He was a also a wacko religious nutcase. It just shows to go ya.

As for cartoons vs actors...cartoons are cheaper. Especially when you figure you don't have pay for crew, studios, sets, makeup, costumes. We do live in a cartoon world, and shabby animation is cheaper than good acting.

I suggest you check out The Mechanical Universe,

http://www.learner.org/resources/series42.html

an introduction to physics series that ran on PBS a few years back.

Animations were used very cleverly to illustrate mathematical and physical concepts, but actors and dramatic scenery gave the historical background. They also have a real physics teacher, a very talented one,doing the demonstrations and classroom experiments and lectures. All the episodes are still online and downloadable from that website. They are highly recommended. Treat yourself to a few episodes and see for yourself.

Its more textbookish than Cosmos, more of a teaching tool than entertainment, but it gives you an idea of what you can do with television, even without the heavy duty technology available today.

I like Cosmos, but it isn't as captivating as the original, even with all the razzle-dazzle computer graphics. It isn't even as good as "The Mechanical Universe".