Original ‘Cosmos’ series to air before new ‘Cosmos’ debuts

On Sunday, Fox’s shiny new “Cosmos” series, executive produced by Seth MacFarlane, will roll out on the Fox network as well as several Fox-owned cable channels, including FX, FXX, Fox Sports and National Geographic Channel. But before viewers settle in for the souped-up 13-episode revamp, they can revisit Carl Sagan and his original 1980 series “Cosmos: A Personal Voyage.”

All 13 episodes of the original series, which first aired on PBS back in 1980, will be rerun on Nat Geo beginning Saturday.

The first episode, “The Shore of the Cosmic Ocean” will air at noon PST on Saturday (unless you have Dish Network or DirecTV, in which case it’ll be three hours earlier), followed by the next five episodes in the series.

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The series’ seventh episode, “The Backbone of Night,” airs Sunday at noon PST and will continue with the rest of the series, concluding with time enough for a bathroom break and some physical exercise before the evening premiere of “Cosmos: A Space-Time Odyssey.”

Sagan’s series was a sensation when it was first aired 34 years ago, and was PBS’ highest-rated program until “The Civil War” in 1990. The new version was executive produced by Sagan’s widow, Ann Druyan, and “Family Guy” mastermind Seth MacFarlane, who is getting payback for making millions for Fox with “Family Guy” by getting a multi-part science documentary aired on a network in prime time.

Neil deGrasse Tyson, director of the Hayden Planetarium, serves as host of the new series.

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West Coast fans should note they’ll be able to see the new “Cosmos” on Fox Sports 1 and Fox Sports 2 at 6 p.m. on Sunday, whether they have satellite or cable providers.

Later episodes will first on Fox before airing on Nat Geo the next day with bonus footage and behind-the-scenes content.

And, for those who are really jonesing for a little Sagan right now, you can watch the music video above, “A Glorious Dawn,” remixed from Sagan’s original “Cosmos” appearances.

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