posted 08-31-2020 12:12 AM
I watched the 1967 movie Countdown the other night and although it was pretty dated it held my interest throughout. Interestingly I thought the astronaut office politics were quite accurate. Military test pilot Robert Duvall is the most qualified man for a moon mission but to placate the politicians in Washington he gets passed over for a civilian scientist rookie astronaut played by James Caan. Ever the professional, Duvall devotes himself to the backup position without complaint.
The preflight training looked quite accurate but the idea of sending a modified Gemini to the moon and stranding the guy there just seemed absurd. Was that ever really an idea?
The part that had the most emotional impact for me was when James Caan was himself running low on air and found the bodies of the dead cosmonauts. He knew that barring a miracle he'd soon be dead himself but, as a sign of respect for his fallen adversaries, he completes the task of raising the Soviet flag on the moon. Then the whole thing is ruined when he places the American flag over the the Soviet flag, as if to say the USA won! That just sort of killed it.
And why was the NASA spokesman Ted Baxter from the Mary Tyler Moore show?
posted 08-31-2020 12:12 AM
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