Sagan . . .
The best definition I can give for the good doctor would be an advocate for the sciences. All of them. He may even be refered to as our science docudrama laureate. The man lived for public speaking, with his powers of both observation and explanation far exceeding many of his own contemporaries. He also demanded full control over content of his Cosmos series. The only network to accept this condition was PBS.
Admittedly, I missed the opening episode for the new series, but I would have to say that, if it was in any way "dumbed down," it would likely be for the show biz "experts" and the need for profit over learning.
2 cents...