Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #813 in DVD
• Released on: 2009-07-20
• Rating: Exempt
• Format: PAL
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 5
• Running time: 780 minutes

Synopsis
Carl Sagan explores the universe in this monumental cosmic journey. A fascinating blend of science, education, and entertainment that covers everything from the cells which build life to the Big Bang that started it all.

Customer Reviews

The best Tv series about space ever!!
This is not just another TV series about space this is a Carl Sagan TV series about space. And as such it encapsulates Sagan's supreme majesty for the wonder of the cosmos and the central importance of humanity to observe and to try and understand the realm of the night sky. For me Sagan is the archetypal humanist: non-judgemental, compassionate, tolerant and objective. He exudes passion, humour and warmth with such a degree that the last episode brings tears to my eyes, particularly when his ship of the imagination encounters a lifeless planet Earth sometime in the future. Some viewers may find the format somewhat dated and Sagan does sometimes appear wooden in front of the camera but these are minor quibbles when compared with the man's awesome intelligence and benign demeanour. There is so much to enjoy in every episode, from the history of humanity's quest for knowledge, from the very small to the very large and from the first complex molecules to us. No stone is left unturned as Sagan travels through time and space, exploring mysteries and explaining them, searching for truths and exposing superstitions and handling the subject of religion with profound tolerance. After all who can blame an ancient civilisations for thinking the stars were camp fires warming the inhabitants of some far off world. It is this aspect of this epic series that makes Sagan stand out from the CGI infested, celebrity fronted, blandness of subsequent TV offerings. Long live Carl Sagan: Master of the Universe.

Still the best after all these years
I watched this series as a child of 12 in the 80's and was enthralled at the knowledge and wonder it imparted upon me. It placed in me a fascination for cosmology not because I had any interest in science, but because Sagan answered the questions I had about evolution, atoms and the universe in a way that can only be described as the conversation of a freind. Before Sagan, we were dictated to by the "experts" and may have understood the questions but found it hard to understand the answer. "Cosmos" is a ground-breaking series on the nature of our universe, presented in simple, humanitarian terms. Very little has changed in our knowledge of the cosmos since this series ran, so it is still a valid exploration of our universe. This edition includes "updates" which are, in fact, little more than a nod to new discoveries or recently proved theorums already outlined in the main programme. This series is timeless, and should be shown to every school-child in the world. And, indeed, every adult ignorant of cosmology. Wonderful television. Wonderful subject.

Billions and billions
Just received my copy of this dvd after years of searching for a decent region 2 copy. I'm absolutely delighted with it. I, like many others, remember watching it as a child and being staggered and inspired by the scale of Sagan's vision. What was even more wonderful was the warmth with which this vision was presented; this is no cold scientific enquiry but allows soaring imagination while absolutely respecting the scientific method. I guess I bought it out of nostalgia but I've just watched it again - it's quite incredible, even now, 30 years later.