The complete landmark TV series – 13 one-hour episodes, including:
I: The Shores Of the Cosmos
II: One Voice In the Cosmic Fugue
III: The Harmony Of the Worlds
IV: Heaven and Hell
V: Blues For A Red Planet
VI: Travellers’ Tales
VII: The Backbone of Night
VIII: Travels In Space and Time
IX: The Lives Of the Stars
X: The Edge Of Forever
XI: The Persistence Of Memory
XII: Encyclopedia Galactica
XIII: Who Speaks For Earth?
When Cosmos was first broadcast in 1980, our world–and the context of Carl Sagan’s eloquent “personal journey”–was a different place. The late Dr. Sagan would be pleased to witness the cooling of the Cold War, the continued exploration of space, and ongoing efforts to curb our destructive dependence on fossil fuels. For Sagan’s series is far more than a guided tour through “billions and billions” of stars and galaxies. It remains a profound plea for the unity of humankind, for the recognition that “we are a way for the universe to know itself,” with an obligation to know our origin, our place in the universe, and our future potential.
In the course of 13 fascinating hours, Cosmos spans its own galaxy of topics to serve Sagan’s theme, each segment deepening our understanding of how we got from there (simple microbes in the primordial mud) to here (space-faring civilization in the 21st century). In his “ship of the imagination,” Sagan guides us to the farthest reaches of space and takes us back into the history of scientific inquiry, from the ancient library of Alexandria to the NASA probes of our neighboring planets. Upon this vast canvas Sagan presents the “cosmic calendar,” placing the 15-billion-year history of the universe into an accessible one-year framework, then filling it with a stunning chronology of events, both interstellar and earthbound.
From the lives of the stars to creation theories, functions of the human brain, and the ongoing search for extraterrestrial intelligence, Cosmos asks big questions. When appropriate, Sagan offers big answers, or asks still bigger–and yes, even spiritual–questions at the boundaries of science and religion. What’s most remarkable about Cosmos is that it remains almost entirely fresh, with few updates needed to the science that Sagan so passionately celebrates. It is no exaggeration to say that Cosmos–for all the debate it may continue to provoke–is a vital document for humanity at a pivotal crossroads of our history. –Jeff Shannon
Buy “Cosmos: Carl Sagan “ For Only $68.00
March 14, 2008
#1
I rented the 13 episode series after having watched a portion on PBS, thinking that it seemed like a good watch. How wrong I was. This is nothing more than a New Age brainwashing series. The music, often Vangelis, repeating the same things over and over, does nothing but brainwash and dumb the viewer. The overall purpose of the video series is a “science as religion” infommercial (and perhaps a means of self-worship — he seems to enjoy the sound of his own voice). Sagan, as it should by now now be widely known, himself engaged in his fair share of pseudoscience. He is best described as a sci-fi writer pretending to be a scientist. By accusing others of pseudoscience, he was able to divert attention away from his own pseudoscience because clearly, anyone accusing anyone else of something can’t possibly be doing the same thing. That would be hypocritical! And, after almost 30 years, the tapes still sell for this ridiculous price. Save yourself the time and/or money and restrict yourself to series about real science. This is in the same league as “What the bleep do we know?”, judging by the trailers and clips of the latter.
March 14, 2008
#2
If you’re looking for actual live footage of space and galaxie shots you won’t find it here. This box set appears to have been produced in the late 70′s possibly early 80′s, and gives fair documentry but is very poor in visual stimulation.I give this selection a one star for poor visual but fair documentation Is it worth what’s priced you may ask ? In my opinion, no! not even half.
March 14, 2008
#3
Cosmos? Please. Not once does Mr. Sagan discuss the perfect handbag, and there’s not a martini glass in sight. WTF, Carl Sagan?
March 14, 2008
#4
I *loved* the Cosmos series when I was a kid. I still have the book and have read it numerous times, and Cosmos got me very interested in the music of Vangelis – I own almost all his music on CD now. HOWEVER – I refuse to buy any large set of programming like this. (I would love to own “I, Claudius” too.) But I won’t allow this much shelf space to be taken up!! If they would *use* the technology they have available to them, and make the discs dual-layer and double-sided, I would be all over this. They could fit all 13 episodes onto *two* discs! Three if they had a lot of supplementary material. But any more than that is *ridiculous* for 13 hours of programming, and this has SEVEN discs! Stupid! I rate the show five stars but this presentation 1 star.
March 14, 2008
#5
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.