Cosmos starting

[Half-Century Man]

Be back after,

[spanone]

1. ahhhhh, science.

[pangaia]

2. "QUESTION EVERYTHING."

Neil Tyson. March 9, 2014 8:02 pm. on FOX !!!!

[mucifer]

3. Executive producer Seth McFarland.

Interesting.

[KoKo]

38. What’s Seth MacFarlane doing at the helm of ‘Cosmos’?

What’s Seth MacFarlane doing at the helm of ‘Cosmos’?

The guy behind “Family Guy” and “Ted” has a deep interest in science and its place in culture, so he stepped up to produce a reboot of the famous Carl Sagan “Cosmos” series. This time it’s on Fox, not PBS.
By DAVE ITZKOFF

The New York Times
Seth MacFarlane is an executive producer of a resurrected version of “Cosmos,” the popular documentary series that Carl Sagan helped create and hosted for PBS in 1980.
WASHINGTON — When some of the nation’s brightest minds gathered here at the Library of Congress to celebrate Carl Sagan, a pioneering astrobiologist, the first guest speaker was someone with no professional background in science.

It was Seth MacFarlane, the multitasking comedian and creator of “Family Guy,” who gave an impassioned speech to the crowd of Ph.D.s and NASA advisers on how scientific achievement had “ceased in many parts of this country to be a source of pride.”

“Long accepted scientific truths have been brought into question largely — who are we kidding? — by one side of the aisle, solely for the purpose of generating passion that could be shaped into various agendas,” MacFarlane said in November. “And the other side of the aisle has not really put up much of a fight.”

Now he is taking another step beyond his reputation as a purveyor of coarse humor, as an executive producer and prime mover of a resurrected version of “Cosmos,” the immensely popular documentary series that Sagan helped create and hosted for PBS in 1980.

The original “Cosmos,” in which Sagan explored the origins and evolution of the universe and man’s place in it (in his idiosyncratic, gently adenoidal tones), became a cultural landmark. It won three Emmy Awards and reigned as PBS’ most-watched series until the Ken Burns documentary “The Civil War” was shown in 1990.

MacFarlane said his involvement in the new “Cosmos” — which debuts Sunday, March 9, with simultaneous broadcasts on Fox, the National Geographic Channel, FX, FXX, Fox Sports 1 and 2 and several other Fox-owned outlets — was not about rectifying his own image but honoring the original series, which influenced him as a child.

“ ‘Cosmos’ addressed questions that every human being has, whether they think about them on a mathematical level or just as a layman,” MacFarlane said in a recent interview. “It presented them in a wonderfully candy-coated way for those of us who are not scientists, and yet it didn’t dumb anything down.”

Yet for MacFarlane, who himself has been accused of playing to the lowest common denominator — in his bawdy turn as host of the Academy Awards or in movies like “Ted,” which he directed, or television comedies like “Dads,” which he produces — the new “Cosmos” is a reflection of his rebellious streak.

http://seattletimes.com/html/television/2023052230_sethmcfarlanecosmosxml.html

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

65. Back in the day PBS was actually public

It didn't have to depend on Koch money like it does today.

[longship]

4. First act, pretty damned good.

Homage to Carl. Starts at location where Sagan started the original series.

Tour of the solar system.

The space craft of the imagination is pretty damned cool. Where can I get one?

Oops! Starting again.

[CherokeeDem]

5. Oh... love that ship!

This is starting spectacularly.... so glad to see science on TV. Didn't you love how Tyson emphasized the word 'billion' when talking about the age of the universe? I did!

[nadinbrzezinski]

37. No spoilers (Now I really want to watch it!!!!)

damn it, we are stuck in another time and space!!!! (The West Coast)

[longship]

39. There is no problem with spoilers here.

It ain't a contest, my friend.

But you may want to avoid my posts in this thread. However, I only posted big picture stuff, so it won't really spoil anything.

It's good, Nadine. Very good.

[nadinbrzezinski]

40. Take into account it looked for a tad I might miss it

work, brush fire, east county, really poor area...

Thankfully it was an acre, already put to bed, and yes, it is suspicious.

But where it was, I would have looked at the spoilers later. It is a good hour from here.



And yes, it's been one of those really busy news days...on a weekend.

[longship]

41. Get home, relax...

Get hubby to cook dinner. Then, get a couple of nice glasses of wine and cuddle up on the couch for a nice adventure.

[nadinbrzezinski]

42. He is off to work at eight, and the conures are asleep

I hope, so will cuddle with myself, I am home. Just when they dispatch the kitchen sink and some... you know they are worried.

It is bone dry, why they are.

And the wind warning was cancelled a tad ago.

Yesterday we got to play in the smoke though.

