Wonders of the Universe: Brian Cox does it again

Unless you’ve been hiding in a black hole for the past year, you can’t fail to have noticed the increasing fame of the grinning God of Physics, Professor Brian Cox. His first documentary series, Wonders of the Solar System, was one of the BBC’s most popular programmes last year, and with good reason. It was amazing. It was magnificent. And it was rammed with more adjectives than those sexy M&S food adverts. But there’s more than just the Solar System, and this time Cox returns to look at the bigger picture: the Universe.

The first episode, ‘Destiny’ begins with a history lesson, this week’s exploration being themed around time. Cox travels to Peru to visit the site of an ancient civilisation, complete with its very own solar calendar, and then explains how the time of year can be calculated from the position of Sun as it rises behind a series of small towers. It’s beautiful to watch, and Cox’s enthusiasm and geekiness is infectious as he exclaims, “I want one in my garden!” like an excited schoolboy.

We then see glaciers crashing to pieces in Argentina, and deserted diamond mines in Southern Namibia, all of which seem a gentle warm up before the science kicks in. Not one for chalk and a blackboard, Cox returns to his favourite medium – good old sand – to explain the second law of thermodynamics and the concept of entropy. He gives a simple explanation without being patronising, which is one the key elements of the show. Whether he’s describing the death of a star, or pointing out the miniscule relative time span of all life on Earth, Cox knows how to draw the viewer in, regardless of how much science knowledge they may already have. Whilst it’s not easy to remember the millions and billions and trillions of statistics he throws about, it’s impossible not to feel some sense of awe by the time the finishing credits come up.

But it’s not just about the presenter: the graphics and music are probably worth the TV licence alone. There are no bland indie soundtracks here, only moody orchestral arrangements and delicate piano arpeggios. Even an explanation of how the Earth orbits the Sun becomes a cinematic event; as dazzling computer generated galaxies swirl about under an angry staccato string section, I begin to feel overly emotional about how long the Earth takes to rotate on its axis. Physics has somehow become rather romantic.

And my, how the producers know it. Large chunks of the episode are given up to shots of the Professor striding across deserts and gazing over mountaintops, crooning scientific prose like some kind of cosmic Byron. The slow-mo effects are also done to excess, even with the episode’s theme. There are, however, moments where I genuinely fear for Cox’s safety: “Although this thing seems stable,” he beams, poised precariously on a slab of ice, “actually there can be really quite violent collapses.” No, Brian, step away! Who will be there to explain thermodynamics to us using sandcastles if you fall off a glacier?!

But how refreshing it is to come away from a TV show on Sunday evening having actually learned something (and to know that I won’t be examined on it at the end of term!). It’s so important for science and mathematics to be accessible to the public and this programme goes a long way towards doing that. But if the wonders of the Universe still don’t do it for you, you can always have fun counting the number of times Cox says “vast” in one episode. Billions.

See the next episode of Wonders of the Universe next Sunday at 9pm on BBC1.

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