Cosmos:A Spacetime Odyssey

Genre Science documentary

Based on Cosmos: A PersonalVoyage by Carl SaganAnn DruyanSteven Soter

Written by Ann DruyanSteven Soter

Directed by Brannon BragaBill PopeAnn Druyan

Presented by Neil deGrasse Tyson

Composer(s) Alan Silvestri

Country of origin United States

Original language(s) English

No. of episodes 13 (list of episodes)

Production

Executiveproducer(s)

Seth MacFarlaneAnn DruyanBrannon BragaMitchell Cannold

Producer(s) Livia HanichSteven HoltzmanJason Clark

Editor(s) John DuffyEric Lea

Cosmos: A Spacetime OdysseyFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey is a 2014 American sciencedocumentary television series.[1] The show is a follow-up tothe 1980 television series Cosmos: A Personal Voyage, whichwas presented by Carl Sagan on the Public BroadcastingService and is considered a milestone for scientificdocumentaries. This series was developed to bring back thefoundation of science to network television at the height ofother scientific-based television series and films. The show ispresented by astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, who, as ayoung high school student, was inspired by Sagan. Amongthe executive producers are Seth MacFarlane, whose financialinvestment was instrumental in bringing the show tobroadcast television, and Ann Druyan, Sagan's widow, a co-author and co-creator of the original television series.[2][3]

The show is produced by Brannon Braga, and Alan Silvestriprovides the backing score.[4]

The series loosely follows the same thirteen-episode formatand storytelling approach that the original Cosmos used,including elements such as the "Ship of the Imagination" andthe "Cosmic Calendar", but features information updatedsince the 1980 series along with extensive computer-generated graphics and animation footage augmenting thenarration.

The series premiered on March 9, 2014,[5] simultaneously inthe United States across ten 21st Century Fox networks. Theremainder of the series aired on the Fox Network, with theNational Geographic Channel rebroadcasting the episodes thenext night with extra content.[6] The series has beenrebroadcast internationally in dozens of other countries bylocal National Geographic and Fox stations. The seriesconcluded on June 8, 2014, with home media release of theentire series on June 10, 2014. Cosmos has been criticallypraised, winning several television broadcasting awards and aPeabody Award for educational content.

Contents

1 Background

Michael O'Halloran

Location(s) Santa Fe, New MexicoCulver City, California

Cinematography Bill Pope

Running time 44 minutes

Productioncompany(s)

Cosmos StudiosFuzzy Door ProductionsSanta Fe Studios

Release

Original network FoxNational GeographicChannel

Picture format 16:9 HDTV

Original release March 9, 2014 –June 8, 2014

Chronology

Preceded by Cosmos: A Personal Voyage

2 Development

3 Broadcast

4 Cast

5 Episodes

6 Reception

7 Media release

8 References

9 External links

BackgroundThe original 13-part Cosmos: A Personal Voyage first aired in1980 on the Public Broadcasting System, and was hosted byCarl Sagan. The show has been considered highly significantsince its broadcast; David Itzkoff of The New York Timesdescribed it as "a watershed moment for science-themed television programming".[7] The show has beenwatched by at least 400 million people across 60 different countries,[7] and until the 1990 documentary TheCivil War, remained the network's highest rated program.[8]

Following Sagan's death in 1996, his widow Ann Druyan, the co-creator of the original Cosmos series alongwith Steven Soter, and astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson sought to create a new version of the series, aimed toappeal to as wide an audience as possible and not just to those interested in the sciences. They had struggled foryears with reluctant television networks that failed to see the broad appeal of the show.[7]

DevelopmentSeth MacFarlane had met Druyan through Tyson at the 2008 kickoff event for the Science & EntertainmentExchange, a new Los Angeles office of the National Academy of Sciences, designed to connect Hollywoodwriters and directors with scientists.[9] A year later, at a 2009 lunch in New York City with Tyson, MacFarlanelearned of their interest to re-create Cosmos. He was influenced by Cosmos as a child, believing that Cosmosserved to "[bridge] the gap between the academic community and the general public".[9] At the timeMacFarlane told Tyson, "I'm at a point in my career where I have some disposable income ... and I’d like tospend it on something worthwhile."[10] MacFarlane had considered the reduction of effort for space travel inrecent decades to be part of "our culture of lethargy".[7] MacFarlane, who has several series on the Fox network,was able to bring Druyan to meet the heads of Fox programming, Peter Rice and Kevin Reilly, and helpedsecure the greenlighting of the show.[7] MacFarlane admits that he is "the least essential person in this equation"

Animator SethMacFarlane wasinstrumental in obtainingnetwork funding forCosmos: A SpacetimeOdyssey, and also servesas an executive producer.

The interior of the "Ship of theImagination", the top from theoriginal Cosmos, with Carl Sagan inthe chair, and the bottom from the2014 series, with Neil deGrasse Tysonin the chair. The new series usescomputer-generated special effects tohelp in the show's narration.

and the effort is a departure from work he's done before, but considers this to be"very comfortable territory for me personally".[7] He and Druyan have becomeclose friends, and Druyan stated that she believed that Sagan and MacFarlanewould have been "kindred spirits" with their respective "protean talents".[7] In June2012, MacFarlane provided funding to allow about 800 boxes of Sagan's personalnotes and correspondences to be donated to the Library of Congress.[9]

