Cosmos

t     I am old enough to remember the original "Cosmos" with Carl Sagan. I was deeply saddened to hear of his passing a few years ago. I was not sure what to think initially when rumors began about re-doing the series. It seemed that the only thing it would accomplish was to provide more impressive graphics than the original, and I wondered if that was enough of a reason to start this.

    When I heard that Neil DeGrasse Tyson was going to be the host of this new series, my interest definitely picked up. I have been very impressed when I have heard him speak, he brings an element of "cool" back to science that it has sorely lacked.

Last night was the premiere and I have to say that I loved the show. The memory of Carl Sagan was delicately and gently preserved. It was stated that without his influence the new show would never have happened. I was actually surprised to learn of the personal relationship between Tyson and Sagan many years ago. That was a brilliant touch to help close out episode 1.

     The emphasis that this new series places on humans is very important in this day and age. I caught the reference that Tyson made to the "thought police" during the segment on Giordano Bruno and his struggles with religion and science. I think that there was more than a slight rebuttal to the current anti-science stand that religious conservatives are taking today with their rejection of Evolution and their attempts to substitute the sham of creationism.

    The relatively short time frame that humanity has even existed really put everything into perspective. All of the achievements and knowledge that we have amounts to almost nothing on the cosmic scale.