Cosmos

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Billy's Little Trip
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Cosmos

Post by Billy's Little Trip »

I'm really liking the new series thus far. NdT is doing a great job hosting it. He's an interesting speaker.
I knew after the first episode the creationists would start bashing it. I just had no idea it would be Monday morning after the show aired Sunday evening. Oklahoma banned 15 seconds of the first episode when Tyson said "We are newcomers to the Cosmos. Our own story only begins on the last night of the cosmic year. Three and a half million years ago, our ancestors, yours and mine left these traces. We stood up and parted ways from them. Once we were standing on two feet, our eyes were no longer fixated on the ground. Now, we were free to look up and wonder" That's some North Korea shit, right there. wtf?!

But whatever. For those interested in science and research that is always finding out more about our existence, will enjoy learning new found data about our solar system, planet and inhabitants.

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Re: Cosmos

Post by fluffy »

I love that this show exists, but at the same time it frustrates me.

I kind of feel like this new series is too obsessed with gee-whiz special effects shots that get in the way of actually disseminating knowledge, and wish they spent more time actually sharing knowledge instead of showing computer graphics that kinda-sorta (but not very accurately) convey things, and they spend way too much time obsessing over the personal backstories of the scientists instead of actually talking about what they discovered and how they discovered it.

I do like that it has a lot of people getting excited about science, though, and that's the important thing in the big picture.
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Re: Cosmos

Post by Billy's Little Trip »

A hate to say, I like the fancy production value. Every episode is like the beginning of an epic adventure with the music and the special effects. But I get what you mean about the scientists background being a primary focus. I personally like that because I'm pretty sure they want to set up the story for future episodes, almost like they would in a movie series plot. It really puts me right at the scientist's human level and more relatable. Then shows his journey where he advances down his scientific path to his discovery and I continue on my path of beer pong discovery. :P

I thought last nights episode about Clair Patterson was great! Not just his method of dating the earth's age, but his other concerns for humanity. It really opens one's eyes to the same shit the Koch's are doing right now and those trying hard to make people aware are being criticized as crackpots by those that have the most to gain financially. So in this episode, I'm happy to see his background being of focus. It shows that a guy like you and I that stayed true to his research fought crony capitalism and won.
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Re: Cosmos

Post by fluffy »

Oh, don't get me wrong, the production values are great. I just wish they didn't spend so much time showing them off without justifying them with actual education. The original series had the same sort of "ship of the imagination" setup but during all of the goings-on, Sagan actually talked about stuff. I feel like the original series managed to fit more information into an episode than the new one does.

Also, I have a pet peeve of electron orbits being portrayed as "orbits" like planets around a star. That's not actually what electron orbits would "look" like (even if the concept of seeing one made any sense at all, which it doesn't, but there's better conceptual mappings than showing little balls going in a circle). Okay, it's what Niels Bohr envisioned it as, but we've had just over 100 years of scientific progress since then.

It's also annoying when they spend a bunch of time showing actual models of chemical processes in one scene but then in the next go with a goofy 90s-era-style ultra-cheezy animation which shows the processes as being steam-powered machines or whatever. Personally I think the *actual* things look absolutely fascinating, and we have very good models of what the chemical reactions look like now.

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Re: Cosmos

Post by AJOwens »

Wow! I had no idea pipe cleaners could be so sexy! ;-)
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Re: Cosmos

Post by Caravan Ray »

fluffy wrote:I love that this show exists, but at the same time it frustrates me.

I kind of feel like this new series is too obsessed with gee-whiz special effects shots that get in the way of actually disseminating knowledge, and wish they spent more time actually sharing knowledge instead of showing computer graphics that kinda-sorta (but not very accurately) convey things.
I find too many sciencey shows are like this now. Even David Attenborough shows get a bit annoying this way now. Nothing beats old-school 1980's "Life on Earth"-period David Attenborough in his safari suit talking to gorillas and sitting on a pile of bat guano.
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Re: Cosmos

Post by fluffy »

Caravan Ray wrote:
fluffy wrote:I love that this show exists, but at the same time it frustrates me.

I kind of feel like this new series is too obsessed with gee-whiz special effects shots that get in the way of actually disseminating knowledge, and wish they spent more time actually sharing knowledge instead of showing computer graphics that kinda-sorta (but not very accurately) convey things.
I find too many sciencey shows are like this now. Even David Attenborough shows get a bit annoying this way now. Nothing beats old-school 1980's "Life on Earth"-period David Attenborough in his safari suit talking to gorillas and sitting on a pile of bat guano.
Really? How the hell has Attenborough fallen into that trap too? You'd think nature shows would be pretty much immune.

Well, except with ones about bees, which tend to use CG for the simulated tracking shots (because have you ever tried filming a bee in flight?)

Anyway, I don't have a lot of love for Neil deGrasse Tyson for TV science because he's at least the face of when NOVA went from brilliant/insightful to dumbed-down/repetitive/redundant. I love him as a public speaker and as an advocate for science, but he sure doesn't get associated with especially smart TV for me.
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Re: Cosmos

Post by Caravan Ray »

fluffy wrote:
Caravan Ray wrote:
fluffy wrote:I love that this show exists, but at the same time it frustrates me.

I kind of feel like this new series is too obsessed with gee-whiz special effects shots that get in the way of actually disseminating knowledge, and wish they spent more time actually sharing knowledge instead of showing computer graphics that kinda-sorta (but not very accurately) convey things.
I find too many sciencey shows are like this now. Even David Attenborough shows get a bit annoying this way now. Nothing beats old-school 1980's "Life on Earth"-period David Attenborough in his safari suit talking to gorillas and sitting on a pile of bat guano.
Really? How the hell has Attenborough fallen into that trap too? You'd think nature shows would be pretty much immune.

Well, except with ones about bees, which tend to use CG for the simulated tracking shots (because have you ever tried filming a bee in flight?)
Yes - that bee sort of thing. And real live dinosaurs and stuff. History shows are doing it to a lot - reconstructing Rome and stuff - when all you really want to see is is some dorky bloke with long hair and a groovy jacket wandering around cliff tops looking windswept and interesting.
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