In a Point of Inquiry interview, Tysondiscussed their goal of capturing the "spiritof the original Cosmos", which he describesas "uplifting themes that called people toaction".[11] Druyan describes the themes ofwonder and skepticism they are infusinginto the scripts, in an interview withSkepticality, "In order for it to qualify onour show it has to touch you. It still has tobe rigorously good science—no cutting

corners on that. But then, it also has to be that equal part skepticism andwonder both."[12] In a Big Picture Science interview, Tyson credits thesuccess of the original series for the proliferation of scienceprogramming, “The task for the next generation of Cosmos is a little bitdifferent because I don’t need to teach you textbook science. There’s alot of textbook science in the original Cosmos, but that’s not what youremember most. What most people who remember the original seriesremember most is the effort to present science in a way that has meaningto you that can influence your conduct as a citizen of the nation and ofthe world—especially of the world.” Tyson states that the new serieswill contain both new material and updated versions of topics in theoriginal series, but primarily, will service the “needs of today’s population". “We want to make a program that isnot simply a sequel to the first, but issues forth from the times in which we are making it, so that it matters tothose who is this emergent 21st century audience.”[13] Tyson considered that recent successes of science-oriented shows like The Big Bang Theory and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, along with films like Gravity,showed that "science has become mainstream" and expects Cosmos "will land on hugely fertile ground".[10]

Tyson spoke about the "love-hate relationship" viewers had with the original series' Spaceship of theImagination, but confirmed during production that they were developing "vehicles of storytelling".[11] Tysonaffirmed that defining elements of the original series such as the Spaceship of the Imagination and the CosmicCalendar with improved special effects, as well as new elements, would be present. Animation for thesesequences was ultimately created by a team hand-picked by MacFarlane for the series.[10] Kara Vallowdeveloped and produced the animation, and the animation studio used was Six Point Harness in Los Angeles,California.[14] The sound of the Spaceship of the Imagination, and sound design in general, was created by RickSteele, who said of the show: "Cosmos has been, by far, the most challenging show of my career."[15] The

NASA video: Station Astronauts Do Experiment for Cosmos

Astrophysicist NeildeGrasse Tyson hosts andnarrates the show.

updated Spaceship was designed to "remain timeless and very simple", according to MacFarlane, using theceiling to project future events and the floor for those in the past, to allow Tyson, as the host, to "take [theviewer] to the places that he’s talking about".[16]

BroadcastIn August 2011, theshow was officiallyannounced forprimetime broadcast inthe spring of 2014. Theshow is a co-productionof Druyan's CosmosStudios, MacFarlane'sFuzzy DoorProductions, andNational GeographicChannel; Druyan,MacFarlane, CosmosStudios' Mitchell

Cannold, and director Brannon Braga are the executive producers.[2]

Fox's CEO Kevin Reilly considered that the show would be a risk and outside the network's typicalprogramming, but that "we believe this can have the same massive cultural impact that the original seriesdelivered," and committed the network's resources to the show.[2] The show would first be broadcast on Fox, re-airing the same night on the National Geographic Channel.[2]

In Canada, the show was broadcast simultaneously on Global, National Geographic Channel and Nat GeoWild.[17] A preview of the show's first episode was aired for student filmmakers at the White House StudentFilm Festival on February 28, 2014.[18]

Cosmos premiered simultaneously in the US across ten Fox networks: Fox, FX, FXX, FXM, Fox Sports 1, FoxSports 2, National Geographic Channel, Nat Geo WILD, Nat Geo Mundo, and Fox Life. According to FoxNetworks, this was the first time that a TV show was set to premiere in a global simulcast across their networkof channels.[19]

The Fox network broadcast averaged about 5.8 million viewers in Nielsen’s affiliate-based estimates for the 9o’clock hour Sunday, as well as a 2.1 rating/5 share in adults 18-49. The under-50 audience was roughly 60%men. Viewing on other networks raised these totals to 8.5 million and a 2.9 rating in the demo, according toNielsen.[20]

CastNeil deGrasse Tyson as himselfCarl Sagan as himself

The Earth's location within the VirgoSupercluster.

Peter Emshwiller as George TiltonPiotr Michael as Edmund MuskieSeth MacFarlane as Giordano BrunoJohn Steven Rocha as Robert BellarminePaul Telfer as an angry scholarMichael Chochol as Jan OortKirsten Dunst as Cecilia Payne-GaposchkinCary Elwes as Edmond Halley and Robert HookeRichard Gere as Clair PattersonJonathan Morgan Heit as John HerschelMartin Jarvis as Humphry DavyTom Konkle as Samuel PepysMarlee Matlin as Annie Jump CannonHeiko Obermoller as Hermann EinsteinJulian Ovenden as Michael FaradayNadia Rochelle Pfarr as Malala YousafzaiEnn Reitel as Albert EinsteinWesley Salter as James Clerk MaxwellAmanda Seyfried as Marie TharpAlexander Siddig as Isaac NewtonPatrick Stewart as William HerschelOliver Vaquer as Joseph von FraunhoferJulie Wittner as Sarah FaradayMarc Worden as Harrison Brown

Episodes

No. Title Directedby Written by Original air

date U.S. viewers(millions)

1 "Standing Up in the Milky Way" BrannonBraga

Ann Druyan and StevenSoter March 9, 2014 5.77[23] /

8.5[24]

The show begins with a brief introduction recorded by President of theUnited States Barack Obama describing the "spirit of discovery" thatthe series aspires to give to its viewers.[21][22]

Tyson opens the episode to reflect on the importance of Sagan'soriginal Cosmos, and the goals of this series. He introduces the viewerto the "Ship of the Imagination", the show's narrative device to explorethe universe's past, present, and future. Tyson takes the viewer to showwhere Earth sits in the scope of the known universe, defining theEarth's "address" within the Virgo Supercluster. Tyson explains howhumanity has not always seen the universe in this manner, anddescribes the hardships and persecution of Renaissance ItalianGiordano Bruno in challenging the prevailing geocentric model held bythe Catholic Church. To show Bruno's vision of the cosmic order he

The diversity of species as shown viathe Tree of Life.

uses an animated adaptation of the Flammarion engraving, a 19th century illustration that has now become acommon meme for the revealing of the mysteries of the Universe.

