| Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Science documentary |
| Based on | |
| Written by | Ann Druyan Steven Soter |
| Presented by | Neil deGrasse Tyson |
| Composer | Alan Silvestri |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of episodes | 13 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
|
| Producers |
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| Production locations | |
| Cinematography | Bill Pope |
| Editors |
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| Running time | 41–44 minutes[1] |
| Production companies | Cosmos Studios Fuzzy Door Productions Santa Fe Studios |
| Original release | |
| Network | Fox National Geographic |
| Release | March 9 (2014-03-09) – June 8, 2014 (2014-06-08) |
| Related | |
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Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey is a 2014 American sciencedocumentary television series.[2] The show is a follow-up to the 1980 television seriesCosmos: A Personal Voyage, which was presented byCarl Sagan on thePublic Broadcasting Service and is considered a milestone for scientific documentaries. This series was developed to bring back the foundation of science to network television at the height of other scientific-based television series and films. The show is presented by astrophysicistNeil deGrasse Tyson, who, as a young high school student, was inspired by Sagan. Among the executive producers areSeth MacFarlane, whose financial investment was instrumental in bringing the show to broadcast television, andAnn Druyan, a co-author and co-creator of the original television series and Sagan's widow.[3] The show is produced byBrannon Braga, andAlan Silvestri composed the score.[4]
The series loosely follows the same thirteen-episode format and storytelling approach that the originalCosmos used, including elements such as the "Ship of the Imagination" and the "Cosmic Calendar", but features information updated since the 1980 series, along with extensive computer-generated graphics and animation footage augmenting the narration.
The series premiered on March 9, 2014,[5] simultaneously in the United States across ten21st Century Fox networks. The remainder of the series aired on theFox Network, with theNational Geographic Channel rebroadcasting the episodes the next night with extra content. The series has been rebroadcast internationally in dozens of other countries by local National Geographic and Fox stations. The series concluded on June 8, 2014, with home media release of the entire series on June 10, 2014.Cosmos has been critically praised, winning several television broadcasting awards and aPeabody Award for educational content.
A sequel series,Cosmos: Possible Worlds, premiered on March 9, 2020, onNational Geographic.[6]
The original 13-partCosmos: A Personal Voyage first aired in 1980 on thePublic Broadcasting Service, and was hosted byCarl Sagan. The show 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".[7] The show has been watched by at least 400 million people across 60 countries,[7] and until the 1990 documentaryThe Civil War, remained the network's highest rated program.[8]
Following Sagan's death in 1996, his widowAnn Druyan, the co-creator of the originalCosmos series along withSteven Soter, and astrophysicistNeil deGrasse Tyson sought to create a new version of the series, aimed to appeal to as wide an audience as possible and not just to those interested in the sciences. They had struggled for years with reluctant television networks that failed to see the broad appeal of the show.[7]
Seth MacFarlane had met Druyan through Tyson at the 2008 kickoff event for theScience & Entertainment Exchange, a new Los Angeles office of theNational Academy of Sciences, designed to connect Hollywood writers and directors with scientists.[9] A year later, at a 2009 lunch in New York City with Tyson, MacFarlane learned of their interest to re-createCosmos. He was influenced byCosmos as a child, believing thatCosmos served to "[bridge] the gap between the academic community and the general public".[9] At the time MacFarlane told Tyson, "I'm at a point in my career where I have some disposable income ... and I'd like to spend it on something worthwhile."[10] MacFarlane had considered the reduction of effort for space travel in recent decades to be part of "our culture of lethargy".[7]
With the production team on board, Tyson brought the project to philanthropistsDaniel Rose andJoanna Semel Rose, who agreed to fund production of the initial segment through their charitable foundation, with any financial returns to be donated to theAmerican Museum of Natural History. With the first episode finished, MacFarlane, who had several series on the Fox network, was able to bring Druyan to meet the heads of Fox programming, Peter Rice andKevin Reilly, and helped secure the greenlighting of the show and the balance of its production cost.[7] MacFarlane admits that he is "the least essential person in this equation" and the effort is a departure from work he's done before, but considers this to be "very comfortable territory for me personally".[7] He and Druyan have become close friends, and Druyan stated that she believed that Sagan and MacFarlane would have been "kindred spirits" with their respective "protean talents".[7] In June 2012, MacFarlane provided funding to allow about 800 boxes of Sagan's personal notes and correspondences to be donated to theLibrary of Congress.[9]
In aPoint of Inquiry interview, Tyson discussed their goal of capturing the "spirit of the originalCosmos", which he describes as "uplifting themes that called people to action".[11] Druyan describes the themes of wonder and skepticism they are infusing into the scripts, in an interview withSkepticality, "In order for it to qualify on our show it has to touch you. It still has to be rigorously good science—no cutting corners on that. But then, it also has to be that equal part skepticism and wonder both."[12] In aBig Picture Science interview, Tyson credits the success of the original series for the proliferation of science programming, "The task for the next generation ofCosmos is a little bit different because I don't need to teach you textbook science. There's a lot of textbook science in the originalCosmos, but that's not what you remember most. What most people who remember the original series remember most is the effort to present science in a way that has meaning to you that can influence your conduct as a citizen of the nation and of the world—especially of the world." Tyson states that the new series will contain both new material and updated versions of topics in the original series, but primarily, will service the "needs of today's population". "We want to make a program that is not simply a sequel to the first, but issues forth from the times in which we are making it, so that it matters to those who is this emergent 21st century audience."[13] Tyson considered that recent successes of science-oriented shows likeThe Big Bang Theory andCSI: Crime Scene Investigation, along with films likeGravity, showed that "science has become mainstream" and expectsCosmos "will land on hugely fertile ground".[10]
Tyson spoke about the "love-hate relationship" viewers had with the original series' Spaceship of the Imagination, but confirmed during production that they were developing "vehicles of storytelling".[11] Tyson affirmed that defining elements of the original series, such as the Spaceship of the Imagination and the Cosmic Calendar with improved special effects, as well as new elements, would be present. Animation for these sequences was ultimately created by a team hand-picked by MacFarlane for the series.[10]Kara Vallow developed and produced the animation, and the animation studio used wasSix Point Harness in Los Angeles, California.[14] The sound of the Spaceship of the Imagination, and sound design in general, was created by Rick Steele, who said of the show: "Cosmos has been, by far, the most challenging show of my career."[15] The updated Spaceship was designed to "remain timeless and very simple", according to MacFarlane, using the ceiling to project future events and the floor for those in the past, to allow Tyson, as the host, to "take [the viewer] to the places that he's talking about".[16]
| No. | Title | Directed by | Original release date | Prod. code | US viewers (millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Standing Up in the Milky Way" | Brannon Braga | March 9, 2014 (2014-03-09) | 101 | 5.77[17] |
.png) Tyson opens the episode to reflect on the importance of Sagan's originalCosmos, and the goals of this series. He introduces the viewer to the "Ship of the Imagination", the show's narrative device to explore the universe's past, present, and future. Tyson takes the viewer to show where Earth sits in the scope of theknown universe, defining the Earth's "address" within theVirgo Supercluster. Tyson explains how humanity has not always seen the universe in this manner, and describes the hardships and persecution ofRenaissance ItalianGiordano Bruno in challenging the prevailinggeocentric model held by theCatholic Church. To show Bruno'svision of the cosmic order he uses an animated adaptation of theFlammarion engraving, a 19th century illustration that has now become a common meme for the revealing of the mysteries of the Universe. The episode continues onto the scope of time, using the concept of theCosmic Calendar as used in the original series to provide a metaphor for this scale. The narration describes how if theBig Bang occurred on January 1, all of humankind's recorded history would be compressed into the last few seconds of the last minute on December 31. Tyson concludes the episode by recounting how Sagan inspired him as a student as well as his other contributions to the scientific community. | |||||
| 2 | "Some of the Things That Molecules Do" | Bill Pope | March 16, 2014 (2014-03-16) | 102 | 4.95[18] |
 The episode covers several facets of the origin of life andevolution. Tyson describes bothartificial selection viaselective breeding, using the example of humankind's domestication of wolves into dogs, andnatural selection that created species like polar bears. Tyson uses the Ship of the Imagination to show howDNA,genes, andmutation work, and how these led to the diversity of species as represented by theTree of life, including how complex organs such as theeye came about as a common element. Tyson describesextinction of species and the five greatextinction events that wiped out numerous species on Earth, while some species, such as thetardigrade, were able to survive and continue life. Tyson speculates on the possibility of life on other planets, such as Saturn's moon,Titan, as well as howabiogenesis may have originatedlife on Earth. The episode concludes with an animation from the originalCosmos showing the evolution of life from a single cell to humankind today. | |||||
| 3 | "When Knowledge Conquered Fear" | Brannon Braga | March 23, 2014 (2014-03-23) | 103 | 4.25[19] |
%2c_title%2c_p._5%2c_color.jpg) Tyson then relates the collaboration betweenEdmond Halley andIsaac Newton in the last part of the 17th century inCambridge. The collaboration would result in the publication ofPhilosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica, the first major work to describe the laws of physics in mathematical terms, despite objections and claims of plagiarism fromRobert Hooke and financial difficulties of theRoyal Society of London. Tyson explains how this work challenged the prevailing notion that God had planned out the heavens, but would end up influencing many factors of modern life, includingspace flight. Tyson describes Halley's contributions based on Newton's work, including determiningEarth's distance to the Sun, themotion of stars and predicting the orbit of then-unnamedHalley's Comet using Newton's laws. Tyson contrasts these scientific approaches to understanding the galaxy compared to what earlier civilizations had done, and considers this advancement as humankind's first steps into exploring the universe. The episode ends with an animation of the Milky Way andAndromeda galaxies'merging based on the principles of Newton's laws. | |||||
| 4 | "A Sky Full of Ghosts" | Brannon Braga | March 30, 2014 (2014-03-30) | 105 | 3.91[20] |
 Tyson begins the episode by explaining the nature of thespeed of light and how much of what is seen of the observable universe is from light emanated from billions of years in the past. Tyson further explains how modern astronomy has used such analyses viadeep time to identify theBig Bang event and the age of the universe. Tyson proceeds to describe how the work ofIsaac Newton,William Herschel,Michael Faraday, andJames Clerk Maxwell contributed to understanding the nature ofelectromagnetic waves andgravitational force, and how this work led towardsAlbert Einstein'sTheory of Relativity, that the speed of light is a fundamental constant of the universe and gravity can be seen as distortion of the fabric of spacetime. Tyson describes the concept ofdark stars as postulated byJohn Michell which are not visible but detectable by tracking other stars trapped within theirgravity wells, an idea Herschel used to discoverbinary stars. Tyson then describes the nature ofblack holes, their enormous gravitational forces that can even capture light, and their discovery viaX-ray sources such asCygnus X-1. Tyson uses the Ship of Imagination to provide a postulate of the warping ofspacetime andtime dilation as one enters theevent horizon of the black hole, and the possibility that these may lead to other points within our universe or others, or even time travel. Tyson ends on noting that Herschel's son,John would be inspired by his father to continue todocument the known stars as well as contributions towardsphotography that play on the same nature of deep time used by astronomers. Animated sequences in this episode feature caricatures of William and John Herschel;Patrick Stewart provided the voice for William in these segments. | |||||
| 5 | "Hiding in the Light" | Bill Pope | April 6, 2014 (2014-04-06) | 104 | 3.98[21] |
 This episode explores thewave theory of light as studied by humankind, noting that light has played an important role in scientific progress, with such early experiments from over 2000 years ago involving thecamera obscura by the Chinese philosopherMozi. Tyson describes the work of the 11th century Arabic scientistIbn al-Haytham, considered to be one of the first to postulate on the nature of light and optics leading to the concept of thetelescope, as well as one of the first researchers to use thescientific method. Tyson proceeds to discuss the nature of light as discovered by humankind. Work byIsaac Newton usingdiffraction throughprisms demonstrated that light was composed of thevisible spectrum, while findings ofWilliam Herschel in the 19th century showed that light also consisted ofinfrared rays.Joseph von Fraunhofer would later come to discover that by magnifying the spectrum of visible light, gaps in the spectrum would be observed. TheseFraunhofer lines would later be determined to be caused by the absorption of light byelectrons in moving betweenatomic orbitals (in the show illustrated by thede Broglie model) when it passed through atoms, with each atom having a characteristic signature due to thequantum nature of these orbitals. This since has led to the core ofastronomical spectroscopy, allowing astronomers to make observations about the composition of stars, planets, and other stellar features through the spectral lines, as well as observing the motion and expansion of the universe, and the hypothesized existence ofdark matter. | |||||
| 6 | "Deeper, Deeper, Deeper Still" | Bill Pope | April 13, 2014 (2014-04-13) | 106 | 3.49[22] |
 This episode looks to the nature of the cosmos on the micro and atomic scales, using the Ship of the Imagination to explore these realms. Tyson describes some of the micro-organisms that live within a dew drop, demonstratingparameciums andtardigrades. He proceeds to discuss how plants usephotosynthesis via theirchloroplasts to convert sunlight into chemical reactions that convert carbon dioxide and water into oxygen and energy-rich sugars. Tyson then discusses the nature of molecules and atoms and how they relate to the evolution of species. He uses the example set forth byCharles Darwin postulating the existence of the long-tonguedMorgan's sphinx moth based on the nature of thecomet orchid with pollen far within the flower. He further demonstrates that scents from flowers are used to triggerolfactory centers in the brain, stimulating the mind to threats as to aid in the survival of the species. Tyson narrates how two Greek philosophers contributed to our understanding of science.Thales was among the first thinkers to examine a "universe governed by the order of natural laws that we could actually figure out," andDemocritus postulated that all matter was made up of combinations of atoms in a large number of configurations. He then describes howcarbon forms the basic building block for life on Earth due to its unique chemical nature. Tyson explains the basic atomic structure ofprotons,neutrons, andelectrons, and the process ofnuclear fusion that occurs in most stars that can overcome theelectrostatic forces that normally keeps atoms from touching each other. He then discusses the existence ofneutrinos that are created by these nuclear processes, and that typically pass through all matter, making them virtually undetectable. He explains how subterranean water pool facilities lined with special detectors like theSuper-Kamiokande are used to detect neutrinos when they collide with water molecules, and how neutrinos from supernovaSN 1987A in theLarge Magellanic Cloud were detected three hours before thephotons of light from the explosion were observed due to the neutrinos' ability to pass through matter of the dying star. Tyson concludes by noting that there are neutrinos from theBig Bang still existing in the universe but due to the nature of light, there is a "wall of infinity" that cannot be observed beyond. | |||||
| 7 | "The Clean Room" | Brannon Braga | April 20, 2014 (2014-04-20) | 107 | 3.74[24] |
 This episode is centered around how science, in particular the work ofClair Patterson (voiced in animated sequences byRichard Gere[23]) in the middle of the 20th century, was able to determine theage of the Earth. Tyson first describes how the Earth was formed from the coalescence of matter some millions of years after the formation of the Sun, and while scientists can examine the formations inrock stratum to date some geological events, these can only trace back millions of years. Instead, scientists have used the debris from meteor impacts, such as theMeteor Crater in Arizona, knowing that the material from such meteors coming from theasteroid belt would have been made at the same time as the Earth. Tyson then outlines the work Patterson did as a graduate under his adviserHarrison Brown to provide an accurate count of lead inzircon particles from Meteor Crater, and to work with similar results being collected byGeorge Tilton on uranium counts; with the establishedhalf-life of uranium'sradioactive decay to lead, this would be used to estimate the age of the Earth. Patterson found that his results were contaminated by lead from the ambient environment, compared to Tilton's results, and required the construction of the first ultra-highcleanroom to remove all traces of environmental lead. With these clean results, Patterson was able to estimate the age of the Earth to 4.5 billion years. Tyson goes on to explain that Patterson's work in performing lead-free experiments directed him to investigate the sources for lead. Tyson notes how lead does not naturally occur at Earth's surface but has been readily mined by humans (including theRoman Empire), and thatlead is poisonous to humans. Patterson examined the levels of lead in the common environment and in deeper parts of the oceans andAntarctic ice, showing that lead had only been brought to the surface in recent times. He would discover that the higher levels of lead were from the use oftetraethyllead in leaded gasoline, despite long-established claims byRobert A. Kehoe and others that this chemical was safe. Patterson would continue to campaign against the use of lead, ultimately resulting in government-mandated restrictions on the use of lead. Tyson ends by noting that similar work by scientists continues to be used to help alert humankind to other fateful issues that can be identified by the study of nature. | |||||
| 8 | "Sisters of the Sun" | Brannon Braga | April 27, 2014 (2014-04-27) | 108 | 3.66[25] |
 This episode provides an overview of the composition of stars, and their fate in billions of years. Tyson describes how early humans would identify stars via the use ofconstellations that tied in with various myths and beliefs, such as thePleiades. Tyson describes the work ofEdward Charles Pickering to capture the spectra of multiple stars simultaneously, and the work of theHarvard Computers or "Pickering's Harem", a team of women researchers under Pickering's mentorship, to catalog the spectra. This team includedAnnie Jump Cannon, who developed thestellar classification system, andHenrietta Swan Leavitt, who discovered the means to measure the distance from a star to the Earth by its spectra, later used to identify other galaxies in the universe. Later, this team includedCecilia Payne, who would develop a good friendship with Cannon; Payne's thesis based on her work with Cannon was able to determine the composition and temperature of the stars, collaborating with Cannon's classification system. Tyson then explains the lifecycle of stars, being borne out frominterstellar clouds. He explains how stars like theSun keep their size due to the conflicting forces of gravity that pulls the gases in, and the expansion from escaping gases from the fusion reactions at its core. As the Sun ages, it will grow hotter and brighter to the point where the balance between these reactions will fail, causing the Sun to first expand into ared giant, and then collapse into awhite dwarf, the collapse limited bythe atomic forces. Tyson explains how larger stars may form even more collapsed forms of matter, creatingnovas andsupernovas depending on their size and leading topulsars. Massive stars can collapse intoblack holes. Tyson then describes that stars can only be so large, using the example ofEta Carinae which is considered an unstable solar mass that could become ahypernova in the relatively near future. Tyson ends describing how all matter on Earth is the same stuff that stars are made of, and that light and energy from the stars is what drives life on Earth. | |||||
