Neil deGrasse Tyson

Awesome shoes to fill. And of course his series appeared a generation (34 years) ago. So there's lots to add, subtract, enhance, develop.

13 episodes, like the original. Cosmic Calendar returns. So does the Ship of the Imagination. But in this 21st century version, I'm taking over as host -- sans turtleneck.

Longest Yard (the original, of course) & Deliverance

The study of they universe is the only time and place where you acquire a cosmic perspective. And it's the cosmic perspective that changes you forever -- a true understanding of our place in space and time. It also offers a deep awareness of our relationship to each other and to the cosmos itself. These themes will resonate in every episode.

Thanks for joining in.

You get a glimpse of the Space Ship of the Imagination from the trailer. It's a literal and figurative vehicle to move through space and time, and, quite frankly, it's badass. But that will be for viewers to judge. I enjoyed filming in the set for the ship. Gesturing to all manner of places in the universe - past, present, & future.

Netflix them. They're all there.

One of the hardest things to do. When away filming for great lengths of time, your kids change. And you long for the stability of food and warmth that you otherwise take for granted at home.

This may sounds like a cop-out answer: all of it. It's written (by Ann Druyan, co-writer of the original series along with story development by Steven Soter, also from the original series) in a way that the parts come together to tell bigger stories of how and why science matters. To pick a favorite part would be like picking the part of a bicycle you like the best. The chain? The spokes? The handlebars? The petals? The thing won't ride without any one of them.

Ha. Thanks. Went back and changed it. -NDT

labors of love, them all. Thanks.

Ha. ha. No, not this time, around. But there'll be other key references to the importance of the Big Bang.

Dare I suggest that Cosmos, airing in primetime on network television, will play its role in this struggle.

The people who say with disdain and disgust: "It's appearing on Fox? Their viewers don't know any science!" And I simply reply, "If true, that makes Fox the best network of them all on which to air this series."

Finally, the portfolio of story-telling tools, normally reserved for film-making and evening drama, will be applied to telling the story of the universe. The trailer, while purposefully mysterious, ought to give you a direct sense of this cinematic armament.

The show targets people who are sure they don't like science as well as those who never knew they could like science. As for the scientifically literate out there -- Redditors surely leading that pack -- the show may take you places you have never been before: emotionally, intellectually, spiritually.

It's the universe that's the interesting one. I'm just your conduit to it.

Age 9. A first visit to my local Planetarium - NYC's Hayden Planetarium. Yes, I am now its director. A story that plays better in a small town than in a city of eight million people. In any case, after that first visit, I had no choice in the matter -- in retrospect, I'm quite sure it was the universe that chose me, and not I who chose it.

Cosmos is not your normal talking-head documentary. In fact, it's that feature of the original that enabled the series to live for an entire generation, beyond the shelf-life of hundreds of other science documentaries that came afterwards. So the answer is no.

We go there in Cosmos.

No. Cosmos, at its best, will compel people to want science, to want space, to want to explore, to want to dream of a world informed and enhanced by all the good that cosmic discovery brings to it. A mission statement such as that sails above any talk of budgets.

: - )

I've never wanted to turn everyone into a scientist. What a boring world that would be. We want and need artists and philosophers and comedians and everybody else who fleshes out what we've come to call civilization. So the goal of Cosmos, and so much else of what I do professionally, is to sensitize people to why science matters -- especially to our survival, but also to our soul of curiosity, and to our sense of who and what we are in the universe. Imagine if every member of Congress had this perspective - this cosmic perspective. They could transform the country overnight, even if not a single one of them were a scientist.

You presume that the delivery of information is somehow mutually exclusive to theatrics. I'm not convinced of that. As I've said in an earlier answer, full-up tools of movie-making have never really been tapped for telling science stories. So the new Cosmos will live and thrive in both worlds, if we succeed as imagined.

Thanks for that vote of confidence. Keeping in mind, of course, that trailers, at their best, are always theatrical. -NDT

I think of it instead as a legacy of science that Carl set into motion. If this were all about Carl Sagan, or me, then we wouldn't be educators, we would be cultists.

Twilight Zone.

Who "certified" its ridiculousness? I know enough to be certain that the designation is pre-mature.

In whatever you choose to do. Do it because it's hard, not because it's easy. Math and physics and astrophysics are hard. For every hard thing you accomplish, fewer other people are out there doing the same thing as you. That's what doing something hard means. And in the limit of this, everyone beats a path to your door because you're the only one around who understands the impossible concept or who solves the unsolvable problem.

Most of what we call a free society -- most of what we call civilization --involves the management and control of our body's chemical urges, especially when the sources of those urges are available in abundance - Caffeine, Alcohol, Food, Sex, Drugs. So you are far from alone out there. And if you are contributing lucidly to these threads, you are surely not the worst case. But every step in the right direction is a step - no matter how small. And as the resolution of Zeno's paradox reminds us all - you do not require an infinite amount of time to take an infinite number of steps -- and of course it's not an infinite number of steps. So be strong. Recover strong. Stay strong. -NDT

I've always been a fan of any food that resembles construction material.

Keeping an eye on the search for life in the universe and on the nature of dark matter and dark energy. Who wouldn't be?

Alerting the viewer of science martyrs of the past, who made discoveries that conflicted with prevailing dogma - religious, political, cultural, and who gave their careers or even their lives for the truth of their discoveries.

Actually, as hinted earlier, no one topic stands out above the rest. They all blend into seamless story-telling.

Science is not a subject you took in school. It's life. We are wrapped by it, in it, with it. And one's science literacy should never be viewed as a disposable dimension of ones mind -- not in this, the 21st century, where the engines of tomorrow's economies will derive from wise investments and innovations in science and technology.

Can't really sing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9OUgXFZ_WeY

Thanks or asking. Fox international Channels will be distributing Cosmos around the world. We did a press preview and panel for their international press during ComicCon. And a major carrier for this in many countries will also be National Geographic.

We carefully reviewed what worked and what did not work as intended in the original series. We are keeping -- and enhancing -- all that we are confident is worthy of carrying forward. Not only the tools of storytelling, such as the Cosmic Calendar -- seen briefly in the trailer -- but also the kinds of stories that are told. All of this is true to the sprit of the original. And that what matters most to us.

Everyone who watches Fox. And if you stop and think about that -- the demographic crossroads into Fox may be broader than any other in modern times: 20th Century Fox / Foxlight Pictures / Fox Sports / Fox News / Fox Business / and of course, Fox Network.

Hard to know what to call it. It's not a remake. It's not a re-tread. it's perhaps best described as a re-boot. You can ask, if Cosmos were freshly conceived today, what would it look like? That being said, we are, of course, deeply informed by what made the original Cosmos so successful. So combine these mission statements and I have high confidence that Cosmos will land exactly where it needs to, in all of our hearts and minds.

Hello? Okay to not have a question. But if, after you watch even one episode of Cosmos, you still don't have a question, then we failed.

it will surely be child-friendly but it's conceived for adults. Adults, not kids, tend to be the source of problems in society. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDFgLS3sdpU

Yes. Not to worry. It's the widespread educational appeal of the Cosmos "franchise" that interested Fox in the first place. They respect the creative team and, beyond the normal FCC rules and regulations for broadcasting, they have granted the creative freedoms necessary to keep the Cosmos spirit and legacy in tact.

I add here that something can be educational without being pedantic. A stunning visual along with carefully worded voice-over can ignite interest in viewers that can send them running to the library. In fact, from the educators perspective, that's the strongest impact a visual experience can have on a viewer.

Yes. It's conceived to do just that. And the demographics of Fox viewers basically ensures it. Cosmos might have aired in a more traditional place in the broadcast or cable pantheon. But those traditional places tend to slice thinly the American (and international) demographic. You tune into science channels because, by and large, you know in advance you like science. That leaves out most people who could be watching science.

