There's still plenty of time to catch up on the Science Channel series Through the Wormhole, narrated by and starring Morgan Freeman, and enjoy his guided tour considering some of science's biggest questions. Freeman looks and sounds both authoritative and interested -- and over on CBS's The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson,Ferguson's mechanical sidekick, Geoff -- a grinning skull with a mohawk -- pretty much has Freeman's number as an impressive, smart-sounding science guy...
Through the Wormhole, the newest installment of which premieres tonight at 10 ET, is a great way to dwell scientifically on all the metaphysical questions we had when we were children -- and harbor, still, as adults.
On tonight's new episode, the question posed is, "Are there more than three dimensions?" An hour earlier, at 9 p.m. ET, there's a repeat of last week's show, asking, "Does time really exist?"
Other ponderous queries pondered on this series include: Is there other life out there? Is there life after death? Where does the universe end? Does the soul exist? Why is there air? (Okay, that last one was tackled, decades ago, by Bill Cosby, not Morgan Freeman.)
The second-season premiere, "What Happens When We Die," was a wild look into some of the scientific aspects of what constitutes consciousness, and posits a physical explanation of the human soul.
One segment introduces Harvard neurosurgeon Evan Alexander, who survived a lethal form of meningitis, emerging from a week-long coma. His memories and visions of a vast multi-verse -- a realm of multiple universes united by an overarching presence of benevolence -- was captivating.
And all the more so, in context, since its descriptions of beauty and connectedness are recounted soberly, by a man trained in science.
So is a segment, involving quantum mechanics, on whether the soul is a fundamental part of the universe. Wormhole looks at the idea of "entanglement" -- in which particles of matter have been shown to mirror each other, although they're disconnected spatially.
It's a fascinating look at the possibility that brain-matter particles, functioning as quantum microcomputers, are "entangled" with the underlying fabric of the universe -- making us able to become aware, in some way, of the vastness of all things, as our energy begins to disperse upon death.
Dude. Heavy, man.
As the show suggests, our primary essences, our basic particles -- our "souls" -- may be hardwired into the quantum information of the universe, and live on in higher planes of connectedness and consciousness.
As explained by science, that is. So, maybe, it turns out that the Hindus, Buddhists, and Spinoza (shown at right) were correct all along...
The motion graphics in the cosmos of Wormhole are trippy and instructive, and are a triumph for the series' animators and designers.
Freeman, meanwhile, on a visit to The Late, Late Show a couple of weeks back, freely admitted he was just the front man for such things, and science could and should take credit for the fantastic content of the show.
Ferguson's mechanical sidekick, "Geoff Peterson" -- a grinning skeleton with glowing eyes, metal mohawk, and a scrawled "Geoff" name tag pinned to his suit -- is a somewhat affected, kind of clueless foil. He's almost always comically a beat too late with his lines, making him a riot.
Ferguson and his robot are as good a comic pair since Pee-wee Herman and Jambi the Genie, or Senor Wences and his sidekick, which was either a puppet head in a box or Wences' own "talking" hand.
Geoff reminded us that if you want a deep-voiced, credible narrator, you can't do better than Morgan Freeman, even if he's not the science behind the show. And then he showed us exactly how, with a hilarious, spot-on impression of Freeman.
You can watch the brief, brilliant byplay here:
Nothing funnier than a robot skeleton doing Morgan Freeman, I've always said. (Geoff is hysterically voiced over by Josh Robert Thompson. See Thompson in the flesh at right, and hear AND see him performing his impersonations of Freeman, Robert De Niro, Arnold Schwarzenegger and others HERE.)
The exchange continues to show why Ferguson and his writers are at the top of their game, and maybe ahead of all others when it comes to late night comedy that's actually funny.
Upcoming episodes of Through the Wormhole are running through July, and continue to examine such topics as parallel universes, and whether or not we could evolve to live forever.
Have a look at a quantum-related multiverse, absorbing us into its hidden fabric (Episode One), HERE, or on Xfinity On Demand through July.
'S All Right? 'S All Right!