Rating: 
Summary: Inaccurate Japanese Subtitles(episode 1 only)
Review: I understand COSMOS is the fine documentary series ever.
DVD Box Set claims "Fully international Edition".
But in episode 1, Japanese subtitles are not correct.
Order of Japanese subtitles in episode 1 seems to confuse in
matching dialogues.
Corrections are needed.
Rating: 
Summary: Awe-inspiring cosmic journey
Review: I was a young teenager with a thirst for cosmology when Carl Sagans 'Cosmos' first aired in the early 80's. From the word go I would hang on to every punctual word Dr Sagan would utter. Don't get me wrong, some people find his verbal format malodic and sometimes over dramatic, but what people sometimes forget that here is a man with a mission to describe and put to rest the origins and possible jouney to which we are bound. What you get in your 7 disc set is a virtual Encyclopaedia Britannica, full of information from the atom to the course of evolution. From the ancient Greeks to voyages of the imagination. You will learn about Hypatia, Copernicas, Tycho, Kepler, Galileo and many more throughout history, beautifully portrayed in narrated historical re-creations. Even though Dr Sagans views become apparent, he still gives religion in its many forms a good viewing. There are bound to be things in this collection that you didn't know about. Even now I still find bits of information that are new to me, thats how vast the subject matter is and how complete it is portrayed. Some people would say that some of the production is dated. O.K., it was produced some years ago now. But the subject matter is timeless. If you had one chance of producing something you would want to be remembered by I am sure you would try your hardest to achieve it. I believe the late Dr Sagan has. If you are after only one truely useful background in science and the history of everything that is and what will be, this set IS IT.
Rating: 
Summary: Too slow, goofy and EXTREMELY outdated
Review: Sagan is a mix of William Shattner and George W. Bush - talking with GREAT pauses, emphasizing on MANY words, while using many words that don't make any sense (and using them multiple times over a short period of time). Animation and pictures look very outdated. Sagan as a captain of a starship is very goofy, especially with those [disappointing] effects. Steven Hawking's Universe is a modern version of this, and much more interesting. This may have been a breakthrough in 1980, but today, entire class of Astronomy students was asleep, and for a good reason.
Rating:
Summary: Cosmos
Review: It has been about 12 years, yet, I still remember the significance and beauty of Sagan's Cosmos series. I continue to enjoy the text book, but the vivid imagery and photography of the videos haunts my memory. It is time to revisit an old friend and rekindle the art of wondering with this engaging series. I highly recommend it to those with curiosity and an appreciation for our place in the cosmic scheme.
Rating:
Summary: I would give it TEN stars if I could!
Review: Hey folks - THIS is pure heaven! I love the Cosmos Series for two reasons. First: Even for todays standards it is a well made documentation that will make you think about yourself and the world you live in. The Cold War may be over, but people are still as stupid as ever. Cosmos is not just a simple documentation about stars and planets with numbers, technobabble and nice pictures - it's a manifest for peace and understanding that EVERYBODY should see. Second: I remember when I used to watch the series when I was ten or eleven years old. I didn't miss a single episode. Cosmos may not have CHANGED my life - but it certainly gave it a new direction. It taught me to keep an open mind and to care more about my surroundings. When I saw Cosmos again after all these years I felt once more like the little boy I was two decades ago. I'm in awe of the whole world and the wonders of the Universe that surrounds every one of us. If you have kids: show it to them! If you want to know more about life on earth or on other planets: see it! If you think, ordinary documentations about outer space are too complicated to understand: try this one! If you don't really care about the Universe, the stars and the planets, but you wonder what all the fuss is about: see it! In any case: SEE IT!
Rating:
Summary: science, the history of science, and its role in the future
Review: It amazes me that to this day that no science series since Cosmos first aired has come close to illustrating both the scope of human knowledge and its practical purposes in our lives. Every parent with a DVD player should buy this if their children have the slightest interest in the sciences. Your kids will thank you when they're older. Carl Sagan must've had a talent for teaching as any intelligent young student will get something out this series. Cosmos ages well, serving as a springboard into other disciplines. Watching the series again on DVD, I enjoyed the less-hard science episodes. All thirteen are great. I especially liked: "The Harmony of Worlds"
"The Backbone of Night"
"The Lives of Stars"
"The Persistence of Memory"
"Enyclopedia Galactica"
"Who Speaks for Earth" Each of these episodes is rich with history and gives me a new respect for the man as a speaker. Especially the last episode, though somewhat dated as it was written during the Cold War. The sound quality's excellent too. Note: Science changes so fast, some of the updates may be 'out of date'. The final update, in light of current events, where Dr. Sagan expresses optimism for the future, well it's a bit chilling.
