shipperx | Moonshot Tonight

Saw it posted and went for a search. JM in "Moonshot" is tonight on History Channel.
TV Preview:

Moonshot To Air On History Channel July 20

July 20, 1969. Anyone who was alive on that day can likely tell you exactly where they were when mankind achieved one of its greatest accomplishments: landing on the moon. On the 40th anniversary of this amazing feat, The History Channel will present Moonshot, a brand new movie that explores the details of the most famous space mission ever undertaken.

The film opens with the beginning stages of the space program and how the three astronauts who would eventually make up the crew of Apollo 11 - Neil Armstrong (Daniel Lapaine), Buzz Aldrin (James Marsters), and Michael Collins (Andrew Lincoln) - each became part of the space program.

It's clear from the outset that these three men are highly competitive. It was a distinct traits that all astronauts required. It's also clear that these three men start out not liking each other very much but grow to have tremendous respect for each other once the mission is underway, having to co-exist in tight quarters.

The film also doesn't gloss over key aspects of the landing itself reminding the viewer that the actual moon landing almost didn't happen. While the mission was a huge success it was not glitch-free, as we are reminded several times.

There is also terrific use of both NASA archive footage as well as CBS News footage of the mission both of which have been enhanced to high definition. Through several montages we are reminded that the moon landing was not only a great day for the United States but for all mankind. It was the rarest of events that truly brought all nations together.

Moonshot does a good job of reminding us why the moon landing remains such a special event to so many people. It is fitting that we should be marking the 40th anniversary of the moon landing with a tremendous reminder of why this event was so special. Once we had the courage as a nation to dream big dreams and take bold steps to make them happen. Maybe we will be inspired to do it again. One hopes that we will because we know we can.

ETA: Wow, JM actually is mostly the lead in this, isn't he? He seems to have more story than anyone else (which is a surprise because you would think it would be the guy playing Neil Armstrong.) Most amusing (to me) was the scene where "Buzz" is talking about not having a face for television. Yeah... JM's forehead may be a bit more wrinkly, but those cheekbones still work on screeen and with some of the shots... well, he may be a bit more weathered these days, but he's still way prettier than the other two guys. (Although I miss Punk Spike bedhead of Redemption. Always was his best look).