The episode continues onto the scope of time, using the concept of the Cosmic Calendar as used in the originalseries to provide a metaphor for this scale. The narration describes how if the Big Bang occurred on January 1,all of humankind's recorded history would be compressed into the last few seconds of the last minute onDecember 31. Tyson concludes the episode by recounting how Sagan inspired him as a student as well as hisother contributions to the scientific community.

2 "Some of the Things ThatMolecules Do" Bill Pope Ann Druyan and Steven

Soter March 16, 2014 4.95[25]

The episode covers several facets of the origin of life and evolution.Tyson describes both artificial selection via selective breeding, usingthe example of humankind's domestication of wolves into dogs, andnatural selection that created species like polar bears. Tyson uses theShip of the Imagination to show how DNA, genes, and mutation work,and how these led to the diversity of species as represented by the Treeof life, including how complex organs such as the eye came about as acommon element.

Tyson describes extinction of species and the five great extinctionevents that wiped out numerous species on Earth, while some species,such as the tardigrade, were able to survive and continue life. Tysonspeculates on the possibility of life on other planets, such as Saturn'smoon, Titan, as well as how abiogenesis may have originated life onEarth. The episode concludes with an animation from the originalCosmos showing the evolution of life from a single cell to humankindtoday.

The first page of Isaac Newton'sPhilosophiæ Naturalis PrincipiaMathematica

An artist's concept of a black hole'saccretion disk.

3 "When Knowledge ConqueredFear"

BrannonBraga

Ann Druyan and StevenSoter March 23, 2014 4.25[26]

The episode begins with Tyson describing how pattern recognitionmanifested in early civilization as using astronomy and astrology topredict the passing of the seasons, including how the passage of acomet was often taken as an omen. Tyson continues to explain that theorigin of comets only became known in the 20th century due to thework of Jan Oort and his hypothesis of the Oort cloud.

Tyson then continues to relate the collaboration between EdmondHalley and Isaac Newton in the last part of the 17th century inCambridge. The collaboration would result in the publication ofPhilosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica, the first major work todescribe the laws of physics in mathematical terms, despite objectionsand claims of plagiarism from Robert Hooke and financial difficultiesof the Royal Society of London. Tyson explains how this workchallenged the prevailing notion that God had planned out the heavens,but would end up influencing many factors of modern life, includingspace flight.

Tyson further describes Halley's contributions based on Newton's work,including determining Earth's distance to the sun, the motion of starsand predicting the orbit of then-unnamed Halley's Comet using Newton's laws. Tyson contrasts these scientificapproaches to understanding the galaxy compared to what earlier civilizations had done, and considers thisadvancement as humankind's first steps into exploring the universe. The episode ends with an animation of theMilky Way and Andromeda galaxies' merging based on the principles of Newton's laws.

4 "A Sky Full of Ghosts" BrannonBraga

Ann Druyan and StevenSoter March 30, 2014 3.91[27]

Tyson begins the episode by explaining the nature of the speed of lightand how much of what is seen of the observable universe is from lightemanated from billions of years in the past. Tyson further explains howmodern astronomy has used such analyses via deep time to identify theBig Bang event and the age of the universe.

Tyson proceeds to describe how the work of Isaac Newton, WilliamHerschel, Michael Faraday, and James Clerk Maxwell contributed tounderstanding the nature of electromagnetic waves and gravitationalforce, and how this work led towards Albert Einstein's Theory ofRelativity, that the speed of light is a fundamental constant of theuniverse and gravity can be seen as distortion of the fabric of space-

Representative Fraunhofer lines usedin astronomical spectroscopy todetermine the composition of distantstellar objects

time. Tyson describes the concept of dark stars as postulated by John Michell which are not visible butdetectable by tracking other stars trapped within their gravity wells, an idea Herschel used to discover binarystars.

Tyson then describes the nature of black holes, their enormous gravitational forces that can even capture light,and their discovery via X-ray sources such as Cygnus X-1. Tyson uses the Ship of Imagination to provide apostulate of the warping of spacetime and time dilation as one enters the event horizon of the black hole, andthe possibility that these may lead to other points within our universe or others, or even time travel. Tyson endson noting that Herschel's son, John would be inspired by his father to continue to document the known stars aswell as contributions towards photography that play on the same nature of deep time used by astronomers.

Animated sequences in this episode feature caricatures of William and John Herschel; Patrick Stewartprovided the voice for William in these segments.

5 "Hiding in the Light" Bill Pope Ann Druyan and StevenSoter April 6, 2014 3.98[28]

This episode explores the wave theory of light as studied byhumankind, noting that light has played an important role in scientificprogress, with such early experiments from over 2000 years agoinvolving the camera obscura by the Chinese philosopher Mozi. Tysondescribes the work of the 11th century Arabic scientist Ibn al-Haytham,considered to be one of the first to postulate on the nature of light andoptics leading to the concept of the telescope, as well as one of the firstresearchers to use the scientific method.

Tyson proceeds to discuss the nature of light as discovered by humankind. Work by Isaac Newton usingdiffraction through prisms demonstrated that light was composed of the visible spectrum, while findings ofWilliam Herschel in the 19th century showed that light also consisted of infrared rays. Joseph von Fraunhoferwould later come to discover that by magnifying the spectrum of visible light, gaps in the spectrum would beobserved. These Fraunhofer lines would later be determined to be caused by the absorption of light byelectrons in moving between atomic orbitals (in the show illustrated by the Bohr model) when it passedthrough atoms, with each atom having a characteristic signature due to the quantum nature of these orbitals.This since has led to the core of astronomical spectroscopy, allowing astronomers to make observations aboutthe composition of stars, planets, and other stellar features through the spectral lines, as well as observing themotion and expansion of the universe, and the hypothesized existence of dark matter.