Rating:
Summary: Hooray for Cosmos on DVD!
Review: This set is one of the main reasons why I got a DVD player. My VHS taps had actually broken from too many viewings of "Cosmos." This box-set is one of the all-around coolest DVDs I own. The packaging is as innovative as the series, allowing for quite a few disks to take up very little shelf space. (It is about the size of three DVD cases.) The disks average 2 episodes per disk. The digital sound and picture is perfect, and a great boon to this exceptional series. As an extra feature, the "updates" option fills in any scientific gaps. As to "Cosmos" itself, like many people I could offer my testimony to it's quality. As a child (I think I was about 7 when I first saw it) "Cosmos" opened my mind to the possibilities of the Universe. I am glad that the information is still relevant today, and that the only thing dated about the production is Carl Sagan's turtlenecks. Should I ever have children, "Cosmos" is the sort of thing I would like to share with them.
Rating:
Summary: Great!!
Review: Cosmos was an excellent TV series. This boxed set has all of the episodes. They elaborate on the book of the same name by Carl Sagan. This is the series where everyone was introduced to Carl Sagan and the phrase "billions and billions of stars." Don't buy this series if you don't like long detailed documentaries that explain everything we know about the universe.
Rating:
Summary: What now?
Review: When I first watched this series at TV I found myself so insignificant that I started admiring the tiny site we occupy in the non-imaginable universe. Some years later, after new findings, I could see the updates, with always amazing information. Nowadays, my feelings about this collection are not easily said. By now I can only say: Mankind will evolve into different shapes in the coming millions of years, if we are able to leave aside our autodestructive instinct, and will see with new eyes, day after day, the discovery of those unexplored corners. Cosmos is a Classic! What now?
Rating:
Summary: Infinite Progression and Regression, Up and Down.
Review: The words of my title were used by Dr. Sagan at the end of "The Edge of Forever," to describe an "unproven" theory that this universe is a closed electron similar to all the atomic elements within it, and that in turn these elements constitute a universe of their own. Mind-boggling? Maybe fantastic? Regardless it is a beautiful theory. In my formative years, I also had a similar idea when I drew an analogy of the planetary systems with the atomic particles everytime I saw a representation of a nucleus with its particles orbiting around. I say this without any pretense because my occupation is not in the field of sciences, but rather to note that the scientific community in the field of cosmology was entertaining the same idea which I thought was just a figment of my imagination. I also have to say that although I have seen some episodes of cosmos, I had not seen this one when I was a teenager. If I were forced to choose one episode as my favorite, it would be "The Edge of Forever". Throughout the whole Cosmos series, Dr. Sagan's narration flows like music to the listener; although it was written in prose, his delivery produces the effect of a cosmic poetry, and offers a first glimpse with the transcendent. The following is an example of that glimpse, taken from the brilliantly entitled chapter "The Edge of Forever":
"Who knows for certain?
Who shall here declare it?
Whence was it born?
Whence came creation?
The gods are later than this
World's formation.
Who then can know
The origins of the world? None knows whence creation arose...
Or whether He has
Or has not made it...
He who surveys it
from the lofty skies.
Only He knows...
... or perhaps He knows not." This is a 3500 year old Rig-Veda, a collection of early sanskrit hymns, reflecting a tradition of skeptical questioning about creation and the universe, as paraphrasing Dr. Sagan. ... I would like to finally add that Cosmos somehow reminds me of the following words which keep stirring my mind: "The human heart refuses
to believe in a universe
without a purpose" It is credited to Emmanuel Kant if I am correct, although the concept may not be original to him. Kant had brilliant ideas but never a simple and clear writing style, and I can attest to that since I abandoned the task of reading his books several times. But on this one he could not have been more clear and concise to express such a big concept in so few words. Just watch the entire Cosmos with your most dedicated attention and you will know what I am talking about. For example, ponder on the sheer expanse of space and time with your closed eyes, and that experience alone will bring you closer to the cosmic energy, and put all your daily mundane affairs and problems into perspective.
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