Cosmos returns and a whole new generation of children and adults learn that we are all made of star stuff.
It has been some thirty years since Carl Sagan graced our televisions and birthed a new generation of scientists and science lovers (Me being one of them, although I caught it in reruns in my youth). This time around things are quite a bit different in the world, and yet Cosmos still manages to capture that magical wonder that the original did all those years ago. This has a great deal to do with a number of factors, none more prominent than our new host, Neil deGrasse Tyson an American astrophysicist, author, and famed science communicator. He is not only an expert in his field, but also holds a special connection to the late Carl Sagan. At the age of seventeen, a young Tyson was invited to spend the day with Sagan in a meeting that would help reinforce his love of science. Tyson even shares a special moment with the audience by showing Sagan’s actual planner with their appointment still written within. The show tonight was opened by President Barack Obama with the powerful line “Today we’re doing everything we can to bring that same sense of possibility to a new generation – because there are new frontiers to explore, and we need Americans eager to explore them.” showing just how important a show like Cosmos is to not only science, but the country as a whole.
Cosmos is a program where the love of the people making it pours out with every feature. The show is directed by Brannon Braga, a man best known for his work the various Star Trek series, as well as two Next Generation based motion pictures. On the producer front we get, the unexpected to most, Seth MacFarlane of Family Guy fame who was in part responsible for getting the series back on the air in the first place. The show is littered with various special effects and some CGI that would put many major motion pictures to shame. To say that Cosmos is a beautiful show is a massive understatement. I personally can not recall in all my days of watching television shows and mini-series events another program that even came close to being as visually impressive as this. Cosmos is being shown in HD and if you have the proper setup that can take advantage,you will be blown away from the splendor of it all.
Among our travels through the universe we are introduced to some of the heroes of the science world and how, while they have been proven right right now, were ostracized and killed for their views on the universe. Cosmos tackles religion in an adult way, unlike most other programs that handle it with kid gloves. We get mentions of all the major religions and the parts that they played in not only stifling the scientific movement in our history’s earlier days, but the show also acknowledges their presence and leaves the door open for those that think God is the be all end all to explore a foreign world. Cosmos does take some risks in how it presents its various segments, with certain segments featuring the events during the middle ages in an anime style art style to make the story stand out. It’s a nice change of pace and the animation in these segments is really well done. One can only hope that future episodes take more risks with different ways of introducing people to the various subjects presented.
One really can’t go about reviewing a show like Cosmos as it’s more a documentary based on established scientific fact and theories, although when the show brought up the idea of the Multiverse, something comic fans can understand and something my background has some experience in, brought a smile to my face and solidified my love for the series. I can not recommend Cosmos enough to everyone, even if only to open your mind to new possibilities and ideas that may not exactly fall in line with your own. If there is one thing I, and others can take away from Cosmos is as Neil deGrasse Tyson says, “Question everything.”
Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey air Sunday nights of FOX and Monday nights on The National Geographic Channel
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