Cosmos

[PSurprise]

Did anyone see Cosmos last night (or watching it tonight)? What did you think? I thought it was really good, as I like Neil deGrasse Tyson. Unfortunately, I have not seen the original. I am looking forward to the series. I'm hoping my 4 year old will enjoy it when it comes out on DVD (or at an earlier time).

[-jk]

Did anyone see Cosmos last night (or watching it tonight)? What did you think? I thought it was really good, as I like Neil deGrasse Tyson. Unfortunately, I have not seen the original. I am looking forward to the series. I'm hoping my 4 year old will enjoy it when it comes out on DVD (or at an earlier time).

Haven't seen it yet, but did he say "Billions and billions"?

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jMpcnPZGp18/UXlgaD-NZNI/AAAAAAAAcgs/QTry6Fi1kXg/s1600/Carl_Sagan_BillionsAndBillions.jpg

-jk

[bedeviled]

I do not recall him saying "Billions and billions." He did, though, have a short tribute to Carl Sagan at the end of the 1st episode. 17 year-old Neil deGrasse Tyson evidently had a formative personal visit with Sagan, at which time Sagan gave him a book inscribed to "a future astronomer."
More importantly, Tyson has his own set of memes, predominantly espousing knowledge and science. From what I can tell, his initial rise to memehood was this:
3999According to knowyourmeme.com (http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/neil-degrasse-tyson-reaction), this "non-plussed reaction occurred when Tyson explained how Sir Isaac Newton invented calculus before his 26th birthday."
- On a side note, I hear "nonplussed" used wrongly nearly every time I hear "nonplussed" used :) (It's very often used to describe someone who is not the slightest bit disturbed by something, but the actual definition is along the lines of being profoundly confused/perplexed)

Regarding the OP's post: I watched it based on your recommendation. I might try an episode or two once the series gets in full swing, but I wasn't enthralled with the 1st episode. Not much was said, and very little was required of the viewer. Perhaps my expectations should have taken into consideration that you want your 4 year-old to watch it, lol. Anyway, the style/feel most definitely pays homage to the original. I hope Tyson can relax in his role and genuinely convey the enthusiasm he has for the topic; it currently feels kind of like an elementary school planetarium visit.

[Wander]

I was disappointed that the asteroids in the asteroid field were so close together - I certainly can forgive that in Star Wars or whatever, but I feel a little less silly nitpicking here. Also that all the other planets in our solar system were covered in about 2 minutes total and missed the interesting ones of Europa/Titan/Enceladus/Io and were given the same amount of time as the relatively obscure topic of rogue planets, but I assume that will be corrected in a later episode (at least for Mars, probably). I liked it overall though.

[theAlaskanBear]

I got through probably 20 minutes before deciding to watch later where I can fast forward through all the commercials. It has a lot of promise, but I found the spaceship thing pretty annoying...a lot of great space renderings....and here comes a distracting spaceship.

[moonpie23]

I enjoyed most of the show, however, i thought the music was terrible in the first half. (don't underestimate how that affects you).

I'm looking forward to the next few installments….

[DukeUsul]

I thoroughly enjoyed it. I certainly don't expect to learn much I don't already know, being a pretty avid science nerd already, but the history of Giordano Bruno was new to me and I found it fascinating. I hope very much that the dramatic portrayal of science will encourage many in our under-scienced society to watch it.

I am looking forward to sitting down with my 6 year old and watching it with her.

[NashvilleDevil]

Haven't seen it yet, but did he say "Billions and billions"?

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jMpcnPZGp18/UXlgaD-NZNI/AAAAAAAAcgs/QTry6Fi1kXg/s1600/Carl_Sagan_BillionsAndBillions.jpg

-jk

I think he was smart in leaving that alone. I thought it was well done and may sit down with my 4 year old and watch it if she is interested.

[Tom B.]

Haven't seen it yet, but did he say "Billions and billions"?

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jMpcnPZGp18/UXlgaD-NZNI/AAAAAAAAcgs/QTry6Fi1kXg/s1600/Carl_Sagan_BillionsAndBillions.jpg

-jk


Much like Humphrey Bogart never said, "Play it again, Sam," Carl Sagan never actually said "billions and billions" in the original Cosmos. He said "billions" (and "millions," and "trillions") many times, but never "billions and billions."

The National Geographic Channel aired the original Cosmos series this past weekend (actually, I think it was the "updated" version of the original Cosmos series that was released sometime in the late 80s or early 90s, which was basically the original series with some updated info, pictures, special effects and narration from Sagan, though it retained most of the original stuff), and it was hard not to get sucked into it. Some of it is dated, but I think it still holds up reasonably well, and it makes you appreciate what a gifted ambassador for science Carl Sagan was.

I think the first episode of the Tyson reboot did a good job of nodding to the original series (the dandelion seed, the "spaceship of the imagination," the history of the universe reduced to a 12-month calendar, "star stuff," Tyson's personal Sagan story, etc.), while making it clear that this series will have its own new take on things.

The point about the music is well-taken, though -- the 1980 series mastefully integrated Vangelis' new age music with classical pieces to produce a unique feel. It pulled you in and evoked a sense of exploration, discovery and wonder at things both incomprehensibly big and infinitessimly small. It was one of the key elements that really made the show. Take a listen:

The Music of Cosmos (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3R3aWKhwWpM)

So far, the music for the new series hasn't really been anything special. It's not bad -- it just hasn't been memorable. Just a fairly generic movie/TV soundtrack.

[94duke]

The space graphics are very "Star Trek," which is kind of cool. I noticed that it's being produced by Brandon Braga of Start Trek fame.
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0103804/

[Tom B.]

The space graphics are very "Star Trek," which is kind of cool. I noticed that it's being produced by Brandon Braga of Start Trek fame.
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0103804/





And....Seth MacFarlane? Still trying to wrap my head around the fact that the voice of Brian the dog and Ted the bear is an executive producer of Cosmos.

[moonpie23]

Much like Humphrey Bogart never said, "Play it again, Sam," Carl Sagan never actually said "billions and billions" in the original Cosmos


Sagan was a big pothead, i'm sure he MEANT billions and billions.....:cool: