| Cosmos: A Personal Voyage | |
|---|---|
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| Genre | Documentary |
| Created by | |
| Directed by | Adrian Malone |
| Presented by | Carl Sagan |
| Composers | Vangelis; various artists |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 13 |
| Production | |
| Producers |
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| Running time | 60 minutes |
| Original release | |
| Network | PBS |
| Release | October 1, 1980 (1980-10-01) – January 1, 1981 (1981-01-01) |
| Related | |
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Cosmos: A Personal Voyage is a thirteen-part, 1980–81documentary television series written byCarl Sagan,Ann Druyan, andSteven Soter, with Sagan as presenter. It was executive-produced byAdrian Malone, produced by David Kennard, Geoffrey Haines-Stiles, and Gregory Andorfer, and directed by the producers, David Oyster, Richard Wells, Tom Weidlinger, and others. It covers a wide range of scientific subjects, including theorigin of life and a perspective of our place in the universe. Owing to itsbestselling companion book and soundtrack album using the title,Cosmos, the series is widely known by this title, with the subtitle omitted from home video packaging. The subtitle began to be used more frequently in the 2010s to differentiate it from the sequel series that followed.
The series was first broadcast by thePublic Broadcasting Service in 1980, and was the most widely watched series in the history of Americanpublic television untilThe Civil War (1990). As of 2009, it was still the most widely watched PBS series in the world.[1] It won twoEmmys and aPeabody Award, and has since been broadcast in more than 60 countries and seen by over 500 million people.[2][3] Abook was also published to accompany the series.
Cosmos: A Personal Voyage has been considered highly significant since its broadcast;David Itzkoff ofThe New York Times described it as "a watershed moment for science-themed television programming".[4]
Cosmos was produced in 1978 and 1979 by Los AngelesPBS member stationKCET on a roughly $6.3 million budget, with over $2 million additionally allocated to promotion. The program's format is similar to earlierBBC documentaries such asKenneth Clark'sCivilisation,Jacob Bronowski'sThe Ascent of Man, andDavid Attenborough'sLife on Earth. However, unlike those series, which were shot entirely on film,Cosmos used videotape for interior scenes and special effects, with film being used for exteriors and location shooting (this film-video hybrid format was common in British scripted television at the time, but less so in documentary productions). The BBC—a co-producer ofCosmos[citation needed]—later screened the series, but the episodes were cut to fit 50-minute slots.
The series is notable for its groundbreaking use of special effects, which allow Sagan to seemingly walk through environments that are actually models rather than full-sized sets. The soundtrack includes pieces of music provided by Greek composerVangelis, such asAlpha,Pulstar, andHeaven and Hell Part 1 (the last movement serves as the signature theme music for the show, and is directly referenced by the title of the fourth episode). Throughout the 13 hours of the series, many tracks from several 1970s albums are used, such asAlbedo 0.39,Meddle,Spiral,Ignacio,Beaubourg, andChina. The worldwide success of the documentary series put Vangelis' music in the homes of many, and brought it to the attention of a global audience.
Turner Home Entertainment purchasedCosmos from series producer KCET in 1989. In making the move to commercial television, the hour-long episodes were edited to shorter lengths, and Sagan shot new epilogues for several episodes, in which he discussed new discoveries—and alternative viewpoints—that had arisen since the original broadcast. A 14th episode, consisting of an interview between Sagan andTed Turner, was also produced. This new version of the series was eventually released as a VHS box set. This same re-edited version was also released on 12"LaserDisc. Two episodes were released per disc, one episode on each side. The LaserDiscs for the various episodes were sold separately, not in a boxed set (as was done for VHS).
