Cosmos

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.

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!!!

More than twenty years on, but this documentary series still stands out head and shoulders above most. It is not simply the fact that it was a well-made production, but more of how it was presented. Professor Carl Sagan offered ordinary intelligent viewers an enthralling scientific series without the scientific language; he presented it as if he were an excellent school-teacher, right there before the class, in his careful, methodical way of speaking. His carefully worded explanations of all that could be seen on screen added superbly to that something which is close to magical; thus, for many people, it was a magnificent series for people to learn English; and I include a lot of North Americans and British people!

The magnificent use of visual concepts as Professor Sagan took us on his voyage into the unknown, was admirably backed up by a sensational selection of music which just lifted the entire work way above the run-of-the-mill documentaries. Here there is no preaching: just simple plain old-fashioned teaching; but so carefully carried out. The universe came to life as we journeyed on through the Cosmos: it was at once exciting, it was fun, it was spell-binding, but this series was always educational in the first degree.

And do not think I am talking about it being for a classroom of 14 year-olds: this is not the case. Whatever your age, `Cosmos' is one of those great landmarks in the making of anything for the screen, whether the big one or the small one.

Previous to this wonderful series, I had only heard Vangelis' music in `Chariots of Fire', but with the selection used in `Cosmos' I have become the firmest stalwart of this brilliant Greek musician and composer. Who can forget such delightful pieces as `Entends-tu les Chiens Aboyer' and - on my LP recording! - the Bulgarian Shepherdess Song, as well as the other pieces used to such effective advantage for this unrepeatable TV documentary series?

This is a series that should be repeated again and again. Outstandingly brilliant.

Many thanks to the late Professor Carl Sagan and to KCET, Los Angeles.

This thirteen part series is Carl Sagan's personal account of the universe and how humans have interpreted it through time. In Cosmos, Carl Sagan takes us on location to places in the world where the most important people and ideas in science and astronomy were born, and to places in outer space where those ideas have revealed the universe to us. Carl Sagan shares a sense of wonder that is both intelligent and humorous, while occasionally warning us of our capabilities of self-destruction. Though Cosmos was made during the height of the cold war, it still stands as a reminder of global problems and dangers we still need to resolve. This series has either consciously or unconsciously set the standard for the format of almost every hosted science show or series on Television since it was made, and it's no wonder. Carl Sagan is a charismatic and sincere authority on the subject matter, and the music score is mostly by Vangelis (Bladerunner, Chariots of Fire, 1492) Synergy, Tangerine Dream, Vivaldi, and more. The visuals are amazing and remain as relevant as they were on the release date.

I was always fascinated by the documentaries created by public television after my experience with Cosmos, Carl Sagans gift to humanity. Beautifully weaving human knowledge into a 13 part series. He covers the entire landscape of understanding in some way; History, Biology, Genetics, Neuroscience, Physics, Chemistry, Astronomy, Religion and the relationships of all these with human politics throughout history and across cultures. It is quite a goal to hit and it is done masterfully. I clearly remember anticipation for the commencement of the series in 1980 when I was 9. It and many of the later science/natural world focused PBS series to follow (Nature, Nova,The Mechanical Universe) in the 80's were what inspired me to pursue a profession in engineering. I hold an electrical engineering degree because of shows like this. Here I am 25 years later discovering again the wonder of Cosmos. I've picked up the series as a gift for my children, yet unborn, that they may hopefully be similarly inspired by this masterful work of television at its best.

Highiest possible recommendation.

Regards,