| 9 | "The Lost Worlds of Planet Earth" | Brannon Braga | May 4, 2014 (2014-05-04) | 110 | 4.08[26] |
 This episode explores thepalaeogeography of Earth over millions of years, and its impact on the development of life on the planet. Tyson starts by explaining that thelignin-rich trees evolved in theCarboniferous period about 300 million years ago, were not edible by species at the time and would instead fall over and become carbon-richcoal. Some 50 million years later, near the end of thePermian period, volcanic activity would burn the carbonaceous matter, releasing carbon dioxide and acidic components, creating a suddengreenhouse gas effect that warmed the oceans andreleased methane from the ocean beds, all leading towards thePermian–Triassic extinction event, killing 90% of the species on Earth. Tyson then explains the nature ofplate tectonics that would shape the landmasses of the world. Tyson explains how scientists likeAbraham Ortelius hypothesized the idea that land masses may have been connected in the past,Alfred Wegener who hypothesized the idea of a super-continentPangaea andcontinental drift despite the prevailing idea of flooded land-bridges at the time, andBruce C. Heezen andMarie Tharp who discovered theMid-Atlantic Ridge that supported the theory of plate tectonics. Tyson describes how the landmasses of the Earth lay atop themantle, which moves due to the motion and heat of the Earth'souter andinner core. Tyson moves on to explain the asteroid impact that initiated theCretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, leaving small mammals as the dominant species on Earth. Tyson proceeds to describe more recent geologic events such as the formation of theMediterranean Sea due to the breaking of the natural dam at theStrait of Gibraltar, and how the geologic formation of theIsthmus of Panama broke the free flow of the Atlantic Ocean into the Pacific, causing large-scale climate change such as turning the bulk of Africa from lush grasslands into arid plains and further influencing evolution towards tree-climbing mammals. Tyson further explains how the influence of other planets in the Solar System have small effects on theEarth's rotation andaxial tilt, creating the variousice ages, and how these changes influenced early human's nomadic behavior. Tyson concludes the episode by noting how Earth's landmasses are expected to change in the future and postulates what may be the next great extinction event. | |||||
| 10 | "The Electric Boy" | Bill Pope | May 11, 2014 (2014-05-11) | 109 | 3.46[27] |
 This episode provides an overview of the nature ofelectromagnetism, as discovered through the work ofMichael Faraday. Tyson explains how the idea of another force of nature, similar to gravitational forces, had been postulated by Isaac Newton before. Tyson continues on Faraday, coming from poor beginnings, would end up becoming interested in studyingelectricity after reading books and seeing lectures byHumphry Davy at theRoyal Institution. Davy would hire Faraday after seeing extensive notes he had taken to act as his secretary and lab assistant. After Davy and chemistWilliam Hyde Wollaston unsuccessfully tried to build onHans Christian Ørsted's discovery of the electromagnetic phenomena to harness the ability to create motion from electricity, Faraday was able to create his own device to create the firstelectric motor by applying electricity aligned along a magnet. Davy, bitter over Faraday's breakthrough, put Faraday on the task of improving the quality of high-quality optical glass, preventing Faraday from continuing his research. Faraday, undeterred, continued to work in the Royal Institution, and created theChristmas Lectures designed to teach science to children. Following Davy's death, Faraday returned to full time efforts studying electromagnetism, creating the firstelectrical generator by inserting a magnet in a coil of wires. Tyson continues to note that despite losing some of his mental capacity, Faraday concluded that electricity and magnetism were connected by unseen fields, and postulated that light may also be tied to these forces. Using a sample of the optical glass that Davy had him make, Faraday discovered that an applied magnetic field could affect thepolarization of light passing through the glass sample (adielectric material), leading to what is called theFaraday effect and connecting these three forces. Faraday postulated that these fields existed across the planet, which would later be calledEarth's magnetic field generated by the rotating molten ironinner core, as well as the phenomena that caused the planets to rotate around the Sun. Faraday's work was initially rejected by the scientific community due to his lack of mathematical support, butJames Clerk Maxwell would later come to rework Faraday's theories into theMaxwell's equations that validated Faraday's theories. Their combined efforts created the basis of science that drives the principles of modern communications today. | |||||
| 11 | "The Immortals" | Brannon Braga | May 18, 2014 (2014-05-18) | 111 | 3.24[28] |
 This episode covers how life may have developed on Earth and the possibility of life on other planets. Tyson begins by explaining how the human development of writing systems enabled the transfer of information through generations, describing howPrincess Enheduanna ca. 2280 BC would be one of the first to sign her name to her works, and howGilgamesh collected stories, including that ofUtnapishtim documenting agreat flood comparable to the story ofNoah's Ark. Tyson explains howDNA similarly records information to propagate life, and postulates theories of how DNA originated on Earth, includingevolution from a shallow tide pool, or from theejecta of meteor collisions from other planets. In the latter case, Tyson explains how comparing the composition of theNakhla meteorite in 1911 to results collected by theViking program demonstrated that material from Mars could transit to Earth, and the ability of somemicrobes to survive the harsh conditions of space. With the motions of solar systems through the galaxy over billions of years, life could conceivably propagate from planet to planet in the same manner. Tyson then moves on to consider if life on other planets could exist. He explains howProject Diana performed in the 1940s showed that radio waves are able to travel in space, and that all of humanity's broadcast signals continue to radiate into space from our planet. Tyson notes that projects have since looked for similar signals potentially emanating from other solar systems. Tyson then explains that the development and lifespan of extraterrestrial civilizations must be considered for such detection to be realized. He notes that civilizations can be wiped out by cosmic events like supernovae, natural disasters such as theToba disaster, or even self-destruct through war or other means, making probability estimates difficult. Tyson describes howelliptical galaxies, in which some of the oldestred dwarf stars exist, would offer the best chance of finding established civilizations. Tyson concludes that human intelligence properly applied should allow our species to avoid such disasters and enable us to migrate beyond the Earth before the Sun's eventual transformation into ared giant. Princess Enheduanna's animation is modeled on CNN'sChristiane Amanpour, who also did Enheduanna's voice. | |||||
| 12 | "The World Set Free" | Brannon Braga | June 1, 2014 (2014-06-01) | 112 | 3.52[29] |
 This episode explores the nature of thegreenhouse effect (discovered byJoseph Fourier andSvante Arrhenius), and the evidence demonstrating the existence ofglobal warming from humanity's influence. Tyson begins by describing the long-term history of the planet Venus; based on readings from theVenera series of probes to the planet, the planet once had an ocean and an atmosphere, but due to the release ofcarbon dioxide fromvolcanic eruptions, therunaway greenhouse effect on Venus caused the surface temperatures to increase and boiled away the oceans. Tyson then notes the delicate nature of the amount ofcarbon dioxide in the atmosphere can influence Earth'sclimate due to the greenhouse effect, and that levels of carbon dioxide have been increasing since the start of the 20th century. Evidence has shown this to be from humankind'sconsumption ofoil, coal, andgas instead of from volcanic eruptions due to theisotopic signature of the carbon dioxide. The increase in carbon dioxide has led to an increase in temperatures, in turn leading topositive feedback loops of the melting polar ice caps and dethawing of thepermafrost to increase carbon dioxide levels. Tyson then notes that humans have discovered means of harvestingsolar power, such asAugustin Mouchot's solar-driven motor in the 19th century, andFrank Shuman's solar-based steam generator in the 1910s. Tyson points out that in both cases, the economics and ease of using cheap coal and oil caused these inventions to be overlooked at the time. Today, solar and wind-power systems would be able to collect enough solar energy from the sun easily. Tyson then compares the motivation for switching to these cleaner forms of energy to the efforts of theSpace race and emphasizes that it is not too late for humanity to correct its course. | |||||
| 13 | "Unafraid of the Dark" | Ann Druyan | June 8, 2014 (2014-06-08) | 113 | 3.09[30] |
.png) Tyson begins the episode by noting how thedestruction of the Library of Alexandria lost much of humanity's knowledge to that point. He then contrasts on the strive for humanity to continue to discover new facts about the universe and the need to not close off further discovery. Tyson then proceeds to describe the discovery ofcosmic rays byVictor Hess through high-altitude balloon trips, where radiation increased the farther one was from the surface.SwissAstronomerFritz Zwicky, in studyingsupernovae, postulated that these cosmic rays originated from these events instead of electromagnetic radiation. Zwicky would continue to study supernovae, and by looking atstandard candles that they emitted, estimated the movement of the galaxies in the universe. His calculations suggested that there must be more mass in the universe than those apparent in the observable galaxies, and called thisdark matter. Initially forgotten, Zwicky's theory was confirmed by the work ofVera Rubin, who observed that the rotation of stars at the edges of observable galaxies did not follow expected rotational behavior without considering dark matter. This further led to the proposal ofdark energy as a viable theory to account for the universe's increasing rate of expansion. Tyson then describes the interstellar travel, using the twoVoyager probes. Besides the abilities to identify several features on the planets of the Solar System,Voyager I was able to recently demonstrate the existence of the Sun's variableheliosphere which helps buffer the Solar System frominterstellar winds. Tyson describes Carl Sagan's role in the Voyager program, including creating theVoyager Golden Record to encapsulate humanity and Earth's position in the universe, and convincing the program directors to haveVoyager I to take a picture of Earth from beyond the orbit of Neptune, creating the image of thePale Blue Dot. Tyson concludes the series by emphasizingSagan's message on the human condition in the vastness of the cosmos, and to encourage viewers to continue to explore and discover what else the universe has to offer. The series concludes with the empty-seated Ship of the Imagination leaving Earth and traveling through space as Tyson looks on from planet Earth. | |||||
In August 2011, the show was officially announced for primetime broadcast in the spring of 2014. The show is a co-production of Druyan's Cosmos Studios, MacFarlane'sFuzzy Door Productions, andNational Geographic Channel; Druyan, MacFarlane, Cosmos Studios' Mitchell Cannold, and director Brannon Braga are the executive producers.[32]
Fox's CEO Kevin Reilly considered that the show would be a risk and outside the network's typical programming, but that "we believe this can have the same massive cultural impact that the original series delivered," and committed the network's resources to the show.[32] The show would first be broadcast on Fox, re-airing the same night on theNational Geographic Channel.[32]
In Canada, it was broadcast simultaneously onGlobal,National Geographic Channel andNat Geo Wild.[33] A preview of the show's first episode was aired for student filmmakers at theWhite House Student Film Festival on February 28, 2014.[34]
Cosmos premiered simultaneously in the US across tenFox networks:Fox,FX,FXX,FXM,Fox Sports 1,Fox Sports 2,National Geographic Channel,Nat Geo WILD,Nat Geo Mundo, andFox Life. According to Fox Networks, this was the first time that a TV show was set to premiere in a global simulcast across their network of channels.[35]
The Fox network broadcast averaged about 5.8 million viewers in Nielsen's affiliate-based estimates for the 9 o'clock hour Sunday, as well as a 2.1 rating/5 share in adults 18–49. The under-50 audience was roughly 60% men. Viewing on other networks raised these totals to 8.5 million and a 2.9 rating in the demo, according to Nielsen.[36]
Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey has received highly positive reviews from critics, receiving a weighted average score onMetacritic of 83 out of 100 based on 19 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".[37]
The miniseries won the4th Critics' Choice Television Award for "Best Reality Series", with Tyson awarded for "Best Reality Host".[38] The miniseries was also nominated for "Outstanding Achievement in News and Information" for the30th TCA Awards[39] and 12Emmy Awards, including "Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series".[40][41] The program won the Emmy for "Outstanding Writing for Nonfiction Programming" and "Outstanding Sound Editing for Nonfiction Programming (Single or Multi-Camera)", and Silvestri won the Emmys for both "Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music" and "Outstanding Music Composition for a Series (Original Dramatic Score)".[42] The series won a 2014Peabody Award within the Education category.[43] In 2014, theCommittee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSICOP) presentedCosmos with the Robert B. Balles Prize in Critical Thinking. "Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey opened the eyes of a new generation to humanity's triumphs, its mistakes, and its astounding potential to reach unimagined heights."[44]
The new miniseries has been criticized by someChristians and thereligious right for some of the things stated during the show.[45]Christian fundamentalists were upset that the scientific theories covered in the show opposed theGenesis creation narrative.[46] TheCatholic League was upset over their claim that the science show smearsCatholicism. A spokesman for the League noted how the show focused onGiordano Bruno, whom the Catholic Church turned over to secular authorities to be burnt at the stake for blasphemy, immoral conduct, practice of hermeticism, and heresy in matters of dogmatic theology, in addition to some of the basic doctrines of his philosophy and cosmology, and claimed that the show "skippedCopernicus andGalileo—two far more consequential men in proving and disseminating theheliocentric theory", further claiming that "in their cases, the Church's role was much more complicated".[47]
Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey was released on Blu-ray and DVD on June 10, 2014[48] by20th Century Fox Home Entertainment. The set contains all 13 episodes, plus an audio commentary on the first episode, and three featurettes: "Celebrating Carl Sagan: A Selection from the Library of Congress Dedication", "Cosmos at Comic-Con 2013" and "Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey – The Voyage Continues". Exclusive to the Blu-ray version is the interactiveCosmic Calendar.[49]
Four albums ofAlan Silvestri's score were released digitally in 2014.Intrada Records released limited physical editions with additional tracks in 2017.
| Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey—Original Soundtrack Volume 1 | |
|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by Alan Silvestri | |
| Released | March 3, 2014 (2014-03-03) |
| Genre | Soundtrack |
| Length | 43:33 |
| Label | Cosmos Studios Music |
| Producer | Alan Silvestri |
| Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey—Original Music from the TV Series Volume 1 | |
