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  PBS: A Race to the Moon - Apollo 8

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Author Topic:   PBS: A Race to the Moon - Apollo 8
Jake
Member

Posts: 464
From: Issaquah, WA U.S.A.
Registered: Jun 2002

posted 10-03-2005 08:16 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Jake   Click Here to Email Jake     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Hello all,

Just saw a preview copy of the PBS documentary "A Race to the Moon" about the flight of Apollo 8.

This was an advance copy, assembled as a draft for review but it had most of the feel of a finished piece. What a wonderful story...! The finest thing about the film was the rare footage. Seems like we live in a "sound bite" world where the same clips and sound bites are shown over and over again. This film shares a lot of the behind-the-scenes story with NASA footage and new interviews. Apparently it was 10 years in the making and will air on PBS on October 31st. Oh, by the way, did I mention that one of the astronauts who flew that mission was sitting right next to me as we watched it.... a DARN FINE way to watch TV!!!!!

------------------
Jake Schultz - curator,
Newport Way Air Museum (OK, it's just my home)

Ryan Walters
Member

Posts: 78
From: Hattiesburg, MS, USA
Registered: Apr 2005

posted 10-03-2005 09:13 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Ryan Walters   Click Here to Email Ryan Walters     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
That sounds great Jake! I envy you! I can't wait to get my hands on a copy of that myself. So which member of the crew was it?

Ryan

Jake
Member

Posts: 464
From: Issaquah, WA U.S.A.
Registered: Jun 2002

posted 10-04-2005 12:07 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Jake   Click Here to Email Jake     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I've met all the members of the crew, and have worked with Jim Lovell a number of time at the Museum of Flight.... but I know Bill the best. I serve with his wife on a board for the Olympic National Park and support activities through his Heritage Flight Museum. It's a real privilege....
http://www.heritageflight.org/admin_&_navigation/frames_main.htm

------------------
Jake Schultz - curator,
Newport Way Air Museum (OK, it's just my home)

mjanovec
Member

Posts: 3811
From: Midwest, USA
Registered: Jul 2005

posted 10-04-2005 05:50 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for mjanovec   Click Here to Email mjanovec     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
That sounds like a great program...it will be nice to have that one on tape (or DVD) someday as a companion piece to the Spacecraft Films DVD set.

I loved the interview segment of Borman, Lovell, and Anders that made it onto the Nova "To The Moon" documentary. I hope they contributed interviews for this program as well...

Robert Pearlman
Editor

Posts: 42986
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 10-04-2005 06:04 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
quote:
Originally posted by mjanovec:
That sounds like a great program...it will be nice to have that one on tape (or DVD) someday as a companion piece to the Spacecraft Films DVD set.
It is already available for pre-order from PBS on DVD.

Scott Henderson was kind enough to share the PBS website for this upcoming chapter of the "American Experience":

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/moon/

Robert Pearlman
Editor

Posts: 42986
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 10-20-2005 10:43 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
From SPACE.com:

The Making of 'Race to the Moon': Apollo 8 Documentary Producer Tells All

quote:
When my producing partner Mike Hill was doing research for a film on Apollo 11 in the early 90s, he kept hearing the same thing from NASA veterans and others in the space community: "For us, Apollo 8 was the mission. Someone should do a film on that." When I first heard about this film (airing October 31 on PBS) my reaction was the same that I’ve heard countless times in the years since: "Apollo 8, which one was that?"

What I encountered in producing "Race to the Moon" echoed what William Styron wrote about Apollo 8 at the time: "It was a moment that was depthless and inexpressible."


TrueNorth
Member

Posts: 161
From: Bathurst, NB, Canada
Registered: Jun 2003

posted 10-31-2005 01:20 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for TrueNorth   Click Here to Email TrueNorth     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Reminder: this program airs tonight (Monday).

