[TV] Cosmos (2014)

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Jeff V
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Re: [TV] Cosmos (2014)

Post by Jeff V »

Kraken wrote:My wife is my barometer for this show. She's mildly interested in science but doesn't follow science news or programming. She was impressed with Tyson's passion and personality and enjoyed the show overall, so that's a win.
At least your wife watched it. Mine is of the "everything we ever need to know was written thousands of years ago" extreme Christian brainwashing variety. Next time she complains of a headache, I'm going to offer to drill a hole in her head to let the evil spirits out, just like they did back then. :x
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Re: [TV] Cosmos (2014)

Post by Kraken »

Jeff V wrote:
Kraken wrote:My wife is my barometer for this show. She's mildly interested in science but doesn't follow science news or programming. She was impressed with Tyson's passion and personality and enjoyed the show overall, so that's a win.
At least your wife watched it. Mine is of the "everything we ever need to know was written thousands of years ago" extreme Christian brainwashing variety. Next time she complains of a headache, I'm going to offer to drill a hole in her head to let the evil spirits out, just like they did back then. :x
Your wife is the audience they want to reach. Maybe you need to encourage her.
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Re: [TV] Cosmos (2014)

Post by LordMortis »

I don't think so. I don't think this is about converting people to SCIENCE! This is about teaching the next generation what science is and why there is a passion and where it can be found. Tyson showing how he took the torch from Sagan says as much. And good for him. I am huge fan of the process of generation landslide for the better. And Tyson is the perfect choice for an ambassador.
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Re: [TV] Cosmos (2014)

Post by LawBeefaroni »

Kraken wrote: My wife is my barometer for this show. She's mildly interested in science but doesn't follow science news or programming. She was impressed with Tyson's passion and personality and enjoyed the show overall, so that's a win.
He's pretty good on NOVA and NOVA Science Now.

Your wife might also like The Pluto Files. Available online here.
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Re: [TV] Cosmos (2014)

Post by LordMortis »

LawBeefaroni wrote:
Kraken wrote: My wife is my barometer for this show. She's mildly interested in science but doesn't follow science news or programming. She was impressed with Tyson's passion and personality and enjoyed the show overall, so that's a win.
He's pretty good on NOVA and NOVA Science Now.

Your wife might also like The Pluto Files. Available online here.
NOVA science now isn't as good without him.

He also had some great Cameo stuff along with some other passionate and presenters of Science on a few history channel shows, though he stood as the best, IMO.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1051155/?re ... lmg_slf_36

That was my first exposure to him where I kept note of who he is to look forward to hearing more from him.
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Re: [TV] Cosmos (2014)

Post by Kraken »

LordMortis wrote:I don't think so. I don't think this is about converting people to SCIENCE! This is about teaching the next generation what science is and why there is a passion and where it can be found. Tyson showing how he took the torch from Sagan says as much. And good for him. I am huge fan of the process of generation landslide for the better. And Tyson is the perfect choice for an ambassador.
From Brian's link on page 1: As far as MacFarlane is concerned it's about combating science illiteracy.
I think that there is a hunger for science and knowing about science and understanding of science that hasn’t really been fed in the past two decades. We’ve had a resurgence of creationism and intelligent design quote-unquote theory. There’s been a real vacuum when it comes to science education.

...

We’ve seen the rise of junk science, of charlatans who are telling us to not vaccinate our children. I just read about this measles outbreak in Massachusetts. For the love of God, don’t listen to Jenny McCarthy. She’s not a doctor.

You see it in the rise of schools questioning evolution, all these things piling up that betray the fact that we’ve lost our way in terms of our scientific literacy and it’s incredibly damaging to the evolution of any society. I thought we solved this whole evolution thing years and years ago but I guess not, I guess it still needs to be explained. There are a number of areas where scientific illiteracy rears its head. I think in a lot of cases, it’s not a conscious rejection, it’s just that there’s nothing out there that’s feeding that hunger that maybe they don’t know that they have.
Granted, most brainwashed adults are hopeless cases. Cosmos will chalk up a win if it can reach some of their children.
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Re: [TV] Cosmos (2014)

Post by Anonymous Bosch »

It struck me as somewhat odd that while they did display an animation of the giant impact hypothesis, no mention was made of Theia (the Mars-sized astronomical body that collided with the Earth) or that the Moon formed from the leftover debris from that particular impact. But that's a pretty minor quibble in the scheme of things.

