Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey

This was a gift for my husband. He L♥VES it! I think what is more surprising is that I L♥VE it! We were both so taken with the series, that when he saw this, he asked if I would get it for him, as a gift. I didn't hesitate. What I love about this program is that it makes science interesting - fascinating, really. One is learning without being aware that they are LEARNING, if you know what I mean. It's learning via the entertainment route. Neil deGrasse Tyson should get MAJOR kudos [and a medal] for making subject matter that I remember MANY of my generation dreading in school, actually becoming, "must-see t.v." for the kids of this generation! I truly believe that material like this should be a part of mandatory curriculum in schools. What a wonderful aid this would be for teachers! The photography and presentation of material is simply stunning! Neil adds insightful information as well as thought-provoking questions and ideas to the format of the program as well. He TRULY is a rock star! Had THIS series been available to me when I was a youngster, I would have taken more of an interest in science, and I mean that! I think the way that Dr. Tyson explains very complex theories and scientific ideas in a way that is "user friendly", so to speak, coupled with the stellar imagery in each installment, helped to break down the mystery and bridge what was for me, for so long, a massive gap into the appeal of SCIENCE as one's life-work or WHY anyone would want to go into this field. No longer. I get it. Dr. Tyson is a masterful teacher, and I know what that looks like, because I am married to one. ;-) Don't hesitate to buy this! As someone who was NEVER big on science, I can tell you that this is quality viewing! It's fascinating - so glad we can watch it again and again! Worth the price of admission!

I will openly admit, Neil Degrasse Tyson is no Carl Sagan. The original Cosmos was one of the single greatest series every produced for television and a large part of that was due to Carl Sagan. He was just an exceptional speaker and his excitement for astronomy was infectious. That opening 15 minutes of the first episode was simply breathtaking. Here are 2 of my favorite statements made during that opening: “The Cosmos is all that is or was or ever will be. Our contemplations of the Cosmos stir us -- there is a tingling in the spine, a catch in the voice, a faint sensation, as if a distant memory, of falling from a great height. We know we are approaching the greatest of mysteries.” "in a ship of the imagination, unfettered by ordinary limits of speed and size, drawn by the music of cosmic harmonies. It can take us anywhere in space and time. Perfect as a snowflake, organic as a dandelion seed, it will carry us to worlds of dreams and worlds of facts. Come with me. . . ." It wasn't the background or some amazing CGI that made that opening so powerful, it was Carl Sagan's passion and his ability to convey that passion though his incredible speaking ability. I am a HUGE fan of Neil Degrasse Tyson, but he just doesn't convey that same sense of passion that Sagan did. He has a much more monotone method of speaking so you really didn't get that same level of passion or excitement that the original series gave you. That being said, this updated version of Cosmos was still brilliant and Neil Degrasse Tyson did a great job with the series. We have learned so much more since the original Cosmos aired so there was a legitimate need for this updated version. This series was just hugely entertaining, incredibly interesting, and the updated graphics/CGI were absolutely mind bending. These kinds of programs get kids interested in astronomy and this updated version of Cosmos was just a massive success all the way around. The people behind this series, many of which were behind the original series, should be very proud of their accomplishment. Just an outstanding job all the way around. The bottom line - I immediately purchased this as soon as it was made available and have watched it multiple times since then. I am a space junkie and an amateur backyard astronomer and I can never get enough quality space documentaries. This really is a brilliant series all the way around and I can't possibly give it a higher recommendation. I know Sagan would have been 100% satisfied with this updated version and that is really the best compliment I can give this series. In all honesty, this series should be part of every public schools science curriculum. Yes, its that good! 5 Stars.

As someone who is not an expert in the hard sciences, I found this series to be wonderfully enlightening! I loved the way Neil spoke so passionately about our universe! There is a deep sense of awe and respect there. He and Carl Sagan both spoke so poetically, it definitely sparked in me a strong interest in astrophysics as a science and a spirituality. I had read in Carl Sagan's original book that he had written the book and created the series as a way to reach out to the general public and to get us excited about our universe, which I feel he and Ann Druyan and Neil DeGrasse Tyson have accomplished with this series. It helped to have them update the graphics and CGI in these reboot to reach a more cinematically sophisticated audience. There have been some criticisms about this series of Cosmos that I will address here: 1) Animation: I've read that some reviewers thought the animation style was a little low-tech and creepy, and some would've preferred Pixar. I can definitely understand that, although, I found the style to be a balance between something that both adults and children could watch. For me, Pixar would've strayed too far into the kiddie realm. 2) Dumbed down science: I mentioned in the first paragraph that the series and book were originally meant for the lay public, people who aren't experts in the field. Even if some of the information presented is debatable, Neil encourages people to always question what you're being told, which I believe is a huge hallmark of research and exploration in the sciences. 3) Cosmos is pushing anti-religion agenda: I saw only hints of it, but maybe I'm biased because I read Carl Sagan's book first. He does not hold back on his views of religion. Compared to Carl, Neil was extremely mild in the way he presented his view. 4) The only thing I smirked at was the episode where a hot female motorcyclist was used to demonstrate the speed of sound and light. It was slightly cheesy, but easy to overlook. Overall, I think they accomplished what they were going for with this series. If anything, it makes me want to pick up more docu-series and explore more!