Cosmos was unavailable for many years after its initial release because of copyright issues with the soundtrack music, but when it was released in 2000 onworldwideNTSC DVD, subtitles in seven languages[5] and remastered5.1 sound were included, as well as an alternative music and sound effects track. In 2005,The Science Channel rebroadcast the series for its 25th anniversary, with updatedcomputer graphics and film footage,digital sound, and information about relevant scientific discoveries in the intervening 25 years. Despite being shown again on the Science Channel, the total amount of time for the original 13 episodes (780 minutes) was reduced 25% to 585 minutes (45 minutes per episode) in order to make room for commercials.[6][7][8]
In a 2009 UK release,Fremantle Media Enterprises digitally restored and remastered the original series as a five-disc DVD set which included bonus science updates.
| No. | Title | Original release date | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "The Shores of the Cosmic Ocean" | October 1, 1980 (1980-10-01) | |
Carl Sagan opens the program with a description of the cosmos and a "Ship of the Imagination" (shaped like a dandelion seed). The ship journeys through the universe's hundred billiongalaxies, theLocal Group, theAndromeda Galaxy, theMilky Way, theOrion Nebula, ourSolar System, and finally the planet Earth.Eratosthenes' successful calculation of the circumference of Earth leads to a description of the ancientLibrary of Alexandria. Finally, the "Ages of Science" are described, before pulling back to the full span of theCosmic Calendar. Note: the revised version of the series adds an introduction byAnn Druyan to this episode, recorded after Sagan's death, in which she discusses some of the changes that occurred in the years after its broadcast. | |||
| 2 | "One Voice in the Cosmic Fugue" | October 5, 1980 (1980-10-05) | |
Sagan discusses the story of theHeike crab andartificial selection of crabs resemblingsamurai warriors, as an opening into a larger discussion ofevolution throughnatural selection (and the pitfalls ofintelligent design). Among the topics are the development of life on theCosmic Calendar and theCambrian explosion; the function ofDNA in growth; genetic replication, repairs, andmutation; the common biochemistry of terrestrial organisms; the creation of the molecules of life in theMiller–Urey experiment; and speculation on alien life (such aslife in Jupiter's clouds). In theCosmos Update ten years later, Sagan remarks onRNA also controlling chemical reactions and reproducing itself and the different roles of comets (potentially carrying organic molecules or causing theCretaceous-Paleogene extinction event). | |||
| 3 | "Harmony of the Worlds" | October 12, 1980 (1980-10-12) | |
Beginning with the separation of the fuzzy thinking and pious fraud ofastrology from the careful observations ofastronomy, Sagan follows the development of astronomical observation. Beginning withconstellations and ceremonial calendars (such as those of theAnasazi), the story moves to the debate between Earth and Sun-centered models:Ptolemy and thegeocentric worldview,Nicolaus Copernicus' theory, the data-gathering ofTycho Brahe, and the achievements ofJohannes Kepler (Kepler's laws of planetary motion and thefirst science-fiction novel). | |||
| 4 | "Heaven and Hell" | October 19, 1980 (1980-10-19) | |
Sagan discussescomets andasteroids as planetary impactors, giving recent examples of theTunguska event and alunar impact described byCanterbury monks in 1178. It moves to a description of the environment ofVenus, from the previous fantastic theories of people such asImmanuel Velikovsky to the information gained by theVenera landers and its implications for Earth'sgreenhouse effect. TheCosmos Update highlights the connection toglobal warming. | |||
| 5 | "Blues for a Red Planet" | October 26, 1980 (1980-10-26) | |
The episode, devoted to the planetMars, begins with scientific and fictional speculation about the Red Planet during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries (H. G. Wells'The War of the Worlds,Edgar Rice Burroughs' science fiction books, andPercival Lowell's false vision ofcanals on Mars). It then moves toRobert Goddard's early experiments inrocket-building, inspired by reading science fiction, and the work byMars probes, including theViking, searching forlife on Mars. The episode ends with the possibility of theterraforming andcolonization of Mars and aCosmos Update on the relevance of Mars' environment to Earth's and the possibility of ahuman mission to Mars. | |||
| 6 | "Travellers' Tales" | November 3, 1980 (1980-11-03) | |
