I'm not sure what some people were looking for here. It's not meant to be a university lecture. But it is meant to be a way to communicate to the average person (who may reside in Jesusland instead of an ivory tower) our current knowledge about the universe.
Yes, Brian Cox is beautiful. Who do you want to learn from? He's enthusiastic, friendly, nice to look at, and knowledgeable. That's exactly who should be presenting science. Look at who you are competing against, for viewers.
While I was expecting something like a visit to various celestial objects, similar to a tour of our solar system (and we do get a bit of stuff like that), this takes a much wider view.
We see the sheer size of the universe, in both space and time. We see how a universe like ours is necessary to support life, but that life can only exist for a relative instant. And then we explore two other big concepts on the scale of the universe: gravity and light (although frankly, the first two episodes are sufficient by themselves).
This is, without a doubt, the clearest documentary description of humanity's place in the universe that I have seen. And it is presented in a way that properly dramatizes it, and simultaneously shows off the beauty of Earth as well.
The two minor drawbacks I see are: the episode order is in roughly decreasing emotional impact and should be adjusted/edited, and there are too many repetitive shots of Brian in the same place (for example, standing on the peak of a mountain).
Yes, Brian Cox is beautiful. Who do you want to learn from? He's enthusiastic, friendly, nice to look at, and knowledgeable. That's exactly who should be presenting science. Look at who you are competing against, for viewers.
While I was expecting something like a visit to various celestial objects, similar to a tour of our solar system (and we do get a bit of stuff like that), this takes a much wider view.
We see the sheer size of the universe, in both space and time. We see how a universe like ours is necessary to support life, but that life can only exist for a relative instant. And then we explore two other big concepts on the scale of the universe: gravity and light (although frankly, the first two episodes are sufficient by themselves).
This is, without a doubt, the clearest documentary description of humanity's place in the universe that I have seen. And it is presented in a way that properly dramatizes it, and simultaneously shows off the beauty of Earth as well.
The two minor drawbacks I see are: the episode order is in roughly decreasing emotional impact and should be adjusted/edited, and there are too many repetitive shots of Brian in the same place (for example, standing on the peak of a mountain).