Most people 35 and over can recall exactly where we were when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963. Also ingrained in the minds of that generation are the TV images of the first lunar landing of Apollo 11 on July 20, 1969.
And although the ’60s were a time of social unrest and violence including the assassinations of Martin Luther King in 1967, then Bobby Kennedy in 1968, it also was a time of great hope and excitement. There was shared hope and a common goal-to reach the moon.
For those who have only read about that era, and for those who think they know everything about the great space race and NASA’s elite original astronaut team, “Moon Shot” (7:05 p.m. Monday, and 7:05 p.m. July 13), TBS’ original four-hour chronicle of the competition between the United States and the Soviet Union to put a man on the moon, will deliver some surprises.
To commemorate the 25th anniversary of the lunar landing, “Moon Shot,” based on Turner Publishing’s book of the same name, is a documentary by definition but an insider story by content.
“I guarantee you’ve never heard the real story. It was a hell of a ride,” says the voice on the screen.
Barry Corbin, who plays former astronaut Maurice Minnifield on CBS’ “Northern Exposure,” does a superb job as narrator Deke Slayton, one of the seven original Mercury astronauts, who died of cancer last year during pre-production of this film.
Five of the original Mercury astronauts (Alan Shepard, Gordon Cooper, Scott Carpenter, Wally Schirra and John Glenn) join Slayton’s “ghost” narration in a candid portrayal of the American space program as it evolved.
An early look at how the astronauts were chosen for the initial space program reveals that the Air Force, Navy and Marines sent 40 of their best candidates to be poked, prodded, pushed, pulled and spun to see if they could make the grade.
The testing lasted almost a year. Each man had to endure grueling and degrading physical sensations including needles in their palms, tubes down their throats, enemas, intravenous tubes, heat chambers and icy waters.
Slayton’s description of each astronaut, however, goes beyond any technical qualifications-he talks turkey. “Carpenter was the philosopher; Cooper was the Oklahoma hot dog and a little flaky; Glenn was overage; (Gus) Grissom was the real test pilot; Schirra was a Navy man; Shepard was my best friend and competitor and I was the best of the seven,” he says. “One thing we all have in common is we all wanted to fly.”
The two-part series highlights the three stages of the space race beginning with the Mercury space missions and the first American in space, Alan Shepard. It soars through the Gemini space launches and concludes with the 1975 Apollo-Soyuz mission joining two Russians and three Americans in space.
“Go Fever” was the term used to describe the vigor attached to the Mercury and Gemini missions after Kennedy’s legendary inaugural speech pledging to land a man on the moon before the end of the decade.
But “Go Fever” became a disease when Grissom, Ed White and Roger Chaffee burned to death in a mishap inside the Apollo 1 spacecraft during a routine test at Pad 34. The narrator says that highly flammable material was used in the craft including 100 percent pressurized oxygen. They were moving too fast, they needed to slow down.
Personal perspectives and behind-the-scenes scuttlebutt illuminate the four hours, giving the viewer a new perspective about the astronauts, who were hailed as American heroes.
Although the narration is confusing at first, Corbin’s salty dialogue and colloquialisms add a spark of unexpected humor to the plights and perils of this decade. The real Shepard, Schirra and Carpenter also tell it like it was. Be advised, the language is unedited.
