Closing thoughts on Fox's "Cosmos"

[Kevin M.]

Worth hearing Seth on "Star Talk" for some of the backstory on his involvement with the series. 

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/conversation-seth-macfarlane/id325404506?i=314387968&mt=2

I'm fairly certain the series did what the producers wanted it to do, but it fell short of my expectations. It won't have the legacy of the original series, partly because of the era in which we live where no movie or TV show has the impact of something released in the limited media era of 35 years ago, but partly because it didn't break any ground. I credit it for showcasing some of the people and ideas of the scientific community, but it did so while alienating people.

I had an unintentionally spirited exchange on my Facebook regarding Cosmos a week or two ago (including a few fellow TVorNotTV members of the braintrust). I maintained, compared to the Sagan series, the Fox series was openly hostile to people of faith, which I still find odd in a series rooted in the wonder and mystery of the unknown, where faith thrives. Several of my friends feel those who disrespect science deserve to be disrespected in return, and I get that. But I've seen firsthand how such people, when presented with something well done and non-patronizing, can change their views and embrace new ideas.

When "NYPD Blue" premiered, I was in college, and one of my good friends was an extreme right-wing fanatic. For the first several weeks the series aired, he came over to watch it with me, armed with a notepad and pen so he could document every obscene word and vulgar bit of nudity. Beyond complaining to the FCC, he was ready to set fire to ABC HQ and have Stephen Bochco stoned to death in a public square... until the week he showed up to watch the series without his notepad or pen. He approached the show with a closed mind, but the show forced open his mind anyway. And though the series didn't try to cultivate him as a viewer, it also didn't try to push him away. "Cosmos" tried to push people like my friend away, and I really do understand why, but I also feel it is a shame because people like my friend are the ones who could've benefitted most from the themes and messages in "Cosmos." 

"Cosmos" won't be shown in any private school science classroom, and it won't generate discussion with the people who really ought to be discussing it. SPOILER ALERT: The final episode concluded with a tribute to Carl Sagan convincing the US government and NASA to spend money and waste resources to turn the Voyager probe around as it escaped our solar system so it could snap a shot of "the pale blue dot" known as Earth, which put our very existence as a species into forced perspective. Nobody wanted to do it. One man stood against a closed-minded group of individuals and through sheer force of intellect was able to get them to open their minds and see things -- quite literally -- from a different point of view. That's what I was hoping for in the new series, and that's why I feel let down by it. 

I was raised in a right wing household, attended Catholic elementary school and Lutheran junior high, and though I made it to public high school, my science teachers there were really just coaches with teaching credentials who had no passion for the subject. My respect for science came later in life, after college, and though I have no problems at all reconciling my own personal faith with the hard facts of science, I know several religious people who denounce science and several other science-minded people who denounce religion, and I really wanted "Cosmos" to help me out, to provide some sort of conversational bridge. I evidently expected too much. When all is said and done it wasn't a bad series. It just wasn't a series that did any good. 

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Kevin M. (RPCV)

[Dave Sikula]

With all due respect, I didn't find Cosmos to be "hostile" to people of faith -- yeah, it challenged them, but didn't get in their faces. That said, religion's gotten a pretty free ride for about 5,000 years and, if it can't handle even an indirect attack, maybe it's time to find a new paradigm -- which would be a good thing, as far as I'm concerned.

--Dave Sikula

[Kevin M.]

On Wed, Jun 11, 2014 at 2:58 AM, 'Dave Sikula' via TVorNotTV <tvor...@googlegroups.com> wrote:

With all due respect, I didn't find Cosmos to be "hostile" to people of faith -- yeah, it challenged them, but didn't get in their faces. That said, religion's gotten a pretty free ride for about 5,000 years and, if it can't handle even an indirect attack, maybe it's time to find a new paradigm -- which would be a good thing, as far as I'm concerned.

There was an episode where they made big business the villain of the story. One episode out of 13.  

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Kevin M. (RPCV)

[Kevin M.]

Compelled to do a follow up about this series. 

It’s the last week of school here. Wrapping things up in my 5th grade classroom. Entering final grades, end-of-year parties, etc. As a teacher, I’m showing more videos this time of year than in previous points in the academic year. Yesterday, I showed the students the first episode of the original Carl Sagan Cosmos… it still speaks to me, despite the cheesy music and effects. Today, I showed the students the first episode of the Tyson hosted Cosmos… it spoke to the kids. Kids who typically tune out during science class were raising hands and asking on-point questions. 

So credit where due, this series can awaken curiosity and wonder in younger generations. I’ll always prefer the original, but I cannot deny the appeal of the revision. 

Kevin M. (RPCV)