posted 07-24-2015 07:52 PM               

'The Astronaut Wives Club': Space history vs. Hollywood in Episode 6 'In the Blind'

It was out with the old (astronauts) and in with the new (spacecraft) in "In the Blind," the sixth hour of ABC's ten-part series "The Astronaut Wives Club."

In the episode, which aired Thursday night (July 23), Alan Shepard, John Glenn and Scott Carpenter, along with their wives Louise, Annie and Rene, struggled to make a life for themselves after returning from space, while Ed White and Ed Dwight sought to find their place in it.

"John Glenn has his sights set on a political career and hits the campaign trail with wife Annie and Rene Carpenter by his side as he runs for the Ohio senate," ABC wrote as its episode synopsis, "while Alan Shepard quietly grapples with a personal matter that could ground his career."

posted 07-25-2015 12:50 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by Delta7:
...did Al Shepard really get into a brawl with a punk in an alley outside a bar?

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posted 07-31-2015 04:00 PM               

'The Astronaut Wives Club': Space history vs. Hollywood in Episode 7 'Rendezvous'

The conceit behind "The Astronaut Wives Club" is that the real events of America's space program play out as a setting for the show's characters — women who are (loosely) based on the actual spouses of NASA's Mercury, Gemini and Apollo spacemen.

But in "Rendezvous," the seventh episode of ABC's ten-part series, the real space history demands to be front and center, and the show's need to push it to the background results in it missing pivotal parts of the actual AstroWives' experiences.

The problems are even caught in ABC's synopsis for the episode...

posted 08-03-2015 05:08 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by MCroft04:
My wife asks me at least 5 or 6 times each episode; "Did that really happen?" I'm actually enjoying this series realizing that a lot of it is made up.

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posted 08-03-2015 08:07 PM               

On January 22, 1967, Grissom made a brief stop at home before returning to the Cape. A citrus tree grew in their backyard with lemons on it as big as grapefruits. Gus yanked the largest lemon he could find off of the tree. Betty had no idea what he was up to and asked what he planned to do with the lemon. "I'm going to hang it on that spacecraft," Gus said grimly and kissed her goodbye.

Betty knew that Gus would be unable to return home before the crew conducted the plugs out test on January 27, 1967. What she did not know was that January 22 would be "the last time he was here at the house."

posted 08-05-2015 08:12 AM               

Also they put the See/Bassett accident before Gemini 7, kind of odd because See was actually a capcom for the joint Gemini 6/7 missions.

posted 08-07-2015 09:45 PM               

'The Astronaut Wives Club': Space history vs. Hollywood in Episode 8 'Abort'

The eighth episode of ABC's 10-part series "The Astronaut Wives Club" dove into the aftermath of the Apollo 1 accident.

On Jan. 27, 1967, astronauts Gus Grissom, Ed White and Roger Chaffee were tragically killed in a fire that broke out in their spacecraft during a routine test on the launch pad. Thursday's (Aug. 6) installment of "Astronaut Wives Club" primarily followed one of the wives in her attempt to come to terms with her husband's death.

"Betty Grissom faces the grim reality that her husband, Gus, is gone," ABC wrote in its synopsis for the episode. "With Gus having died while preparing for a mission, Betty must move forward planning his funeral and a life without him. After receiving word that Gus' death may have been preventable, Betty is determined to get answers in Gus' death and embarks on a battle for justice."

posted 08-08-2015 10:05 AM               

Pat was the only Apollo 1 fire widow who went to all three services: Gus's first, Roger's next, then two hours later she was on a plane bound for West Point.

posted 08-11-2015 03:45 PM               

1. As documented (and pictured) by LIFE magazine, Deke Slayton was dressed in civilian clothes that day, as he was formally representing NASA.

2. In the real line-up, it was Glenn, Shepard, Cooper, Carpenter and John Young. (For reasons unknown, the series decided not to cast an actor as Young.)

3. Wally Schirra was absent from the salute — but why? Where was Schirra that day and why wasn't he with his fellow Mercury astronauts?

posted 08-11-2015 04:23 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by Robert Pearlman:
They did (as mentioned in this week's review). The show changed the story (for reasons unknown, but part of it may have been keep Betty front and center).

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What about the paraphrasing of Frank Borman's testimony to the House of Representatives? Wasn't the mention, "We're all to blame," naming everyone responsible including himself made by Borman in that hearing and not in public like shown at the end of the episode?

posted 08-11-2015 10:10 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by Robert Pearlman:
Wally Schirra was absent from the salute — but why?

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posted 08-14-2015 06:17 PM               

'The Astronaut Wives Club': Space history vs. Hollywood in Episode 9 'The Dark Side'

The penultimate episode of ABC's "The Astronaut Wives Club" explored "The Dark Side" of being a spaceman's spouse, as the ninth hour was titled.

The 10-part docudrama's second-to-last installment, which aired Thursday (Aug. 13), focused on the wives' fears and struggles with losing their loved ones — whether it was to divorce, surgery, war or to an in-space accident.

"Wally's career at NASA ends, and Jo must redefine her role and priorities. Louise wrestles with the fear of losing her husband as Alan considers undergoing risky surgery that will determine his future. Susan Borman grapples with uncertainty as the Apollo 8 mission goes where no man has been before," ABC's wrote in its synopsis.

posted 08-21-2015 12:07 PM               

'The Astronaut Wives Club': Space history vs. Hollywood in Ep. 10 'Landing' (finale)

The spouses of America's first spacemen flew off into the sunset on Thursday night (Aug. 20) — or at least one of them did — on the final episode of ABC's "The Astronaut Wives Club."

The tenth hour of the ten-part docudrama, titled "Landing," was set between two of the most famous space missions in history.

"It is 1969, and Apollo 11's historic moon landing is cause for worldwide celebration and a high point for the Astro-families," ABC described in its synopsis for the final week of the summer event series based on author Lily Koppel's bestseller by the same title. "The wives are interviewed for a television documentary on the space program, Gordo is passed over for the next mission, and Trudy faces some big decisions about her personal and professional future. Betty finds a powerful way to honor Gus's legacy and [to] advocate for change. In April 1970, the nation watches the fraught voyage of Apollo 13."

The episode stands out for a noticeable inclusion: the only real-life member of an "Astro-family" to make a cameo on the "Astronaut Wives Club." Rosemary Roosa, daughter of Apollo 14 command module pilot Stuart Roosa, appears at the gala celebrating Apollo 11's success.

posted 08-24-2015 07:37 AM               

Astronaut wife: "Jack Swigert... he'll be even more eligible after he walks on the moon."

AAAAAAARRRGGHHHHH! SPACE NERD RAGE!!!