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

Discussion in 'Visual Arts' started by sgtmono, Mar 5, 2014.

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  1. ridernyc

    ridernyc Forum Resident

    Location:
    Florida, USA

    Who said I'm watching commercials. the issue is parts of the show are being edited out for them and the pace of the narrative is being forced to fit between them.
     
    stumpy likes this.
  2. sgtmono

    sgtmono Seasoned Member Thread Starter

    We don't all have the luxury of cutting edge technology. Unless I want to record something to VHS (yes, VHS!) and watch it later, I have no choice but to watch live TV (I'm not aware of a streaming option for Cosmos). I always mute the commercials and either read or pontificate during that time. It is a major buzzkill for a show like Cosmos though.
     
  3. Synthfreek

    Synthfreek I’m a ray of sunshine & bastion of positivity

    If a dvr is considered "cutting edge technology" then I don't know what to say.
     
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  4. CusBlues

    CusBlues Fort Wayne’s Favorite Retired Son

    I really like this show. I thought the explanation on the development of the eye was very good.

    I have been watching this live, and while I don't care for commercials, I put up with them. My 17 year old son and I watch it together on Sundays, and that is nice.

    The third installment was also good. I liked the discussion of the relationships between Wren, Hooke, Halley and Newton. I didn't realize that Hooke had so many disputes with other scientists.
     
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  5. tkl7

    tkl7 Agent Provocateur

    Location:
    Lewis Center, OH
    Yes, some of us old senile fools still watch live TV and commercials. Just because you whippersnappers do it in some new fangled way, doesn't make it better. Thanks.

    PS: Get off my lawn.

    PPS: Get a haircut and a real job.
     
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  6. GLUDFSSR

    GLUDFSSR Senior Member

    Location:
    Los Angeles, CA
    Enjoying this show. Should be mandatory in schools.
    But when did Aaron Neville's birth mark go away;)
     
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  7. Vidiot

    Vidiot Now in 4K HDR!

    Location:
    Hollywood, USA
    You're mistaken: the show is made for American television, and nothing is being edited out. The show is a standard 43-minute hour-long network show.

    What I do agree on is that the timing and pacing of the show is terribly interrupted by the commercials, and that's often the case with a documentary that ties a lot of things together through narration. With scripted dramatic shows (or comedies), they can build to a climax, go to a commercial, then come back and move on to a new segment; with this show, it's harder to divide up the connective tissue, so to speak.

    I was gonna say... the Tivo came out back in 1999, so it's already a 15-year-old device as of right now. What's sad to me are the number of people apparently watching this show in standard-def -- it's very beautiful in HD, particularly the CG effects going down to planet surfaces, exploring the outer reaches of galaxies, etc.
     
  8. ridernyc

    ridernyc Forum Resident

    Location:
    Florida, USA
    Then why do they have a bonus scene when they are played the next night on National Geographic?

    Can guarantee you they will have even more extra footage on blu-ray in 6 months.
     
  9. Larry Mc

    Larry Mc Forum Dude

    I'll probably go home and see it after church on Sunday. Are they replacing Family Guy and American Dad?
     
  10. Vidiot

    Vidiot Now in 4K HDR!

    Location:
    Hollywood, USA
    Could be, but often, bonus footage is just that: scraps from the cutting-room floor that pads out the show. It makes no sense to make the show longer than they're being paid to make it, and the commercials are no less frequent on cable.
     
  11. Evolution doesn't need to be a plausible alternative to Creationism (aka "Intelligent Design"), because Creationism is no alternative to Evolution.
     
  12. Thomas D

    Thomas D Forum Resident

    Location:
    Bradenton, FL
    I was speaking in terms of within the minds of those folks who just don't have the facts and so "Intelligent design" seems like the sort of "common sense" explanation to them. ("How could something so elaborate have just appeared? It must have been created!") This sort of sequence on this show could have been an epiphany to them.
     
  13. I know and wasn't trying you make you look otherwise. My post was just to clarify a potential cause for misinterpretation. :righton:
     
  14. Larry Mc

    Larry Mc Forum Dude

    I was doing the same thing Roland.:pleased:
     
  15. DeadParrot

    DeadParrot Forum Resident

    Location:
    MI, USA
    TBH, whilst I did enjoy it, I think if there's a worthy successor to the original Cosmos then it's the 3 BBC Wonders series (Solar System, Universe, Life) presented by Brian Cox.
     
    dat56 likes this.
  16. CraigVC

    CraigVC Senior Member

    Location:
    Portland, OR
    Thanks for the tip. I see that the Solar System (2010) and Universe (2011) series are both available for streaming with a Hulu Plus subscription (but not yet 2013's Life series). I'll try to check them out soon!

    Craig.
     
  17. nbakid2000

    nbakid2000 On Indie's Cutting Edge

    Location:
    Springfield, MO
    I...am stunned. Have you NOT been keeping up with world/technology developments in the past 15 years? Have you been to a Walmart or Target's electronics department in the past 10 years? Did you recently just discover the internet?
     
    Last edited: Mar 29, 2014
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  18. nbakid2000

    nbakid2000 On Indie's Cutting Edge

    Location:
    Springfield, MO
    I do think Neil is over-acting in most of this. I also hate the fact that every time he says a sentence, he'll stop and turn from the camera and look at whatever he's pontificating about.

    I gotta agree about the effects. Some of it is very nice but some if it looks really cheap, as if they've got a budget and are choosing where to put the quality effects instead of just coating it completely.
     
  19. OnTheRoad

    OnTheRoad Not of this world

    Huge reason I don't watch modern TV anymore....

    I'll watch this when it comes out on DVD and either check it out from the library or buy the discs.

    Saw the first episode on network TV and enjoyed it ~85-90% of what I hoped for...so that's pretty good. Hated all the commercials taking time though. I don't think I've watched TV, live broadcasts that is...since shows were 50 minutes instead of todays 43.

    And what's funny is lot's of people watch the Super Bowl FOR commercials !! :laugh: I dont' even watch it for the game.
     
  20. sgtmono

    sgtmono Seasoned Member Thread Starter

    I spend all my disposable income on music; a DVDR just ain't worth the cost for the amount of TV I watch. Did I mention I don't have cable either?
    I just don't like the assumption that everyone *must* own certain non-essential technologies.
    The expressions of shock and horror from some members upon learning that others still watch live TV (oh the humanity) is so over the top, not to mention a tad elitist.
     
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  21. nbakid2000

    nbakid2000 On Indie's Cutting Edge

    Location:
    Springfield, MO
    I think the fact that you basically insinuated DVR technology was "cutting edge" and (I assume) aren't familiar with Hulu or some other type of "on demand" service that has been around on basic internet service for years threw everyone for a loop.
     
  22. SBurke

    SBurke Nostalgia Junkie

    Location:
    Philadelphia, PA
    When did the change take place? Is there a standard that every network or program follows? By rule or just by custom?
     
  23. SBurke

    SBurke Nostalgia Junkie

    Location:
    Philadelphia, PA
    I've missed the last two weeks of this, unfortunately. What's the easiest way to catch up?
     
  24. Erik Tracy

    Erik Tracy Meet me at the Green Dragon for an ale

    Location:
    San Diego, CA, USA
    fox.com

    I've had to catch-up myself.

    After a 'relaxing' Sunday - I tend to doze off early and with all the commercial breaks on Cosmos - I tent to drift off and wake up after it's over.
     
  25. Vidiot

    Vidiot Now in 4K HDR!

    Location:
    Hollywood, USA
    American network TV shows were about 53 minutes (of actual content) for the latter part of the 1960s and 1970s, and slowly devolved to 47 minutes by the end of the 1980s/early 1990s. Since around 2000, they've further devolved to 43 minutes as promos, commercials, and other interstitial material gets crammed in there. It's for reasons like this that I believe TV audience numbers are dwindling.

    I don't even think about the commercial breaks. With a twitchy trigger finger on the FF button on the DVR, I'm usually back to the show in under 10 seconds without much trouble.
     
    SBurke likes this.
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