COSMOS series anticipation thread

[JackieLikesVariety]

I liked it.

[peedin]

I was so bored that I turned it off 15 minutes into it. NDT would speak for 10 seconds, then interminable pauses while junk floated on screen, music and crap effects for the next 30 seconds. I understand next to nothing about cosmos so was hoping to learn something. Total pass on this.

[Donegal_Dragon]

I also was struck by the Blind Willie Johnson inclusion. Someone knows what they are doing.
But I was confused by the Bruno story being used to promote scientific thought and reason since NDT himself confessed that Bruno had no evidence for his convictions, only a vision he was convinced came from God. The story of Galileo would have been far more appropriate.

[Moe]

My review, re-posted from the thread in the pit.

@Moe

OK, just finished it. My take first off is that I liked it. I liked it a lot and I’m very glad it’s being done. I’m accepting of the fact that many of the aforementioned shortcomings (which I agree with) are actually to its benefit in terms of what good it can do culturally. (the commercials, being on FOX instead of PBS, the sorta sound-bite chaptering…). I want this to reach people who would otherwise remain ignorant of basic science and the awe and wonder of the natural world.

So I’m happy and eagerly awaiting the next episode…

BUT,

There’s no getting around the comparison to Sagan, and on that front, it’s just lacking. Seriously lacking. It’s a very good science documentary and it feels that way, but somehow Sagan’s had this incredible sense of depth and contemplation. This was something I feared just from seeing the difference in the 2 personalities. NDT is not good alone in front of a camera without people. He’s at his best during the Q&A’s at the end of a talk where he just get energized by the interaction, or moderating a panel discussion. On screen he often looks over-rehearsed and awkward trying to figure out just how to swing his arms when he walks. He’s putting a lot of effort into delivering those lines and you feel it in his voice. Sagan never seemed to be reading from a script. He just kinda spoke to you and you could feel his own awe and wonder at the same time. It’s actually amazing to see just how genuine he manages to come across.

Agreed with all on the whole Bruno animation segment.

On the initial ship of the imagination voyage - What Sagan did was totally brilliant. He started the journey from far away and took us gradually to Earth. It was profoundly moving to start out lost somewhere in the distant cosmic ocean and to slowly find our way to the local group, to the Milky Way, to our solar system, and finally to home. It’s such a stunningly beautiful segment and one that makes me tear up watching it. By NDT starting on Earth and then going outward, it just doesn’t have that profound sense of weight. I would’ve started from the edge of the observable universe, made to the journey to Earth, and then asked the question about what’s beyond the observable universe in order to quickly shot back out there and then introduce the multiverse.

Also, one of the aspects of Sagan’s Cosmos that worked on a subconscious level was the fact that almost all shots of him in a town or among society took place in pre-industrial settings. You rarely saw cars or electric lights. You saw candles, horses and buggies, old machinery… This back drop subconsciously creates an environment that allows one to easily imagine the process of scientific exploration happening. We know intuitively how much there is still to learn and you get a sense of how, historically, humans have worked to figure things out. Seeing NDT walk down modern streets with cars in the background just feels flat.

Again, I’m enjoying it, I’m glad it’s happening. BUT, every now and again, maybe once or twice a year, I get an urge to watch on old episode of Sagan’s Cosmos, and afterward I feel contemplative and perhaps, dare I say it, somewhat spiritual. I can’t imagine having that same urge in the future with Tyson’s.

[IvoryTowerDenizen]

@Donegal_Dragon

I also was struck by the Blind Willie Johnson inclusion. Someone knows what they are doing.
But I was confused by the Bruno story being used to promote scientific thought and reason since NDT himself confessed that Bruno had no evidence for his convictions, only a vision he was convinced came from God. The story of Galileo would have been far more appropriate.

The point was about the right to challenge accepted dogma- which is at the heart of scientific inquiry and the scientific method. The point wasn’t that he was right, but that he had a novel idea worth exploring but was shut down, imprisoned and executed for having a thought that differed from accepted dogma.

[Intergalactic_Gladiator]

We saw it and we liked it (I thought I commented on this earlier in anticipation of the show, but it looks like I didn’t. Maybe in an alternate universe I did…).

We’ve been anticipating this ever since we started seeing the ads on Fox on Sunday nights. My daughter loves science, though it would be a stretch to call her a young scientist, and she was engrossed in it for most of the program. My son has been excited about seeing this since seeing the water bear in the commercials so I let him stay up late to watch most of it.

I agree with what was said about the commercials. Boy were they overloaded with them! I understand producing a show isn’t cheap and it clearly looks like they didn’t skimp on this one but maybe they should have been able to name check sponsors (“Cosmos was brought to you in part by McDonnell Douglas, The Cape Kennedy launch Center, and Dolly Madison”) at the beginning instead of stuffing 10 pounds of sponsors into an 8 pound bag, but yeah these guys paid for their time so their going to put their fancy commercials into it.

I was also moved by NDT’s retelling of meeting Carl Sagan. I thought Tyson did an outstanding job and to me he was one of the few people who could do this justice.

Wow, it bugged me to see Seth ManFarlane’s name so many times at the beginning. Him being a geeked out fanboy of this helps, but I can’t stand his other work. Having The Family Guy on at 7:30 really messed up our viewing schedule because we’re used to doing Simpsons, Bob’s Burgers, bedtime, that we had to find something else for that half hour. Fortunately, PBS was there with a show about wild horses, which my son was totally not interested, so I got him ready for bed and read to him until 8:00.

