Apollo 13 – Journey To The Moon, Mars & Back (WGBH)

 

Picture: C+     Sound: C+     Extras: D     Episodes: B

 

 

WGBH Boston Video has issued yet another set of previously-released single shows on DVD, this time about that favorite subject of outer space and space travel.  Apollo 13 – Journey To The Moon, Mars & Back features two Nova programs previously reviewed as follows:

 

Mars – Dead or Alive

http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/2628/Mars:+Dead+Or+Alive+(Nova)

 

To The Moon

http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/2689/To+The+Moon+(Nova)

 

 

There is also the non-Nova Apollo 13 – To The Edge & Back, which runs about 90 minutes and seems to have been produced around the time of the Ron Howard film, a film that was just issued on HD-DVD and remains a home video favorite.  This Noel Buckner/Rob Whittlesley production has some dramatization, but is also rich in graphics about how it all works, making it less boring than the many dry patches in Howard’s film.  We get interviews with the principals that are a plus and it is pretty good for its age.

 

The 1.33 X 1 image is also not bad for its age, while the Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo has no major surrounds.  There are no major extras, but it is a strong enough program to hold up all this time as much as Howard’s film and if you like the subject, you are going to get a better value buying this set than any of the singles alone.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo