Cosmos - A Tribute to Carl Sagan

Do you remember the classic television programme, Cosmos? It ran in the 1980s, and had a huge impact on the imagination of many, myself included.

It was a TV series that was monumental in its scope, emotional in its descriptions, unforgettable in its depiction of our Universe.

The television series, and in particular, its presenter, Carl Sagan , astronomer, astrophsysicist and Professor at Cornell University at the time, was instrumental in inspiring countless people of different generations throughout the world.

My all time favourite movie, Contact, was written and co- produced by Carl Sagan. Unfortunately he died just before the movie was due to be released, never having seen the movie. The movie was dedicated to him.

Many astronomers and astrophsyicists today have also stated Professor Carl Sagan as being influential in their career, including Professor Stephen Hawking and Professor Brian Cox.

I recently attended Uncaged Monkeys a very enjoyable night of science and intelligent humour (though anyone from Norfolk may not have found it quite as funny, with references to N.F.N. appearing during Adam Rutherford's part). It ended with a clip that I have included below. Known as the Pale Blue Dot, it was a photograph requested by Carl Sagan, taken by Voyager 1 at the end of its mission.

In the great man's words:

"The spacecraft was a long way from home. I thought it would be a good idea, just after Saturn, to have them take one last glance homeward. From Saturn, the Earth would appear too small for Voyager to make out any detail. Our planet would be just a point of light, a lonely pixel hardly distinguishable from the other points of light Voyager would see: nearby planets, far off suns. But precisely because of the obscurity of our world thus revealed, such a picture might be worth having."

"It had been well understood by the scientists and philosophers of classical antiquity that the Earth was a mere point in a vast, encompassing cosmos -- but no one had ever seen it as such. Here was our first chance, and perhaps also our last."  Thanks to torbad for this quote.

And here is the Pale Blue Dot clip, I hope Carl Sagan inspires and moves you as he did me.

Memorable TV catch phrases - do you remember these?

Picture from : reflectionsonfilmandtelevision.blogspot.com

I was reminiscing with friends today, discussing memorable phrases on classic TV programmes. It's amazing what people remember, programmes and linesI had forgotten about completely but as soon as I heard them, it all came flooding back.


Below were the most memorable ones we came up with, can you think of any others?

1. A-Team- “I pity the fool”/ “I love it when a plan comes together"
2. Different Strokes - “Whach you talkin about Willis?”
3. Hawaii Five-0 - “Book ‘em Danno”
4. Star Trek (original) - “Beam me up Scottie”/ “Live long and prosper”
5. Star Trek Next Generation- “Make it so”/ “Engage”
6. Happy Days – “Aaaaay...”
7. X files – “Trust no one”
8. Kojak, "Who loves you, baby?"
9. Get Smart – “Smart thinking 99”
10. Welcome back, Kotter - "Up your nose with a rubber hose"
11. The Waltons - "Good night, John boy"
12. Fat Albert – “Hey hey hey its Fat Albert”
13. Scooby Doo – “If it wasn’t for those pesky kids”
14. Columbo - "Just one more thing ..."
15. Play Your Cards Right - "Nice to see you , to see you nice"
16. Blackadder- "I have a cunning plan"
17. ‘Allo ‘Allo- “I shall say this only once”/ “'Tis I, Leclair”
18. Lone Ranger- "Hi ho Silver, away!"
19. Wonder Twins- “Wonder twin powers, activate!”
20. Fantasy Island – “It’s de plane boss, de plane”

Classic Television Memories

Memories of my childhood are often peppered with what are now considered classic television programmes. There are many experiences where I can recall in some form or other an association with a television programme I loved or disliked. Many people I talk to often remark on the same thing, though sometimes the stories we swap, and in particular, the TV shows we reminisce on are different. Mainly that is because I grew up in Australia but now live in the UK, where most of my friends live. Australian TV scheduling was, and I think still is, far more American than UK TV.

For example, one of my first great TV programme memories was The Love Boat. I haven't met anyone yet in the UK that remembers or watched the Love Boat. Cheesy the programme was, it's true, but a pivotal point in my growing up. It was always shown at 7.30pm, half an hour after my bed time. I still remember the first time I was allowed to stay up to watch it. I felt so grown up. The next day I went to school and recounted the adventures of Denise, Captain Stubbing, Isaac and Vicky. My firends thought I was so cool because I was the first of my group to be allowed to stay up that late.

Knight Rider ushered in my love of cars and appealed to my sense of fantasy and adventure. Unfortunately, yes, I confess, I also had a childhood crush on David Hasselhoff - shh! Don't tell anyone!

Science fiction became a new love of mine with the introduction of Buck Rogers in the 25th century and Battlestar Galactica, 1999 and of course, Star Trek, (The Original,  TNG and DS9) , all watched avidly with my sister. This was the time when I began collecting memorabilia- particularly Star Trek. Yes I became a Trekkie, without the costume! I was even dreaming about attending the Star Trek conventions in the States ( I was only young!) and collected every ST episode on video, which you can now buy on DVD from just about any online retailer such as Play, Amazon, ebay and more. I notice that they also have a huge selection of t-shirts, games, books, phasers and other memorabilia.
So what are your greatest TV memories?