Within the first twenty minutes we learn that the universe is very old, that you can't go back in time, that a year is when the earth revolves around the sun once, that the universe appears eternal and never changing(even though, spoilers, it isn't) and that time is irreversible and changes things. Brian Cox manages to repeat this last fact about ten times, seemingly challenging our notion of time and trying to make us believe we have been caught in some broken record of an alternate universe. For any person, whether you are physics graduate or you have simply completed one year of primary school, this is not news.
The BBC seem satisfied with squandering an obviously large budget on admittedly impressive but ultimately useless shots of far away landscapes. This series simply looks for the money shots, whilst giving the writing job to a nine year old boy with adhd. Time is irreversible, now heres a turtle, time is irreversible, now heres a glacier, time is irreversible, now heres a cool simulation of an explosion! Though clearly trying to emulate the same wonder and respect for the universe that Carl Sagan had, Brian Cox's exhilaration seems completely artificial. This shows that today, documentaries are willing to sacrifice learning and wonder for special effects and plane tickets to anywhere that takes their fancy, no matter how relevant to the message it is.
The BBC seem satisfied with squandering an obviously large budget on admittedly impressive but ultimately useless shots of far away landscapes. This series simply looks for the money shots, whilst giving the writing job to a nine year old boy with adhd. Time is irreversible, now heres a turtle, time is irreversible, now heres a glacier, time is irreversible, now heres a cool simulation of an explosion! Though clearly trying to emulate the same wonder and respect for the universe that Carl Sagan had, Brian Cox's exhilaration seems completely artificial. This shows that today, documentaries are willing to sacrifice learning and wonder for special effects and plane tickets to anywhere that takes their fancy, no matter how relevant to the message it is.