I have watched the first two episodes of Cosmos as shown on The Science Channel
last week and tonight.

Apparently someone thought it was a good idea to "update" the series with the
latest images and so-called modern computer graphics.

What we got was a lessening of what the magic of Cosmos was all about. And
the FX graphics actually looked cheesier than the ones done in 1980. I noted
that they cut out part of the story regarding the origin of the Heike crab - the
entire part about the seven year old emperor of Japan and his grandmother was
removed! And having those commercials were a part of it, I am sure. They did
not exist when the series was on PBS, thankfully. Threw off the mood and pace,
to say nothing of being just plain annoying.

They should have just left the series alone. Cosmos has aged well and should
have remained as an example of what one of the best science shows ever put
on television was all about. They're trying to make it look like all the other
ones that get cranked out all over TV now, most of which are pale imitations
of Cosmos.

I have the untouched series on videotape released by TBS in 1989, but how
long before I cannot view them any more? I am unaware of any DVD version
that has the original Cosmos, just this "improved" version.

I was pleased with The Planets, shown right after Cosmos on the same channel.
Could be a bit more in-depth (again, the commercials), but it has its merits as
well as some footage I had not seen before.