Tyson's personal story, towards the end of the program, of how he first met Carl Sagan was a great touch.
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Re: [TV] Cosmos (2014)

Post by YellowKing »

Watched it last night and enjoyed it quite a bit. I really liked how they broke down both the scale of the universe (which is mind-boggling no matter how many times I see it explained) and the timeline.
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Re: [TV] Cosmos (2014)

Post by A nonny mouse »

I thought it was good. A teensy bit too much flash but I guess might as well use the technology. I thought it was well done, though. I will always compare this to the original because I watched the original when it was first broadcast, and impression on the young, yadda, yadda.

I agree with Kraken that the cartoon (I liked the style and shallow depth of field) history wasn't all that bad. A bit long, but without comparing it to the original, it is for a different viewership. Hopefully that style will plant the seed of interest. Which I hope this is part of the intent.

Two things that threw me off:

The dubbing of his voice was a bit off for the majority of the show - I still can't figure out why they needed to dub it. You would think they have the budget for good mics and level checks.

The second thing, and it was my lack of complete focus, at the time was when he was going through the cosmic calendar. I must have misheard him when he was saying amounts of time. I could have sworn he said (and I'm paraphrasing because I don't remember the exact script) "11 billion years later on April 21st (or some time in April) the milky way formed, our sun wouldn't come around until 6 billion years later on Aug. 20th . . " Wait, that is older than the universe. He must have been counting backwards, e.g. 11 billion years ago the milky way formed, then 6 billion years later our sun formed (~5 billion years ago). I was looking over class material at the time, so I wasn't rapt on the narration, so I'm sure I didn't catch that he started counting backwards.

But I did really like the tip of the hat to Carl Sagan and what a genuinely good person he was, plus the diary, to me, was kind of a "F-you" to the people who were wondering why he (Neil DeGrasse-Tyson) was taking over. NDT's line about "he showed me not only that I wanted to be a scientist but also the kind of person I wanted to become" was about the best tribute a person could give or get - and was almost as good as something Sagan would have said like "we are all made of star stuff."

I'll be watching this for sure. I also didn't realize that Seth McFarlane was such a huge influence on getting this up and running. I've never really cared one way or the other about him, but he gets huge kudos from me for this.
I find television very educational. Every time somebody turns on the set, I go into the other room and read a book. - Groucho Marx
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Re: [TV] Cosmos (2014)

Post by Paingod »

I don't have cable, but will look for a way to watch this. I think Neil DeGrasse Tyson is a highly cool person, and he's very passionate about science in a way that's inspiring.

One of his lecture topics is how we (America) are not building a future for the country because we're not encouraging children to dream and become engineers and scientists like the days of space race did. I sincerely hope he gets to reach a few young minds with this and gets them dreaming a bit.
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Re: [TV] Cosmos (2014)

Post by Zaxxon »

It's on Fox, so no cable required.
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Re: [TV] Cosmos (2014)

Post by Smoove_B »

Paingod wrote:I don't have cable, but will look for a way to watch this. I think Neil DeGrasse Tyson is a highly cool person, and he's very passionate about science in a way that's inspiring.
We have this thing...it's called the Internet. :wink:

They're broadcasting the first episode in its entirety on the COSMOS website for "non-traditional" viewers.
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Re: [TV] Cosmos (2014)

Post by Paingod »

Zaxxon wrote:It's on Fox, so no cable required.
And that right there is how far out of the "TV" loop I am ... :P ... I don't even know how to watch current TV without it.

