Credit where credit is due, the third installment is the best one so far, so much so that I feel it would've made a stronger pilot and it only serves to highlight the weaknesses of the first two episodes.
It did what I remember the original Cosmos doing: It told a story of science, took us to places, introduced us to people, and told us why they mattered. Six or seven years ago, the BBC radio series "In Our Time" devoted four episodes to the history of the Royal Society. It probed in extensive detail the days of Hooke, Haley, and Newton. Cosmos was never going to do in an hour what In Our Time did in four hours, but it did more in this episode than the other two combined. I still felt the wonder that the series seems desperate to convey, but this time there was a story beyond the wonder. One thing I need to nit-pick about: Tyson's billions and billions of years that the universe has been in existence (I'm paraphrasing and borrowing from the classic line) still hasn't been proven on the series. He keeps tossing it out there as if it's a given, this time only briefly before launching into the tale that would consume most of the episode. However, if my science-minded friends are honest about the flaws in this series, he still needs to put forth some of the facts and evidence to support the theory. To borrow a phrase from this episode, he needs to put up or shut up. Because nothing in science is a given without proof. I think I'll be listening to some of my In Our Time podcast collection as I go to sleep tonight, to help give form and substance to the wonderful. -- Kevin M. (RPCV) -- -- TV or Not TV .... The Smartest (TV) People! You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TV or Not TV" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/tvornottv?hl=en --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TVorNotTV" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