I had a n earlier (not BLuRay) version of this set of programs and watched them many, many times. I hope to continue until fashion demands you change formats yet again. I think Tyson does the explanation of the science very well and is endlessly entertaining at the same time.

For those of us that watched the original Cosmos, this has been a long time coming. It is one of the most important programs of the first part of this century. I realize that is a pretty bold statement, but it is easily justified. Cosmos is science for the non-scientific. It is the single best tool I have seen for explaining the wonders and marvels of our universe to the lay person. If you are a scientifically adept person with an average college education, this may, at first, appear to be too simple for you. However, the way in which the ideas and facts are presented will reinforce what you already know. It is a program for all. If you are scientifically ignorant (not a crime, and certainly fixable), you really need to watch this. Bold and brilliant. The show tackles not just the universe and astronomy, but biology, botany, geography, anthropology, and of course a lot of history. How did our planet form? Why does our solar system orbit the center of our galaxy? How did people actual create the current species of dogs that exist today? These and hundreds of other questions are explained in beautiful, amazing graphics that would have been impossible even ten years ago. Do you want to know why the sky is blue or how light, in general works, know is your chance to not only understand, but to understand to the point where you can actually educate others. Relevant and necessary. Like the original series, Cosmos explains our universe. However, it has been updated to to showcase the latest scientific discoveries and cleverly juxtaposes current knowledge with the history of a particular subject. Nothing is old or out-dated. It is new and fresh. Cosmos is also a much needed reprieve from all of the crazy fictional pseudo-science that has been propagating all forms of media over the past few decades. From alien autopsies to young flat earth "scholars," we have been bombarded with imbeciles on a global level. Cosmos takes real science and brings it into peoples' homes. And then there is Neil Degrasse Tyson. One of the things that made the late Carl Sagan a hero to much of the world was his ability to take the complex and explain it. Sagan was also brilliant at debunking crazy ideas that were nothing more that fabricated nonsense. Neil Degrasse Tyson carries on that role and does a more than admirable job of it. Speaking with authority from years of experience and education, he exemplifies how today's scientific community needs to act. There has been a major disconnect between the scientific community and the rest of the world. Cosmos reconnects us all. Reality has a new spokesperson. This is a must for every DVD collection. In fact, I would say it is a must for every household in America, Period!

Content: Certain episodes are triumphs of presentation (particularly the leaded gas and global warming episodes). Others are a bit scattershot and frustrate by jumping around between subjects too quickly. Overall, a very entertaining show that provides a wide survey of current science, the scientific method, and science history. This doesn't go as deep as some documentary shows (such as Brian Greene's Nova specials or Neil Shubin's PBS shows on evolution), but it is a good show for whetting the scientific appetite. The Blu-Ray: Video and audio quality are generally excellent, with loads of fine detail. Black levels do fluctuate a bit, but colors are always vibrant. Outdoor HD shots are typically better than space footage, which shows the most variability in quality. The extras are rather lackluster. Only one episode receives a commentary. The lone making of documentary is pretty good, if a bit self-congratulatory. The interactive cosmic calendar is a waste of time and effort - too cumbersome to enjoy using, not enough content within it. I really would have liked to see deleted scenes, or perhaps additional spotlight documentaries on certain topics. In sum, this is a good buy to get a layperson interested in science. It will entertain but probably not completely satisfy someone who has already delved into the topic matter in other formats.

