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!!!

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.

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.

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,

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.