The Right Stuff

Anyone who has read the book or seen 1983 movie version will be disappointed in this version. I had the privilege of meeting John Glenn in 1997 and he is more like the "Ed Harris" version than the Disney version. The Disney version seems to put more emphasis on the personal lives and flaws of the Mercury 7 than the monumental accomplishments of these men. They were true American heroes...not the hero "wannabes" we see produced by Hollywood and the professional sports industry.

This series is a trip into the Disney Alternate Cinematic Universe where the Mercury astronauts are actually self-absorbed millennial frat boys. I truly believe the the Wolfe book and the 1983 film sat unread and unviewed next to the writer's lap top. You can avoid the rest if you wish.

The Disney juggernaut has once again ruined something great. First the Stars Wars franchise and now The Right Stuff. This miniseries almost got me hating John Glenn, for crying out loud because it painted him as a weasel. The political correctness angle is a tired one that Disney keeps playing for the millennial crowd, but even they may tire of it eventually.

The secret story if why Chuck Yeager couldn't get into his plane for the test flight:

Yeager was a drinker and when he drank he liked to cheat on his wife. After a night of boozing and hooking up with women he went home to his angry wife. An argument ensued and Yeager jumped on to his horse and took off, he shortly fell off the horse and broke his ribs. The test flight was either the next day or very soon after and due to the broken rib Yeager was unable to open the hatch of the airplane. If he couldn't open the hatch on his own the entire thing would have been canceled. But the flight manager took a broom handle and broke it so Yeager could use this to open the hatch. This resulting in Charles W Russell earning the nickname of Hatch.

This version by Disney doesn't come close to Feelings in the book