nullIt’s really perplexing to me when audiences of science fiction film and TV react negatively to Neil deGrasse Tyson’s (usually) Twitter reviews of science fiction films and TV series – in essence, what each one gets scientifically right, and wrong. After all, he’s an expert on the stuff. This is his life’s work.

I never take his contributions adversely. Quite the opposite. I embrace them fully! It’s called knowledge, and something that I crave, and would like to believe we all do. Nothing he says takes away my enjoyment of (or disappointment in) a film I’ve seen that he’s reviewed. Instead, I take in what he has to contribute, and, most of the time, I learn something new that I didn’t know before reading whatever it is that he shares. Some times I watch the film again, with that new knowledge, which often enhances the experience the second time around. Especially when it’s a film that prides itself on being scientifically accurate. 

But really… you should see some of the knives thrown his way, whenever he tweets his reviews; fanboys and girls can be quite venomous from behind their computer screens, or iPads and phones.

Embrace the information, learn something new, and, as the saying goes, keep it moving. As he explains in the video below, his intent isn’t to piss on the work that he reviews. He’s providing a useful service for those who appreciate it, and, as a scientist, it’s his own way of unpacking the films and TV shows that he sees. He has that right, just as we all do, whenever we take to social media to dissect or talk up content we’ve seen.

Tyson’s new late-night talk show, "StarTalk," which is National Geographic Channel’s first-ever late-night talkie, premiered this week, Monday, April 20, at 11 pm ET/10 pm CT (it encores tonight, Friday at 7 pm ET/6 pm CT). 

Watch: