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The Ultimate Hopes For the New Cosmos Series

Posted by samzenpus on from the think-big dept.

StartsWithABang writes "So unless you've been living under a rock, you're aware that it's only a few short weeks until the premiere of the new Cosmos: A Space-Time Odyssey starring Neil de Grasse Tyson. Many have hopes (and fears) concerning what the series will (and won't) be, but this perspective — on what a 'successful' Cosmos series could mean for the future of humanity — is worth a read for anyone who hasn't given up on dreaming big."

23 of 183 comments (clear)

  1. If by The+Cat · · Score: 5, Interesting

    If it restores America's manned spaceflight program, then it will be worth it.

    Almost every cultural intersection between science and the human spirit since the early 1920s originated in man's mission to reach space and other planets. One could argue conclusively that America's peak was July 20th, 1969.

    It is true that since then we have lost our way. But that, like many other things, is a fixable problem, provided America rediscovers its soul and remembers what it means to be an American.

    1. Re:If by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

      It's a show that inspired a lot of kids to be scientists

    2. Re:If by Yoje · · Score: 5, Interesting

      I believe the hope here is not that it will bring forward some new revelation, but that it will simply get the general public excited about science again.

      The original Cosmos series helped get a lot of the public talking about science, and probably grew some careers out of the kids that watched it as well. Whether Tyson and the rest of the new Cosmos staff will be able to do this remains to be seen, but I think the primary goal is not necessarily to give new insight into the mysteries of the universe, but to make thinking about these questions interesting again to the general public.

      In today's television world of History being taught by Pawn Stars, and The Learning Channel showing us insights of child beauty pageants, reality shows are now the bread and butter for almost every network. It has seriously diluted the education that is occurring from television (and let's be honest, whether it should be or not, there is no escape that a lot of people do substitute television watching for actual learning). While PBS and a few other stray networks help a bit, this new series of Cosmos offers some hope. If NatGeo was the only one doing it, it would gain some attention, but the fact that a major over-the-air network like Fox (especially with its reputation) is teaming up with this is encouraging.

      If the new Cosmos can actually succeed, not necessarily in explaining complex scientific theories about our world and the universe, but if it can succeed in what the original Cosmos did in just getting everyday people excited in science again, it would do a lot of long term good for this country. Perhaps, just perhaps, a few other networks could follow suit and knock out one or two hours a week of their reality programs to put more science into their programming. Perhaps it can get more people, especially young people, into looking at science as a viable career option instead of trying to figure out how to get their 15 mins of fame on another reality show. Lofty dreams to be sure, but we have to start somewhere, and hopefully this new series will either help be that spark to get others excited, or confirm once and for all that no one in this country really gives a damn about science and watch as our scientific knowledge plummets compared to the rest of the world.

    3. Re:If by Evtim · · Score: 4, Interesting

      It changes lives. Literally. It raises awareness.

      My decision to come and work in the Netherlands is entirely based on Cosmos. "travelers in time ans space" was the episode - it talks exclusively about the Dutch golden age. Saw it behind the Iron Curtain at an age of 12 or something. When I realized that this is a society where you could say "The world is my country, science is my religion" [quote Christian Huygens] in the times when Galileo was prosecuted in South Europe and threaten with death I though "this is it, I'm going there".

      Of course, this famous Dutch spirit has been under attack recently as "non-profitable" - exactly the same decline in rational thought that we see much more pronounced in the US. So the Dutch also need new Cosmos, to remind them that it is because of that spirit they had the golden age. The moment they loose it, they've lost everything, since this country has nothing else [no resources, nor territory].

    4. Re:If by gl4ss · · Score: 2, Insightful

      ou really? Von Braun got the desire to go to moon as soon as he tasted some of that sweet, sweet american freedom? you have no fscking clue about where modern middle class life with all it's modern appliances, industrial production, modern chemistry and everything else originates from do you?

      no wonder if you're waiting for tyson to bring you back from the dark ages or some shit like that with "an inspiring tv show".

      --
      world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
    5. Re:If by roca · · Score: 2

      Please, no, not more squandering of funds on meaningless manned missions driven not by science or long-term goals but by absurd "human spirit" PR to get more funding for more meaningless missions.

      We need a self-sustaining human presence off this planet, but all paths to get there require robotic mining and construction outside the Earth's gravity well, and that is what we need to be investing in.

    6. Re:If by Rich0 · · Score: 2

      In today's television world of History being taught by Pawn Stars, and The Learning Channel showing us insights of child beauty pageants, reality shows are now the bread and butter for almost every network. It has seriously diluted the education that is occurring from television (and let's be honest, whether it should be or not, there is no escape that a lot of people do substitute television watching for actual learning). While PBS and a few other stray networks help a bit, this new series of Cosmos offers some hope.

      Well, maybe, but in some sense the fact that the show doesn't really intend to communicate new science so much as put it into perspective just illustrates how bad the problem is. I can see the argument that they're not trying to deliver science so much as to impress people that it is important - that you have to fix the problem before you can start delivering decent content.

      I feel like the TV audiences are virtually a lost cause. Mythbusters is one of the better shows but it seems like they miss the most obvious controls and it is less about science and answering questions and more about entertainment and finding things to blow up. Honestly, the explosions start getting old after a while - yes, I understand that if you take just about anything and load it with C4 it goes away. It was amusing when they did it with the cement truck, and that was about when that meme jumped the shark. I have nothing against explosions when they're relevant (testing the propensity of stills to explode and such), but they don't have to get a successful explosion in every show.

    7. Re:If by Curunir_wolf · · Score: 2

      It's a show that inspired a lot of kids to be scientists

      ... At a time when television was 3 channels + PBS, which meant it aired as 1 of 4 choices, at a time when there was no Internet and you had to plunk down the equivalent of $700 to play Pong on your TV. Good like getting anything like the same audience when it's competing with Game of Thrones, Duck Dynasty, or anything on Netflix. And those are just the broadcast entertainment competitors.

      PBS also was not nearly the corporate shill in 1980 that they have become. Knowing PBS today, they'll probably air the thing during a funding-raising drive where you have to sit through 20 minutes of begging for money for every 15 minutes of show.

      --
      "Somebody has to do something. It's just incredibly pathetic it has to be us."
      --- Jerry Garcia
  2. There is at least hope. by Z00L00K · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Neil de Grasse Tyson isn't bad. Not a Carl Sagan, but running a TV show about science is really about building a bridge between the general public and the current science and I think that Neil de Grasse Tyson can do that.

    --
    If builders built buildings the way programmers wrote programs, then the first woodpecker would destroy civilization.
    1. Re:There is at least hope. by east+coast · · Score: 3, Interesting

      That's the thing about Tyson and just about every public scientist out there today, they're not inclusive like Sagan was. That's what made Sagan great and even gave the naysayers a reason to lend an ear. He opened himself up to the "what ifs" of the world and didn't shout people down for their own way of being as long as it wasn't harmful to others.

      We need a feeling of unity more than anything else at this place in time for humanity's sake. I just don't see Tyson doing that although he may be the most qualified to do so. We really do need another Sagan.

      --
      Dedicated Cthulhu Cultist since 4523 BC.
  3. Big shoes to fill this one has by mendax · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I like the idea of a remade Cosmos series. It's long overdue. However, it will be difficult for the series to be anywhere near as good as the original. The original was a mix of great writing, great music, especially the classical numbers, and the love of the subject that Carl Sagan had. Dr. Sagan wasn't just host and co-writer of the series, he was THE high priest of popular science as that time and when he spoke, he was preaching like a Bible-thumping evangelist, only without the southern drawl. While Neil de Grasse Tyson has done a lot of work to fill that role, he's not Carl Sagan. Still, I look forward to seeing this series. Since I don't usually watch TV, I'll have to get a digital TV antenna.

    --
    It's really quite a simple choice: Life, Death, or Los Angeles.
    1. Re:Big shoes to fill this one has by Sebastopol · · Score: 3, Insightful

      When is the last time you watched the original Cosmos? There are a lot--and I mean A LOT--of scenes featuring Carl sitting on a beach or in a meadow looking off into the distance with pontificating voice-overs that kinda ramble. Believe me, I'm 42 and I grew up on that series, but having re-watched it recently, I was surprised at the large spans of near bloviation that adorn the show. I absolutely adore the series, I just think it could have used some tightening up during editing.

      Also, I graduated from COSMOS to The Mechanical Universe, which--aside from the haircuts of the classroom--would still feel modern by today's standards.

      --
      https://www.accountkiller.com/removal-requested
    2. Re:Big shoes to fill this one has by mendax · · Score: 2

      When is the last time you watched the original Cosmos?

      Actually, I watched it last week. I have the DVD set. The series was not meant to be a pure documentary. If you wanted that, you can read the book. It was meant to be beautiful, a work of art, and the producers, cinematographers, and the editing crew did a great of creating it.

      Regarding pontificating, Dr. Sagan was more preaching than pontificating. But given that the show's purpose was to teach the general public about a subject he loved and believed, something he'd spent most of his professional life doing, it was to be expected.

      --
      It's really quite a simple choice: Life, Death, or Los Angeles.
    3. Re:Big shoes to fill this one has by Z00L00K · · Score: 2

      If you get things too tight you will lose some viewers. The point is to have some parts where the viewer can have a pause and get the wider perspective before you dive into the deep again.

      People today are too stressed to really relax and take a wider perspective from time to time.