The journeys of theVoyager probes are put in the context of theNetherlands in the seventeenth century, with a centuries-long tradition ofsailing ship explorers, and its contemporary thinkers (such asConstantijn Huygens and his sonChristian). Their discoveries are compared to the Voyager probes' discoveries among theJovian andSaturn systems. Sagan was a member of the Voyager research team, and production of the episode coincided with the probes arriving at Jupiter; at one point, Sagan is filmed receiving one of the first-ever images of one of Jupiter's moons. InCosmos Update,image processing reconstructs Voyager's worlds and Voyager's last portrait of the Solar System as it leaves is shown. | |||
| 7 | "The Backbone of Night" | November 11, 1980 (1980-11-11) | |
Carl Sagan teaches students in a classroom in his childhood neighborhood ofBrooklyn, New York, which leads into a history of the different mythologies about stars and the gradual revelation of their true nature. In ancient Greece, some philosophers (Aristarchus of Samos,Thales of Miletus,Anaximander,Theodorus of Samos,Empedocles,Democritus) freely pursue scientific knowledge, while others (Plato,Aristotle, and thePythagoreans) advocate slavery andepistemic secrecy. Centuries later, re-discovery of the writings of the free-thinking Greek philosophers helps inspire participants in theScientific Revolution, which led to the development of theCopernican principle – the philosophical implications of which Sagan explores. The video then returns to the Brooklyn classroom where Sagan correctly gives students the prediction that astronomers will confirm the existence ofexoplanets within their lifetime. | |||
| 8 | "Journeys in Space and Time" | November 19, 1980 (1980-11-19) | |
Ideas about time and space are explored in the changes thatconstellations undergo over time, theredshift andblueshift measured in interstellar objects,time dilation inAlbert Einstein'stheory of relativity, the designs of bothLeonardo da Vinci and spacecraft that could travel nearlight speed,time travel and its hypothetical effects on human history, the origins of theSolar System, the history of life, and the immensity of space. Propping the curiosity about speed of light, Sagan suggested the possibility from the practical projects of the 20th century by British Interplanetary Society marking the beginning of interstellar travel with the projects namedProject Orion andProject Daedalus. Although Project Orion was discontinued as a result of nuclear disarmament treaties, Project Daedalus pioneered the idea of using nuclear fusion rather than fission for a viable interstellar spacecraft. InCosmos Update, the idea offaster-than-light travel bywormholes (researched byKip Thorne and shown in Sagan's novelContact) is discussed. | |||
| 9 | "The Lives of the Stars" | November 25, 1980 (1980-11-25) | |
The simple act of making an apple pie is extrapolated into theatoms and subatomic particles (electrons,protons, andneutrons) necessary. Many of the ingredients necessary are formed of chemical elements formed in the life and deaths of stars (such as our own Sun), resulting in massivered giants andsupernovae or collapsing intowhite dwarfs,neutron stars,pulsars, and evenblack holes. These produce all sorts of phenomena, such asradioactivity,cosmic rays, and even the curving ofspacetime by gravity.Cosmos Update mentions the supernovaSN 1987A andneutrino astronomy. | |||
| 10 | "The Edge of Forever" | December 6, 1980 (1980-12-06) | |
Beginning with the origins of the universe in theBig Bang, Sagan describes the formation of different types of galaxies and anomalies such asgalactic collisions andquasars. The discoveries ofEdwin Hubble andMilton L. Humason are described. The episode moves further into ideas about thestructure of the Universe, such as different dimensions (in the imaginaryFlatland andfour-dimensionalhypercubes), an infinite vs. a finite universe, and the idea of an oscillating Universe (similar to that inHindu cosmology). The search into other ideas such asdark matter and themultiverse is shown, using tools such as theVery Large Array inNew Mexico.Cosmos Update shows new information about the odd, irregular surfaces of galaxies and the Milky Way perhaps being abarred spiral galaxy. | |||
| 11 | "The Persistence of Memory" | December 12, 1980 (1980-12-12) | |
The idea of intelligence is explored in the concepts of computers (usingbits as their basic units of information), whales (in their songs and their disruptions by human activities),DNA, thehuman brain (the evolution of thebrain stem,frontal lobes,neurons,cerebral hemispheres, andcorpus callosum under theTriune Brain Model), and man-made structures forcollective intelligence (cities, libraries, books, computers, and satellites). The episode ends with speculation on alien intelligence and the information conveyed on theVoyager Golden Record. | |||
| 12 | "Encyclopaedia Galactica" | December 20, 1980 (1980-12-20) | |
