Watch From The Earth To The Moon

TV-14
1998
1 Season
8.6 (12,611)

From The Earth To The Moon is an HBO miniseries that takes a deep dive into the historic Apollo space program, tracing its roots from the early days of NASA to the pinnacle of humanity's greatest achievement - the first manned mission to the moon. Spanning across twelve episodes, From The Earth To The Moon features a star-studded cast and crew led by the renowned actor and director Tom Hanks, who play a pivotal role in the creative and executive aspects of the show. Nick Searcy and Lane Smith also make notable appearances as key figures in the Apollo program, with Searcy portraying Deke Slayton, one of the original Mercury Seven astronauts and later NASA's Director of Flight Crew Operations, and Smith playing Frank Borman, the Commander of Apollo 8, which became the first manned spacecraft to orbit the moon. Each episode follows a different aspect of the Apollo program, charting the challenges and triumphs of the dedicated astronauts, engineers, and scientists who worked tirelessly behind the scenes to realize President John F. Kennedy's bold vision of sending a man to the moon and bringing him back safely to Earth. The first episode, "Can We Do This?", lays the foundation for the entire series as it explores the early days of NASA, the Soviet Union's Sputnik launch, and the intense pressure faced by the United States to catch up in the space race. From there, subsequent episodes take on various topics like the selection and training of the astronauts, the tense rivalry between NASA and the Air Force during the Gemini program, the Apollo 1 fire tragedy, and the historic first moon landing of Apollo 11. One of the unique features of From The Earth To The Moon is how it blends actual footage of the Apollo missions with stunningly recreated CGI animations, giving viewers a visceral and intimate look at what it was like to be a part of the Apollo program. The show also features interviews with real-life Apollo astronauts, including Buzz Aldrin and Alan Shepard, adding a powerful sense of authenticity to the narrative. Throughout the series, From The Earth To The Moon delves into the complex interpersonal relationships between the astronauts, as well as their families and loved ones, highlighting the emotional strain and sacrifices required to achieve such a monumental goal. It also reflects on the broader cultural and political implications of the Apollo program within the context of the turbulent 1960s, including the civil rights movement, the Vietnam war, and the anti-establishment counterculture. Overall, From The Earth To The Moon is a sweeping and epic tribute to one of humanity's most extraordinary achievements, showcasing the unparalleled ingenuity, perseverance, and spirit that allowed us to reach the moon and beyond. It is a must-watch for anyone who has ever looked up at the stars and dreamed of exploring the final frontier.

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Seasons

12. Le Voyage Dans La Lune

May 10, 1998

The story of the final lunar mission, Apollo 17, is told as a pseudo-documentary set several decades after the fact. Simulated interviews of various characters such as Emmett Seaborn and flight director Christopher C. Kraft Jr., in old-age makeup, are included. The documentary is interspersed with the story of early French film maker Georges Méliès' creation of his vision of a trip to the Moon, the 1902 Le Voyage dans la Lune. Scenes from the original film are merged with the recreation of its filming.

11. The Original Wives Club

May 10, 2018

Shows the Apollo program from the point of view of the nine wives of NASA's second group of astronauts, from 1962 beyond the end of the program. The burdens placed on them include maintaining a home while presenting a positive image to the news media, shielding their husbands from any family concerns which could affect their position in the flight rotation or ability to return to Earth safely, and comforting each other in the face of tragedies which kill Elliot See and Ed White. The episode is anchored by the Apollo 16 mission, during which recently married Ken Mattingly loses his wedding ring in the Command Module, and Lunar Module pilot Charles Duke finds it while Mattingly is performing a walk in deep space.