I never have time at home to sit and hunt for shows as my day is basically a solid wall of activity that starts at 5:00am and stops at 8:30pm by putting the oldest boy to bed and me getting on my computer to mash some zombies or do some space trading.
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Re: [TV] Cosmos (2014)

Post by LordMortis »

A nonny mouse wrote: The dubbing of his voice was a bit off for the majority of the show - I still can't figure out why they needed to dub it. You would think they have the budget for good mics and level checks.
I didn't have that problem. Could it have been your local broadcaster or your TV decoder being off? I am also usually heavily distracted when the sound is even a little out of time with the picture.
The second thing, and it was my lack of complete focus, at the time was when he was going through the cosmic calendar. I must have misheard him when he was saying amounts of time. I could have sworn he said (and I'm paraphrasing because I don't remember the exact script) "11 billion years later on April 21st (or some time in April) the milky way formed, our sun wouldn't come around until 6 billion years later on Aug. 20th . . " Wait, that is older than the universe. He must have been counting backwards, e.g. 11 billion years ago the milky way formed, then 6 billion years later our sun formed (~5 billion years ago). I was looking over class material at the time, so I wasn't rapt on the narration, so I'm sure I didn't catch that he started counting backwards.
I also thought that was most not so straight forward presentation. I get that it's there to give me perspective on time but it just wasn't as straight forward as it could have been and so it won't stick.
I'll be watching this for sure. I also didn't realize that Seth McFarlane was such a huge influence on getting this up and running. I've never really cared one way or the other about him, but he gets huge kudos from me for this.
What I appreciate from McFarlane was that I couldn't feel his touch on the show at all. All I feel when I'm thinking is Tyson curiosity, awe, and passion. If I felt the message from kraken snippet, that the show was meant to be a vehicle for McFarlane to attack ignorance, willful or not, rather than a presentation on the story and -isms of science then I would have totally been turned off.
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Re: [TV] Cosmos (2014)

Post by A nonny mouse »

LordMortis wrote:
A nonny mouse wrote: The dubbing of his voice was a bit off for the majority of the show - I still can't figure out why they needed to dub it. You would think they have the budget for good mics and level checks.
I didn't have that problem. Could it have been your local broadcaster or your TV decoder being off? I am also usually heavily distracted when the sound is even a little out of time with the picture.
no, the voice wasn't out of synch with the picture, it was dubbed. his lips were moving just a bit off from the sound, but not out of synch. It wasn't as bad as a dubbed foreign movie or anything, but just enough that it surprised me.
LordMortis wrote:
A nonny mouse wrote:The second thing, and it was my lack of complete focus, at the time was when he was going through the cosmic calendar. I must have misheard him when he was saying amounts of time. I could have sworn he said (and I'm paraphrasing because I don't remember the exact script) "11 billion years later on April 21st (or some time in April) the milky way formed, our sun wouldn't come around until 6 billion years later on Aug. 20th . . " Wait, that is older than the universe. He must have been counting backwards, e.g. 11 billion years ago the milky way formed, then 6 billion years later our sun formed (~5 billion years ago). I was looking over class material at the time, so I wasn't rapt on the narration, so I'm sure I didn't catch that he started counting backwards.
I also thought that was most not so straight forward presentation. I get that it's there to give me perspective on time but it just wasn't as straight forward as it could have been and so it won't stick.
I got the presentation and thought it was straight forward (Sagan did the same thing) I just misheard and he must have been counting backwards. My brain was in linear-forward mode, so when I looked up from the class stuff, I thought he was saying "big bang, then 11BY later, then 6BY after that, etc."
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Re: [TV] Cosmos (2014)

Post by Blackhawk »

A nonny mouse wrote: no, the voice wasn't out of synch with the picture, it was dubbed. his lips were moving just a bit off from the sound, but not out of synch. It wasn't as bad as a dubbed foreign movie or anything, but just enough that it surprised me.
Was Sergio Leone involved in Cosmos?
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Re: [TV] Cosmos (2014)

Post by Combustible Lemur »

A nonny mouse wrote:I thought it was good. A teensy bit too much flash but I guess might as well use the technology. I thought it was well done, though. I will always compare this to the original because I watched the original when it was first broadcast, and impression on the young, yadda, yadda.

I agree with Kraken that the cartoon (I liked the style and shallow depth of field) history wasn't all that bad. A bit long, but without comparing it to the original, it is for a different viewership. Hopefully that style will plant the seed of interest. Which I hope this is part of the intent.

