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The Right Stuff: Created by Mark Lafferty. With Patrick J. Adams, Patrick Fischler, Eric Ladin, James Lafferty. U.S. fighter pilots are recruited to test experimental aircraft and rockets to become first Mercury astronauts.
- (4.3K)
- 2020-10-09
- Drama, History
- 45
Episode 1 Aired Oct 9, 2020 Sierra Hotel A new U.S. agency called NASA chooses seven test pilots to be the nation's first astronauts. Details Episode 2 Aired Oct 9, 2020 Goodies The Mercury Seven ...
- (31)
- October 9, 2020
- Patrick J. Adams
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October 9. (2020-10-09) –. November 20, 2020. (2020-11-20) The Right Stuff is an American historical drama limited television series, loosely based on the 1979 book of the same name by Tom Wolfe and its 1983 film adaptation, that premiered on October 9, 2020, on Disney+. It is the third installment in the titular franchise.
- Stars in their eyes.
- Disney+: The Right Stuff Premiere Images
- Verdict
By Matt Fowler
Updated: Oct 9, 2020 8:36 pm
Posted: Oct 9, 2020 8:25 pm
The following is a spoiler-free review for the first two episodes of The Right Stuff, which premiered Friday, October 9 on Disney+.
Disney+ is getting into the Space Race with its new series The Right Stuff, which dramatizes the story of the Mercury Seven astronauts, who, back in the height of the Cold War, were selected to be pioneers in the first human spaceflight program for the United States. The first two episodes, which premiered on October 9, offer up some nice performances and interesting characterizations for a handful of historical figures, but overall the series feels bland and fruitless.
As an adaptation of Tom Wolfe's best-selling book, The Right Stuff represents a stab at slightly more mature fare for the streaming service before the MCU shows kick off with WandaVision and possibly push things more into the land of "hard PG-13."
The Right Stuff, as a series, reshapes and remolds elements of Wolfe's book as well as Kaufman's movie. It expands on the story in certain parts while also nixing entire arcs and even characters altogether. The episodic structure now gives the story more room to breathe and explore, though in these first two episodes it doesn’t produce anything necessarily exciting or engaging. It’s an example of more just being more. At its heart here, after the first two chapters, The Right Stuff is the tale of three men (and four who don't really resonate) who long to be a part of history despite the chinks in their respective armor.
Patrick J. Adams' (Suits) famed flyboy John Glenn is already seen as "over the hill" but his celebrity status makes him the most media-savvy of the bunch. Jake McDorman's (Shameless) antsy, arrogant ace Alan Shepard is a jealous, competitive philanderer who doesn't want his wife to find out about his many affairs. And Colin O'Donoghue's (Once Upon a Time) Gordo Cooper is so terrified that people will find out he's separated from his wife that he convinces her to move back home and pretend to be a happy family. As the main trio, they all play well off each other, though it’s the respectful rivalry between Glenn and Shepard that mostly takes center stage. Their gentlemanly antagonism is the most interesting part of the series, but it’s not enough to remove the other plodding elements. Namely, all the other characters.
The first episode, “Sierra Hotel,” involves Project Mercury’s intense selection process, thinning a herd of over 100 candidates down to the nitty-gritty seven, while the second installment shines a spotlight on how huge these newly-minted "astronauts" became (this was when the term/title was invented) on a national level. Thrust into a media circus, the Mercury Seven, most of whom simply enjoyed the solitary thrill of flying a plane at super-high speeds, became an overnight sensation. And while these two chapters nicely focus on different themes stemming from separate events, they can’t overcome the generic tone and low-level stakes created by rooms filled with chest-puffing men trying to not be forgotten by history.
The Right Stuff is noble and obvious in its efforts to take us back to a shining moment of historic achievement, but the end result, thus far, is kind of middling. It's not bad, mind you, just aggressively decent. Maybe I’m just not used to Disney sheen in an episodic format. I’m certainly okay with it as a movie, when the studio puts out inspirational sports films and such, but as a series there's an edge lacking. That doesn't mean things need to get oppressively dark or gritty, but the output here feels very basic and bereft at times. Much of it has to do with how disposable all the astronauts who aren’t Glenn, Shepard, and Cooper feel. Mad Men’s Aaron Staton, One Tree Hill’s James Lafferty, Michael Trotter, and Micah Stock play the other four astronauts whose stories get short-sheeted.
The Right Stuff isn't dull, but it's not instantly engaging either. It sort of flatly, and traditionally, lays out a story of proud-yet-flawed pilots who long to head to the stars, with predictable troubles and foils thrown in their path. It looks great and the performances are strong, but it offers very little that's new to the overcrowded TV land...
Oct 9, 2020 · Episode 1 • Oct 9, 2020. Sierra Hotel. Chris Kraft and his team were assigned to select the first seven astronauts for the United States Mercury program out of over 100 highly capable applicants. Episode 2 • Oct 9, 2020. Goodies. The Mercury 7 become aware of their instant fame and the pitfalls that come with it. Episode 3 • Oct 16, 2020.
Oct 8, 2020 · On The Right Stuff Season 1 Episode 1, Chris Kraft and his team work to select the first seven astronauts for the US Mercury program from over 100 highly capable applicants.