John

thump
Member

Posts: 575
From: washington dc usa
Registered: May 2004

posted 10-31-2005 04:07 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for thump   Click Here to Email thump     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Airing immediately after this program, at 10 pm, is Apollo 1: Tragedy to Triumph on PBS

spacecraft films
Member

Posts: 802
From: Columbus, OH USA
Registered: Jun 2002

posted 10-31-2005 09:13 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for spacecraft films   Click Here to Email spacecraft films     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
This program was one of the best ever done on a particular mission... they really did a nice job telling this story, and paid an excellent amount of attention to the facts and to using appropriate visual material. Nicely done.

Mark

Tom
Member

Posts: 1597
From: New York
Registered: Nov 2000

posted 10-31-2005 09:26 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Tom   Click Here to Email Tom     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Fantastic program!
The scene of Susan Borman (Cdr Borman's wife) expression, as she's watching the launch on TV, says it all.
What an exciting time that was!

Ben
Member

Posts: 1896
From: Cape Canaveral, FL
Registered: May 2000

posted 10-31-2005 09:47 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Ben   Click Here to Email Ben     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
It was very good (as I expected from the renowned American Experience).

Fantastic new footage I had not seen before, such as the reentry from inside the cabin (though that could be any Apollo mission) to press site footage of the launch.

Moonpaws
Member

Posts: 685
From: Lee's summit, MO
Registered: Jan 2005

posted 11-01-2005 01:10 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Moonpaws   Click Here to Email Moonpaws     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I enjoyed it as well. I had just got back from our church alternative celebration where I wore my Apollo Eva suit. Here I am laying out on the couch still suited up watching this fantastic documentary.

rocketJoe
Member

Posts: 103
From: Huntsville, AL USA
Registered: Jul 2001

posted 11-01-2005 08:35 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for rocketJoe   Click Here to Email rocketJoe     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I also enjoyed the program. Found it refreshing that the wives at the time of the mission are still the wives today. Taking nothing from the astronauts, these women are heroes in their own right.

I met Jim and Marilyn Lovell a couple of years ago and I remember noticing that she was wearing an Apollo 8 pendant on her necklace. Watching the show last night, I spotted the same unique pendant during the interviews. Very cool!

tegwilym
Member

Posts: 2331
From: Sturgeon Bay, WI
Registered: Jan 2000

posted 11-01-2005 02:19 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for tegwilym   Click Here to Email tegwilym     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Nice! A lot of footage that I haven't seen before, and I thought I've seen most of it.

I was interrupted a few times to answer the door and toss candy at children, but I taped it also just in case.


Tom

FFrench
Member

Posts: 3161
From: San Diego
Registered: Feb 2002

posted 11-01-2005 06:35 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for FFrench     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote

One nice feature of the accompanying website - selected extracts from the Kamanin diaries, which make for great reading:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/moon/sfeature/sf_diary.html

mjanovec
Member

Posts: 3811
From: Midwest, USA
Registered: Jul 2005

posted 11-01-2005 07:48 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for mjanovec   Click Here to Email mjanovec     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
quote:
Originally posted by rocketJoe:
I also enjoyed the program. Found it refreshing that the wives at the time of the mission are still the wives today. Taking nothing from the astronauts, these women are heroes in their own right.

I think Borman and Lovell are the only two members of Group 2 that are still married to their first (and only) wives. Anders is probably in the minority in Group 3 as well...still being married to his first wife as well. And, if I recall something that Kim Poor stated after one of the recent signings (Borman or Lovell), the crew of Apollo 8 are one of the few groups that still fly their own planes today.

An amazing groups of astronauts from an amazing mission...

[This message has been edited by mjanovec (edited November 06, 2005).]

Gilbert
Member

Posts: 1328
From: Carrollton, GA USA
Registered: Jan 2003

posted 11-02-2005 10:59 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Gilbert   Click Here to Email Gilbert     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I enjoyed the show although I was constantly being interrupted by little witches, monsters, and Darth Vaders.

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