6 "Deeper, Deeper, Deeper Still" Bill Pope Ann Druyan and StevenSoter April 13, 2014 3.49[29]

This episode looks to the nature of the cosmos on the micro and atomic scales, using the Ship of theImagination to explore these realms. Tyson describes some of the micro-organisms that live within a dew drop,demonstrating parameciums and tardigrades. He proceeds to discuss how plants use photosynthesis via theirchloroplasts to convert sunlight into chemical reactions that convert carbon dioxide and water into oxygen andenergy-rich sugars. Tyson then discusses the nature of molecules and atoms and how they relate to theevolution of species. He uses the example set forth by Charles Darwin postulating the existence of the long-tongued Morgan's sphinx moth based on the nature of the comet orchid with pollen far within the flower. Hefurther demonstrates that scents from flowers are used to trigger olfactory centers in the brain, stimulating themind to threats as to aid in the survival of the species.

Supernova SN 1987A demonstratedthe existence of neutrinos.

Meteor fragments from Meteor Craterin Arizona were used to estimate theage of the Earth and other materials inthe Solar System.

Tyson narrates how two Greek philosophers contributed to our understanding of science. Thales was amongthe first thinkers to examine a "universe governed by the order of natural laws that we could actually figureout," and Democritus postulated that all matter was made up of combinations of atoms in a large number ofconfigurations. He then describes how carbon forms the basic building block for life on Earth due to its uniquechemical nature. Tyson explains the basic atomic structure of protons, neutrons, and electrons, and the processof nuclear fusion that occurs in most stars that can overcome the electrostatic forces that normally keeps atomsfrom touching each other. He then discusses the existence of neutrinos that are created by these nuclearprocesses, and that typically pass through all matter, making them virtually undetectable. He explains howsubterranean water pool facilities lined with special detectors like the Super-Kamiokande are used to detectneutrinos when they collide with water molecules, and how neutrinos from supernova SN 1987A in the LargeMagellanic Cloud were detected three hours before the photons of light from the explosion were observed dueto the neutrinos' ability to pass through matter of the dying sun. Tysonconcludes by noting that there are neutrinos from the Big Bang stillexisting in the universe but due to the nature of light, there is a "wall ofinfinity" that cannot be observed beyond.

7 "The Clean Room" BrannonBraga

Ann Druyan and StevenSoter April 20, 2014 3.74[31]

This episode is centered around how science, in particular the work ofClair Patterson (voiced in animated sequences by Richard Gere[30]) inthe middle of the 20th century, was able to determine the age of theEarth. Tyson first describes how the Earth was formed from thecoalescence of matter some millions of years after the formation of theSun, and while scientists can examine the formations in rock stratum todate some geological events, these can only trace back millions ofyears. Instead, scientists have used the debris from meteor impacts,such as the Meteor Crater in Arizona, knowing that the material fromsuch meteors coming from the asteroid belt would have been made atthe same time as the Earth.

Tyson then outlines the work Patterson did as a graduate under hisadviser Harrison Brown to provide an accurate count of lead in zircon particles from Meteor Crater, and towork with similar results being collected by George Tilton on uranium counts; with the established half-life ofuranium's radioactive decay to lead, this would be used to estimate the age of the Earth. Patterson found that

The Harvard Computers that helped toclassify the types of stars

his results were contaminated by lead from the ambient environment, compared to Tilton's results, andrequired the construction of the first ultra-high cleanroom to remove all traces of environmental lead. Withthese clean results, Patterson was able to estimate the age of the Earth to 4.5 billion years.

Tyson goes on to explain that Patterson's work in performing lead-free experiments directed him to investigatethe sources for lead. Tyson notes how lead does not naturally occur at Earth's surface but has been readilymined by humans (including the Roman Empire), and that lead is poisonous to humans. Patterson examinedthe levels of lead in the common environment and in deeper parts of the oceans and Antarctic ice, showing thatlead had only been brought to the surface in recent times. He would discover that the higher levels of leadwere from the use of tetraethyllead in leaded gasoline, despite long-established claims by Robert A. Kehoe andothers that this chemical was safe. Patterson would continue to campaign against the use of lead, ultimatelyresulting in government-mandated restrictions on the use of lead. Tyson ends by noting that similar work byscientists continues to be used to help alert humankind to other fateful issues that can be identified by the studyof nature.

8 "Sisters of the Sun" BrannonBraga

Ann Druyan and StevenSoter April 27, 2014 3.66[32]

This episode provides an overview of the composition of stars, andtheir fate in billions of years. Tyson describes how early human wouldidentify stars via the use of constellations that tied in with variousmyths and beliefs, such as the Pleiades. Tyson describes the work ofEdward Charles Pickering to capture the spectra of multiple starssimultaneously, and the work of the Harvard Computers or "Pickering'sHarem", a team of women researchers under Pickering's mentorship, tocatalog the spectra. This team included Annie Jump Cannon, whodeveloped the stellar classification system, and Henrietta Swan Leavitt,who has discovered the means to measure the distance from a star tothe earth by its spectra, later used to identify other galaxies in theuniverse. Later, this team included Cecilia Payne, who would develop agood friendship with Cannon; Payne's thesis based on her work withCannon was able to determine the composition and temperature of the stars, collaborating with Cannon'sclassification system.

