U.S. fighter pilots are recruited to test experimental aircraft and rockets to become first Mercury astronauts. TV adaptation of Tom Wolfe's book, 'The Right Stuff'.
The actors do their best to overcome the flat writing, and the show does find its stride by the fifth episode. What the new "Right Stuff" is missing are the qualities it can probably never have: currency and context.
As a dramatic series, it's phenomenal; it's frequently touching and just as thrilling. But as a show that could potentially usher in a new era of Disney+, it's even more exciting.
A tepid eight-part remake, originally announced for the National Geographic channel but now airing on Disney+, feels more like underpowered soap opera.
Approach it simply as Hunky Young Astronauts in Love rather than a Wolfe adaptation... like the movie, it still can't find time to dedicate a full episode to NASA's test monkeys - and you might even be able to dispense with some of the disappointment.
What it loses in momentum, however, this Disney+ series gains in its characterizations, offering a satisfying voyage back into the stories of the men at the center of the Mercury 7 space program, as well as the women that loved and/or endured them.
Not only does this TV version of "The Right Stuff" not bring anything new to the table, but it has pretty much every bad habit Hollywood is currently trying to get rid of...
