TV Review: Astronomical impact

Neil deGrasse Tyson makes science cool again in “Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey”

Since his stint as host of the PBS program “Nova Science Now,” astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson has ascended to the rarest of ranks as a scientist who has become not just a household name but a pop-culture icon.

Through regular appearances on “The Daily Show,” “Jeopardy!” and “Real Time with Bill Maher” (and numerous other late night shows), as well as tongue-in-cheek cameos on “Stargate Atlantis,” “The Big Bang Theory,” and Action Comics #14, Tyson has fashioned himself as the science community’s benevolent ambassador to the mainstream. Like his predecessor and hero Carl Sagan, Tyson is a charismatic rationalist loved by the camera and trusted by the public, gifted with the ability to distill complicated scientific theories on black holes and multi-verses into digestible, comprehensible sound bytes.

It’s no surprise, then, that Tyson was elected to carry on Sagan’s legacy through Fox’s revival of the late astronomer’s PBS series, “Cosmos.”

“Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey” is a colorful, big-budget documentary in which Tyson leads the audience on an educational voyage through the history of scientific discovery. Produced by committed skeptic Seth MacFarlane and original “Cosmos” co-creator Ann Druyan, the populist bent of this iteration is even more pronounced, with Hollywood veteran Bill Pope (cinematographer for “The Matrix” and the “Spider-Man” movies) in charge of translating Tyson’s ideas into a visual spectacle worthy of the widescreen.

Imagine Tyson floating through the creation sequence in “The Tree of Life,” replacing Malick’s poetic, pseudo-spiritual mumblings with matter-of-fact explanations of how the universe came to be, and you have a pretty good idea of the ambition and tone of “Cosmos.” 

One of the most compelling tricks of the pilot episode that aired March 9 was the re-introduction of Sagan’s cosmic calendar. Tyson explained the scope of evolution using a 12-month calendar to mark cosmic events, starting with the Big Bang (12 a.m., January 1) and ending with our current existence (11:59 p.m., December 31). Using this scale, he successfully conveyed just how infinitesimal humanity is against its surroundings: our sun formed on August 31, while humanity has existed for just the last 15 seconds. It was an awe-inspiring framing method.

It’s not surprising that “Cosmos” is already being discredited as atheist propaganda, nor is it much of a shock that Oklahoma City’s Fox affiliate conveniently pre-empted a 15-second portion of the pilot in which Tyson explicitly refers to evolution. The involvement of MacFarlane, an outspoken atheist and mocker of all things holy, certainly doesn’t help fundamentalists’ perception of the show, but Tyson (who has referred to himself as agnostic) and co-writer Druyan are careful in their storytelling to portray religious belief with respect, most notably in an extended animated sequence portraying Italian scientist Giordano Bruno’s martyrdom at the hands of the inquisition. Bruno is shown as driven by his faith to explore and question the nature of the universe, which threatened the status quo of the church and led to his execution.

In an era when the Faith-vs.-Science debate has been revived and posited at the center of an ongoing culture war in which straight-faced elected leaders tell us the earth is 6,000 years old, Tyson has become America’s remedial science teacher, reminding us of what we forgot in Astronomy 101 while asking us to please put more of a premium on observable truth.

Some of the passages in “Cosmos” are frustratingly elementary, but considering the dire results of the latest Programme for International Student Assessment (or PISA, from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, or OECD – of 65 countries surveyed, the U.S. ranks 23rd in science education, down from 18th in 2009), it’s probably a necessary starting point.

Tyson, Druyan, and MacFarlane are doing the Lord’s work, so to speak. Hopefully audiences will agree.