Why did BBC broadcast James Burke's “Connections” when it's so wrong?

The series was produced and directed by Mick Jackson of the BBC Science and Features Department, according to Wikipedia. (So that might be the answer to your BBC question.)

But I've never heard anyone question its accuracy. (Over many years, for what that's worth.) Acknowledging my biases, I watched that show when I was young, and I'd really loved it.

There's no other show like it. The New York Times reports "It took more than two years to make, was filmed at 150 locations in 22 countries and cost 51.5 million."

https://www.nytimes.com/1979/10/21/archives/pbss-connections...

I sampled it again and right off the bat, his claim that freeze drying was invented by the coffee industry in S. America because they had extra beans is easily proven false by 2 minutes of research and his further claim that this led to easier supply of troops in WW2 is no connection at all. His show was a bunch of random facts strung together for the flimsiest of reasons. Did the BBC know this and only broadcast it because it was entertaining and the audience didn't have the internet at the time? Or am I missing something about Connections? Burke seems like a smart guy.

The 'connections' aren't exact. There is a lot of poetic licence. It's entertainment that is an easy way of giving you lots of general knowledge.

The important word in my statements above is 'entertainment'.

He also had a monthly 'connections' series of articles in Scientific American for several years. They were very entertaining too.

Well. Googling says freeze drying was invented in France and that the first food to be processed was coffee. So perhaps both of you are right.

Wrong how?