From the Earth to the Moon (Miniseries)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| From the Earth to the Moon | |
|---|---|
 From the Earth to the Moon, the signature edition, DVD cover |
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| Genre | Drama, Action, History, Thriller |
| Starring | See Casting From the Earth To the Moon |
| Country of origin |  United States |
| Language(s) | English |
| No. of episodes | 12 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Ron Howard Brian Grazer Tom Hanks Michael Bostick |
| Running time | 60 minutes |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | HBO |
| Original run | 5 April 1998 – 10 May 1998 |
| Links | |
| IMDb profile | |
| TV.com summary | |
From the Earth to the Moon is a twelve-part HBO television miniseries (1998) co-produced by Ron Howard, Brian Grazer, Tom Hanks, and Michael Bostick detailing the landmark Apollo expeditions to the Moon during the 1960s and early 1970s. Largely based on Andrew Chaikin's book, A Man on the Moon, the series is known for its accurate telling of the story of Apollo and outstanding special effects.
The series takes its title from, but is not based upon, the famous Jules Verne science fiction novel, From the Earth to the Moon. The last episode of the series begins with a look at the making of Georges Méliès' film based upon the book.
Contents |
[edit] Integration with existing films
The miniseries, concentrating on the Apollo space program, was produced with an intent not to repeat other dramatic portrayals of events of the space race.
The movie The Right Stuff, for example, which portrayed Project Mercury, is briefly summarized in the first episode. Miniseries producers Hanks, Howard and Grazer, who had previously produced Apollo 13, deliberately shot the episode We Interrupt This Program from the perspective of the media covering that flight, as the film had already covered the story from the point of view of the crew and the mission control team.
[edit] Awards
The series won an Emmy Award for best miniseries in 1998.
[edit] Episodes
The episodes of the series are:
- Can We Do This? — Depicts the early events of the space race from the perspective of NASA, including the decision to send men to the moon. Briefly covers the Mercury and Gemini programs along with a reconstruction of the first American spacewalk.
- Apollo One — Concentrates attention on the Apollo 1 fire and subsequent investigation. The episode focuses on several key individuals, including Harrison Storms of North American Aviation, Joe Shea of NASA, and Frank Borman of the astronaut office, all of whom were involved in the investigation. This episode is generally voted as one of the top two or three episodes in online usenet and internet episode popularity polls.
- We Have Cleared the Tower — Follows a fictional documentary team covering the preparation for the flight of Apollo 7. Although a well-received episode, some criticism occurred over the episode's ending with the launch of the mission, and failing to delve into the difficulties between Apollo 7's crew and Mission Control during the mission.
- 1968 — Including much actual documentary footage of political events in the United States during the year 1968, this episode depicts the first manned lunar flight (Apollo 8). Much of the story is told from the point of view of Frank Borman's wife, Susan, and is shot in black and white, with the only exceptions being newsreel footage of news events, and the dramatized action in the spacecraft. Also depicts the Apollo 8 Genesis Reading.
- Spider — Focuses on the development of the Lunar Module and its first manned flights during Apollo 9 and Apollo 10, from the point of view of both the crew of Apollo 9 as well as the Grumman design team headed by Tom Kelly. This episode is generally voted as one of the top two or three episodes in online usenet and internet episode popularity polls.
- Mare Tranquilitatis — A dramatization of the first moon landing (Apollo 11), with flashback sequences to a television interview between the Apollo 11 crew and fictional broadcaster Emmett Seaborn. The title Mare Tranquilitatis refers to the actual landing site of the mission.
- That's All There Is — The story of Lunar Module Pilot Alan Bean and his experiences on the Apollo 12 mission. The episode is a humorous depiction of the most tight-knit crew to serve on an Apollo mission. On virtually all online usenet and internet episode popularity polls, such as ones conducted by Pat Flannery shortly after the series ended, this episode is consistently ranked as the best of the series.
- We Interrupt This Program — Depicts the television media's point of view concerning the 'successful failure' of Apollo 13. The episode avoids comparison with the movie Apollo 13 by focusing entirely on Earthbound events, and adds a fictional subplot about the rivalry between a veteran TV news reporter and a young upstart. Another well-received episode, but tends to place low in online usenet and internet episode popularity polls due the newsman rivalry subplot, which many critics felt added nothing to the story other than to fill time.
- For Miles and Miles — Tells the story of the return to flight status of Alan Shepard and his mission to the moon on Apollo 14. The title refers to Alan Shepard's famous golf swing on the lunar surface.
- Galileo Was Right — Focuses on the training the Apollo astronauts undertook to become geologists on the Moon's surface, specifically the Apollo 15 astronauts. The contributions of scientists Lee Silver, Harrison "Jack" Schmitt and Farouk El-Baz are highlighted. The title refers to Galileo Galilei and his theory that gravity would act equally in a vacuum on bodies of different mass. The theory was proven correct by astronaut Dave Scott in an experiment recreated for the episode.
- The Original Wives Club — The story of Apollo from the point of view of the wives who had to endure the dangers of spaceflight at home, framed by the Apollo 16 mission. Although praised for high accuracy in depicting the trials and tribulations of the wives, it has received severe negative criticism for the portrayal of Pat White, widow of Apollo 1 Senior Pilot Ed White.
- Le Voyage dans la Lune — Intercuts the story of the last Apollo mission Apollo 17 with the turn-of-the-century vision of a trip to the moon by French film maker Georges Méliès. The title of the episode is also the title of the early 20th century film shot by Méliès.
[edit] Cast
See main article: Casting From the Earth To the Moon
[edit] Trivia
- A number of actors who appeared in the movies Apollo 13 (Tom Hanks, Chris Ellis, Brett Cullen, Clint Howard, David Andrews, Ben Marley, Joe Spano) and The Right Stuff (David Clennon) appear in this series, but as different characters. Some of the NASA flight controllers are also played by actors who played similar roles in Apollo 13. It's notable that astronauts (Cullen, Andrews, Marley) in the film played astronauts in the movie, flight controllers (Howard) played flight controllers and NASA managers (Spano) played NASA managers.
- In the episode about Apollo 11, before Neil Armstrong takes his first step on the moon there is already a footprint where his foot is about to go.
- Many of the actors had opportunity to interact and form friendships with the real life astronauts they were portraying. Brett Cullen, who played Apollo 9 Command Module pilot and Apollo 15 commander David Scott, was invited to the Scott family home each time an episode he appeared in was first televised.
- Two short clips from the final scenes of Apollo 13 were used in "That's All There Is"; a splashdown sequence, and a view of the recovery ship USS Iwo Jima (portrayed by USS New Orleans).
