Cosmos - behold the majesty of the universe through one man's eyes!

It was not too long ago, at work when I was struck on how oblivious the rest of the world is to the vastness, the coolness of science. It was a back when scientists had discovered a planet that very likely had water - and therefore was a very good candidate for having life - outside our solar system. I was utterly stunned by this - my god! There's a chance, an ever so slender glimmer of hope, that we may not actually be alone in the vast darkness of the universe.

At work the next day, I could hear over the cube wall the usual chatter as the coworkers discussed the last day's news. And I listened as they droned on about American idol and what kind of shoes this star or that wore to an awards ceremony or what happened on CSI and on and on and on all day long. I wanted so badly to smash down the cube wall and shout at them "My god people - do you have no sense of wonder?!? Scientists have announced quite possibly the most important discovery in the ENTIRE HISTORY OF THE HUMAN RACE since the discovery of fire and all you can do is prattle on about who got voted off some damn show or another!"

I went home that day and pulled out my copy of Cosmos and wept for the coworkers who had no sense of wonder in their souls. Man, Carl, we need you now more than ever.

Cosmos is one of the huge factors in my being who I am today - a science junkie. The series was first broadcast by the Public Broadcasting Service in 1980, and made Carl Sagan a household name. Broadcast in over 60 countries, seen by over 600 million people, winner of an Emmy and a Peabody Award, Cosmos was the biggest series on PBS until Ken Burns' The Civil War. More importantly, it took difficult concepts in science and astronomy and make them accessible to the common man. He was a scientist, a teacher, a researcher and a best-selling author - but most he was a face, friendly voice that lifted the veil of mystery and danger on such a huge concept

When I was 11 years old, I watched every second of Cosmos with breathless eagerness. I couldn’t wait for Doctor Sagan to bring me along on his many travels through the Universe. I eagerly soaked up the sense of wonder that he was kind enough to loan me. It was a lot for an eleven year old to take in, but I did my best and I never stopped.

And so over the course of those thirteen weeks back in 1980, I was taken on a magical journey from the inner space of our own DNA to the farthest depths of infinity and beyond, from the dawn of history itself to the heights of man's knowledge - and arrogance.

To outline the episodes contained within would take far too much time and space, so I'll just sum up quickly:

Disc 1
"The Shores of the Cosmic Ocean,"
Doctor Sagan sets up the premise, shows us our Spaceship of the Imagination (one of the coolest ships ever) and gives us an overview of space.

Disc 2
"One Voice in the Cosmic Fugue," "The Harmony of the Worlds,"
Sagan uses a "cosmic calendar" to trace the 15 billion year history of the Universe, and shows us the evolution of modern astronomy and how we learned about the moon and other nearby planets.

Disc 3
"Heaven and Hell," "Blues for a Red Planet,"
We touch on the hellish atmosphere of Venus and travel through the solar system's biospheres before getting an in-depth look at our closets neighbor: Mars

Disc 4
"Travellers' Tales," "The Backbone of Night,"
The 17th Century Dutch explorers are compared with the modern Voyager and it's journey to Jupiter and Saturn, and then takes us back to his own roots in Brooklyn when he would stare at the stars as a little boy.

Disc 5
"Travels in Space and Time," "The Lives of the Stars,"
Albert Einstein takes center stage as we ponder the possibility of time travel before examining the ways stars are born, live and die.

Disc 6
"The Edge of Forever," "The Persistence of Memory,"
We see the birth of the universe and the nature of the human brain and the examination of why we reason.

Disc 7
"Encyclopedia Galactica," and "Who Speaks for Earth?"
Doctor Sagan asks "Are we alone?" before taking a long hard look at the folly of nuclear war and the responsibility for survival is owed not just to ourselves, but to the very Cosmos itself.

Wow - now that’s a mouthful.

My favorite of the bunch would probably be "One Voice in the Cosmic Fugue" as Sagan puts all our human achievement and wonder into perspective in one little ittie bitty square on a huge grid. Other moments of note would be the final two: "Encyclopedia Galactica," and "Who Speaks for Earth" - showing the overwhelming responsibility we have, not only to the cosmos and the planet, but to each other. How all the wars and struggles and pride and prejudice and love and joy and anger and bloodshed and pettiness and greed and stupid lines on a map are largely meaningless when we're a tiny little dust mote hanging in a precarious balance in a morning ray of sun.

It's quite humbling - and mind-blowing to an eleven year old.


THE DVD -
Originally created for television, Cosmos sports a 1.33:1 aspect ratio, and has been digitally restored and re-mastered to the best looking video this series has seen. Now, remember that the series was originally produced using a combination of film stock, analog video and other sources - and there is some newer footage shot in 1990 that is significantly cleaner and sharper than the original 1980 footage - so the look of the show is uneven. Still, the 25 year old effects and displays still hold up to this day. Time has taken its toll to a certain extent, but the series appears to have been brought to the best state possible for its transfer to DVD.

THE EXTRAS
There are no extras as one might normally think of them - but there is some supplemental material. In the nearly 30 years since Cosmos was first produced, there have been a number of scientific discoveries and changes in thinking. In an effort to keep as up to date as possible, there is an informational subtitle track that appears when updated facts are needed. There is also a short video section at the end of each episode briefly touching on changes since the early eighties. Surprisingly, the show stands the test of time very well indeed, and not all that much has changed - showing just how much Doctor Sagan was on the ball the first time around.

THE BOTTOM LINE
Perhaps thanks to Cosmos, I have a pretty healthy selection of documentaries on DVD - Walking with Dinosaurs, the Civil War, NOVA, and so on. While they're all great and fascinating and I’d buy them all again - none of them can hold a candle to the one that sparked a little boy's imagination so many years ago. Cosmos on DVD is a fitting tribute to a man who dedicated his whole life to the ideal that science should be aceesable, that humanity should always be looking over the next hill, to reach for the next challenge. I can't recommend this set any higher.