This is a revival/follow-up to the 1980s Cosmos series created and hosted by Carl Sagan. This series was hosted by Neil deGrasse Tyson, astrophysicist and curator of the Hayden Planetarium in NY, written by Sagan's widow Ann Druyan, who had collaborated with Sagan on the original series, and produced by the creator of Family Guy, Seth McFarlane. There are many similarities and many differences between that series and this one. Like the original series, this one covers many different topics in science, focusing on Astronomy, but covering chemistry, physics, biology, and more. Each episode deals with a different topic, and usually tells the story of one or more scientists that contributed to the field being discussed. The series did not focus on just the "big" names like Newton and Einstein but discussed other scientists and mathematicians like Halley, Hooke, Keppler, etc. In the original series, the stories of the historical figures were told using human actors, but in this series, many of the stories were told using animation and voice actors. I was not a fan of the animations when I first watched the show, but upon a subsequent viewing, they did not really bother me. And, of course, the CGI graphics are orders of magnitude better than what could be accomplished in the original series. For those who get the Blu-Ray, the A/V quality is fantastic. The visuals are fantastic (both the real and the CGI) and the sound is very good. The extras include an audio commentary on the first episode, with Druyan, producer Mitchell Cannold, producer/director Brannon Braga, producer Jason Clark and animation producer Kara Vallow, a 40-minute comic-con panel discussion, a 41-minute making-of documentary, a 35-minute portion of a dedication to Sagan at the Library of Congress, and interactive cosmic calendar. Like Sagan before him, Tyson is able to explain complicated topics in very simple terms without sounding like he is talking down to the audience. Of course, the audience for this series was much larger than that of the original series airing on Fox versus PBS. Even though the series aired at a time when science has been caught in the middle of the idiotic political divide the country has been marred in, for the most the show ignored all that and just presented the scientific fact and ignored science deniers. The one exception is the episode on climate change, which distilled the problem and the cause to to very simplistic terms without hyperbole, and included a clip of an interview from back in the 1960s in which an old guy who is certainly not a part of a "woke" mob and proving that scientists knew that the amount of greenhouse gasses being pumped into the atmosphere back then was a problem. And there were clips from the original Cosmos series in which Sagan described the concerns and what the possible consequences could be (and then showed how many of those consequences have started coming to pass). One thing I wish the show would have done a bit better is explain the scale of the cosmic calendar (e.g., that 1 month corresponded to approximately 1.2 billion years, 1 day corresponded to approximately 40 million years, and 1 second corresponded to approximately 440 years) so that when Tyson said that something took place at midnight on December 31st, people did not actually think he meant something happened midnight on some random December 31st, but instead meant about 3600 - 4000 years ago. Probably the best moment of the series is when they did a CGI zoom out starting on Earth through the solar system to the galaxy level to the famous "pale blue dot" narrative by Carl Sagan. Overall, the series is wonderful and definitely in my must-watch category.

Neil Degrasse Tyson delivers. Explaining things on a layman’s level, Tyson presents this topic well. Many reviewers criticize him and the material for being amateurish, on a child’s level. Perhaps that was the point! To help even youngsters understand and even enjoy learning about Astronomy, it’s necessary to bring it down from a scholar’s level. That said, there is much value even an adult can appreciate. I also found it to be a fitting tribute to the late Carl Sagan. That said, this BD (Blu-ray Disc) presentation was very well done. The stunning visuals and rich audio really pop. Crisp, clear, nearly 3D quality on a flat-screen TV nearly puts you there. Subject matter takes the viewer from the very reaches of the universe to the infinitesimal microscopic life. Each episode is so engrossing and informative; it’s over before it started. Tyson takes you on a trip with his “Ship of the Imagination.” This is one of the few TV shows of this era I found myself eagerly awaiting each week’s episode. It is a shame there were only 13 episodes. Brannon Braga (Star Trek: The Next Generation, Enterprise, Voyager; Threshold, 24, etc.) directed and was Executive Producer. Alan Sylvestri composed the fitting musical score. The packaging was done well. Discs are available on plastic “pages” in the typical blue BD case. This makes disc access easy, unlike some which are packaged on a spindle. If you find Astronomy fascinating, I have no doubt this will be a worthy addition to your collection

Una de mis series favoritas Tristemente no tiene el audio en español y tampoco está más en Disney+

un must! da avere e riguardare più volte. un degno seguito della serie originale. non ho idea di come sia in italiano ma la versione orignale è narrata benissimo.

L’avevo già visto su Netflix stupendo!!! L’ho comprato per riguardarlo con le mie nipotine di 7 e 9 anni

In my eyes, nothing will ever reach the level of the original Cosmos and the way Carl Sagan guided you through the wonders of the Cosmos but this remake is as close as anything will ever be. With stunning visuals, updated information from new discoveries/research and the wonderful way of telling you a story and explaining scientific concepts of Neil deGrasse Tyson (a worthy successor to Sagan), it should be seen by everyone in the planet.

This series make it to the top of the best science documentaries. Very well explained, covers everything from atoms to the creation of the universe, with everything in between, including life. Very entertaining. There's a mixture of absolutely awesome graphics that are worthy of Hollywood films and other crude animation that resemble old documentaires, almost as if there were two graphics teams working on different episodes. I didn't mind that though, the subject matter was always very interesting. The documentary takes a few manipulative socio-political-drama side roads though, for example it tries to link extinction events with human activity to hyper-press the panic button on climate change, and takes a somewhat political stance on species evolution, leaving the impression they might not have much esteem for the audience's intelligence. That's not needed, even if they address contemporary social issues, those side roads really reduce its appeal as a scientific documentary, I would have much preferred a much more balanced, neutral approach to those elements without the dramas and leave the socio-political stuff to other shows. Luckily, there are plenty of good and balanced scientific episodes.