As with the original, the series is conceived for adults but I'd bet if you are watching Cosmos, kids of any age will not be able to walk past your flat panel without stopping to join you on the couch.

I'd like to think I haven't changed. But perhaps I'm the least qualified to assess that. What will be curious to watch is what happens after Cosmos. Right now I'm ID'ed about 100x per day by strangers in the street. That's plenty for anybody. But Cosmos has yet to air. One thing is true, when I leave the house I'm a bit better groomed than I'd otherwise be. On the chance that someone wants a photo. As an academic, grooming is often a secondary priority.

I guess the original of me posturing while talking about Isaac Newton, that itself got pencil-sketched to become the "badass" meme. http://gif-central.blogspot.com/2012/01/neil-degrasse-tyson-watch-out-weve-got.html

Still the only game in town. I give them "space" whenever they need it.

Thank you.

Not a joke, just a flattering bit of arithmetic: http://ryanjdavis.tumblr.com/image/14864520661

Realizing first hand how much collaboration is required when making a show. Lighting people, and gaffers, and grips, and production assistants and makeup and costume. Many of these people you never hear or read about in awards ceremonies. They all become family during the shoot.

Fox was reminded of the original - the "remastered" DVD of the 1980 series and simply said, and I paraphrase: Do that for the 21st century. For some that's hard to believe, but it's true. I add here that Seth MacFarlane was our conduit to the network. He's a fan of my work, of Sagan's legacy, and of science. And who can soon forget this scene from Family Guy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hE_OehRLH3s

So when I told him that we were shopping around the new Cosmos, he brought the concept to Fox Executives. Given his importance to the network, they had to listen. Initially they may have agreed solely because of Seth's endorsement. But later, they saw the value of the network hosting Cosmos for the 21st century, and have backed it as they would any show in their stable, for the Spring airing of the series.

Tons. But what hasn't changed is the value of telling a good story, especially one that has the benefit of being true.

Raising children. That should be any parents' answer. If it's not, then they under-invested in all their kids could be.

Flying Cars. Just kidding. I'm still amazed by smart phones. Enough to surely last me until 2020. Come back then and ask me about 2030.

To remind people that science is not something to be feared but embraced. And that understanding our place in the universe, as revealed by the methods and tools of science, can not only be intellectually rewarding, but spiritually uplifting as well.

Yes. But I don't see it as Reddit idolizing me, but Reddit idolizing the stuff I do for a living. That's a bit different. I can live with that.

No. We have extensive rules regarding naming and nomenclature. But nothing stops you from doing it unofficially. Go for it.

It will appear on network television around the world. That normally counts as free. After that, and after re-runs, it will surely be available for purchase. But there's not plans to just post it for everyone to download.

No. However hard that answer may be for you to believe.

Advised on doing graphic novel-style animation for many of our historic recreations. Also, he's an all-around TV-Movie smart person. So his guidance and advice, particularly with regard to Network broadcasting was invaluable. Also, his contacts in the business brought to us many production professionals who work on films and famous dramas, but were also fans of science and what a new Cosmos can do for the world. That's how we got, for example, Bill Pope, our director of photography, perhaps best known as the director of photography for the Matrix Trilogy. And our Director, Brannon Braga, long-time writer and producer for StarTrek.

We've assembled talented people, bitten by the Cosmos mission, bringing their formidable talents to the series.

Gotta end it here. Thanks again, Redditors, for your (persistent) interest in my work.

As for my answer to the question - Simply use the broadcast of Cosmos to reawaken within you what it's like to look up and to wonder.

Respectfully submbitted, Neil deGrasse Tyson - New York City

The Moon, when full, raises tides on Earth that are no higher than at any other phase. The higher tides we see during Full Moon come about entirely because the Sun's tides add directly to the Moon's tides. Just an FYI