Cosmos

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 had a way with words. He had a way of making the complex simple. As a young teenager growing up with an interest in science this was an excellent way to begin.

This is one of those must see programs. The music by Vangelis was also fantastic.

This ignited (excuse the pun) my interest in science and Vangelis' music which is as keen now as when I first saw and heard it.

Excellent!

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,