Cosmos - A Spacetime Odyssey

Confession time:  I'm a huge science nerd, but I've never seen a full episode of the original Cosmos starring Carl Sagan.  I've seen snippets here and there, but I don't think I ever managed to watch it on television.  Everything I've seen was online.

Yes, I'm aware this is blasphemy.  No, I don't care.

I also didn't like Goonies, so stick that in your nerd pipe.

Where was I?

Oh, right.  On Sunday FOX (and its affiliate stations) aired the first episode of the new series of Cosmos, starring Neil Degrasse Tyson, who I've already discussed before and still feel he should be the host of a smooth jazz radio station that adults get twitchy about their kids listening to.

So, what did I think?

First off, someone help me make sense of the universe.  FOX, the most right-wing network imaginable, a channel that manages to screw up any program that nerds really find interesting (see: Firefly and everything else) and seems to rely mostly on "adult" cartoons that I personally can't even stand...

They have Seth MacFarlane, who I freely admit is a ridiculously talented man who can sing, dance, and do some incredible voices, bring on a show to air right after said "adult" cartoons...

Hosted by Neil Degrasse Tyson, a man who pushes science over accepting things on any kind of "faith" and is a self-proclaimed agnostic...

And in the first episode is pretty much says "the Big Bang happened, we have evidence that shows it"...

And is introduced in the beginning by Barack Obama...

Now, I'll freely admit I don't hate FOX as much as I used to.  FOX News, yes, but not FOX.  A study last year showed that FOX programming is some of the most progressive when it comes to LGBT characters.  They have a show starring an Indian woman (who is also a bit upset about people focusing on said fact), something I can't really think of a lot of other shows doing.

So, yeah, FOX isn't the devil, I can admit that.

But as for the show itself, I think it was a really good way for people who have already dove deep into the science of the universe before and for people who are new to this type of exploration of everything around them to start.  Neil Degrasse Tyson has a very unique way of explaining things presented as fact without making it sound like he's preaching at you.  When he says something is a certain way, I find people I talk to simply accepting it as they start to learn more.

Granted, in the wrong hands this could be a very dangerous ability, but considering I've also heard Neil speak enough times to know that he tends to always have the science to back up any statement he makes, it might just be easier for me to believe it than someone new.

Holy cow, Neil Degrasse Tyson is the Illusive Man?

For the special effects, I was holding them to a pretty high standard.  There are LOTS of science programs that need to have fancy special effects to show things that we can't actually see across the galaxy and universe, but there were a lot of neat little touches to Cosmos that I really enjoyed.  For me, the personal highlight was their depiction of the universe's age as one calendar year, breaking down just how long people have been around compared to everything else that happened.

While I felt there were a few areas that were simplified for the sake of not needing to delve too deep in the "well, yes, it is this way, but some people believe otherwise, or there are times it isn't because of X" science (such as the fact that some scientists believe the reason we have a moon is because another planetoid crashed into Earth and the moon is all that's left), I do realize that if they got into every theory and disputed bit of science, they'd need fifty-two episodes just to break down the basics before they really explored anything else.

And the viewing audience for that probably just consists of myself and other hardcore science nerds.

I look forward to seeing just where the series goes, and sincerely hope it becomes a regular series with multiple seasons.  I think there is an audience out there for it, and I think that people are ready for a program that educates to be back in the prime time slot of a major channel.  Heaven knows we don't need any more crime scene dramas or shows that are just trying to copy the success of other shows on the air (looking at you, Revolution).

Congrats to FOX for being able to be the channel to provide us with this.  It's probably a pretty big risk considering their connection to the political right, which I think makes it all the more impressive the direction the channel is going.