Tyson then explains the lifecycle of stars, being borne out from interstellar clouds. He explains how stars likethe Sun keep their size due to the conflicting forces of gravity that pulls the gases in, and the expansion fromescaping gases from the fusion reactions at its core. As the Sun ages, it will grow hotter and brighter to thepoint where the balance between these reactions will fail, causing the Sun to first expand into a red giant, andthen collapse into a white dwarf, the collapse limited by the atomic forces. Tyson explains how larger starsmay form even more collapsed forms of matter, creating novas and supernovas depending on their size andleading to pulsars. Massive stars can collapse into black holes. Tyson then describes that stars can only be solarge, using the example of Eta Carinae which is considered an unstable solar mass that could become ahypernova in the relatively near future. Tyson ends describing how all matter on Earth is the same stuff thatstars are made of, and that light and energy from the stars is what drives life on Earth.

9 "The Lost Worlds of Planet Earth" BrannonBraga

Ann Druyan and StevenSoter May 4, 2014 4.08[33]

A map of Earth's tectonic plates

Michael Faraday presenting hisexperiments with electromagnetism ata Christmas Lecture, 1856

This episode explores the palaeogeography of Earth over millions of years, and its impact on the developmentof life on the planet. Tyson starts by explaining that the lignin-rich treesevolved in the Carboniferous era about 300 million years ago, were notedible by species at the time and would instead fall over and becomecarbon-rich coal. Some 50 million years later, near the end of thePermian period, volcanic activity would burn the carbonaceous matter,releasing carbon dioxide and acidic components, creating a suddengreenhouse gas effect that warmed the oceans and released methanefrom the ocean beds, all leading towards the Permian–Triassicextinction event, killing 90% of the species on Earth.

Tyson then explains the nature of plate tectonics that would shape thelandmasses of the world. Tyson explains how scientists like AbrahamOrtelius hypothesized the idea that land masses may have been connected in the past, Alfred Wegener whohypothesized the idea of a super-continent Pangaea and continental drift despite the prevailing idea of floodedland-bridges at the time, and Bruce C. Heezen and Marie Tharp who discovered the Mid-Atlantic Ridge thatsupported the theory of plate tectonics. Tyson describes how the landmasses of the earth lay atop the mantle,which moves due to the motion and heat of the earth's outer and inner core.

Tyson moves on to explain the asteroid impact that initiated the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event,leaving small mammals as the dominant species on earth. Tyson proceeds to describe more recent geologicevents such as the formation of the Mediterranean Sea due to the breaking of the natural dam at the Strait ofGibraltar, and how the geologic formation of the Isthmus of Panama broke the free flow of the Atlantic Oceaninto the Pacific, causing large-scale climate change such as turning the bulk of Africa from lush grasslands intoarid plains and further influencing evolution towards tree-climbing mammals. Tyson further explains how theinfluence of other planets in the Solar System have small effects on the Earth's spin and tilt, creating thevarious ice ages, and how these changes influenced early human's nomadic behavior. Tyson concludes theepisode by noting how Earth's landmasses are expected to change in the future and postulates what may be thenext great extinction event.

10 "The Electric Boy" Bill Pope Ann Druyan and StevenSoter May 11, 2014 3.46[34]

This episode provides an overview of the nature of electromagnetism,as discovered through the work of Michael Faraday. Tyson explainshow the idea of another force of nature, similar to gravitational forces,had been postulated by Isaac Newton before. Tyson continues onFaraday, coming from poor beginnings, would end up becominginterested in studying electricity after reading books and seeing lecturesby Humphry Davy at the Royal Institution. Davy would hire Faradayafter seeing extensive notes he had taken to act as his secretary and labassistant.

After Davy and chemist William Hyde Wollaston unsuccessfully triedto build on Hans Christian Ørsted's discovery of the electromagneticphenomena to harness the ability to create motion from electricity, Faraday was able to create his own deviceto create the first electric motor by applying electricity aligned along a magnet. Davy, bitter over Faraday'sbreakthrough, put Faraday on the task of improving the quality of high-quality optical glass, preventing

Carl Sagan with a replica of the MarsViking program lander

Faraday from continuing his research. Faraday, undeterred, continued to work in the Royal Institution, andcreated the Christmas Lectures designed to teach science to children. Following Davy's death, Faradayreturned to full time efforts studying electromagnetism, creating the first electrical generator by inserting amagnet in a coil of wires.

Tyson continues to note that despite losing some of his mental capacity, Faraday concluded that electricity andmagnetism were connected by unseen fields, and postulated that light may also be tied to these forces. Using asample of the optical glass that Davy had him make, Faraday discovered that an applied magnetic field couldaffect the polarization of light passing through the glass sample (a dielectric material), leading to what is calledthe Faraday effect and connecting these three forces. Faraday postulated that these fields existed across theplanet, which would later be called Earth's magnetic field generated by the rotating molten iron inner core, aswell as the phenomena that caused the planets to rotate around the sun. Faraday's work was initially rejectedby the scientific community due to his lack of mathematical support, but James Clerk Maxwell would latercome to rework Faraday's theories into the Maxwell's equations that validated Faraday's theories. Theircombined efforts created the basis of science that drives the principles of modern communications today.

11 "The Immortals" BrannonBraga

Ann Druyan and StevenSoter May 18, 2014 3.24[35]

This episode covers how life may have developed on Earth and thepossibility of life on other planets. Tyson begins by explaining how thehuman development of writing systems enabled the transfer ofinformation through generations, describing how Princess Enheduannaca. 2280 BC would be one of the first to sign her name to her works,and how Gilgamesh collected stories, including that of Utnapishtimdocumenting a great flood comparable to the story of Noah's Ark.Tyson explains how DNA similarly records information to propagatelife, and postulates theories of how DNA originated on Earth, includingevolution from a shallow tide pool, or from the ejecta of meteorcollisions from other planets. In the latter case, Tyson explains howcomparing the composition of the Nakhla meteorite in 1911 to results collected by the Viking programdemonstrated that material from Mars could transit to Earth, and the ability of some microbes to survive theharsh conditions of space. With the motions of solar systems through the galaxy over billions of years, lifecould conceivably propagate from planet to planet in the same manner.

