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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."

6 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 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.

    2. 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].

  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.
  3. 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...

  4. 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