Is Brian Cox the new Messiah - or should he get a watch?

{rant on}

The current exemplar of documentary making on the BBC is best exemplified by the earnest in extremis outpourings of Professor Brian Cox.

His latest series: lots of shots of mountains, crashing waves, sun, stars, sand and Brian's silly mescalin** induced grin, is called 'Wonders of the Universe'.

It begins with Brian exclaiming: "Why are we here? Where do we come from?" whilst standing atop a snow capped mountain peak in South America.

During this 'show' I laughed my little cotton socks off a few times at the inane ramblings of this 'Professor' of Particle Physics/OBE. A few classics were:

"The rising and setting of the sun provides an epic heartbeat that allows us to mark the passage of time. A day on Earth is the 24 hours it takes our planet to rotate once on it's axis."

"Our months are based on the 29 and a half days it takes our moon to wax and wane in the night sky"

All expressed in a voice of wonderment and amazement!!

He got on to the second law of thermodynamics - and entropy by using an analogy of a sandcastle and a long explanation with sand pouring through his hands. (I seem to recall learning it more succinctly when I grew up: "there's no use crying over spilt milk" ('cos that milk ain;t never gonna jump back into the vessel from whence it was spilled")).

Is it a bit ironic that he was the keyboard player on D:REAM 'Things can only get better' - surely the antithesis of entropy(!)?

All of this was set with a dramatic music in the background. I imagine it got a bit scary from some people when he explained how one day the lights (stars) would all be finished and burned out - gone. And he grinned :D

Anyway - if you missed this joyously expensive use of your licence fee (trips to Chile, Namibia, Peru in this episode) here is the link:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode...verse_Destiny/

What do you think? New messiah? Thinking woman's crumpet du jour?

Meanwhile for an alternative take on Brian Cox - I enjoyed these gems:

Harry Hill - very funny:


**Brian Cox - drugged up:


Brain Cox - f**** magnificent:



.......{Rant off}

"You're just jealous" someone said to me at the pancake party last nite when he was much discussed..............maybe......

I just like looking at him :blush:

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Originally Posted by JiveLad

"your just jealous" someone said to me at the pancake party last nite..

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:yeah:

and so am I

no one invited me to pancake party:tears:

it looked a fairly low budget program with just one camera man
and just one helicopter

Human Planet had 3 helicopters last week

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Originally Posted by JiveLad

Jealous drivel... ('cos that milk ain;t never gonna jump back into the vessel from whence it was spilled"))...

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So, it's tv. Not everyone knows these facts. (I kinda like the metaphor of the epic heartbeat) Just as not everyone knows that, "Whence" is equal to, "From where" and so from whence is gramatically incorrect... We each learn these things when we are ready... ;) :stirring: :devil: For those who don't know this stuff, admittedly mainly kids, this is probably quite interesting and illuminating.

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Originally Posted by CJ

So, it's tv. Not everyone knows these facts. (I kinda like the metaphor of the epic heartbeat) Just as not everyone knows that, "Whence" is equal to, "From where" and so from whence is grammatically incorrect... We each learn these things when we are ready... ;) :stirring: :devil: For those who don't know this stuff, admittedly mainly kids, this is probably quite interesting and illuminating.

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True - not everyone does know these facts......and it is good as an educational, entertaining and potentially inspirational primer. And even if you do, at the end, it does make you think.......

As regards "from whence......." well, it is regarded as informal and colloquial - and was used by both Shakespeare and Defoe...........so I think it's erm...perhaps ok!?

See http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-fro2.htm

As it says in the article, critics of "from whence" are unaware of it's long pedigree....:D

Anyway, bring back Jacob Bronowski..... no pretension, just pure intellect/polemic:

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Originally Posted by JiveLad

{rant on}
Meanwhile for an alternative take on Brian Cox - I enjoyed these gems:
.......{Rant off}

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You missed this one: http://www.guardian.co.uk/tv-and-rad...niverse-review

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Originally Posted by JiveLad

"You're just jealous" someone said to me at the pancake party last nite when he was much discussed..............maybe......

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:yeah:Me too.

Seriously though, the concepts may not be very advanced, but I'm sure that it is helping to improve scientific literacy. And perhaps they can get the cost back by selling it to Russia: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/02/14/russia_poll/ :whistle:

Well has just won best presenter and took the science and natural history prize for Wonders Of The Solar System at the Royal Television Society Awards.

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Originally Posted by Minnie M

I just like looking at him :blush:

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Me too. I'm so ashamed :blush:

Daisy

(An Equally Shallow Little Flower)

"He's not the Messiah. He's a very naughty boy!" - Life of Brian.

Sorry just had to say it.

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Originally Posted by Prian

Sorry just had to say it.

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Why the hell did I come back? :WetHaddock:

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Originally Posted by Lou

Why the hell did I come back? :WetHaddock:

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:respect::lol: