Cosmos, by Carl Sagan is streaming free online at Hulu in high def.
http://hulu.com/cosmos
This had been posted a couple times in the space thread but I figured there are a fair amount of people who haven't been yet, or bothered to look through all the pages. Plus I felt like calling more attention to the show since it's so great.
Cosmos, first broadcast in 1980, skyrocketed host Carl Sagan to instant popularity.
Many have probably seen the show growing up, but I personally just finished watching it for the first time last month. It was amazing. Although first shown in 1980, incredibly the scientific information needs very little updating or correcting even to this day. In its 13 episodes the show stretches from microbiology, ecology, chemistry, history, and cosmology. In particular what I found to be the most interesting is the show's focus on history. In nearly every episode we are given insights to the lives and stories of the great thinkers, discoverers, and civilizations that helped mold our views and even our achievements in society today. The historical aspect of the show was probably the most enlightening, and unexpected. And of course as the name implies there is a large amount of astrophysics, theoretical pondering and the study of deep space. Nevertheless, the show keeps a remarkable pace and is never once boring. Carl Sagan does an amazing job of making the simple fascinating, and the complex simple. It's also a joy to watch someone who is so apparently in love with his study, and so eager to share the information. It's a shame he passed away too early.
Anyways, watching this show was a bit of an eye opener for me. There was plenty of basic information presented that I, and most people know already know, and a ton of information presented that I was entirely ignorant of, or just didn't understand at all beforehand. It has easily become one of my favorite television shows ever. If you have time, I highly recommend that you watch.
