Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey
Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey is a 2014 American science documentary televisionseries.[1] The show is a follow-up to the 1980 television series Cosmos: A Personal Voyage, which was presented by Carl Sagan on the Public Broadcasting Serviceand is considered a milestone for scientific documentaries. This series was developed to bring back the foundation of science to network television at the height of other scientific-based television series and films. The show is presented by astrophysicistNeil deGrasse Tyson, who, as a young college student, was inspired by Sagan. Among the executive producers are Seth MacFarlane, whose clout and financial investment were instrumental in bringing the show to broadcast television, and Ann Druyan, Sagan's widow and a co-creator of the original series.[2][3]
The series loosely follows the same thirteen-episode format and storytelling approach that the original Cosmos used, including elements such as the "Ship of the Imagination" and the "Cosmic Calendar", but features information updated since the 1980 series along with extensive computer-generated graphics and animation footage augmenting the narration. The show is produced by Brannon Braga, and Alan Silvestri provides the backing score.[4]
The series premiered on March 9, 2014,[5]simultaneously in the US across ten 21st Century Fox networks. The remainder of the series aired on the Fox Network, with the National Geographic Channelrebroadcasting the episodes the next night with extra content.[6] The series has been rebroadcast internationally in dozens of other countries by local National Geographic and Fox stations. The series concluded on June 8, 2014, with home media release of the entire series on June 10, 2014.
Background
The original 13-part Cosmos: A Personal Voyage first aired in 1980 on the Public Broadcasting System, and was hosted byCarl Sagan. The show has been considered highly significant since its broadcast; David Itzkoff of The New York Times described it as "a watershed moment for science-themed television programming".[7] The show has been watched by at least 400 million people across 60 different countries,[7] and until the 1990 documentary The Civil War, remained the network's highest rated program.[8]
Following Sagan's death in 1996, his widowAnn Druyan, the co-creator of the originalCosmos series along with Steven Soter, and astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tysonsought to create a new version of the series, aimed to appeal to as wide an audience as possible and not just to those interested in the sciences. They had struggled for years with reluctant television networks that failed to see the broad appeal of the show.[7]
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