10. Galileo Was Right

May 3, 1998

Scientist astronaut Harrison "Jack" Schmitt, a geologist, persuades his mentor, professor Lee Silver, to train the Apollo astronauts in selecting appropriate rock samples to collect through field experience, rather than the boring classroom lectures NASA has been using. Silver takes the four Apollo 15 prime and backup landing crew members (David Scott, James Irwin, Richard F. Gordon, Jr., and Schmitt) to the southwestern desert, while lunar geologist Farouk El-Baz trains the Command Module pilots (Alfred Worden and Vance D. Brand) in high-altitude recognition of geological features using airplane flights over Hawaii. Schmitt is disappointed to learn his own Apollo 18 flight will be cancelled, but he still believes the training of the other astronauts is vital. It pays off when Scott and Irwin find the "Genesis Rock", originally believed to come from the Moon's primordial crust. The title refers to Scott's reproduction of an experiment proving Galileo's hypothesis that gravity will cause bodies of differing masses to fall at the same rate in a vacuum, by dropping a hammer and a feather.

9. For Miles and Miles

May 3, 1998

In 1964, while riding high on his fame as America's first man in space and his expected command of the first Gemini mission, Alan Shepard is suddenly struck with Ménière's disease, characterized by vertigo and nausea. Flight operations director Deke Slayton must ground him, but offers him the job of chief astronaut, effectively making Shepard Slayton's assistant as supervisor of all the astronauts. A few years later, a surgeon tries an experimental surgery which cures Shepard's symptoms, and he is returned to the flight rotation, commanding Apollo 14 in early 1971, which accomplishes Apollo 13's failed Fra Mauro landing. Shepard brings a six-iron golf club head on board, which he fastens to a soil-collecting tool handle and uses to hit a ball "for miles and miles".

8. We Interrupt This Program

April 26, 1998

This episode covers the perilous flight of Apollo 13 entirely from the ground point of view; the astronauts are only heard on radio. Veteran TV spaceflight reporter Emmett Seaborn (Lane Smith) is summoned to broadcast the breaking news of the in-flight failure, as young reporter Brett Hutchings (Jay Mohr) is pulled off of sports to help with the coverage. As the crisis unfolds, Seaborn finds himself at odds with Hutchings' style of sensationalizing its impact on the astronauts' families, and criticizing NASA. Seaborn starts to feel he is being marginalized when the network decides to leave Hutchings on location in Houston, while sending him back to headquarters to provide only background coverage. The last straw falls when, after the successful recovery of the astronauts, Hutchings horns in on his traditional post-flight interview with flight controller Gene Kranz. Seaborn leaves dejectedly, not to be seen again until the flight of Apollo 17 in the final episode.

7. That's All There Is

April 26, 1998

The story of the Apollo 12 second lunar landing mission is told by Lunar Module Pilot Alan Bean. Bean, the last member of NASA Astronaut Group 3 to fly in space, narrates his experience with the tightly-knit, all-Navy crew commanded by Gemini veteran Pete Conrad, and accepts with humor and grace his responsibility for the failure of the first color TV camera on the lunar surface, and for almost fracturing his own skull by failing to properly secure the Command Module's TV camera before splashdown.

6. Mare Tranquilitatis

April 19, 1998

A dramatization of the Apollo 11 first Moon landing in Mare Tranquillitatis ("Sea of Tranquility") is interspersed with flashback sequences of Emmett Seaborn's television interview with the crew of Neil Armstrong, Lunar Module pilot Buzz Aldrin, and Command Module pilot Michael Collins.

5. Spider

April 19, 2018

Returns to 1961, and NASA engineer John Houbolt's lonely fight to convince management that the easiest way to land men on the Moon will be to use a separate landing craft employing lunar orbit rendezvous. It then traces the design and development of the Lunar Module by a team led by Grumman engineer Tom Kelly. Covers the selection and training of the first crew to fly it, James McDivitt and Rusty Schweickart (along with Command Module pilot David Scott), and culminates with their first flight of Spider in Earth orbit on Apollo 9. The Apollo 10 lunar "dress rehearsal" is briefly mentioned.

4. 1968

April 12, 1998

Depicts Apollo 8's historic first crewed lunar flight, as the redemption of an otherwise strife-torn year filled with political assassinations, war, and unrest. Documentary footage of the turbulent political events are interspersed with the drama, which is mostly filmed in black and white except for scenes aboard the spacecraft and some color newsreel footage. The fears of mission commander Frank Borman's wife Susan of the possibility of her husband dying in a spacecraft trapped in lunar orbit are highlighted. Includes the Apollo 8 Genesis reading.

3. Have We Cleared the Tower

April 12, 1998

Portrays the Apollo program's recovery to crewed flight after the Apollo 1 tragedy, from the perspective of a fictional documentary team covering the flight of Apollo 7. This flight is commanded by strong-willed Mercury veteran Wally Schirra, who is focused on safety after the death of his colleague Grissom. Pad Leader Guenter Wendt, another zealous guardian of astronaut safety, is featured by the documentary team.

2. Apollo One

April 5, 1998

Portrays the tragedy of the Apollo 1 fire from the perspective of its subsequent investigation by NASA and the US Congress. Its effects on key individuals are shown, including Harrison Storms of North American Aviation, Joseph Shea of NASA, astronaut Frank Borman charged with supporting NASA's investigation, and the widows of Gus Grissom, Ed White and Roger Chaffee.

1. Can We Do This

April 5, 1998

Covers the early years of the United States' "Space Race" with the Soviet Union, including the creation of NASA and the decision to send men to the Moon. Provides an overview of the Mercury and Gemini programs, concentrating on reconstructions of Alan Shepard's pioneering Freedom 7 Mercury flight; Ed White's first US spacewalk on Gemini 4, the near-disastrous in-flight failure during Neil Armstrong's and David Scott's Gemini 8 mission; and the successful completion of Gemini with Buzz Aldrin's perfection of extravehicular activity on Gemini 12.

Description

Nick Searcy and Lane Smith also make notable appearances as key figures in the Apollo program, with Searcy portraying Deke Slayton, one of the original Mercury Seven astronauts and later NASA's Director of Flight Crew Operations, and Smith playing Frank Borman, the Commander of Apollo 8, which became the first manned spacecraft to orbit the moon.

Each episode follows a different aspect of the Apollo program, charting the challenges and triumphs of the dedicated astronauts, engineers, and scientists who worked tirelessly behind the scenes to realize President John F. Kennedy's bold vision of sending a man to the moon and bringing him back safely to Earth.

The first episode, "Can We Do This?", lays the foundation for the entire series as it explores the early days of NASA, the Soviet Union's Sputnik launch, and the intense pressure faced by the United States to catch up in the space race. From there, subsequent episodes take on various topics like the selection and training of the astronauts, the tense rivalry between NASA and the Air Force during the Gemini program, the Apollo 1 fire tragedy, and the historic first moon landing of Apollo 11.

One of the unique features of From The Earth To The Moon is how it blends actual footage of the Apollo missions with stunningly recreated CGI animations, giving viewers a visceral and intimate look at what it was like to be a part of the Apollo program. The show also features interviews with real-life Apollo astronauts, including Buzz Aldrin and Alan Shepard, adding a powerful sense of authenticity to the narrative.

Throughout the series, From The Earth To The Moon delves into the complex interpersonal relationships between the astronauts, as well as their families and loved ones, highlighting the emotional strain and sacrifices required to achieve such a monumental goal. It also reflects on the broader cultural and political implications of the Apollo program within the context of the turbulent 1960s, including the civil rights movement, the Vietnam war, and the anti-establishment counterculture.

Overall, From The Earth To The Moon is a sweeping and epic tribute to one of humanity's most extraordinary achievements, showcasing the unparalleled ingenuity, perseverance, and spirit that allowed us to reach the moon and beyond. It is a must-watch for anyone who has ever looked up at the stars and dreamed of exploring the final frontier.

From The Earth To The Moon is a series that is currently running and has 1 seasons (12 episodes). The series first aired on April 5, 1998.

Where to Watch From The Earth To The Moon

From The Earth To The Moon is available for streaming on the HBO website, both individual episodes and full seasons. You can also watch From The Earth To The Moon on demand at Google Play and Apple TV.