|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by Alan Silvestri | |
| Released | 2017 (2017) |
| Genre | Soundtrack |
| Length | 48:31 |
| Label | Intrada Records |
| Producer | Alan Silvestri |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Cosmos Main Title" | 1:38 |
| 2. | "Come With Me" | 2:02 |
| 3. | "The Cosmos Is Yours" | 6:25 |
| 4. | "Virgo Supercluster" | 4:06 |
| 5. | "Multiverse" | 2:11 |
| 6. | "Giordano Bruno" | 2:40 |
| 7. | "Revelation of Immensity" | 3:59 |
| 8. | "The Inquisition" | 3:36 |
| 9. | "The Staggering Immensity of Time" | 2:14 |
| 10. | "Star Stuff" | 4:14 |
| 11. | "Chance Nature of Existence" | 3:28 |
| 12. | "New Year's Eve" | 3:50 |
| 13. | "Our Journey Is Just Beginning" | 3:04 |
| Total length: | 43:33 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 14. | "Venus" | 2:50 |
| 15. | "Cosmos Main Title – Alternate" | 1:54 |
| Total length: | 48:31 | |
| Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey—Original Soundtrack Volume 2 | |
|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by Alan Silvestri | |
| Released | March 30, 2014 (2014-03-30) |
| Genre | Soundtrack |
| Length | 41:38 |
| Label | Cosmos Studios Music |
| Producer | Alan Silvestri |
| Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey—Original Music from the TV Series Volume 2 | |
|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by Alan Silvestri | |
| Released | 2017 (2017) |
| Genre | Soundtrack |
| Length | 48:20 |
| Label | Intrada Records |
| Producer | Alan Silvestri |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "S.O.T.I." | 1:31 |
| 2. | "You and Me and Your Dog" | 2:28 |
| 3. | "Interspecies Partnership" | 2:25 |
| 4. | "Artificial Selection" | 3:10 |
| 5. | "Living in an Ice Age" | 1:10 |
| 6. | "Genetic Alphabet" | 2:44 |
| 7. | "Natural Selection" | 3:06 |
| 8. | "Family Tree" | 3:50 |
| 9. | "The Eye" | 3:55 |
| 10. | "Theory of Evolution" | 2:53 |
| 11. | "The Permian Period" | 5:12 |
| 12. | "Tartigrades" | 1:54 |
| 13. | "Titan" | 2:59 |
| 14. | "The Story of My Life" | 3:11 |
| 15. | "4 Billion Years of Evolution" | 1:05 |
| Total length: | 41:38 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 16. | "Interstellar Clouds" | 3:17 |
| 17. | "The Hardships of Space" | 1:39 |
| 18. | "S.O.T.I. – Alternate" | 1:29 |
| Total length: | 48:20 | |
| Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey—Original Soundtrack Volume 3 | |
|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by Alan Silvestri | |
| Released | April 28, 2014 (2014-04-28) |
| Genre | Soundtrack |
| Length | 43:27 |
| Label | Cosmos Studios Music |
| Producer | Alan Silvestri |
| Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey—Original Music from the TV Series Volume 3 | |
|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by Alan Silvestri | |
| Released | 2017 (2017) |
| Genre | Soundtrack |
| Length | 49:38 |
| Label | Intrada Records |
| Producer | Alan Silvestri |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "All That Is or Ever Was or Ever Will Be" | 1:35 |
| 2. | "Halley's Efforts" | 2:57 |
| 3. | "The Speed of Light" | 3:01 |
| 4. | "Physical State of the Stars" | 3:18 |
| 5. | "Ibn Al-Haytham" | 2:10 |
| 6. | "The Way We Live Now" | 3:04 |
| 7. | "The Lead Hearing" | 3:34 |
| 8. | "August, 1684" | 3:31 |
| 9. | "The Rules of Science" | 3:05 |
| 10. | "Mo Tze" | 2:29 |
| 11. | "He Broke Through the Walls of Heaven" | 2:51 |
| 12. | "The Ultimate Green Power" | 4:51 |
| 13. | "Endless Searching" | 4:01 |
| 14. | "Halley's Comet" | 2:55 |
| Total length: | 43:22 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 15. | "Alexandria" | 3:18 |
| 16. | "Egypt, 1913" | 2:42 |
| Total length: | 49:38 | |
| Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey—Original Soundtrack Volume 4 | |
|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by Alan Silvestri | |
| Released | May 28, 2014 (2014-05-28) |
| Genre | Soundtrack |
| Length | 40:44 |
| Label | Cosmos Studios Music |
| Producer | Alan Silvestri |
| Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey—Original Music from the TV Series Volume 4 | |
|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by Alan Silvestri | |
| Released | 2017 (2017) |
| Genre | Soundtrack |
| Length | 48:53 |
| Label | Intrada Records |
| Producer | Alan Silvestri |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "The Pale Blue Dot" | 3:25 |
| 2. | "Duck Soup?" | 3:55 |
| 3. | "Pat Patterson" | 3:07 |
| 4. | "4.5 Billion Years Old" | 4:11 |
| 5. | "Sifting the Stars" | 4:10 |
| 6. | "Stellar Atmospheres" | 4:34 |
| 7. | "What About Us?" | 2:23 |
| 8. | "Adaptable Species" | 2:25 |
| 9. | "Paris, 1878" | 2:38 |
| 10. | "Once There Was a World" | 3:56 |
| 11. | "Islands of Light" | 2:01 |
| 12. | "Sacred Searching" | 1:23 |
| 13. | "Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey - DVD End Credits" | 2:30 |
| Total length: | 40:44 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 14. | "A Billion to One" | 2:16 |
| 15. | "Nobody Human" | 1:57 |
| 16. | "We Hold the Baton" | 3:43 |
| Total length: | 48:53 | |
On January 13, 2018, it was announced that another season titledCosmos: Possible Worlds would debut on Fox and National Geographic channels. It is hosted byNeil deGrasse Tyson and executive produced byAnn Druyan,Seth MacFarlane,Brannon Braga, and Jason Clark.[54][55] On November 7, 2019, it was announced that the sequel series would premiere on National Geographic on March 9, 2020, and would also premiere on Fox later that year.[6]
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