Neil deGrasse Tyson's remake of Carl Sagan's 'Cosmos' headed to Fox in 2014

[cleanhippie]

Neil deGrasse Tyson's reboot of astrophysicist Carl Sagan’s groundbreaking documentary series, Cosmos: A Personal Journey, is finally on its way to television. Fox made the official announcement during its advertising upfront presentation at New York’s Beacon Theatre on Monday, reports The Los Angeles Times. The series has been in the works for years, and will be making its long-awaited premiere sometime in 2014.

The 13-episode series is being produced, surprisingly, by Seth MacFarlane of Family Guy fame. As far as the hosting gig goes, it’s hard to imagine who could be a better fit than Tyson, who first met Sagan as a 17-year-old applicant to Cornell University, having been personally invited by the famous scientist to "come check out the lab."

It will be interesting to see what the team has planned for the new show. The Sagan original became the most successful US public TV series of all time relying primarily on the astrophysicist’s elegant expositions of the universe, while today’s science programming largely takes its cues from sci-fi, revolving around flashy computer animation and dramatic visual effects. At the same time, Fox might not seem like the most obvious home for a high-minded astrophysics series, although the network believes that even without a huge financial return, the series "could have a cultural impact."

http://www.theverge.com/2013/5/13/4328390/neil-degrasse-tyson-remake-carl-sagan-cosmos-headed-to-fox-in-2014

Woot!

[Sekhmets Daughter]

1. Love Tyson, loved Cosmos...this is great news!

Fox can well afford to run a low revenue program. At long last, a good reason for its existence!

[tridim]

2. I don't understand why it is "surprising" that Seth MacFarlane would produce this.

I mean how could he possibly be smart? He's just an artist, a comedian, a singer, an actor and a writer.

[demwing]

4. Because he's a bit juvenile?

As his Family Guy creation showed, and as his recent stint at the Academy Awards underscored.

[phantom power]

3. The thought of Fox being involved with this makes me queasy

you know, I watched the original last year, and it's aged pretty well. Not that you couldn't update it with all that's happened since 1980, but at the level Sagan was working, it's not that dated.

I'm going to have nightmares of Fox turning this into some kind of abomination that metaphorically spits on Sagan's grave.

[Warpy]

5. Fox Entertainment has been putting out

some great stuff for a long time. "The Simpsons" wouldn't have lasted nearly as long on any other network.

Even the lowbrow "Married, with Children" had its moments.

This could be a really good series.

[defacto7]

6. I think Carl

would be pissed. FOX anything is as far fetched from Mr. Sagan's personality and vision as about anything I can imagine. If anything, it's a way for the FOX network to get in other propaganda and spruce up it's anti-intelligence reputation and do it through the back door. There is no other reason they would accept the possibility of a profit loss.. which would be far fetched from FOX's personality and vision.

[Heywood J]

7. Since it's Fox,

will it now be "thousands and thousands of years"?

While I can easily take Neil deGrasse Tyson seriously, I don't think I'd ever be able to do the same with Seth MacFarlane. Will MacFarlane have Tyson hurt his knee, yelling "Ah!" for four solid minutes to fill the gap where the episode ran short? Or will there be lots of poop and AIDS jokes?

[GreenPartyVoter]

8. My hope is that it's a great program, and that FAUX Snooze viewers tune in and learn something!