"Cosmos" (1980) TV series

User Rating:

9.6/10   

Director:

Adrian Malone

Writer:

Ann Druyan (writer)

Seasons:

1

Release Date:

28 September 1980 (USA)

Genre:

Documentary

Plot:

Astronomer Carl Sagan leads us on an engaging guided tour of the various elements and cosmological theories of the Universe.

Plot Keywords:

Earth | Universe | Space | Mars | Library

Awards:

Won 3 Primetime Emmys. Another 1 win & 3 nominations

Cast

Carl Sagan

...

Himself - Host (13 episodes, 1980)

(more)

Series Directed by
David F. Oyster		(13 episodes, 1980)
Adrian Malone		(unknown episodes)

Series Writing credits
Carl Sagan		(13 episodes, 1980)
Ann Druyan		(unknown episodes)

Series Produced by
Gregory Andorfer	....	producer (unknown episodes)
Judy Flannery	....	producer (unknown episodes)
Geoffrey Haines-Stiles	....	senior producer (unknown episodes)
David Kennard	....	senior producer (unknown episodes)
Adrian Malone	....	executive producer (unknown episodes)
Rob McCain	....	producer (unknown episodes)
David F. Oyster	....	producer (unknown episodes)
Tom Weidlinger	....	producer (unknown episodes)
Richard Wells	....	producer (unknown episodes)

Series Original Music by
Larry Fast		(unknown episodes)
Gordon Skene		(unknown episodes)
Tôru Takemitsu		(unknown episodes)
Isao Tomita		(unknown episodes)
Vangelis		(unknown episodes)

Series Film Editing by
James Lathom		(unknown episodes)
Roy Stewart		(unknown episodes)

Series Art Direction by
John Retsek		(unknown episodes)

Series Art Department
Don Davis	....	astronomical artist (unknown episodes)
Jon Lomberg	....	chief artist (unknown episodes)
Anne Norcia	....	astronomical artist (unknown episodes)
Ernie Norcia	....	astronomical artist (unknown episodes)
Adolf Schaller	....	astronomical artist (unknown episodes)

Series Sound Department
Kent Gibson	....	sound designer / sound re-recording mixer (13 episodes, 1980)
Richard Van Dyke	....	production sound mixer (unknown episodes)
Gerald Zelinger	....	sound mixer / sound re-recording mixer (unknown episodes)

Series Visual Effects by
John Allison	....	visual effects supervisor (unknown episodes)
Christopher S. Ross	....	magicam crew (unknown episodes)
Rick Sternbach	....	visual effects supervisor (unknown episodes)
Donna Tracy	....	visual effects (unknown episodes)

Series Camera and Electrical Department
Mark J. Levin	....	lighting technician (13 episodes, 1980)
Hilyard John Brown	....	location cinematographer (unknown episodes)
Chris O'Dell	....	location cinematographer (unknown episodes)

Series Animation Department
Russ Mooney	....	animator (unknown episodes)

Series Other crew
Chris Crump	....	magicam crew (1 episode, 1980)
Janelle Balnicke	....	location & production coordinator (unknown episodes)
Bob Buckner	....	magicam crew (unknown episodes)
Stephen H. Burum	....	magicam crew (unknown episodes)
Jim Dow	....	magicam crew (unknown episodes)
John Gale	....	magicam crew (unknown episodes)
Larry Heider	....	magicam crew (unknown episodes)
Mike Johnson	....	magicam crew (unknown episodes)
Robert C. King	....	magicam crew (unknown episodes)
Cleve Landsberg	....	magicam crew (unknown episodes)
Joe Matza	....	magicam crew (unknown episodes)
Carey Melcher	....	technical designer (unknown episodes)
Susan Racho	....	special effects production coordinator (unknown episodes)
George C. Reilly	....	magicam crew (unknown episodes)
Joe Wolcott	....	magicam crew (unknown episodes)

Production Companies

• Carl Sagan Productions
• KCET

Distributors

• Public Broadcasting Service (PBS)

Special Effects

• MPI James Shourt & Robert Blalock
• Magicam

Runtime:

60 min (13 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Filming Locations:

Alaska, USA

Company:

Carl Sagan Productions

Trivia:

Many of the studio sequences filmed in rooms with entirely black walls and floors, in the middle of which various minimal set elements would be arranged, were shot in the studio classrooms of the iEAR (Integrated Electronic Arts at Rensselaer) at Renssalear Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in Troy, New York, near Albany. RPI students also constructed the prototype "Mars rover" shown in one of the episodes speculating on robotic exploration of other planets.

Quotes:

Carl Sagan: Alexandria was the greatest city the Western world had ever seen. People of all nations came here to live, to trade, to learn. On any given day, its harbors were thronged with merchants, scholars, and tourists. This was a city where Greeks, Egyptians...

Movie Connections:

Featured in Miracle Mile (1988)

A "must" for anyone carrying a throbbing heart.

Such apparently disassociated issues as deciphering hieroglyphics from ancient Egyptians and accompanying the Voyager spacecraft along its planetary tour meet up in these wonderful series. Carl Sagan not only transmits the facts, but also and perhaps most important, his enthusiasm swoops down deeply into the spectator skin.

Sagan (who hosts the series himself) magnificently shows that science is the art of solving Nature's mysteries. Every topic that is encompassed in Cosmos, is shown as so: Beginning in the knot, showing the big efforts that are made to untie it, and the final breath-out of the human mind prevailing over the (previously) unknown. Not only science, but everyday subjects are researched as well, such as astrology or the UFO phenomenon. History also shares a good role in Cosmos.

Overall, the great production and the soundtrack make this series a MUST for everyone carrying a throbbing heart.