I just heard about this and it starts tonight (11/9/11) on the Science Channel:

Starting tonight at 10PM ET/PT on the Science Channel, movie maker Ridley Scott brings together scientists, writers, and other thinkers to honor the Prophets of Science Fiction. Each episode focuses on a writer who helped explain and expand the world of science through the use of fiction. The series will use film clips, reenactments, illustrations, and interviews with top thinkers — including director Paul Verhoeven and theoretical physicist Dr. Michio Kakuto — to tell the story of the author, and the modern day scientific implications of what they wrote.

 The lineup looks great:

• Mary Shelley — Tonight
• H.G. Wells — 16 November
• Phillip K. Dick — 23 November
• Arthur C. Clarke — 30 November
• Isaac Asimov — 7 December
• Jules Verne — 1 February
• Robert Heinlein — 8 February