Questions are raised about the search for intelligent life beyond the Earth, withUFOs and other close encounters refuted in favor of communications throughSETI and radio telescope such as theArecibo Observatory. The probability of technically advanced civilizations existing elsewhere in the Milky Way is interpreted using theDrake equation and a future hypotheticalEncyclopedia Galactica is discussed as a repository of information about other worlds in the galaxy (similar to theRosetta Stone, with the life of deciphererJean-François Champollion featured). TheCosmos Update notes that there have been fewer sightings of UFOs and more stories ofabductions, while mentioning theMETA scanning the skies for signals. | |||
| 13 | "Who Speaks for Earth?" | January 1, 1981 (1981-01-01) | |
Sagan reflects on the future of humanity and the question of "who speaks for Earth?" when meeting extraterrestrials. He discusses the very different meetings of theTlingit people and explorerJean-François de La Pérouse with the destruction of theAztecs by Spanishconquistadors, the looming threat ofnuclear warfare, and the threats shown by thedestruction of the Library of Alexandria and the murder ofHypatia. The episode ends with an overview of the beginning of the universe, the evolution of life, and the accomplishments of humanity and makes a plea to mankind to cherish life and continue its journey in the cosmos. TheCosmos Update notes the preliminary reconnaissance of planets with spacecraft, the fall of theBerlin Wall and the end ofapartheid in South Africa, and measures towards the reduction ofnuclear weapons. | |||
Some versions of the series, including the first North American home video release (though not the DVD release), included a specially-made fourteenth episode, which consisted of an hour-long interview between Sagan andTed Turner, released in 1981[9] in which the two discussed the series and new discoveries made in the years since its first broadcast.
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The 1986 special edition ofCosmos features newcomputer animated sequences and filmed segments with Sagan, as well as new narration. It includes content from Sagan's bookComet and discussion of his theory ofnuclear winter; this material was not used in subsequent television or home video releases. The special edition premiered as one marathon program on theTBS network, and was later broadcast in Japan, Germany, Australia, Singapore, and Argentina. It is much shorter than the original version, at four and a half hours, divided into six 45-minute episodes:
The 1986 version ofCosmos contains a mix of music used in the original version, with a unique soundtrack composed by Vangelis specifically for the special edition. The score is often referred to asComet, as "Comet 16" is used during the opening and closing credits of each episode. Of the 21 cues, "Comet 16" is the only one that has been officially released, although some of the new music appears in the 2000 remastered DVD release.
In 1981, a soundtrack LP[10] was released byRCA Records shortly after the series' airing, which included the signature theme "Movement 3" (from "Symphony to the Powers B" from the albumHeaven and Hell) by Greek synthesist and composerVangelis (catalog No. ABL 1–4003 and TMS-50061; both also released oncassette tape).
Side A
Side B
In 1994, RCA Records reissued the original soundtrack compilation on compact disc and, in 2002, reissued it on its Collectables label (RCA 07863 54003-2 USA; Collectables COL-CD-6293 USA). In 2002, a special two-disc "collector's edition" of music from the series was released to coincide with the DVD reissue, containing complete versions of many of the songs from the series only available as snippets on previous releases.
Disc One[11]
Disc Two[11]
The main theme, titled Heaven and Hell, Part 1, but edited from Heaven and Hell Part 1 3rd Movement, was released in the UK as an edited 7" single by BBC Records (Cat No: BBC1). The 7" single did not have the quiet keyboard intro to be found on the full Vangelis LP version originally released in 1975. The B-side of the 7" single was an edited version of Alpha, taken from the Vangelis LP Albedo 0.39.
On August 5, 2011, plans were announced for a sequel to the series, bringing up-to-date special effects and scientific discoveries to the themes and messages of the original series. The new 13-part series, referred to asCosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey, was originally announced to premiere in the 2012–13 United States network television schedule, but a Twitter update from astrophysicistNeil deGrasse Tyson in June 2012 indicated an early 2014 release. Episodes began airing March 9, 2014[12] on theFox Network and the next day onNational Geographic Channel.[13] The new series was hosted by Tyson and produced by the two surviving original creators,Ann Druyan andSteven Soter, withSeth MacFarlane.[14] Another sequel series from the same team (with Tyson again hosting),Cosmos: Possible Worlds, premiered on March 9, 2020, onNational Geographic.[15]
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