125 acres for that, 60% contained as of this afternoon

[diabeticman]

6. I will be leaving for work soon so have to see it on demand but my wife hasn't moved since it

started and shhhed me.

[mucifer]

8. The commercials are pretty jarring when you get into the show.

[diabeticman]

9. When the first batch of commercials hit wife did say she wished PBS would show it or at least shown

commercial-free.

[mucifer]

12. Problem is now PBS has commercials.

But, at least they put it at the beginning and end of the show only.

[jollyreaper2112]

63. wrong, sadly

There's commercials everywhere on PBS now. It's disgusting.

[longship]

7. Second act, extend the tour to the whole universe.

Posit a multiverse.

Pretty damned good start, so far. This first episode is obviously doing the spadework for future episodes. The big picture.

Ads are annoying, but it gives me this opportunity to live Blog it.

[pangaia]

13. I watch very little TV..

and had forgotten how much time is commercials..
it's just terrible..... 7 minutes of program 4 minutes of shit... 8 minutes of program, 3 minutes of ads.

Don't know if I can stick it out.

[NightWatcher]

10. sorry dude, the cosmos started 6,500 years ago

[Warren DeMontague]

11. Presenting tonight's rebuttal will be ken ham, kurt cameron, and the cucumber from Veggietales

[NightWatcher]

14. damn evangelical produce

[theHandpuppet]

36. ROFL!

Cafeteria time at the Creation Museum!

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

66. Ever notice how one of the Veggie characters sounds like Cartman of Southpark?

[longship]

15. Third act. Now we get some substance.

Yup! The story of Giordano Bruno, and his heresy that the universe is unbounded and the stars are suns.

Ken Ham isn't going to like this at all.

Story was animated.

[aristocles]

16. TOO MANY COMMERCIALS

Not enough content. And cartoons to boot.

[femmocrat]

18. Agree.

I'm dvr'ing it... I can FF the ads that way.

[mucifer]

19. Cartoons are to keep the young ones watching.

[aristocles]

23. Last five minutes of the program were best.

[longship]

17. Fourth Act. Bruno burns and a bridge to the next topic.

The new subject is time.

Metaphorically mapping the 13.6 billion years of the universe onto a calendar year.

More stupid ads. At least no lawyers or catheters.

Oops! Gotta go.

[pangaia]

27. "At least no lawyers or catheters."

Kersplattt... beer on the keyboard !

[longship]

32. Don't laugh. I watch local Fox all the time.

They have two sub-channels that broadcast ThisTV and AntennaTV. Both have old movies (good stuff, too). And some old TV.

Other than the old movies, they've broadcast Outer Limits, Alfred Hitchcock, Sea Hunt, Highway Patrol, and all sorts of other old TV. Much of it is not my cup of tea.

But the adverts are horrible. All products for old folks, or people who maybe want to sue somebody for something. There's even one to get your Depends delivered to your door in an unmarked package so you are no longer embarrassed at the Grover's check out. Of course, the insurance ads are pretty much all AARP.

Still love Outer Limits and Lloyd Bridges in Sea Hunt.

[pangaia]

59. Stop it, Please !

I used to watch most of those shows, actually. Plus The Lone Ranger. ....

[longship]

20. Whoa! Fifth act. Now we're getting somewhere.

It's the year calendar of universe history.

Focusses the mind on relative time differences. It's good.

Ads. One for "Noah". Had to laugh out loud.

Gotta go.

[jimlup]

21. Definitely gets my thumbs up!

GO Neil!

[Vattel]

22. nice pictures

[sakabatou]

24. Recording on my DVR

[Earth_First]

25. Great ending...

Looking forward to next week.

[CherokeeDem]

26. Fantastic...

Tyson is wonderful and the ending showing Carl Sagan, my hero, brought me back to my childhood. I adored him even then.

If the quality remains this good... it will be wonderful.

(And yes... too many ads.)

[pangaia]

28. I used to hang with Carl in Ithaca.

When he taught at Cornell and I taught at Ithaca College.
I remember several sushi dinners.... and such.....

[CherokeeDem]

30. How wonderful!

I have wondered what it must have been like to have Sagan as professor or colleague or friend. To have the opportunity to have a conversation with him would have been amazing. So glad that you had that opportunity.

Did you teach science? I was a microbiology major required to take physics but took every astronomy course I could fit it as well. It's still a major interest of mine.

[stg81]

43. he wanted science to belong to everyone

[CherokeeDem]

44. That's why I adored him...

Not only for his intellect but for his passion for science and quest to bring it to all.

Unbelievable man...

