The cycles of time on a cosmic scale

SIMPLE slogans and visual symbols thrive on television so it's rare for science shows to grab big numbers of viewers.

Wonders of the Universe

SIMPLE slogans and visual symbols thrive on television so it's rare for science shows to grab big numbers of viewers, no matter how earnestly they're presented.

The medium atomises and compartmentalises information with an almost limitless capacity to wrench from context, notoriously resistant to units of meaning larger than the sound bite or the short grab.

The technologically unwashed (and certainly I'm one) feel negative about themselves when confronted by too much elite knowledge. Science usually interests us only if it concerns ghosts, astrology, yoga or tips on eliminating spam.

We simply don't look to TV (David Attenborough being an exception) to communicate intellectual, theoretical or technical knowledge in a detailed, logically structured way.

At least, we didn't until Brian Cox came along. The professor is the most unlikely looking physicist you could hope to imagine, with his razor-sharp cheekbones, tailored jackets and longish, dishevelled hair. He looks more like the kind of young British film star comic chat show host Graham Norton would adore rather than someone who loves solving equations. In this lovely series Cox demonstrates how an understanding of the impact of the scientific laws governing Earth can bring us a step closer to an understanding of our universe.

Last week, he considered the nature of time, exploring the cycles that defined the lives of humans on Earth and comparing them with the cycles of time on a cosmic scale. Tonight Cox discusses the elements from which all living things, including humans, are made. He explains how these elements are related to the life cycles of the stars and the recycling of matter in the universe. Are you nodding off already? Well, don't. Millions in Britain watched, enthralled by Cox, and I'm sure by the end of this series hundreds of thousands of Australians will be in his thrall and ordering telescopes.

Wonders of the Universe

8.30pm, ABC1