From the Earth to the Moon 

Dramatized portrayal of the Apollo manned space program.

Stars:

Tom Hanks, Nick Searcy, Lane Smith

Top Rated TV #95 | Won 1 Golden Globe. Another 21 wins & 33 nominations.

Cast

Complete series cast summary:
Tom Hanks	...	Himself - Host / ... 12 episodes, 1998
Nick Searcy	...	Deke Slayton 10 episodes, 1998
Lane Smith	...	Emmett Seaborn 6 episodes, 1998
David Andrews	...	Frank Borman 5 episodes, 1998
Daniel Hugh Kelly	...	Gene Cernan 5 episodes, 1998
Stephen Root	...	Chris Kraft 5 episodes, 1998

Storyline

The twelve episodes follow the Apollo space program from a variety of viewpoints: (1) "Can We Do This?" maps the origins of Apollo and its Mercury and Gemini roots; (2) "Apollo 1" tells of the tragic fire and the subsequent finger-pointing; (3) "We Have Cleared the Tower" portrays the intense preparation for Apollo 7; (4) "1968" puts Apollo 8 into its historical context against events of the era; (5) "Spider" shows the engineering POV through the design, building, and testing of the LEMs with Apollos 9 and 10, (6) "Mare Tranquilitatis" shows the deeper considerations behind the historic Apollo 11 lunar landing; (7) "That's All There Is" portrays the camaraderie of the Apollo 12 crew; (8) "We Interrupt This Program" shows a by-now-indifferent media galvanized by the events of Apollo 13; (9) "For Miles and Miles" tells of Alan Shepherd's return to the manned program with Apollo 14 after being grounded between Mercury and Gemini; (10) "Galileo Was Right" show the non-piloting demands on ...

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Plot Keywords:

neil armstrong character | space program | the moon | apollo 8 | apollo 7 | 

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Genres:

Action | Drama | History | Thriller

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Certificate:

TV-14

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

5 April 1998 (USA)

Also Known As:

From the Earth to the Moon

Filming Locations:

DeLand, Florida, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$68,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Clavius Base, Go Flight Inc., Imagine Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min (12 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Black and White Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Lane Smith plays a news anchor who is being forced out by an industry preferring younger, shallower and ratings-driven stories. Smith also appeared in Network (1976), based on a similar plot.

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Goofs

When Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walk on the moon, Aldrin says, "Magnificent desolation," and Armstrong says, "Magnificent sight out here." These lines are historically accurate, but they were actually said in the opposite order.

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Quotes

[During Apollo 8's liftoff]
Frank Borman: First stage was smooth, this one's smoother.
Jim Lovell: Smooth and smoother? Who are you kidding?
Bill Anders: Yeah, that one felt like we'd been in a train wreck.
Frank Borman: Kick in the pants, huh?

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Alternate Versions

On the 1999 UK VHS version, Episode 7 (That's All There Is) had three uses of strong language cut out by the BBFC in order to avoid getting a 15 rating and to keep the episode in line with the rest of the series at a PG rating. When the series was re-submitted in 2006 for the DVD release, the episode was passed uncut (and with a 15 rating).

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Connections

Referenced in Monk: Mr. Monk and the Airplane (2002)

User Reviews

Incredible mini series

This miniseries is fantastic. As a self titled space geek, I enjoyed every minute. Not only does it tell the story of how we got to the Moon, it tells about the individual astronauts and many who helped get them there. After Alan Shepard had his 15 minutes as the first American in space, JFK made it clear that we needed to get to the Moon by 1970. The mini series details every step of the way, touching on the Apollo 1 disaster, all the steps to getting to the Moon (staying in orbit, space walks, docking, etc), the development of the Lunar Modules, and the inevitable voyage of Apollo 11 that landed on the Moon. I especially enjoyed Dave Foley as Al Bean, an astronaut on Apollo 12 (the funny episode). From the Earth to the Moon also details the NASA/press relationship, astronaut training, the astronaut wives, etc. It's such details and perspective that make this stand out as an amazing miniseries. I recommend this to anyone who wants to know more about the Apollo program. Truly an amazing story of arguably the greatest technological achievement of man to date.