Wonders of the Universe presented by Professor Brian Cox

Last night I watched Wonders of the Universe presented by Professor Brian Cox.

I have to force myself to take an interest in science. Not sure why this is. I think it must relate to when I was at school and anything to do with physics seemed incredibly boring and tedious.

Wonders of the Universe was beautifully filmed. Every sequence seemed a work of art with Professor Brian Cox standing on the summit of snowy mountains, looking over the edge of deep crevices, levitating excitedly in gravity-free plummeting aircraft. It was as if Casper David Friedrich lived today and had become a television director.

The programme seemed a bit too USA-centric - doesn't the United Kingdom have any of those gravity-free plummeting aircraft (and if not, why not?).

The series seemed to be telling us, in cosmological terms, that man is the centre of the universe and demonstrating this ideology by showing us Professor Brian Cox in every conceivable environment and from every possible angle (including following rather too close behind as he clambered up a steep slope). His enthusiasm was boundless, and there seemed nothing he would not do to show us how the universe worked. At one point he was striding beside a fast-flowing river and talking about swimming against the current, so that I expected him to suddenly throw himself in and demonstrate this to us (he didn't).

Towards the end of the programme he came to a stopping point he called singularity - "the place where our understanding of the universe stops". Having already told us that gravity was the great creator, this seemed a bit lame (if we don't entirely understand the universe how do we actually know gravity is the great creator?). Also the bit about the black hole seemed highly improbable - I know many eminent minds have endorsed this theory, but to me it still seems ridiculous.

Professor Brian Cox told us that he over-uses the word "beautiful", but that description was entirely appropriate to this production. It was beautiful in every way (visually, audibly, conceptually etc). A beautiful and engrossing study about a subject that (if I am honest) I don't care about very much.

More about Wonders of the Universe: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00zdhtg