Rating: 
Summary: An Apollo project for a science program on network TV???
Review: I watched the series during a pivotal moment in my life: I was in high school and was about to go to college as a physics major. Of course I have the fondest memory of the experience, both from its content and the hero/star in Dr. Sagan. Since then, after twenty years (!), I find myself having a career as a physicist, still with good part of the curiosity about cosmos and us unquenched. Now I have two sons, the elder one being old enough for me to harbor some parental wisfulness about his interests. I am aware that there are still good science programs on PBS, but I sense that video games and stock trading make formidable bids for space in young peoples' minds these days. To make matters difficult, the intellectual norm of our times seems such that when I was looking for a biography of Leonardo Da Vinci for my son, the local bookstore was carrying none but three versions for L. Di Caprio, which is not to say I have no respect for video games or watching Mr. Di Caprio's major work on occasions. Now, I am very curious how this once most fanciful, extravagant production on a grand subject will be received by my son. I am also very curious how, after years of working in science, my mind will respond to this ambitious and inspiring but somewhat full-of-gestures series. I welcome and anticipates its release and tentatively give four stars based on my memory some twenty years earlier.
Rating: 
Summary: A Landmark Work
Review: I watched this series in the early 80s when it first aired on PBS. It was nothing short of a revelation! Carl takes the viewer on a journey through time and space to explore the universe without and within. For the first time in my experience scientists, explorers and "thinkers" were cast as the heroes they were, and are. It is not an exaggeration to say this series changed my life. It opened my eyes to ideas and truths I might otherwise have passed by. It taught me that without an open mind and the courage to be wrong, we would still fear the dark, on an isolated, flat little world full of monsters and demons.Parents, please watch this series with your kids. It offers exciting, visually stunning and elegantly simple explanations and illustrations of complex scientific ideas and phenomenon. It puts the intricately woven interactions of the universe in a context everyone can grasp and enjoy. For the bright and curious child it can be a truly profound experience. It was for me. Carl Sagen is my hero. When he died some years ago I felt the loss very personally. I know he's still out there somewhere on the next leg of his voyage of discovery.
Rating:
Summary: "Life changing".
Review: I was fortunate enough to see and appreciate every second of every episode of "Cosmos" back in 1980 during it's original airing on PBS. It was and continues to be a "life changing" event for me in that it touches the very heart and soul of humanity and our connection/dependance on this planet Earth and our very small but significant place in this "Cosmos". The day that Dr.Carl Sagan died, we all lost a wonderful and briliant represntative of the Human Species. I miss you Carl.
Rating:
Summary: Superlative entertainment and education package!
Review: .... I was an amateur astronomer and cosmology fan before the series was aired on TV and you can be sure that, after the first episode, I drastically changed my lifestyle just so as not to miss the next episode. I wore-out my original [PAL] videos playing them for my own delectation and for the betterment of hundreds of my students. While I agree with the numerous reviewers who state that the VHS edition was marginally inferior to the original broadcasts, I really don't want to live much longer without access to this great series. Come to think of it, I don't want to live at all in a world where we have the technology, but not the desire, to promulgate such an outstanding series of insightful, educational and emotionally-stirring programs. The factual content of this phenomenon will continue to become dated. The genuine love and passion, the sheer humanity and the overwhelming sincerity of Sagan will NEVER be out of style. I've been privileged, as we all have, to share this little speck of space and time with such a great man. I miss him SO badly! ....
Rating:
Summary: the beginners manual on life
Review: Carl Sagan was one of the top astronomers of todays world. This serries is like a beginners mannual of life, from the beginning of time to present day. As a kid of 10 years old, I watch this this serries, (back in the late 80's). It basicly showed me the meanning of life.The two of things i remember the most about this serries are Bocas Brain and Cosmos Callender. Bocas Brain breaks down what we currently know about the human mind and puts it in to an "idiots guide" anyone can understand. Cosmos Callender shows the earth,from the time it was moltin ball of rock until now, and puts it on 365 day callender. It shows us short time life has been on earth, and we are not first thrive on this plannet, or the last.
Rating:
Summary: Insite
Review: The Most Influential and Insiteful programs of my lifetime. Through all the movies and television shows I have seen, ever, this series stands out as the most thought provoking and, therefore, most productive and positive infuence on a young, inquisitive and impressionable mind. ....
Rating:
Summary: Inspirational, & full of wonder
Review: I was mesmerized as a late teen when I first saw this series on PBS. It was a lesson in the incredible power the universe holds and the wonderment of our world--and in the meantime, puts our worldly problems into perspective making them look small and unimportant in comparison. ....
Rating:
Summary: Cosmos with Carl Sagan... Don't be forgotten
Review: This is a wonderful piece of work encompasing science and speculation, art and scientific history in a beautiful format. Not written for children, still its rhythms captivated my daughter when she was 4 and still when she is 23. But let's don't forget how much I learned and loved it. Be Relaxed, Excited, Educated, & Fascinated. ....
Rating:
Summary: The Best There Ever Was
Review: As a child I watched the original series on PBS. From there I went on to model rocketry, which my father hated with a passion. I graduated with a computer engineering degree and went on to work in the missile defense arena. Carl Sagan made science fun and made the unknown a thing of wonder rather than fear. He was gift to the human race. This series was his brightest moment in a long and distinguished career. Every home should have a copy. What a joy.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best things ever on television
Review: The "Cosmos" series, along with Carl Sagan's books, prompted me to go back to school when my son was 9 to get a physics degree, to become a science writer and essayist, and to write two science books for children, the latest "How Come? Planet Earth" (Workman). I watched it with my son every week, and he was mesmerized. He later met Dr. Sagan in Ithaca, who called on this 10-year-old, his hand frantically waving, FIRST at a seminar of very distinguished adults."Cosmos" was sheer inspiration as well as brilliant education, the perfect antidote to a bad day, the ultimate escapist television. As each episode closed and the poignant theme music played, it would inevitably bring me to tears. I was lucky enough to purchase the entire set before it went out of production. It was the first thing my son, now 28, wanted to borrow when he came home for a visit recently. I miss Carl Sagan's presence in the world more than I can say, ....
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