Failure is Not an Option

[Dan Murphy]

This show premiered this evenng on the History Channel (still on for another 15 minutes) and is a wonderful chronicle of the space program, through the eyes of Gene Kranz, NASA Flight Director, Mission Control.



http://www.historychannel.com/option

http://www.genekranz.com/



Next showing will be this Tuesday at 8 PM EDT (unless you want to watch it later tonight at 2 AM EDT ). If you like or followed the space program through the 50's and into the 60's/70's and onto '93, his final mission, I think you will really enjoy this one. Give it a look. Just an FYI.

The real guy

<img width=356 src=http://movieweb.com/movie/apollo13imax/co1.jpg>

As portayed by Ed Harris in Apollo XIII

 

[snoopy]

Wow, I loved Ed Harris' portrayal of this guy in Apollo 13. Thanks for the heads up, Dan, you just know John will love this! I think I'll tape it for him.

 

[UncleKyle]

Wish I had catched this. I have always had a fascination with the space program. Especially when they dream big. I'll have to catch it next time.

 

[HauntedMansionGeek]

Oh Dan, thankyou for the heads up on this one. My dad and I shared a love for the space program and any documentaries about it were taped and we often watched them together.

THANKYOU again...I can't wait to see it.

 

[CALIFLADY]

by the same title, "Failure is not an Option". While he isn't the best writer, the book is fascinating! I'd recommend it, even if you do catch the stuff on the History Channel.

 

[paras4ri]

I'm watching Apollo 13 right now. I just love anything about the early space program because I remember it well!

 

[WDWguru]

I have it on Tivo, but haven't watched it yet. Just had to jump in and post that I'm SO proud of this show and the book for quite personal reasons. The man who helped Kranz write the book is John "Jack" Riley - my grandfather's best friend since childhood. Jack just died a few months ago, but before he did the History Channel went to his home in Houston to film interview segments for this program. Having not seen it, I hope he made the cut.

Jack was a communications specialist at NASA for 30+ years. He was a fantastic guy and we always knew he did something special there. Due to security, he could never talk about Apollo 13 with us, although we tried many times to get him to slip. As a child, I was a HUGE space buff and very seriously wanted to be an astronaut (until, at 16, I realized I'd never been tall enough for pilot training at the Air Force Academy). He indulged my interest by sending me press kits for all the missions and by making sure my grandfather always had passes to the shuttle launches. We lived on the west coast of Florida, and I remember many times piling into grandad's RV in the middle of the night for the drive over. We would park in the closest public lot just across the water and watch the incredible launches. I remember feeling extraordinarly lucky for the opportunity. When the Challenger disaster happened we were supposed to be there... but the weather delayed it enough that it ended up being on a school day. I thought of Jack often that day, and again when the Columbia went down.

The incredible thing is every one of those guys was as amazing as the one we knew. I'm so glad they're getting recognized for their service and dedication.

 

[Lynn CC]

My DS loves the History Channel! He watches it all the time. He said that show was GREAT!
He watches all the shows that make him knowledgeable and I'm Disning...good thing he doesn't take after me...LOL

 

[perdidobay]

DH and I watched this show last night. It was very well done.
The History Channel has alot of great shows. I really enjoyed Russia: Land of the Tsars yesterday too

 

[Tinks]

This show was very good. I would love to see it again! I was soooo tired last night, but I refused to turn it off because it was too interesting. NASA and the astronaut program have always had a certain fascination to me. Loved the movie the Right Stuff, too! Great show!

 

[Towncrier]

I love the History Channel. Astronaut Jim Lovell's commentary during the Apollo 13 movie was wonderful. And the special that followed was the icing on the cake. I can remember watching the Apollo 11 moon landing on an old black and white television that my parents let me drag up to my bedroom. I was so into model rocketry and the space program, it's a wonder that I didn't end up at NASA. I did end up in engineering and those guys at mission control are my heroes.

If you missed "Failure Is Not An Option" last night, make sure to catch it when it airs again.

 

[JC2]

We watched last night and thought it was great!

 

[Sandy51]

A great show and an interesting read, too. Recommend this for all space buffs (like me!)



Sandy