The Right Stuff (2020)

Nothing feels gratuitous and there isn’t anything even remotely shocking. It’s just more mature and well rounded; these characters are messy and flawed and full of contradictions, and the show isn’t afraid to engage with those less pleasant aspects of their lives. As a dramatic series, it’s phenomenal; it’s frequently touching and just as thrilling.

While it would be next to impossible to duplicate the shining brilliance of Philip Kaufman’s 1983 theatrical adaptation of the same material (IMHO the best astronaut movie ever made), show creator Mark Lafferty has delivered a visually striking, well-acted period piece that plays like “Mad Men: The Flyboys Edition.”

We’ve seen the story of The Right Stuff before, but even if we hadn’t, it’s 2020 and Google plus a quick trip to Wikipedia will tell you everything you need to know. But despite these obstacles, the eight-episode series—seeped in its era much the same way Mad Men was—is more often than not a compelling, inspirational drama that does its best to command our attention. ... I’m just not sure it’s a story that needed to be told again.

[The actors are] all perfectly fine, and Adams and McDorman are at times, better than fine. The rest of the cast is solid, with good work from actresses who play the all-too-often long-suffering wives of the Mercury Seven. ... “The Right Stuff” feels like a band playing the hits we’ve already heard way too many times already.

Though it rarely achieves electrifying liftoff in the five episodes available for review, what resonated most is a character study of straitlaced den father John Glenn (a solid Patrick J. Adams). [12 - 25 Oct 2020, p.9]

This series plays like a quickly-written nostalgia trip and nothing more.

“The Right Stuff” is not bad, or even boring, just thin and unconvincing. Its budget shows, in the negative sense, and its best points are to be found here and there in small things — individual performances, selected exchanges and assorted old gewgaws and gadgets that decorate the screen.

MY GOD BUT THIS IS BORING! To be fair they got the time period right: clothes, cars, music, locales, etc. and this can be hard and adds to the **** Jeez I wish they'd spent a lil more on SPFX. I loved the 1983 film and thought IT did a great job of capturing the AWE of what these men were doing..among the first humans in space (yes I know Russians were **** this maybe this is something that could be explored one day..THEIR version of "The Right Stuff"..although in fairness it would prolly be called "Comrade, The Party has decided we're gonna shoot you into **** you're going to do it OR we're gonna kill you and your **** that doesn't make for a catchy movie title now does it? After the 1st episode that had a very small taste of the "Mach 2 with your hair on fire" mindset these guys had that made them **** episode 3 I was thinking Jeez when am I gonna see more of that? Then realized the tagline for the series was "The Race to see Who would be First in Space" I began to see that Disney+ wasn't kidding. The series wasn;t gonna be some grand Space spectacle but rather the backstories of only 3 of 7 the "Mercury **** the admin decisions that went into deciding who would be first. But yet..this is recorded history..anyone with access to the internet can quickly find out WHO (of these 3) went first. Did find some of the infighting and backstories to be interesting but still not sure what was fact and what was artistic license for dramatic effect. Waiting on last episode to **** MAYBE they'll blow budget on this one and I'll come back and amend my **** 7 weeks into this? I'll watch Episode 8 ..but even if it's good..I doubt I'm gonna sign up for Season 2