Two things that threw me off:

The dubbing of his voice was a bit off for the majority of the show - I still can't figure out why they needed to dub it. You would think they have the budget for good mics and level checks.

The second thing, and it was my lack of complete focus, at the time was when he was going through the cosmic calendar. I must have misheard him when he was saying amounts of time. I could have sworn he said (and I'm paraphrasing because I don't remember the exact script) "11 billion years later on April 21st (or some time in April) the milky way formed, our sun wouldn't come around until 6 billion years later on Aug. 20th . . " Wait, that is older than the universe. He must have been counting backwards, e.g. 11 billion years ago the milky way formed, then 6 billion years later our sun formed (~5 billion years ago). I was looking over class material at the time, so I wasn't rapt on the narration, so I'm sure I didn't catch that he started counting backwards.

But I did really like the tip of the hat to Carl Sagan and what a genuinely good person he was, plus the diary, to me, was kind of a "F-you" to the people who were wondering why he (Neil DeGrasse-Tyson) was taking over. NDT's line about "he showed me not only that I wanted to be a scientist but also the kind of person I wanted to become" was about the best tribute a person could give or get - and was almost as good as something Sagan would have said like "we are all made of star stuff."

I'll be watching this for sure. I also didn't realize that Seth McFarlane was such a huge influence on getting this up and running. I've never really cared one way or the other about him, but he gets huge kudos from me for this.
Anonymous Bosch wrote:It struck me as somewhat odd that while they did display an animation of the giant impact hypothesis, no mention was made of Theia (the Mars-sized astronomical body that collided with the Earth) or that the Moon formed from the leftover debris from that particular impact. But that's a pretty minor quibble in the scheme of things.

Tyson's personal story, towards the end of the program, of how he first met Carl Sagan was a great touch.
Agree, the moon formation is one of the coolest bits. The idea that our planet was all but ripped apart and reformed with a satellite. Awesome, hopefully he'll come back to it.

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Re: [TV] Cosmos (2014)

Post by tgb »

I just watched it and thought it OK. I remember Sagan got a little heat for using too many flashy computer graphics and other newfangled doo-dads, but I thought the current version made Sagan's seem like Encyclopedia Britannica.

I guess that's what's needed to reach a modern audience.
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Re: [TV] Cosmos (2014)

Post by Holman »

Oklahoma Fox affiliate cuts reference to evolution in COSMOS. However, they have since apologized and blamed it on "operator error." One wonders.

A propos of this, I have to quote something a friend posted on Facebook:
OK, look. I am happy Cosmos is back and I think Neil Tyson is a great ambassador for science and that Giordano Bruno animation was truly hilarious and yes I even got choked up a few times. But I was sort of hoping Neil would say "We're doing this again because we've discovered amazing new things! But really we're doing it again because as a polity we've grown measurably stupider! Next week on Cosmos: how did THAT happen?"
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Re: [TV] Cosmos (2014)

Post by Jeff V »

Holman wrote:Oklahoma Fox affiliate cuts reference to evolution in COSMOS. However, they have since apologized and blamed it on "operator error." One wonders.
I just saw that. You really didn't think Fox would keep their filthy mitts off, did you?
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Re: [TV] Cosmos (2014)

Post by Smoove_B »

Sounds like maybe it was the actions of a local, mouth-breathing programming editor not a FOX policy.
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Re: [TV] Cosmos (2014)

Post by cheeba »

I watched it last night. I thought it had a bit too much acting by Neil. He had to stand up and look in awe at Voyager flying past and things like that. Didn't need those moments.

Nonny I know what you're referring to though I didn't notice it. Dubbing is just a fact of life now, I guess. In most movies very nearly 100% of spoken content is dubbed now.

Edit - Oh, and I thought the animation sequence went on too long. Yes, yes, the guy was nailed for his beliefs, I get it. Don't need 10 minutes to explain that the Inquisition was f'd up.
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Re: [TV] Cosmos (2014)

Post by Jeff V »

Smoove_B wrote:Sounds like maybe it was the actions of a local, mouth-breathing programming editor not a FOX policy.
Fox policy likely resulted in the hiring of that asshat in the first place. The corporate doesn't have to engage a separate policy when they have an army of brainwashed drones willing to pursue their agenda on their own initiative.
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Re: [TV] Cosmos (2014)

Post by A nonny mouse »

cheeba wrote:I watched it last night. I thought it had a bit too much acting by Neil. He had to stand up and look in awe at Voyager flying past and things like that. Didn't need those moments.

