Michio Kaku to host Cosmos season 2

Michio Kaku to host Cosmos season 2

If during the spring you also enjoyed Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey take comfort that a second season is in production. The reboot of Cosmos was of course based on the original show hosted by Carl Sagan in 1980. As Carl died in 1996 the new show was hosted by his disciple astrophysicist/science communicator Neil deGrasse Tyson. Alas Neil won’t reappear for season 2. In an interview with the Tribune he cites his long absence from his family during season 1 as the cause for  his decision to not reappear. He had this to say about hosting a second season. “We’re all flattered that people are thinking [about a season two], but it’s not clear that this was the kind of content you want to rattle off one year after the next,”. “If, some years down the line, after my life has recovered, I’ll maybe [take up the role of a presenter again]. But I’d like science to be shared by all,” he said. “If someone else came up and wanted to host it, I don’t have any ego invested in the visibility that hosting Cosmos brought to me.”

I will be sad to see Neil go, he truly embodied much of the legacy of Carl Sagan. His presentation during season 1 gave an excellent account of both small and large scientific discoveries and the controversies surrounding them. However, at least now we know that a second season is in the works. That was hardly certain as science documentaries are not most people’s cup of tea. Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey almost seems to be an embodiment of a bygone era when scientist were regarded with more respect than bankers or lawyers. If you want to know more about the first season of Cosmos then click on the following link, it is a review of the season finale ‘Unafraid of the Dark’.

As Neil’s replacement two names have been suggested: Michio Kaku and Richard Dawkins. Michio is of course famous from his popular science books that explain theories about time-travel and wormholes. He does host his own show, but it is not as grand as Cosmos. I remember when I first came into contact with Michio when he had parts in a number of documentaries in the early 90’s. Later on his books would frequently show up in the hands of Quinn Mallory, the main protagonist of Sliders. Recently Michio climbed to fame when he started spamming my Facebook with announcements that he had finished yet another book.  It would seem fitting for Michio to continue where Neil stopped. As for Richard Dawkins, his long list of published work and documentaries make him as eligible as Michio Kaku.

However, the real meat of the series is the science itself. I do hope they will include an episode on how the first exoplanet was discovered by Didier Queloz and Michel Mayor. Their discovery can be preceded by discussing of the problematic projects to map all the stars in our galaxy such as with Carte du Ciel. Another episode could focus on discoveries made at Cern by researchers such as Martinus Veltman. Regardless I am sure it will contain spectacular Fx’s and an engaging story. At this moment it is not clear what the release date will be for season 2. As the presenter will probably be Michio Kaku then one hurdle has been taken, but he will need to give advice as well. Don’t expect season 2 anytime before the summer of 2015. This was Michio Kaku to host Cosmos season 2.

Source; http://tribune.com.pk/story/795971/neil-degrasse-tyson-opts-out-of-cosmos-season-2/