Apollo 11 astronaut in space suit saluting while standing next to American flag and lander on the moon

Apollo 11 50th Anniversary Things I’m Watching

I’m way behind on my space dramas.
With NPR’s never-ending coverage of the Apollo 11 anniversary today, I feel obligated to try to catch up on some of the things gathering dust on my hard drive.

Before that, I heard something strange today.
Did you know that the space race came down to the wire?
Fun fact, I heard on NPR: Russia nearly almost beat us.
They had a rocket launch less than a month before Apollo 11 that blew up on their launch platform. It is not known to this day whether it was their planned mission to the moon.
Screw Chernobyl. Show me THAT movie.

No, I have not watched ‘The Expanse’

Yes, I know that I need to.

This will be a short list of other things.

A very short list. Don’t get your hopes up for anything great.

Without further ado, behold my Apollo 11 related watch list!

  1. First Man (2018)

    Obvious, I know. It’s what everyone will be watching, as it seems to be the top choice in RedBoxes around the country.

  2. The First (2018)

    I’ve heard good things about this.
    A longer First Man, I guess? We’ll see.

  3. Strange Angel (2018)

    I’m about 3 episodes in. Started it months ago.
    I wasn’t wowed by it, and wasn’t thrilled with the occult turn it took.
    But it’s not terrible by any means, and as the completionist that I am, I need to revisit it.

 

Okay, that list was too short.
How about another?

The 3 Most Underrated Space Dramas You’ve Never Watched

  1. Defying Gravity (2009)

    Holy hell this was good.
    It’s a slow-burn, but it starts as a near-future space odyssey and becomes something unexpectedly more.

  2. Other Space (2015)

    Originally airing on ‘Yahoo!’, it felt like I was the only one that watched this at the time. And some episodes had me dying of laughter.
    Give it a chance to build.

  3. Space: Above And Beyond (1995)

    Before there was Battlestar Galactica (2004)
    Before there was Firefly (2002)
    …We had a dark short-lived drama similar to Starship Troopers (1997).

 

Hmm. I like making lists. How about another?

3 Shows Apollo 11 Astronauts Would Absolutely Hate

  1. Lost In Space (2018)

    I don’t have anything against the original.
    Okay. Maybe I do. It was before my time, but I’ve seen enough to know that it was cheesy. I also saw the movie remake starring Matt LeBlanc.
    I’d watch the movie any day over this long, pointless remake.

  2. Salvation (2017)

    Oh boy. I could only make it through one episode.
    The cringe-levels were too high, even for me.
    Maybe it gets better, but I doubt it.
    The premise seemed interesting: Earth is nearing extinction, rocket scientists gather to discuss the feasibility of building something to save humanity.
    Yet, it had no sense of humor, and an added level of neutered dread.

  3. Nightflyers (2019)

    You have to really love George R. Martin to slog your way through this one.
    I made it to the end, and it was okay.
    But, there were some god awful episodes, like the one-off meeting of the cannibal ship. Horror / Space Sci-Fi is a very niche field that I’ve very rarely seen ever done right.
    No, Event Horizon (1997) is not a good movie.
    Sunshine (2007) is okay, up to the point it becomes a horror film.
    Pandorum (2009), yes
    I don’t care what anyone says, that movie is brilliant.

You know what?

How about some more obvious movies that you NEED TO SEE.

If you haven’t already seen:

Solaris (1972) and 2001: Space Odyssey (1969), as well as its sequel 2010: The Year We Make Contact (1984), then we shouldn’t even be talking about anything else. … Oh, also, Moon (2009), and of course, Apollo 13.

Go watch those now!

Happy Apollo 11th anniversary!

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