Cosmos returns after 34 years
Cosmos, a new television series currently airing on FOX, may seem familiar to those who were around in the 1980s when PBS aired a television show created by Carl Sagan titled ‘Cosmos: A Personal Journey.’ It brought his visions of the vast possibilities in the realm of science to the everyday American. The show was wildly popular, winning two Emmy awards and the Peabody award.
Now, 34 years later, Cosmos has been revived with its sequel now airing on FOX (Sundays at 9 p.m.) and the National Geographic channel (Mondays at 10 p.m.). The current show is hosted by Neil deGrasse Tyson, an astrophysicist and science education advocate.
The word cosmos not only refers to distant galaxies, but as Sagan said in the first episode, “The Cosmos is all that is, or ever was or ever will be.” The show is a reflection of this idea, exploring the far reaches of space as well as microscopic life living all-around us.
Cosmos gives a broad picture of many scientific fields, as well as introducing a smattering of historic figures. There are many small facts tucked away throughout the show that may surprise even those who consider themselves fairly knowledgeable. There is also a certain degree of wonder at seeing scientific concepts animated in vivid color. The stunning visuals of Cosmos are on par with what you would find in a full budget movie. The cinematography is directed by Bill Pope who also worked on ‘The World’s End,’ ‘Men in Black 3,’ and ‘The Matrix.’
If you’ve missed the first few episodes, or you don’t have TV at home, you can watch Cosmos online on FOX’s Cosmos website, www.cosmosontv.com.
The mission of Cosmos is to bring an understanding of how our world works to the average person. According to a survey taken by the National Science Foundation in 2012, 1 in 4 Americans stated a belief that the sun rotated around the earth rather than the other way around and half did not know how long it takes for the earth to travel around the sun. For a civilization that depends so heavily on science and technology, a surprising number of us know very little about how it all actually works.
In the opening minutes of the original Cosmos, Sagan said, “I believe our future depends powerfully on how well we understand this cosmos in which we float like a mote of dust in the morning sky.” In an interview for National Geographic, Tyson said, “Science literacy is the key to our future survival on Earth ... So Cosmos will show why science matters.”
Cosmos has now become a permanent addition to my weekly routine. I’ve seen a lot of documentaries over the years. Cosmos blows most of them out of the water. My only complaint is that there will only be 13 episodes.