Tyson then moves on to consider if life on other planets could exist. He explains how Project Diana performedin the 1940s showed that radio waves are able to travel in space, and that all of humanity's broadcast signalscontinue to radiate into space from our planet. Tyson notes that projects have since looked for similar signalspotentially emanating from other solar systems. Tyson then explains that the development and lifespan ofextraterrestrial civilizations must be considered for such detection to be realized. He notes that civilizationscan be wiped out by cosmic events like supernovae, natural disasters such as the Toba disaster, or even self-destruct through war or other means, making probability estimates difficult. Tyson describes how ellipticalgalaxies, in which some of the oldest red dwarf stars exist, would offer the best chance of finding establishedcivilizations. Tyson concludes that human intelligence properly applied should allow our species to avoid suchdisasters and enable us to migrate beyond the Earth before the Sun's eventual transformation into a red giant.Princess Enheduanna's animation is modeled on CNN's Christiane Amanpour, who also did Enheduanna'svoice.

12 "The World Set Free" BrannonBraga

Ann Druyan and StevenSoter June 1, 2014 3.52[36]

The increase in surface temperatureson Earth due to global warming

Earth as a pale blue dot in themiddle of the band of light,taken by Voyager I fromoutside the orbit of Neptune

This episode explores the nature of the greenhouse effect (discoveredby Joseph Fourier and Svante Arrhenius), and the evidencedemonstrating the existence of global warming from humanity'sinfluence. Tyson begins by describing the long-term history of theplanet Venus; based on readings from the Venera series of probes to theplanet, the planet once had an ocean and an atmosphere, but due to therelease of carbon dioxide from volcanic eruptions, the runawaygreenhouse effect on Venus caused the surface temperatures to increaseand boiled away the oceans.

Tyson then notes the delicate nature of the amount of carbon dioxide inthe atmosphere can influence Earth's climate due to the greenhouseeffect, and that levels of carbon dioxide have been increasing since thestart of the 20th century. Evidence has shown this to be fromhumankind's consumption of oil, coal, and gas instead of from volcanic eruptions due to the isotopic signatureof the carbon dioxide. The increase in carbon dioxide has led to an increase in temperatures, in turn leading topositive feedback loops of the melting polar ice caps and dethawing of the permafrost to increase carbondioxide levels.

Tyson then notes that humans have discovered means of harvesting solar power, such as Augustin Mouchot'ssolar-driven motor in the 19th century, and Frank Shuman's solar-based steam generator in the 1910s. Tysonpoints out that in both cases, the economics and ease of using cheap coal and oil caused these inventions to beoverlooked at the time. Today, solar and wind-power systems would be able to collect enough solar energyfrom the sun easily. Tyson then compares the motivation for switching to these cleaner forms of energy to theefforts of the Space race and emphasizes that it is not too late for humanity to correct its course.

13 "Unafraid of the Dark" Ann Druyan Ann Druyan and StevenSoter June 8, 2014 3.09[37]

Tyson begins the episode by noting how the destruction of the Library ofAlexandria lost much of humanity's knowledge to that point. He thencontrasts on the strive for humanity to continue to discover new facts aboutthe universe and the need to not close off further discovery.

Tyson then proceeds to describe the discovery of cosmic rays by Victor Hessthrough high-altitude balloon trips, where radiation increased the farther onewas from the surface. Swiss Astronomer Fritz Zwicky, in studyingsupernovae, postulated that these cosmic rays originated from these eventsinstead of electromagnetic radiation. Zwicky would continue to studysupernovae, and by looking at standard candles that they emitted, estimatedthe movement of the galaxies in the universe. His calculations suggested thatthere must be more mass in the universe than those apparent in the observablegalaxies, and called this dark matter. Initially forgotten, Zwicky's theory wasconfirmed by the work of Vera Rubin, who observed that the rotation of starsat the edges of observable galaxies did not follow expected rotational behavior without considering darkmatter. This further led to the proposal of dark energy as a viable theory to account for the universe'sincreasing rate of expansion.

The crew of Cosmos at the 74thAnnual Peabody Awards. From left toright: Ann Druyan, Neil deGrasseTyson, Mitchell Cannold and BrannonBraga

Tyson then describes the interstellar travel, using the two Voyager probes. Besides the abilities to identifyseveral features on the planets of the solar system, Voyager I was able to recently demonstrate the existence ofthe Sun's variable heliosphere which help buffer the Solar System from interstellar winds. Tyson describesCarl Sagan's role in the Voyager program, including creating the Voyager Golden Record to encapsulatehumanity and Earth's position in the universe, and convincing the program directors to have Voyager I to take apicture of Earth from beyond the orbit of Neptune, creating the image of the Pale Blue Dot. Tyson concludesthe series by emphasizing Sagan's message on the human condition in the vastness of the cosmos, and toencourage viewers to continue to explore and discover what else the universe has to offer.

The series concludes with the empty-seated Ship of the Imagination leaving Earth and traveling through spaceas Tyson looks on from planet Earth.

ReceptionCosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey has received highly positive reviewsfrom critics, receiving a Metacritic rating of 83 out of 100 based on 19reviews.[38]

The miniseries won the 4th Critics' Choice Television Award for "BestReality Series", with Tyson awarded for "Best Reality Host".[39] Theminiseries was also nominated for "Outstanding Achievement in Newsand Information" for the 30th TCA Awards[40] and 12 Emmy Awards,including "Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series".[41][42] Theprogram won the Emmy for "Outstanding Writing for NonfictionProgramming" and "Outstanding Sound Editing for NonfictionProgramming (Single or Multi-Camera)", and Silvestri won the Emmysfor both "Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music" and"Outstanding Music Composition for a Series (Original DramaticScore)".[43] The series won a 2014 Peabody Award within the Education category.[44]

The new miniseries has been criticized by some Christians and the religious right for some of the viewsexpressed by the show.[45] Christian fundamentalists were upset that the scientific theories covered in the show"squashed" the creation story in the Bible.[46] The Catholic League was upset that the science show "smears"Catholicism. A spokesman for the League noted how the show focused on Giordano Bruno, who was persecutedby the Catholic Church for showing the Earth revolved around the Sun, and stated that the show "skippedCopernicus and Galileo—two far more consequential men in proving and disseminating the heliocentric theory—because in their cases, the Church's role was much more complicated".[47]

Media release

Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey was released on Blu-ray and DVD on June 10, 2014[48] by 20th Century FoxHome Entertainment. The set contains all 13 episodes, plus an audio commentary on the first episode, and threefeaturettes: "Celebrating Carl Sagan: A Selection from the Library of Congress Dedication", "Cosmos at Comic-

Con 2013" and "Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey – The Voyage Continues". Exclusive to the Blu-ray version isthe interactive Cosmic Calendar.[49]

References1. Overbye, Dennis (March 4, 2014). "A Successor to Sagan Reboots ‘Cosmos’" . The New York Times. Retrieved

March 4, 2014.2. Rose, Lacey (August 5, 2011). "Fox Orders Seth MacFarlane's 'Cosmos: A Space-Time Odyssey' " . The Hollywood

Reporter. Retrieved June 28, 2012.3. Sellers, John (August 5, 2011). "Seth MacFarlane to Produce Sequel to Carl Sagan's 'Cosmos' " . Reuters. Retrieved

October 29, 2012.4. "Alan Silvestri to Score ‘Cosmos – A Spacetime Odyssey’" . Film Music Reporter. January 14, 2014. Retrieved

August 11, 2014.5. "Library of Congress Officially Opens The Seth MacFarlane Collection of Carl Sagan and Ann Druyan Archive" .

News from the Library of Congress. November 12, 2013. Retrieved November 12, 2013.6. Stieber, Zachary (March 9, 2014). "‘Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey’ Premiere: Air Date, Time, TV Channel, Live

Stream" . Epoch Times. Retrieved March 16, 2014.7. Itzkoff, Dave (August 5, 2011). "‘Family Guy’ Creator Part of ‘Cosmos’ Update" . The New York Times. Retrieved

June 28, 2012.8. Blake, Meredith (May 13, 2013). "2013 Upfronts: Fox, Seth MacFarlane to reboot Carl Sagan's 'Cosmos' " . Los

Angeles Times. Retrieved July 22, 2013.9. "Science geek Seth MacFarlane donates to Carl Sagan’s notes collection" . Washington Post. November 12, 2013.

Retrieved March 6, 2014.10. Shear, Lynn (January 11, 2014). "Neil deGrasse Tyson: Cosmos’s Master of the Universe" . Parade. Retrieved

January 11, 2014.11. "Neil deGrasse Tyson — Space Chronicles" . Center for Inquiry. April 2, 2012. Retrieved August 26, 2012.12. "Ankylosaur of the Cosmos" . Skepticality. September 27, 2011. Retrieved August 26, 2012.13. Niederhoff, Gary (March 12, 2012). "Big Picture Science – Seth’s Cabinet of Wonders" . SETI. Retrieved August 26,

2012.14. McNally, Victoria (March 6, 2014). "Learn More About the Awesome Animation Sequences in Cosmos From Producer

Kara Vallow" . The Mary Sue. Retrieved March 6, 2014.15. Andersen, Asbjoern (June 16, 2014). "Creating The Breathtaking Sound Of ‘COSMOS: A Spacetime Odyssey’" . A

Sound Effect. Retrieved August 11, 2014.16. Bierly, Mandi (March 8, 2014). "Seth MacFarlane explains the new ship on 'Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey' " .

Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved March 8, 2014.17. "Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey" . Shaw Media. Retrieved March 9, 2014.18. Coleman, Miriam (March 8, 2014). "President Obama to Introduce 'Cosmos' Premiere" . Rolling Stone. Retrieved

March 9, 2014.19. "Fox Networks Group Announces First-Ever Simultaneous Cross-Network Global Premiere Event For "COSMOS: A

SPACETIME ODYSSEY" On Sunday, March 9" (Press release). National Geographic Channels. February 14, 2014.Retrieved August 11, 2014.

20. Kondolojy, Amanda (March 11, 2014). " 'Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey' Premieres Out of this World With a TotalAudience of 40 Million Expected Worldwide" . TV by the Numbers. Retrieved August 11, 2014.

21. Hibberd, James (March 8, 2014). "Obama to introduce Fox's 'Cosmos' " . Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved March 9,2014.

22. President Obama's Intro to Cosmos, 2014 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qcdYYISYh0I) on YouTube23. Kondolojy, Amanda (March 11, 2014). "Sunday Final Ratings: 'Resurrection', 'Once Upon a Time' & 'The Amazing

Race' Adjusted Up" . TV by the Numbers. Retrieved March 27, 2014.24. Collins, Scott (March 10, 2014). "Neil deGrasse Tyson's 'Cosmos' premiere ratings: 40M first week?" . Los Angeles

Time. Retrieved March 27, 2014.25. Bibel, Sara (March 18, 2014). "Sunday Final Ratings: 'Once Upon A Time', 'Resurrection', 'America's Funniest Home

Videos', 'Cosmos', 'American Dad' & 'Believe' Adjusted Up" . TV by the Numbers. Retrieved March 27, 2014.26. Kondolojy, Amanda (March 25, 2014). "Sunday Final Ratings: 'America's Funniest Home Videos', 'Once Upon a Time',

26. Kondolojy, Amanda (March 25, 2014). "Sunday Final Ratings: 'America's Funniest Home Videos', 'Once Upon a Time','American Dad' & 'The Mentalist' Adjusted Up; '60 Minutes', 'Revenge' & 'The Good Wife' Adjusted Down" . TV bythe Numbers. Retrieved March 27, 2014.

