CBS new is again running a live stream of their historical footage, this time covering the landing of Apollo 11.
Back in ’69, they didn’t have the tech to run live TV from the actual landing. So CBS filled in the lack of footage with cel (cartoon) animation. They timed the animation to match the *planned* landing, but as is well known Armstrong had to divert to avoid landing in a field of boulders. so the animation depicts the LM on the surface well ahead of the actual event. Also of note: listening to the small sounds from the CBS news studio when it becomes clear that the LM is actually down. They (Walter Cronkite and Wally Schirra) maintain professionalism, but only just. Another minor note: I can think of two times when Cronkite took off his glasses on camera: announcing the death of JFK and just after the Eagle landed.
For real entertainment value, watch it with closed captioning on. I assume a computer is transcribing the speech into text… but it’s not doing a great job of it.
It looks like CBS didn’t include the vintage commercials this time. Additionally, there’s a time jump; it was more than six hours between landing and stepping out of the LM onto the surface, but the two broadcasts are welded together here. Until Aldrin turns on the TV camera showing Armstrong on the ladder, CBS filled in the lack of video with actors in fake space suits going through the planned motions. Also interesting: Cronkite jumped the gun on when he thought Armstrong was actually standing on the lunar surface, and missed the second half of “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”
This was the most amazing event in TV history, and likely in *all* of history. What makes it more remarkable is how in such short order the same public that was so entranced by this became uttering apathetic to following missions. One might argue that Apollo 11 was the first, and the first time is inherently far more interesting. And yet… turn on the TV, and chances are fair that one or more channels will be broadcasting yet again another interminable baseball, football, soccer or basketball game. There’ve been *millions* of ’em, yet billions of people still gladly pay vast sums of money, time and attention to such objectively pointless activities.
Sigh.