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posted 18-03-2010 10:05
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Surprised there isn't a thread about this already.
Loving this. Prof. Brian Cox is a likeable guide through the usual stuff about the solar system, but he does it in a way which is both enlightening and entertaining (although he is a teensy bit smiley for me, but I suspect that is down to him REALLY loving the subject matter).
Admittedly, when I heard 'Brian Cox' was going to be the host, I was expecting the lovely, rotund Scottish actor, but twas not to be.
If you (Brits) missed it, its on iplayer here.
Any physicists or astronomers out there, probably wont learn anything they didnt know, but its certainly very pretty. (And I suspect its WOW in HD)
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posted 18-03-2010 12:10
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I'm loving this and am developing a slightly worrying (for a supposedly heterosexual male) man crush on Professor Cox, I think it's his boundless enthusiasm or possibly the way he patiently explained cosmology to Tim Lovejoy on "Something for the Weekend".
Also loving Richard Hammond's Invisible Worlds which, if you can get past the fact that it's presented by Richard Hammond, features some truly jaw-droppingly stunning photography and super slow motion filming.
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posted 18-03-2010 14:01
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I saw the one on Saturn's rings, which involved Carl Murray, who taught me Solar System Dynamics on my Master's and is a perfectly lovely man. Because Carl's done some schools work with me about his Cassini observations, I already knew a lot of the content, but it was great to see Cox taking on the job of explaining concepts like orbital resonance to a lay audience, and doing, I thought, a pretty good job.
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posted 18-03-2010 14:42
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Saw him at the Big Libel Gig last weekend and at the 9 Carols thing at Xmas. I'm joining Tratorello in his man-crush. (To go with Kevin McCloud.)
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posted 18-03-2010 14:45
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He has a touch of the Brett from Suede about him, so I think its allowed.
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posted 18-03-2010 14:47
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And I learned at least one thing (in the Saturn episode, and its fairly obvious when you think about it) about the orbit of Mars in relation to Earth, and how Mars looks as if its doubling back on itself.
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posted 18-03-2010 14:57
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Cox has had a pretty fantastic life, hasn't he? It can't be bad to spend your early twenties as a pop star, and making a decent amount of money, before going on to be a scientist involved in serious, important research and then end up presenting a TV show in which you share your passion with the world.
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posted 18-03-2010 15:20
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Things can only get worse.
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posted 18-03-2010 16:44
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You could say he's living the D:Ream.
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posted 18-03-2010 16:50
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There are possibly a few too many sumptuously filmed shots of him walking about in deserts/glaciers/jungles etc., but it would be churlish to complain about that. It's a cracking series, and he's brilliantly enthusiastic. There hadn't been a really good programme about space for years before this, had there?
I also liked the fact that he was inspired by the same Brooke Bond "Race Into Space" tea card album that I had when I was a kid.
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posted 18-03-2010 17:01
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One of the docu channels on Sky (Nat Geo I think) had a fairly good space series recently. Extreme Universe I think it was.
It was a little too American, but the narrator avoided the crash bang bloody flip biggest in the world! narration of say History Channel's "Universe" which made it unwatchable. It seemed to be made from other shows and had some interesting and engaging people presenting different bits. Not great, but quite informative.
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posted 18-03-2010 17:52
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There was kind of a thread about it. I made a couple of posts in the photography thread, which seems to have become something of a dumping ground for all things astronomy.
Anyway, I'm pretty sure I've declared my man-crush for Brian Cox before. Like Hobbes, I saw him on Sunday and again, his enthusiasm really shone through. The guy would make a great Simonyi professor one day. And the second episode was even even better than the first, although it still mixes CGI and real footage a bit too loosely for my tastes.
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Mumpo
This boy's a mess, he's a menace, he's a pest
Posts: 5308
  
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posted 18-03-2010 20:31
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I watched a bit of the first one, it did seem a bit padded with the gratuitous lushness AB describes, but it wasn't entirely without merit.
Anyone sticking with The Sky At Night? Respect to Patrick Moore for soldiering on, but he's becoming increasingly difficult to understand.
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posted 18-03-2010 20:55
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I started watching The Sky At Night again last year after a break of about twenty years. It's nice to know it's still going, but it's always pretty interesting as well as that. Has Patrick Moore had a stroke? As you say, he's difficult to understand, but he's certainly on the ball mentally.
I've also rediscovered University Challenge lately.
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posted 19-03-2010 00:04
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I do watch sky at night, despite the utterly grating voice of Patrick's bitch, Chris Lintott. He manages to make the marvels of the universe sound like the banal procession of minutes on a damp Sunday in February. Surely the worst narrator in history?
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posted 19-03-2010 00:08
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Oh and that dick who does the star gazing section. If he says "...the plough, or as I call it, 'the saucepan'" once more, I'm going to go down to Selsey and beat him to death with a 15 inch dobsonian.
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posted 19-03-2010 07:31
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I don't really mind star gazing man, but he does seem to have acquired a deeply annoying sidekick recently.
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posted 19-03-2010 08:53
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Oh, the little one who wants to be Simon Singh?
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posted 19-03-2010 08:57
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That's the fellow.
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posted 19-03-2010 10:01
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I watch 'Universe' when its on, as an aid to go to sleep.
I watch 'The Sky at Night', because I always did, and then I discovered Smirnoff, and thought Patrick Mower was dead. (sic)
The 'colour guy' doesnt make me want to continue watching, and Brian Cox does.
Please glod, Brian Cox does a programme on religion (but he already has) in the future.
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