Nonny I know what you're referring to though I didn't notice it. Dubbing is just a fact of life now, I guess. In most movies very nearly 100% of spoken content is dubbed now.

Edit - Oh, and I thought the animation sequence went on too long. Yes, yes, the guy was nailed for his beliefs, I get it. Don't need 10 minutes to explain that the Inquisition was f'd up.
Yeah NDT definitely did have the cheeze factor going on -"I'm amazed by this and I'm an astrophysicist!" But the act has to be there to, hopefully, get the point across that this is a big deal. We see so many realistic CGI space things, that people don't realize what it took to get the Voyager going - and it still is going! Again, I always compare it to the original, but Sagan's passion just came though the screen without the faux excitement.

It is true that nearly everything is dubbed, but this was pretty obvious. Not Sergio Leone, Spaghetti-western bad (blackhawk), but a rush job. What I thought was interesting about the dubbing was there didn't seem to be any when he was not in the studio - like when he was walking down the street in Italy or where ever that was. Like I said, I was mostly paying attention, but I didn't catch where he was in that scene.

Yes animations went on a bit long, but I liked the animation style so much I didn't mind.

My mantra, unless something really gets good or it gets really bad, is going to be "I'll watch it but it's not Sagan"

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Re: [TV] Cosmos (2014)

Post by Scuzz »

I didn't notice any dubbing.
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Re: [TV] Cosmos (2014)

Post by theohall »

Jeff V wrote:
Smoove_B wrote:Sounds like maybe it was the actions of a local, mouth-breathing programming editor not a FOX policy.
Fox policy likely resulted in the hiring of that asshat in the first place. The corporate doesn't have to engage a separate policy when they have an army of brainwashed drones willing to pursue their agenda on their own initiative.
At least it wasn't on MSNBC... imagine that mess.... ;)
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Re: [TV] Cosmos (2014)

Post by hitbyambulance »

Paingod wrote:
Zaxxon wrote:It's on Fox, so no cable required.
And that right there is how far out of the "TV" loop I am ... :P ... I don't even know how to watch current TV without it.
if your TV was made since 2008, it has a digital ATSC tuner in it - all you need to use it is an old-style UHF loop antenna like yon olden days of TV. if you don't have one of those lying around (or even rabbit-ears), you can test it out by bending a paperclip into an "L" shape, sticking that into the coax/ant on the tv, switching to the tuner and 'updating/scanning' for new channels.

you can view a (good) approximation of the signal reception at your location by inputting your address here:

http://tvfool.com/

if your TV was made before that time, it may have an older analog NTSC tuner and so you would need a digital converter box and a UHF loop antenna.

find out here:

http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/di ... er-box.htm
https://www.fcc.gov/guides/digital-anal ... etup-basic
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Re: [TV] Cosmos (2014)

Post by Zaxxon »

The Mohu Leaf is a solid, easily hidable antenna that I've had good luck with.
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Re: [TV] Cosmos (2014)

Post by JSHAW »

IF this had been Cosmos narrated by Morgan Freeman, I'd watch every episode. His voice to me is one of knowledge, and confidence, without trying to be a showman or carnival barker.

I couldn't quite put it in words until I read a previous comment about the "cheese factor and NDT", so without going into too much haterade on the man I just don't like how he comes across in the show. I watched about 15 minutes, hated it, deleted it from my dvr, cancelled recording the series.

