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Post by colinr on Sept 7, 2005 4:56:33 GMT -4
For those of us in the UK , a new "drama documentry" series starts on Wed 14th September at 9.00 pm on BBC2 .
Its a UK/US/Russian/German co-production telling the interlinked stories of Korlev(SP?), and Von Braun , from the end of WWII , through to Apollo 11 .
The chief selling point seem to be the access the producers were granted to the Russian archives , and the background of Korlev, putting some flesh on the bones of the "The Chief Designer" , and the early days of the Russian program
Its a 4 part series , and since there's US money behind it - I guess it'll be shown there fairly soon
The team behind this series also made a series , "The 7 wonders of the industral world" , which went out 21/2 years ago , and was superb , so high hopes for this one
Ok it may not change any hoax believers minds , but it may serve to persuade some of them that Apollo did't spring out of the ground , that a LOT of hard work went into getting to the moon.
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Al Johnston
"Cheer up!" they said, "It could be worse!" So I did, and it was.
Posts: 1,453
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Post by Al Johnston on Sept 7, 2005 8:37:44 GMT -4
Excellent: I'll set my recorder.
Horizon did a three-parter a while back called "Red Star in Orbit" mentioning Sergei Pavlovich Korolev, and his rôle as chief designer; it'll be interesting to find out more.
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Post by colinr on Sept 7, 2005 9:20:13 GMT -4
If you get "two sides of the moon" by Dave Scott and Alexi Leonov,(sp), there's quite a lot on Korolov, including the snippet that whe he was released rom the siberian Labour camp during the war, he had to make his own way back to Moscow... 12,000 miles away in the middle of winter , if he hadn't been taken by a family living near the camp he'd had died...
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Al Johnston
"Cheer up!" they said, "It could be worse!" So I did, and it was.
Posts: 1,453
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Post by Al Johnston on Sept 7, 2005 10:56:58 GMT -4
Yes: a very good book that.
(I quite liked Leonov's joke about the Soviet advice to the Egyptians in 1967:
"Fall back on Cairo and wait for winter")
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Post by Jason Thompson on Sept 7, 2005 17:55:12 GMT -4
I'm looking forward to this. I'm hoping it might include some footage of the N1.
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Post by Sticks on Sept 9, 2005 14:53:56 GMT -4
Front Row on BBC Radio 4 reviewed this. The main comment was that they white washed Von Braun's war record. If you hurry and go to here you may be able to hear the review for yourselves
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Post by Jason Thompson on Sept 14, 2005 17:34:31 GMT -4
Well, the first episode has just been shown, so I thought I'd post a few thoughts. Firstly, I'm not sure why the review Sticks mentioned said von Braun's war record had been whitewashed. As far as I could see it was all there: his membership of the Nazi party, his rank in the SS, the use of slave labour at the Mittelwerk facility (the aftermath of which was actually shown quite graphically, not just mentioned in passing), the initial hostility from some quarters in America to his team's use in the rocket program. What did the reviewers expect? A new treatment that portrayed von Braun as an evil Nazi who would happily have used slave labour camps in America given the chance? His activities in America after the war, and the role he built up as a citizen of Huntsville, quite obviously indicated that he was a Nazi only by association, not by ideology. I see no reason to make more of his past than presenting the facts. I was a little confused about all the movements of von Braun's team. The impression given was that everyone moved from the new headquarters, but later we see that several engineers stayed behind and were present when the Soviets arrived. A bit more clarity might have been useful there. Other than that, I think the episode was good. It laid the foundations very solidly, and I hope that the series will build on that. I would be very surprised and disappointed if no footage of the N1 is included. I am wondering what they will do at the end of the series. Will it finish with Apollo 11 putting men on the Moon, or will they go further to cover the drop in interest in space flight after the race was won? I guess I'll have to watch and see.
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Post by colinr on Sept 15, 2005 3:43:58 GMT -4
As far as I know - and most of my info comes from the Radio times - the series ends with Apollo 11 , it makes sense as an end point since by that stage Korolev has died, and the primary focus of the Huntsville team has been atchieved .
One point , its rally a nitpick, when Von Braun was liberated , there are pics of him with a broken arm... , but apart from that minor point , I really enjoyed it - great production values, and a feeling of real commitment by the filmakers to their subject material. the effects shots were also pretty decent
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Post by margamatix on Sept 16, 2005 15:40:42 GMT -4
I watched this programme and have to say I enjoyed it.
I'm always wary about "Dramadocs" or "Docudramas" or whatever they are called- to my mind, it's either a documentary or a drama. But it can never be both.
Anyway, I'm glad to see that the stereotypical Nazi Officer is alive and well on BBC TV.
"Ahhhh, Von Braun. Zee Fuehrer iss not so happy viz your verk" etc etc etc
So what will you all have to say when episode 4 shows it all being faked in Area 51?
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Post by LunarOrbit on Sept 16, 2005 15:59:12 GMT -4
I would say the BBC has sunk to the level of FOX. But that's not going to happen.
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Post by margamatix on Sept 16, 2005 16:37:36 GMT -4
I would say the BBC has sunk to the level of FOX. But that's not going to happen. How do you know what is going to happen?
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Post by LunarOrbit on Sept 16, 2005 21:59:09 GMT -4
Because the program has already been filmed and previewed by reviewers. Surely such a huge revelation would have been reported.
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Post by margamatix on Sept 17, 2005 12:58:30 GMT -4
I'm sure you are right. Even if it did claim Apollo to be a hoax, I wouldn't place any store in that, since it appears to be more drama than documentary anyway.
What is Fox? Is it a TV production company or a TV channel or what? Apart from the Apollo programme which draws your disdain, is it known as an untruthful TV company? It might be available in the UK on cable or satellite, but I don't have either.
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Post by LunarOrbit on Sept 17, 2005 13:09:30 GMT -4
FOX is a broadcast network like CBS, NBC, and ABC. The only good shows on FOX are "The Simpsons" and "Family Guy". They tend to push the envelope of what is considered good taste more than the other broadcast networks (although they are tame compared to some of the cable networks).
FOX is famous for having a lot of shows like "The Most Insane Police Chases" and "When Grizzly's Attack!".
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Post by Sticks on Sept 17, 2005 13:44:00 GMT -4
is it connected with the film studio 20th Century Fox?
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