I am a huge fan of the original film, watched it many times. I've read the book more than once as well. I couldn't imagine why it was necessary to make a series. However, in the end, I couldn't resist.
First of all, if you're looking for a show about the Mercury program, this may not be it. This is about the Mercury astronauts, their wives and how being part of the program affected them. If you're looking for how the rockets were developed or the science, look elsewhere.
Secondly, this is also not a whitewash. If you have an issue with your heroes being real people, and having real flaws, this isn't for you. These men were heroes, but they weren't gods. That was part of why the book was so good. The original movie hinted at the flaws, but it looks like the series is going to go deeper into them. Yes, Gordon Cooper's wife had left him and he had to convince her to come back to get into the program. Yes, there was a fair amount of drinking and carousing that went on-it doesn't take a single thing away from the fact that they climbed on top of rockets that had blown up more often than not prior to the manned launches.
Here's hoping the rest of the series is as enjoyable as the first two episodes.
Review of The Right Stuff
