Anyone else pumped for the new COSMOS series with Neil deGrasse Tyson?

I enjoyed the first episode overall, but not as much as I had hoped. I probably went in with my expectations too high. I just remember Carl Sagan's first episode of Cosmos completely blowing my mind and capturing my imagination, and I shouldn't have expected last night's episode to do the same.
It was entertaining and gorgeous to look at, even funny at times, though I get the sense Tyson is just getting warmed up. I reckon we'll get more meaty content as the series progresses. Also probably good to remember that Sagan's episodes were at least 25% longer than the 40+ minutes we're getting from Tyson, so that creates additional constraints.

 

The commercial breaks also seem to cause weird pacing issues. The show is going for a narrative flow, but the breaks force and make it feel like it's in segments. So certain parts feel too long and others feel rushed. I'm eager to see it on DVD with out the breaks.

 

I enjoyed it but I think that within an episode or two I'm going to get fed up with all the commercials and decide to skip it and wait for the inevitable Blu Ray set with extras, better sound and picture and no damn commercials. It should have been on PBS again but maybe this will reach a wider audience.

 

Overall, thought it was great, but I also thought that it would be just as well if Tyson just had his own show, and just leave it be. After all, it really should just be Carl Sagan's Cosmos since the whole thing is based on his book. Tyson has written some really good books as well, so how about just adapting those instead?

 

I kinda felt the same way until i watched it, but the whole premise and examples Sagan setup are so exciting and informative. It's like the perfect intro to astronomy and physics 101 class. They should jsut use this in Junior High Schools it's all laid perfectly, informative and exciting, without dumbing things down or overwhelming people.

 

Just rewatched it. Very glad it is on Fox.

 

Just goes to show what a man with millions of "Family Guy" dollars can do!
Money well spent, Seth!

 

I agree with several other posts. The 4-5 minute commercial breaks came every 10 minutes during this one hour broadcast.
Certainly broke the flow of this highly anticipated program. To bad PBS didn't pick up the COSMOS sequel. Even FF through my DVR recording was annoying.

-Steve D.

 

Finally saw it last night on Hulu Plus. A lot of commercials there too

I have mixed feelings about it, but overall I'll give it a thumbs up. I do hope it gets better as it goes.

 

I re-watched this last night on Fox's website.

I still think the story line was unfocused - and meanders tossing out science tidbits here and there.

I'm also not feeling a 'connection' with Neil...its a bit like watching Jimmy Fallon take over The Tonight Show - feels strained at times.

 

I agree. As noted at the beginning of the thread, I have a very favorable opinion of Tyson, but it did feel like he was trying too hard. He comes across better with Colbert

 

PBS never could have made this version of it.

 

Just watched on demand – loved it.

I hope there's a bluray release planned soon.

 

It could've used some Vangelis. Otherwise, I liked it.

 

Too many commercials. I can't watch it.

 

As much as I want to see this, I'll wait until the blu-ray comes out. I can't stand commercial interruption every 7-10 minutes.

 

I am glad they are doing this, but I detest the fact that a pluto-denier is running it.

 

I am. This was my favorite book as a young kid. I still have the original hardcover that my father gave me and read through it from time to time. I am happy to see them update it.

 

Last night's episode on evolution was better than episode 1, more in depth I thought, and it seemed to offer more "new" information.

You hit the nail on the head. I still plan to watch the broadcast every week and I've been enjoying the content, but I can't help but feel like I'm watching an epic movie that's been sliced and diced to fit a network time slot.
The tradeoff is that (hopefully) the producers are achieving their goal of reaching a wide audience and inspiring young minds.

 

I have been watching the new Cosmos, and just finished the third installment. Just start it 15 minutes late and fast forward through the commercials.

I loved the original. I'm thinking about the current show as its own thang rather than as a remake or whatever.

I think that Neil is a good host. He is not Carl Sagan, but he is good at presenting this stuff in a compelling ways for a lay audience.

The use of animation for the historical (and pre-historic) events is an interesting choice. Not sure I like it 100% but I don't dislike it either.

Overall, a very worthwhile series.

Incidentally, not too long ago, you could always find science shows on Nat Geo, Discovery, Animal Planet, the History Channel, etc. Now all they show is yee-haw reality programs. Nice to see science on TV again.

 

I have this fast-forward button that makes this particular problem go away.

I really, really like the show... but the ratings on it are for crap:

http://www.evolutionnews.org/2014/03/its_a_shame_rea083441.html

I thought the first episode was profound, moving, and totally interesting from start to finish. But if I had seen it months ago, I would've said, "man, there's no way this will do well with a mass audience. College-educated, upscale, over a certain age range... sure. But this is PBS material, not Fox."

 

I thought for the most part the second evolution episode suffered from the fact that the topic has been done to death on dozens of other shows.

The other two episodes were great, however I really really really miss the live action stuff and I'm not happy cheap animation has replaced it. It's the type of animation that has totally taken over documentaries. At one point it kinda almost looked like cool stylized animation now it's just over used cheap flash animation.

 

Why in the hell are people watching commercials? Do people really still watch LIVE television? I would never.

 

I just watched the evolution episode of the new Cosmos (ep. 2) back to back with the one in the old Cosmos with Carl Sagan (ep. 2). I actually preferred the new Cosmos on this. Unless I totally blanked it out, Sagan didn't even mention Darwin - a Yuge oversight, and you wonder why Sagan omitted this name. (He talked about evolution and stated it was a fact, and he talked about natural selection, but I don't think he ever mentioned Darwin.) Tyson not only talks about Darwin, but explains why it's not necessary to believe in "intelligent design" to explain how something as intricate and elaborate as an eye can be created - through Darwin's natural selection theories.

I am really glad that Tyson is sticking to science, even at the risk of offending some who reject the scientific view. Giving a plausible alternative to intelligent design could offend some. And he's doing it politely and logically in what should be a non-offensive way to those folks. This is sort of courageous of Fox. Sagan had a kind of elitist, professorial approach, which I loved, but can be a turnoff to the masses. Tyson is doing this in a people-friendly way and there's a lot of good to be said about that. Anything that will get generations thinking about science is great!