      --
      If builders built buildings the way programmers wrote programs, then the first woodpecker would destroy civilization.
  4. Re:I hope it has a good soundtrack by mendax · · Score: 3, Insightful

    According to the Wikipedia entry for the series, the soundrack will be written by Alan Silvestri. He's a good film composer (I liked his score for Contact) but I think the original Cosmos had a better idea. That series used existing music, mostly classical, for its score. Some of it was removed from the DVD versions due to the expense of getting the rights to it again, but if you saw the original series, the music is one of the things that made the series special. I learned a lot about classical music from that series.

    --
    It's really quite a simple choice: Life, Death, or Los Angeles.
  5. Under a rock..or outside the US by bradley13 · · Score: 2, Informative

    Never heard of it. And a science program for the US public is likely to be all flashy pictures and no depth. Still, if it is a success, maybe it will awaken some belated interest in science and education, as opposed to Justin Bieber and Oprah.

    --
    Enjoy life! This is not a dress rehearsal.
  6. Was hoping they had finally cloned Sagan... by Arancaytar · · Score: 3, Insightful

    But Neil Tyson is pretty awesome too.

  7. American tv-documentaries stink lately by lemur3 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    About 3-4 years ago I got into the habit of watching most of the documentaries that come out of the UK.. whether it be bbc/channel4 or whatever else. ... Having grown up with PBS/discovery channel I have to say that american documentaries have started to turn to crap.

    Most of the American docs these days seem to be stock footage with a voice over.. very low quality and not very interesting.. The bigger trend in american docs is a lot of 3-D animations and cheesy recreations.

    In comparison the UK docs usually have a personality on-screen who is generally an expert going through the topic, sometimes interviewing people.. with less reliance on 3D animations and recreations, and in general, more respect for the viewers intelligence they end up being much more enjoyable.

    NOVA in particular has tended towards lower quality in the past few years.. in stark comparison to HORIZON, which continues to be quite good.

    as I've seen the hype over this COSMOS series come about I can't help but think it will be a big let down... as the budgets just don't seem to be there, along with a different view of the intelligence of the viewer.

  8. No hopes: It is made in the US by irp · · Score: 5, Insightful

    ... Which means it will start with a 10 minute teaser/cliffhanger to prevent people from leaving during commercials. Then the commercial break. Then a 10 minute teaser, repeating most of what was said in the previous segment, adding like 2-3 minutes new stuff and a new cliffhanger. Commercial break. Then 10 minutes of repetition. Etc. etc.

    There are a lot of *seemingly* interesting documentaries being made in the US, but upon inspection they are mostly made to ensure viewers STAY for the COMMERCIALS.

    If you watch them without commercials, the look like they were made by retards for retards! :-/

    I will probably give it a change, but I guess I will be disappointment... Currently I'm only watching documentaries made by the BBC...

  9. A Good Science Series by Travco · · Score: 2

    Check out "The Brain Scoop" on Youtube. It's not about the universe, but it IS done right. http://www.youtube.com/channel...

  10. Re:Contact? Bah! by Rich0 · · Score: 2

    I'm not sure I'd call the digits of Pi the central premise of the book. It explored a lot of concepts around SETI, religion, and so on. The digits of Pi thing at the end was more of a culmination than a central premise, and it didn't really resolve anything. The main character was a skeptic who had an experience which was then met with public skepticism. That was actually how the movie went as well (though I thought it was far inferior to the book). The digits of Pi really was just another level of that, except that it explicitly turned the debate from whether humans had in fact met with aliens to weather humans had in fact received a message from God. However, the skeptical paradox is still there - a message embedded in Pi is unlikely in one sense, and all but certain in another. If a bunch of monkeys end up typing Shakespeare is that proof of a God, or proof that somebody finally found enough monkeys?

    Disclaimer - it has been a long time since I read the book, so I could be forgetting something.

  11. Let's be realistic by wcrowe · · Score: 3, Informative

    I'm sure it will be a great series -- I intend to watch every episode -- but let's not be stupid about it. It's not going to have a dramatic effect on the future of humanity.

    --
    Proverbs 21:19
  12. Under a rock.. by westlake · · Score: 4, Informative

    Never heard of it. And a science program for the US public is likely to be all flashy pictures and no depth.

    The series was first broadcast by the Public Broadcasting Service in 1980, and was the most widely watched series in the history of American public television until The Civil War (1990). As of 2009, it was still the most widely watched PBS series in the world. It won an Emmy and a Peabody Award, and has since been broadcast in more than 60 countries and seen by over 500 million people.

    Cosmos: A Personal Voyage

    Closed Caption; Collector's edition DVD boxed set of the complete landmark TV series by Carl Sagan; 7 NTSC DVDs - 13 one hour episodes; Fully international edition - DVD region zero, playable everywhere (requires NTSC compatible player and TV); Remastered, restored and enhanced; Carl Sagan and Ann Druyan updates; 7 subtitles languages: French, Italian, German, Spanish, Mandarin, Japanese, English for the hearing impaired); Subtitle science updates; New footage; English soundtrack in AC3 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround Sound; Bonus 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround Sound music and effects track

    Cosmos $88