[pangaia]

60. No, not a scientist, a musician.

I had become friends with the owners of the only Japanese restaurant in Ithaca at that time and closed the place by finishing off many a magnum of sake after hours with him and friends, whomever stayed late. Once in a while Sagan was there. I don't remember if he drank or not. Mostly we listened.. asked questions and listened :&gt )
You know..my experience at the time was that he was just another guy relaxing. except.. well, you can imagine....a really special human being.

[CherokeeDem]

62. I can imagine...

I think getting to know him in that environment would be even better... the 'let your hair down' version.

Music is math... that sort of qualifies you to be a scientist...

Sounds like some good times in Ithaca and some good memories. Thanks so much for sharing...

[Stardust]

50. Oh, I cannot imagine even meeting Dr. Sagan. I would be so tongue-tied that I'd choke on my sushi.

Just out of curiosity, did you all discuss astronomy frequently? I'd imagine even Dr. Sagan needed a respite from time to time. I really loved him.

[pangaia]

61. See my post #30 just above yours.

We didn't 'discuss' much. We listened. He was very well versed on many, many things, not just astrophysics.
But as I mentioned,... a lot of sake went down. (not him necessarily)

[longship]

29. Final Act.

He wraps up the final seconds of the cosmic year, a metaphor for how little humans have been part of the narrative.

It's good, very good. The big picture tonight, an introduction. Yet there was good stuff, and there was the Bruno story fleshed out. They played the science vs. religion card. Good, IMHO.

Wrapped up with Carl Sagan. Neil tells the story of when he met him as a high school senior. Good stuff.

I am intrigued. It looks to be a good series so far. We'll have to see if it matches the original. I'm sure that there will be those who say it sucks for some reason or another, the Moaning Myrtles. I liked it. And it's just going to get better.

See you next week for episode two.

[El Supremo]

31. Sorry, I thought it would be for an older audience.

And probably 30% of the hour was commercials.

Give me back Carl.

[mucifer]

34. They are trying to inspire kids.

[Frank Cannon]

46. Ever watch those "Bible story" animations they show on the religious stations?

This was done in very much the same style. I'm sure there was a calculated reason for that.

[nadinbrzezinski]

52. Correct, they said as much in interviews

[Half-Century Man]

33. Just over....

An auspicious start, I like it. Being bold enough to speak for the honored dead, I think Dr. Sagan would be pleased his afternoon with a young scientifically minded high schooler turned out so well.

Excellent graphics, excellent writing, and good flow.
The animation sequence kept the focus on the actual story, not dividing the viewer attention with an actors portrayal.
I've seen a similar cosmic year explanation before, But not so nicely done ( I want to say on the old Cosmos program, but not totally sure).
Dr. Tyson certainly has the voice for the role of "public face of science" in my humble opinion.

[gulliver]

35. Excellent job.

So far it is worthy of the title, imo.

[Frank Cannon]

45. I loved it.

And I am a HUGE fan of Dr. Sagan and his original show. I think Dr. Tyson honored him well, and I can't wait for future episodes.

Ann Druyan, Seth MacFarlane, and Neil DeGrasse Tyson have all but said that this show was done specifically to combat the current horrible tide of willful scientific illiteracy. I think it hit its target audience right on the mark. If this had been some dry, didactic lecture in all the latest scientific findings, aimed only at the more literate, it would have flopped spectacularly.

The commercials ARE jarring and annoying, but at least I didn't see any pharmaceutical ads, so I'm grateful for that. I consider them a necessary evil to even get this show on the air.

[RiffRandell]

47. Recording so we can watch with the kids.

Both of our kids love science but it was bed time when it aired.

My son, who is in a 7th grade accelerated science class told me his teacher was discussing evolution last week and a girl that sits next to him in class muttered "It's not real." My son didn't say anything as he's pretty quiet and we do live in an area where that mentality is most likely the majority, but discussed it with me when he got home.

[Behind the Aegis]

48. That's awesome!

I was talking to my partner and I asked: how many people are watching this with their children or at least, getting them to watch this? I loved the original series, it was on all day long in our house. I wanted to be an astronomer because of it, but like sexist talking Barbie said, "Math is hard!" If it hadn't been for math...well, at least I can count to 21 easily!

There was another thread here about TLC being shit, a real "You young whippersnappers git off my lawn!" type of thread, but had some truth to it. Too many have a difficult time sitting through anything that is science or history related. I see some are already complaining about the use of cartoons ( ) but the use of CGI is a-ok? CGI ain't nothing but hi-tech cartoons! Anyway, I thought it was well done, though I will also echo the complaint about the commercials hurting the flow, thankfully we have DVR.

Sorry for blathering, I wanted to share but couldn't find a thread I liked...then I saw you!

[exboyfil]

51. I kind of wish it had been a few years earlier

My kids are still in high school but they were banging out their college assignments while it was being broadcast. Maybe they can catch it in rerun.