I realize he's one if not THE most knowledgeable people on the planet on the subject, I just couldn't sit through the entire episode
if he's the guy that's the mouthpiece.
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Re: [TV] Cosmos (2014)

Post by Isgrimnur »

This is the show you're looking for.
It's almost as if people are the problem.
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Re: [TV] Cosmos (2014)

Post by JSHAW »

Isgrimnur wrote:This is the show you're looking for.
No it's not. I've seen it. Been on for awhile.
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Re: [TV] Cosmos (2014)

Post by naednek »

I watched most of it today, and while it's interesting, the presentation is too hokey for my tastes.
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Re: [TV] Cosmos (2014)

Post by Ralph-Wiggum »

Neil DeGrasse Tyson crushed it tonight. As a biologist, I loved the way he explained selection and evolution and used examples that 1) people would find interesting (e.g. dog domestication, brown bear/polar bear) and 2) directly argued against the examples used by I.D. advocates (e.g. the evolution of the eye). My only nitpick is that in the last 15 minutes of the show, he seemed to be setting things up for future episodes (e.g. blank extinction hall, life on titan, how life may have began) rather than presenting complete ideas.
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Re: [TV] Cosmos (2014)

Post by Kraken »

I agree that it lost focus at the end. The five great extinctions are worth an episode by themselves, especially since we're in the midst of the 5th one right now.

It was a good junior-high level presentation of evolution for those who need it (my wife said "This should be shown in every science classroom in America"). I was glad he confronted creationism head-on, just in case the first episode hadn't already pissed off the fundies enough. :dance:

Factino of the night: I didn't know that tardigrades were that ancient.
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Re: [TV] Cosmos (2014)

Post by LordMortis »

Kraken wrote:I agree that it lost focus at the end.
So did I. I fell asleep. I really like the wolves to dogs bit but he was neither in depth enough to keep me interested nor superficial enough to just keep things moving. A shame really. I'll still try to catch a rerun when TiVo grabs it on Thursday, I think.
It was a good junior-high level presentation of evolution for those who need it (my wife said "This should be shown in every science classroom in America").
Which is who this should really be directed at, anyway. That's whom I think this show is/should be designed for.
I was glad he confronted creationism head-on, just in case the first episode hadn't already pissed off the fundies enough. :dance:
I didn't care for it. Possibly because I didn't feel his love/passion/curiosity here. It just ends up being a way to argue with rocks, when they goal is/should be to get to every junior level high school kid.
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Re: [TV] Cosmos (2014)

Post by Blackhawk »

Go back and watch the original Cosmos. It still isn't a show that is intended for people who already know science. It is a show to inspire people who don't to learn more about it.
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Re: [TV] Cosmos (2014)

Post by Kraken »

Blackhawk wrote:Go back and watch the original Cosmos. It still isn't a show that is intended for people who already know science. It is a show to inspire people who don't to learn more about it.
Which is why I give it points when it can teach me something new. That Bruno fellow in the first episode was new to me. The tardigrade's ancient lineage was new. Tidbits like that will keep me watching.
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Re: [TV] Cosmos (2014)

Post by LawBeefaroni »

Blackhawk wrote:Go back and watch the original Cosmos. It still isn't a show that is intended for people who already know science. It is a show to inspire people who don't to learn more about it.
Yeah, I think Tyson is trying his best to follow in Sagan's footsteps as presenter but also co-traveler with the viewer. There was cheese factor in the original Cosmos too, though Sagan is so sincere it's hard to be critical of it.

I watched last night and I think it's well done. The bit about the eye, especially. I have a close friend who is a ID creationist and we butted heads on that exact eye example a few weeks ago. I explained it much like Tyson did, though I'm sure far less elegantly. But my friend pulled out all the rote talking points about irreducible complexity and we just let it drop. But we do have common ground in astronomy so I'm going to tell him to watch the episode. He may still stick to ID but at least he'll come away understanding what I was trying to tell him, if not agreeing with it.

The more I think about it, the more I get excited for seeing all my favorite Cosmos episodes re-imagined. It's kind of a no-lose situation for me. The original will always be there so this new one is just gravy. It's not like a fiction franchise where they can wreck characters and canon. The only concern is how others, who are watching for the first time, will see it and take to it.
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Re: [TV] Cosmos (2014)

Post by Zaxxon »

I meant to link this last week but forgot to actually do it. Nice little video interview with Tyson. There will be no 2nd season of Cosmos.
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Re: [TV] Cosmos (2014)

Post by LordMortis »

a keynote speaker at SXSW.
What the... I thought SxSW was a music festival.
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