lots of KM overtones.
Spy (looking for those weak signals) movies tend to do this but "Burn Notice" exemplifies it over and over.
Another blogger (Steve Barth - founding editor of “Knowledge Management” magazine) has also made connections between KM and “Burn Notice.”
Hone your Spy/KM Skills, Steve Barth, Feb09
http://reflexions.typepad.com/reflexions/2009/02/hone-your-spykm-skills.html
EXCERPTS
If you want to learn how to be a spy, watch Burn Notice. If you want to learn how to be a knowledge manager, watch Burn Notice.
Burn Notice is the best simulation I've ever seen of effective knowledge management techniques.
"Spies go to bars for the same reason people go to libraries: full of information if you know where to ask."
Every episode features Michael's voice-over annotations that turn you into an apprentice while watching everything he does. Tips, tricks and other knowledge nuggets.
"Dealing with a trained operative is like playing chess with a master. Dealing with criminals, on the other hand, is like playing checkers with a three-year-old: they like to change the rules."
It's not about making expertise explicit. It's about connecting text to context and subtext. The other thing that makes it work is actor Jeffrey Donovan's voice, which is as addictive for its cadence as for its confidence. The voice says "Listen to me and I'll get you out of trouble" and you believe it. He tells. He shows. He keeps it in context. He makes it sexy. Learning should be sexy. We should all talk like this at work.
------------------------
FYI Dave: My final paper for a KM Master's degree (undergrad is Physics) is exploring the Cynefin Framework and applications to business and science. Thanks for posting your many lectures online.
Posted by Mike Sivertsen | July 11, 2009 11:31 PM
Posted on July 11, 2009 23:31
we would like to congratulate all the cast members for bringing a hypnotizing 3rd series of Torchwood. set in cardiff it really did work well. thanks to all the producers and directors. hopefully there will be a 4th series to come to our screens. x x
Posted by Karlee-ann + Louise | July 16, 2009 9:27 AM
Posted on July 16, 2009 09:27