Moon Shot

Based on the book of the same name, Moon Shot gives a real-life account of NASA's race for the moon by two men who were intimately involved: Deke Slayton and Alan Sheppard.

Much of this film is a gathering of the 5 remaining Mercury Astronauts - Al Sheppard, John Glenn, Scott Carpenter, Wally Schirra and Gordo Cooper. They reminisce about the old days and their different perspectives, something you don't get in the book, which is also excellent. Barry Corbin fills in as the voice, but not the image, of Deke Slayton. I think Corbin's part was a nice touch, narrating Deke's contributions to the book. I think it was interesting too that they got Corbin to play a former astronaut when he played former astronaut Maurice Minnifield on Northern Exposure for several years. Maybe intentional, maybe not, but a fine piece of casting. :)

If you liked the film, read the book. You won't be disappointed.

I have been a staunch supporter of the U.S. space program for many years, and when I heard about "Moon Shot" I knew I had to add this video tape to my collection. One thing that struck me as very funny were the comments of some of the principals(John Glenn, Chris Kraft, Alan Shepard, etc). For example, when discussing Deke Slayton's heart problem, in relation to his Apollo-Soyuz mission, Kraft states, "We knew more about Deke Slayton's heart than any man we ever flew, and that goddamned doctor stood up in the meeting and said, 'Well, I know we've said this before, but if he fibrillates on the pad, I'm gonna stop the count.' And I fired that sonuvabitch!"

Of course, life for the American space program wasn't all humorous. Three astronauts died in an accident during a training excercise in 1967, and there are many interviews with fellow astronauts and Mission Control members describing how they felt at the loss of their three comrades. There is also a great deal of discussion of the Soviet moon program, and its ultimate failure.

Any history fan or space enthusiast will enjoy Moon Shot. It gives one of the most accurate accounts of the early space program, through the eyes of the guys who lived it. I would heartily recommend this video for anyone interested in the space program.

When I first saw this program on TV I knew instantly that I had to obtain a copy of it and I did. I feel that this is the best space documentary ever made, period. The fact that this documentary draws directly from the original mercury and gemini astronauts tells the story from those who lived in it. A lot of information about the space operations of NASA I had never heard about till I saw this and they were quite amusing. Sadly Deke Slayton died during the making of the film and Al Shepard just recently died. This film is a final tribute in my mind to two great Americans who helped lead all Americans into the unknown depths of space through their pioneering careers as astronauts.

With a lot of great humor. Moon Shot covers the U.S. space program from the Mercury days through Apollo/Soyuz, as told by former astronaut Deke Slayton (voiced by Barry Corbin). The humor comes from anecdotes from several of the original astronauts, including John Glenn, who, talking about the mysterious "fireflies" that appeared during his space mission, said that one of the psychiatrists asked him, "And, what did they SAY, John?" Alan Shepard later said, "Those fireflies weren't fireflies at all....they were the constellation URION (Urine)."

Or another example: Frank Borman, talking about his Gemini 12 flight with Jim Lovell, says, "There was a song by Nat King Cole.." And Lovell comes on, and says, " 'Put Your Sweet Lips a Little Closer to The Phone,' by Nat King Cole." They then alternate verses, and Lovell finally says, "And that went on for two weeks. And of course, Frank & I were alone." Or the debate about who would be the first man to step on the moon - Armstrong, or Aldrin. As "Deke," Barry Corbin, put it: "It came down to tradition, and tradition says the commander always goes first. Besides, Neil was closest to the door!"

One of the most poignant lines comes from Alan Shepard, when he describes what his father told him after his Apollo 14 mission: "My father said, 'Do you remember when you called us, back in 1959, and said that you were going to be an astronaut'? I said, 'Yessir.' He said, 'Do you remember what I said?' I said, 'Yessir. You were not in favor of it.' And he raised his glass and said...'I was wrong.' And that's all he had to say."

This video belongs in the library of anyone who is in any way interested in history and the early U.S. space program.

I always wanted to be an astronaut when I was a kid. Neil Armstrong was my hero, Gus Grissom and Alan Shepard too. This TBS production is a very "viewer friendly" trip down history lane starting from the beginning of the astronaut selection for the Mercury program through the Apollo-Soyuz test flight. As told by Deke Slayton, it's easy to understand, doesn't waste the viewer's time with a lot of heady details, puts all due influence on our Cold War competition with the Russians (the astronauts were all soldiers, and the Apollo program was at first an effort to show we could put soldiers with a payload -- re: weapons systems -- on the moon), and has it told by the astronauts themselves: Wally Schirra, Alan Shepard, Buzz Aldrin, Scott Carpenter, ground crew people like Chris Kraft.

Do kids these days even know who these people were? Do they understand that we really did shoot people into space in little tin cans with no bathrooms or kitchenettes? Do they understand that these cold warriors were "men", who had egos and wives and drank and got into trouble and made history? People died, too, both on the Soviet side and our boys, and the special very soberly gives attention to all of that while being genuinely amusing at times, mixing period era authentic NASA test footage with the astronauts reminiscing about how ALL OF THIS WAS REAL.

One thing does kind of work against it and that's the overly "down home" narration by Barry Corbin. Yes, Deke Slayton had a bit of a cornpone accept, but after a while it strikes you as having been laid on a bit too thick, along with the comedic music and pratfalls. It's when the presentation sharpens up and gets down to telling you what it was like to be an astronaut candidate that it all comes together. They were competitive, somewhat egotistical and "cocksure" fighter jocks, and one of the interesting points that the film does a good job in getting across is that in 1966 or whatever, not everybody could be an astronaut. Today sure, but only because of the pioneering work these men undertook.

Highly recommended and suitable for all ages & audiences, anybody will be entertained and just like Cosby used to say if you aren't careful you just may learn a few things too.