I enjoyed it even though I knew everything so far presented. Not sure about the cartoons, but if it gets kids to watch then they will be effective.

Bringing back to the personal level with Sagan and Tyson was a nice touch.

[Behind the Aegis]

55. It will be on tommorow night! DVR it! :)

I think the cartoons are simply a unique way of presenting it, not necessarily for children. The cartoons can make "dry" material palatable. The people more into science may see it as distracting, but those who really aren't into science or history, it can distract from the dryness of the material. Remember, we are a society of sound bytes, for better or worse.

Like you, I enjoyed the Sagan tributes. The last one brought tears to my eyes. I wish Sagan could see this new "Cosmos" and relish in his part in introducing yet another generation to science and improvement!

[exboyfil]

56. My daughters and I usually don't watch television

We only have cable because my wife watches those awful home shows and reality shows. We don't own a DVR, but thank you for the suggestion. I am just not sure how much wonder they will get from watching it even though they are around the same age I was when the original came out. I have been discussing and teaching science with them since they were little. Evolutionary theory is often discussed, and my younger daughter has done several projects on it in the last few years. We also spend a considerable time talking about what is in the Bible. I so enjoy my conversations with my daughters.

[Behind the Aegis]

57. Hey now! I like the home shows! One can get some good ideas.

It is likely it may be "elementary" in some sense, but I feel this will be a good series, even one which will inspire others to become more inquisitive. If anything, they can view it as a "review." LOL!

We were taught science in my home too, as well as history and literature. My mother had a medical background, so when I hit 4th grade science class, I knew all the bones of the body, most muscles, and such. Needless to say, I aced science! We did discuss some religious things, but we are Jewish, so a bit different perspective. I did have one rabbi whom I really enjoyed because he liked that I was always questioning the Bible and Talmud. He said it made me a good Jew. Since I loved Greek myths, still do, I did quite of comparison to their myths and ours.

It's nice to know there are still parents out there who take pride in making sure their children get an education outside of the classroom!

[exboyfil]

58. I guess I mean the ones where folks are buying homes

Not the home improvement ones - those can be quite useful (except accessed better as a library pulling the show as a project comes up).

My debate partner in high school was Jewish (not a given in Mississippi). We had many long conversations going to tournaments. My best pastors always taught me to ask questions and read my Bible. The same advice I give my girls. My youngest is bummed because a couple of youth groups in which she has been a part of are very anti-science (one youth leader in particular calling Darwin an old fool). My own church did something called The Truth Project (very anti-science in particular anti-evolution) a few years ago. I did my best to fight the teaching (probably made myself a nuisance). They just ran more classes after the one I was in. The young man teaching it grew up in our church - he is definitely a right winger who keeps losing state legislative races (I always enjoy voting against him even though we do like him and his family). I guess I am glad I don't attend services at my church very much anymore (I go to church with my grandma in her nursing home chapel instead).

[RiffRandell]

64. Thanks!

Last edited Mon Mar 10, 2014, 03:47 PM - Edit history (1)

We all have our guilty pleasure shows, but also enjoy watching certain shows as a family.

I remember watching the original series with my parents and loved it too.

We'll watch it tonight and from what I read I think the kids will really like it...I always look for programs on NOVA to record for them...the latest was on the completion of the new World Trade Center as they love NYC and my son loves architecture. My daughter loves the shows Monsters and Mythbusters (she's obsessed with Mothman), Treehouse Masters and both love cooking and home improvement shows, the History Channel...oh and Face/Off. We loved the series Planet Earth that was narrated by Sigourney Weaver.

Our son started studying evolution in 6th grade and when he was venting about the girl denying it last week I reminded him to be respectful of different beliefs even though it's very challenging at times, as others aren't. I also told him there will be plenty of time to debate issues as he's only in middle school and that it can be fun and educational to do so.

I just remembered The Voice is on tonight which my daughter and I watch together (that's my guilty pleasure, along with Adam Levine, ha!) so I can either record that, watch Cosmos another night or beforehand.

You weren't blathering, but I am!

[nadinbrzezinski]

49. And it was well worth it

[MFM008]

53. i thought it was terriffic

i thought the animation was tasteful, maybe those looking for Stewie were disappointed... I think Carl would be pleased, his widow Ann Druyan was in on it to. Good job guys, cant wait for next part.

[Little_Wing]

54. I was so jealous of the east coasters getting to see it first

But it was worth the wait in every way. As discussed above, the commercials were very jarring (LOL Noah!), so it seems like good idea to record and zip through them. But it was visually and graphically innovative, well written and NdeGT had me tearing up at the end with his Carl story. All around a great job. Ready for next week's episode.