Cosmos

There really is no way to convey how much of an impact this series had on me when it first came out back in 1980. The views of our life here on this little blue marble seemed so insignificant compared to the vastness of the cosmos. It came to pass then my views on science and technology forever changed and turned my life around. One of the most significant features of the series was the selection of soundtrack music. It was also an example of appreciation for the finer things in life that we take for granted. For anyone with even the slightest interest in space and technology truly needs to spend time in the "Cosmos" to get a view of our world from a different perspective. Bottom line, true brilliance and creativity at its best.

Hey folks - THIS is pure heaven!

Today I got the Cosmos DVD box set and went completely bananas! I love it for two reasons.

First: Even for todays standards it is a well made documentation that will make you think about yourself and the world you live in. The Cold War may be over, but people are still as stupid as ever. Cosmos is not just a simple documentation about stars and planets with numbers, technobabble and nice pictures - it's a manifest for peace and understanding that EVERYBODY should see.

Second: I remember when I used to watch the series when I was ten years old. I didn't miss a single episode. Cosmos may not have CHANGED my life - but it certainly gave it a new direction. It taught me to keep an open mind and to care more about my surroundings. When I saw Cosmos today, I felt again like the little boy I was two decades ago. I'm in awe of the whole world and the wonders of the Universe that surrounds every one of us.

If you have kids: show it to them! If you want to know more about life on earth or on other planets: see it! If you think, ordinary documentations about outer space are too complicated to understand: see it! If you don't really care about the Universe, the stars and the planets, but you wonder what all the fuss is about: see it!

In any case: SEE IT!!!

Sagan. Who else could reveal the Universe to us so eloquently? Who else could make those humans who scarcely even notice the world around them gaze up at the skies with wonder? And all the while, he was never condescending... He awakened so many ordinary minds--he made us all acolytes to the extraordinary. Amazingly, drew us in to his world, even those of us who felt that true Science was beyond their grasp. His love of the subject was always apparent, and although his knowledge was overwhelming, his presentation of it never was.

I was in school when Cosmos was first broadcast...for me and for many people I know Cosmos was the first time the Universe came to life. I recommend it for anyone of virtually any age...Be enthralled by what's within and without...

Also recommended: The Connections Series (1, 2 and 3) and the Day the Universe Changed (with James Burke)...Also, A Brief History of Time.

Such apparently disassociated issues as deciphering hieroglyphics from ancient Egyptians and accompanying the Voyager spacecraft along its planetary tour meet up in these wonderful series. Carl Sagan not only transmits the facts, but also and perhaps most important, his enthusiasm swoops down deeply into the spectator skin.

Sagan (who hosts the series himself) magnificently shows that science is the art of solving Nature's mysteries. Every topic that is encompassed in Cosmos, is shown as so: Beginning in the knot, showing the big efforts that are made to untie it, and the final breath-out of the human mind prevailing over the (previously) unknown. Not only science, but everyday subjects are researched as well, such as astrology or the UFO phenomenon. History also shares a good role in Cosmos.

Overall, the great production and the soundtrack make this series a MUST for everyone carrying a throbbing heart.

Carl Sagan is known world-wide for being the most effective teacher ever. This series is based around his novel by the same name, which is the the best selling science book of all time. He explains how life works and how we are trying to find life elsewhere in the cosmos, how the laws of physics govern everything, how we must take care of ourselves and the earth, and so much more. He makes the Earth sound like a total paradise. Anyone even mildly interested in science should definitely see it. See this, it should be at your local library.