Cosmos Returns, This Time on Fox and National Geographic

I am a fan of Carl Sagan's masterpiece Cosmos, broadcast on PBS in 1980.  Officially titled Cosmos: A Personal Voyage, the series was an eye-opening experience providing a fascinating perspective on the heavens above us and the role of humans within in it (as miniscule as that may be). 

So are we ready for the reboot tomorrow night (March 9), Cosmos: A Spacetime Journey?  And is Fox the network to do it?  In terms of a reboot, I would say astronomy has advanced considerably in the past 34 years, so the new show has plenty to share with us, such as newly discovered planets orbiting distant stars.  And having Neil deGrasse Tyson as the host steering the "Ship of the Imagination" was a smart move since he has been the astronomy guy to Americans for many years now.  

Dr. Tyson is excited about bringing Cosmos back to television, noting in a recent Wired interview: 

Whoever said you couldn’t communicate science by way of stories? Cosmos is an occasion to bring everything that I have, all of my capacity to communicate. We may go to the edge of the universe, but we’re going to land right on you: in your heart, in your soul, in your mind. My goal is to have people know that they are participants in this great unfolding cosmic story. 

As far as Fox, luckily the National Geographic Channel is also involved, which gives me a better feeling.  And, of course, none of this would be possible without the approval of Dr. Sagan's widow, Ann Druyan, who was the co-creator of the original series.  So Fox and family could not go crazy with an earlier formula that worked so well.  Even the involvement of Seth MacFarlane, the animator of sophomoric television, could have been a disaster, but the artwork I have seen so far has no talking dogs and diabolical infants, so we should be okay.  

Take a look at the Cosmos trailer and you will be a better sense of what is in store.  I am hopeful that all parties did this right.  And if you want to see the original Cosmos program with Carl Sagan, the National Geographic Channel will be showing all 13 episode today.