27. Bibel, Sara (April 1, 2014). "Sunday Final Ratings: 'The Good Wife', 'Resurrection', 'Crisis', '60 Minutes' & 'America'sFunniest Home Videos' Adjusted Up; 'The Mentalist' Adjusted Down" . TV by the Numbers. Retrieved April 1, 2014.

28. Kondolojy, Amanda (April 8, 2014). "Sunday Final Ratings: 'Once Upon a Time', 'American Dream Builders', 'America'sFunniest Home Videos' & 'Resurrection' Adjusted Up" . TV by the Numbers. Retrieved April 8, 2014.

29. Bibel, Sara (April 15, 2014). "Sunday Final Ratings: 'Resurrection', 'Once Upon a Time', 'The Simpsons', 'The AmazingRace', 'Cosmos', 'The Mentalist' & 'America's Funniest Home Videos' Adjusted Up; '60 Minutes' Adjusted Down" . TVby the Numbers. Retrieved April 15, 2014.

30. Gannon, Megan (April 19, 2014). " 'Cosmos' App Puts the Universe in Your Smartphone" . Space.com. RetrievedApril 20, 2014.

31. Kondolojy, Amanda (April 22, 2014). "Sunday Final Ratings: 'The Amazing Race' Adjusted Up; 'Dateline', 'AmericanDream Builders', 'The Good Wife' & 'Believe' Adjusted Down" . TV by the Numbers. Retrieved April 22, 2014.

32. Bibel, Sara (April 29, 2014). "Sunday Final Ratings: 'Once Upon A Time', 'Revenge' & 'The Simpsons' Adjusted Up;'Believe', '60 Minutes', 'Dateline' & 'American Dream Builders' Adjusted Down" . TV by the Numbers. RetrievedMay 5, 2014.

33. Kondolojy, Amanda (May 6, 2014). "Sunday Final Ratings: 'Once Upon a Time', 'The Simpsons', 'Dateline' &'Resurrection' Adjusted Up; 'The Good Wife' Adjusted Down" . TV by the Numbers. Retrieved May 11, 2014.

34. Bibel, Sara (May 13, 2014). "Sunday Final Ratings: 'Once Upon a Time', 'American Dad' & 'America's Funniest HomeVideos' Adjusted Up; 'Revenge', 'Cosmos' & 'Dateline' Adjusted Down" . TV by the Numbers. Retrieved May 13, 2014.

35. Kondolojy, Amanda (May 20, 2014). "Sunday Final Ratings: 'The Amazing Race' & 'American Dream Builders'Adjusted Up" . TV by the Numbers. Retrieved May 20, 2014.

36. Kondolojy, Amanda (June 3, 2014). "Sunday Final Ratings: 'The Bachelorette' Adjusted Up" . TV by the Numbers.Retrieved June 3, 2014.

37. Bibel, Sara (June 10, 2014). "Sunday Final Ratings: NBA Finals Numbers" . TV by the Numbers. Retrieved June 12,2014.

38. "Cosmos: A Space-Time Odyssey : Season 1" . Metacritic. Retrieved June 27, 2014.39. "Critics' Choice TV Awards 2014 winners and highlights" . CBS News. June 20, 2014. Retrieved June 26, 2014.40. Ausiello, Michael (July 19, 2014). "TCA Awards 2014: Good Wife, OITNB, True Detective, Veep, Breaking Bad, RuPaul

Among Winners" . TVLine. Retrieved July 20, 2014.41. Fullerton, Huw (July 10, 2014). "Emmy Awards 2014: the nominations in full" . The Daily Telegraph

(Telegraph.co.uk). Retrieved July 10, 2014.42. Mooney, Chris (July 10, 2014). " "Cosmos" Just Got Nominated for 12 Emmys" . Mother Jones (Foundation For

National Progress). Retrieved July 11, 2014.43. Weinstein, Shelli (August 16, 2014). "‘OITNB’s’ Uzo Aduba, Jimmy Fallon Win Emmy Guest Comedy Acting Awards"

. Variety. Retrieved August 16, 2014.44. Steinberg, Brian (April 23, 2015). "‘Cosmos,’ ‘Adventure Time,’ ‘Doc McStuffins’ Among Peabody Winners" .

Variety. Retrieved April 23, 2015.45. Arel, Dan (June 14, 2014). "13 ways Neil deGrasse Tyson's “Cosmos” sent the religious right off the deep end" .

Salon. Retrieved June 26, 2014.46. McElwee, Sean (June 23, 2014). "Neil deGrasse Tyson v. the Right: Cosmos, Christians and the Battle for American

Science" . Huffington Post. Retrieved June 26, 2014.47. Gryboski, Michael (March 11, 2014). " 'Cosmos' Accused of Taking a Jab at Catholics" . Christian Post. Retrieved

June 26, 2014.48. Kramer, Miriam (June 10, 2014). " 'Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey' Warps Into Stores Today" . Space.com. Retrieved

January 22, 2015.49. Lambert, David (April 23, 2014). "Cosmos: A SpaceTime Odyssey - Finalized Box Art, Extras on Press Release for Neil

deGrasse Tyson's Show" . TVShowsOnDVD.com. Retrieved June 27, 2014.

External linksOfficial website (http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/channel/cosmos-a-spacetime-odyssey/) atNational Geographic ChannelCosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2395695/) at the Internet Movie Database

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