This series tells the story of the space race from the point of view of the engineers who headed the USSR's and USA's rocket teams. It shows the triumphs and the tragedies without taking sides. I was delighted when Korolev, the USSR's long-unnamed 'Chief Designer', launched his first rocket, and also when Sputnik and then Gagarin made it into space. I shared Von Braun's frustration when the US military passed the satellite project to the Navy, a frustration doubled by the fact that he could have had a satellite into space a year before the Soviets.
In 'The Right Stuff', the astronauts and test pilots held centre stage, and rightly so. That was their film. But however good that film was, it turned Von Braun into a caricature of a German scientist. This series tells his side of the story. It also shows the human side of the Soviet race for space and makes the viewer care about them as much as about the Americans. There is no 'us and them' in this series, just people doing something they care about. The performances are spot on and Robert Lindsay's quiet narration is perfect for giving background information and linking segments. Definitely deserves 10/10
In 'The Right Stuff', the astronauts and test pilots held centre stage, and rightly so. That was their film. But however good that film was, it turned Von Braun into a caricature of a German scientist. This series tells his side of the story. It also shows the human side of the Soviet race for space and makes the viewer care about them as much as about the Americans. There is no 'us and them' in this series, just people doing something they care about. The performances are spot on and Robert Lindsay's quiet narration is perfect for giving background information and linking segments. Definitely deserves 10/10