Cosmos Returning To Television in 2014 With Neil deGrassi Tyson.

[Suzy]

From facebook page "Penny4NASA"....

"As many of you have probably heard by now, Cosmos is coming back to television. FOX has just announced that, sometime in 2014, Cosmos: A Space-Time Odyssey, will hit the airwaves. This time, the series will be hosted by Neil deGrasse Tyson, working with original creators Ann Druyan and Steven Soter with Seth MacFarlane of Family Guy fame producing. While MacFarlane may seem like an odd fit, he is actually a personal friend of Ann Druyan, a childhood fan of Cosmos: A Personal Voyage, and an advocate of space travel. He also personally provided the funding to have 800 boxes of Sagan's notes and letters preserved in the Library of Congress. It was through MacFarlane's clout with FOX Network that Druyan was able to meet the network heads and get the series approved.

The aim of the show, much like the original series, will be to introduce a general audience to the wonders of science. Tyson has stated that his intention is not to teach textbook science, which won't stick with many people after the show, but to present science in a way that has meaning and that can influence the audience's conduct in their everyday life. And, rest assured, he has confirmed that “vehicles of storytelling” in the same vein as Sagan's Spaceship of the Imagination will be used."


Officially announced on Monday by Fox for a 13 episode series.

This is such great news! I can't think of anyone better than NDT to do this job and re-wear Carl Sagan's cap. IMO Neil's got the charisma, the smooth voice you could listen to hours for, he's highly respected with a legion of fans out there, and I think he'll add a bit of pizazz with his terrific humour. He is one engaging and entertaining man!

http://www.theverge.com/2013/5/13/43...to-fox-in-2014

[sjastro]

Suzy,

No Brian Cox?

Regards

Steven

[Suzy]

LOL Steven, I actually think NDT is a better person for this job than Brian.
Brian is out of his league where NDT is concerned.
While I do think that Brian is a terrific presenter who explains things so well while remaining very easy on the eye, NDT commands my respect in every aspect- he's much better qualified than Brian. I've been a huge fan of NDT for the last few years. He is just so engaging too! Okay... and he's gorgeous too there I said it, I can't help myself . Infact, I love NDT more than Brian hehe there's a surprise for you .

[allan gould]

Personally I don't like de Grassi as a populariser of astronomy. Find him very thin and torpid.

[LewisM]

Agree completely Allan. He's too shallow for me, but am sure he will appeal to the masses.

Sagan was incredible - when Cosmos was first on TV all those years ago, it inspired me SO deeply into astronomy. I STILL have my original VCR recordings of Cosmos!

I think I'd rather Stephen Hawkins computer voice than NDT. Sorry Suzy, he's grating IMHO.

[sjastro]

If the objective is to sell science to the general public, then Neil deGrassi Tyson is the man for the job.

Sagan's Cosmos existed in an era when mainstream science was not under the sustained assault as it is today by young earth creationism, geocentricism, intelligent design, electric universe and a host of other crank movements.
Apart from spreading their own brand of nonsense is the deliberate campaign of misinformation on mainstream science.

Sagan could afford to present Cosmos in a fairly intellectual format in his day, but whether this would be effective now is debatable.

Regards

Steven

[LewisM]

I just found this pertinent post:

http://www.laughload.com/the-thor-yo...-zv1mc2kf.html



Sort of asserts your point Steven - times and perceptions have changed.

[Steffen]

NDT is not torpid You should have seen him On The Verge, he was like a ball of flubber

If you want to take a look: http://www.theverge.com/2012/3/28/29...degrasse-tyson

Seem to me like he could be a great TV personality.

Cheers
Steffen.

[sjastro]

Originally Posted by LewisM

I just found this pertinent post:

http://www.laughload.com/the-thor-yo...-zv1mc2kf.html



Sort of asserts your point Steven - times and perceptions have changed.

A good example Lewis.

Carl Sagan might have expressed this way, "Due to the ultra dense state of degenerate matter as a result of Pauli's exclusion principle, the weight of a given volume of degenerate neutron star matter is much higher than terrestrial material."

Given we now need to express Neutron star material in terms of Thor's hammer and 300 billion elephants is a sign of the times.

Regards

Steven

[Irish stargazer (John)]

The new Cosmos 2014 has a hard act to follow. It was not just Sagans ability to communicate scientific concepts with an elegant and poetic style and to convey our oneness with the universe. It was the combination of many things that made it unique and special, a great story beautifully filmed and a wonderful collection of exquisite music.
I wonder if Vangelis has been asked to score some or all of the new series.

[Ric]

Thanks for the heads up Suzy, I'll be looking forward to that one.

[Mariposa (Amalia)]

Excellent choice, NDT has the passion and charisma to attract the masses. He has his unique way of explaining complex science matters in an easy and (twisted) funny sort of way. I don't think it would be fair to compare him to Carl Sagan in any sort of way, they are totally different and belong to different times.

As much as I like Brian Cox, he puts me to sleep every time I watch his shows, maybe is that dreamy voice.....don't know.

[bigjoe (JOSEPH)]

Ive actually seen NDT come out of hibernation and when he does he can surprise. Unlike the always soporific Cox.I like his voice and syyle more as do a lot of people I know.
Carl himself had been accused of a puffin somethin odd,always very at ease and easy to listen to.
So it remains to be seen whether he will be a better presenter than Cox, and I believe he will.

[Nortilus (Josh)]

If he sticks to the script he will do fine...cause during live events, he goes off in to many tangents to follow...

[bigjoe (JOSEPH)]

Originally Posted by Nortilus

If he sticks to the script he will do fine...cause during live events, he goes off in to many tangents to follow...

Hi buddy.
Yes I believe this is probably his last chance to really assert himself on the public.
He does have the voice, passion, appearence and energy to do it he just needs to focus.
Then the torpidity issues will dissappear.

[BPO]

A lot of the people criticising Tyson for not being Sagan are the same people who used to criticise Sagan for being Sagan.

It's easy to understand the hate from some Americans -- in dabates, Tyson routinely destroys the childish creationist lunatics, among others.

[bigjoe (JOSEPH)]

Originally Posted by BPO

A lot of the people criticising Tyson for not being Sagan are the same people who used to criticise Sagan for being Sagan.

It's easy to understand the hate from some Americans -- in dabates, Tyson routinely destroys the childish creationist lunatics, among others.

Maybe thats been his main problem all along.The bible belt in America would like him to politely leave there screens.Nows his chance!

[entity62]

Here is a preview.
http://earthsky.org/space/official-t...ease-of-cosmos

[AstroJunk (Jonathan)]

Don't like him. He's a Pluto denier and I just can't get past it...

[BPO]

Originally Posted by AstroJunk

Don't like him. He's a Pluto denier and I just can't get past it...

Pluto's just another trans-Neptunian object, a tiny ball of icy rubble, and not even the biggest of those. Accept it and move on.