[John_Mace]

It was pretty good-- better than I expected.

I actually liked NDT, which I usually don’t. The cartoon bit about Bruno was kind of stupid. It did feel a bit rushed, like the part where Tiktaalik crawls out of the ocean.

I recorded it, so the commercials weren’t much of an issue. I rarely watch any commercial TV live these days other than sports.

[Fleetwood]

@David_H_Singanas

If the Fox network is hosting the remake of COSMOS, then it shows the
network has matured and is moving away from the banality of creation science,
intelligent design, and God as cosmic prankster. This means the FOX team is
getting away from the notion that God planted all those dinosaur bones to test
our faith in the Bible.

Cheers, Singanas 3-7-14

I don’t remember any programming like this on Fox.

[John_Mace]

@hotflungwok

Something odd when I was watching this tonight. At about 9:47, NDT was talking about the first creature to walk onto land. He said something like ‘I’ll bet it felt like…’ and it went quiet. I could see his lips moving, but the sound cut out or something. Anyone else see this? Anyone know what he said?

I thought it was because he was trying to pronounce the name of the creature in an appropriate Inuit (or whatever) accent: Tiktaalik. I figured many people would be just going: whaaaaaa???

---

And yes, it would be nice if people could get off the FoxNews hate wagon for a few minutes while discussing programs on Fox. Not the same thing.

[Gangster_Octopus]

It’s good, but nothing special, to be honest. The idea that they could recreate the freshness and excitement of the original is pretty much an impossible task. The original existed before the Internet and before there were a hundred thousand TV channels. Sagan was presenting something new, this is now just something else.

[Face_Intentionally_Left_Blank]

@Gangster_Octopus

It’s good, but nothing special, to be honest. The idea that they could recreate the freshness and excitement of the original is pretty much an impossible task. The original existed before the Internet and before there were a hundred thousand TV channels. Sagan was presenting something new, this is now just something else.

I find it encouraging that people are posting here about their children loving it. Perhaps we’ve aged out of the ability to feel the sense of wonder that the original Cosmos filled us with, or perhaps the original already covered this territory with us, so it won’t affect us the same way. We’ve already been exposed to this information and been made to think about it. There’s no re-discovering what we’ve already learned and long pondered.

[Yllaria]

@Sam_Stone

. . . I actually choked up a bit at the end when NDT told his story about Sagan. And it was a wonderful way of bringing Sagan into this series and creating a connecting thread between them. . . . .

Yeah. I teared up.

@Donegal_Dragon

. . . But I was confused by the Bruno story being used to promote scientific thought and reason since NDT himself confessed that Bruno had no evidence for his convictions, only a vision he was convinced came from God. The story of Galileo would have been far more appropriate.

I actually liked the fact that it wasn’t a religion vs science story, although I bet a lot of the people watching it think it was. Among other things, it implies that dropping religion isn’t necessary to enjoying the thought of an infinite cosmos and incidentally giving religious people permission to relax and enjoy the show rather than feeling that they have to resist it to remain true.

The Galileo story has too much religion vs science baggage crusted on it. Keeping the story completely within a religious framework let it be a small, limited cosmos vs oh, wow, Cosmos! story.

Having Bruno and then Neil stand inside the medieval illumination of the small cosmos felt claustrophobic. Breaking free of that viewpoint, a construction built on the limitations of our senses, felt like a relief. That was particularly effective for me.

Just from loose memory (which is what watchers will bring to it), the Galileo story was more “the heavens are imperfect” (spots on the sun, marks on the moon) and “look what I can see that you can’t” (phases of Venus, moons around Jupiter) than “your God is too small.” “Your God is too small” aka “don’t limit God to comfortable human understanding” is more likely to draw more people in.

[Inner_Stickler]

I was amused that apparently even medieval monks need to superman when they fly in their imaginations.

[Chimera]

I enjoyed it.

[ISiddiqui]

@Fleetwood

I don’t remember any programming like this on Fox.

Indeed. People confuse Fox News with Fox Broadcast Channel. They get the ratings from both ends. Fox Broadcast usually is the one that shows the more liberal shows - glee being one of the more obvious, while Fox News is the one that rants at liberal culture. It’s genius really.

[Digital_is_the_new_Analog]

I only caught the end of it last night - the part about meeting Sagan. I thought that was well done. Did anyone catch what book he had autographed?
I do have the episode on DVR, and will watch it soon. I’m fighting a little bit of a cold, and want to wait until I feel better before diving in. I discussed it with a friend of mine, and I expect it to be a bit superficial in the areas I know, and interesting in the areas that I don’t know. (Much like it is for many people…depending on where the line is for each person.)

[Inner_Stickler]

I believe it was this one.

[Digital_is_the_new_Analog]

That would make sense, I guess. Now I know what to look for when I get healthy.
Thanks.

[Lobot]

Did anyone see the National Geographic re-broadcast with the additional footage?

[etv78]

I saw it tonight. Incidentally, I never saw the original, and like Tyson, and Kaku. The cartoon didn’t bother me in the least, though it misled what he was executed for. (I read his wiki entry). Saw the end of the episode recounting Tyson meeting Sagan. Have 2 episodes aired? The idea that, if the age of the cosmos were reduced to a single year, that recorded history began at 11:59:45 PM on new year’s eve amazes me. Also find it weird the brains behind “Family Guy” exec produced it.