HOLLOMAN HIGH SPEED TRACK - THEN AND NOW Michael Lennick 2010-06-05 | From John Paul Stapp's rocket sleds to supersonic Maglevs. (www.foolishearthling.com)
A Little Reiner in the Night Michael Lennick 2014-08-31 | Toronto broadcasting legend Reiner Schwarz died yesterday. Here he is in 1981 musing on the imminent cancellation of another Toronto legend, "The All-Night Show with Chuck the Security Guard", and in a recent documentary along with two fellow broadcasting legends, Liz Janik and Chuck hisownself, Chas Lawther. (www.foolishearthling.com)
TRINITY - THE FIRST ATOMIC BOMB TEST Michael Lennick 2014-07-16 | A brief excerpt from our 2005 PBS special "Dr. Teller's Very Large Bomb" - The July 16th, 1945 New Mexico test of the world's first atomic bomb. (Full documentary available through www.foolishearthling.com)
FREDERICK I. ORDWAY III and 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY Michael Lennick 2014-07-02 | Rocketry pioneer Frederick Ordway (1927 - 2014) was the man most responsible for the designs and verisimilitude of the vehicles, control panels etc. in Kubrick and Clarke's 1968 masterpiece "2001: A Space Odyssey". In this brief excerpt from our 2012 film "2001: The Science of Futures Past" he reveals some of the secrets. (The full documentary, along with Adam K. Johnson's Ordway-collection-based book "2001: The Lost Science", is available through www.cgpublishing.com)
THE MERCURY 13 Michael Lennick 2014-06-16 | From Episode 6 of our Discovery Channel series "Rocket Science". In June of 1963 the Soviet Union launched 26-year-old Valentina Tereshkova into space. She flew 48 orbits over 3 days, logging more flight time than all the American astronauts who proceeded her combined. She was also both the first and last woman in space until Cosmonaut Svetlana Savitskaya was launched to the Salyut 7 space station in 1982. NASA finally launched its first female astronaut, Sally Ride, 20 years to the day after Tereshkova's return from orbit. But did you know that, during the same early-60s period, NASA was also testing and training a talented group of female astronauts, nicknamed the Mercury 13? If you didn't, this is probably why.
PRESIDENT KENNNEDYS LUNAR CHALLENGE Michael Lennick 2014-05-25 | On May 25th, 1961, President Kennedy, never one for half-measures, addressed a short-term political crisis by challenging both America and the Soviet Union to a race to the moon. With a mere 15 minutes of manned spaceflight under their belts, NASA had to invent a whole new way to do.... everything. (www.foolishearthling.com)
GORDON COOPERS MERCURY FLIGHT Michael Lennick 2014-05-15 | From Episode 6 off our Discovery Channel series "Rocket Science" - On May 15th, 1963, Gordon "Gordo" Cooper, the last NASA astronaut to fly a solo mission, piloted the last, longest and most troubled Mercury flight. (Full 13-part series available at www.foolishearthling.com)
SATURN FIVE TEST FLIGHT Michael Lennick 2014-04-04 | From Ep. 9 of our Discovery Channel series "Rocket Science" - The unmanned Saturn Five Apollo moon rocket is test-launched on April 4th, 1968. (www.foolishearthling.com)
APOLLO 8 IN LUNAR ORBIT Michael Lennick 2013-12-24 | From Episode 10 of Discovery Channel series "Rocket Science" - Part two of the Christmas Eve, 1968 mission of Apollo 8. (Full 13-part series available at www.foolishearthling.com)
THE CHRISTMAS MISSION OF APOLLO 8 Michael Lennick 2013-12-21 | From Episode 10 of our Discovery Channel series "Rocket Science" - In a lovely and deeply moving climax to a year of war, assassinations and social upheaval, NASA's first manned flight to the moon achieved lunar orbit on Christmas Eve, 1968. (Part II can be found via http://youtu.be/gypRhgehE4o Full 13-part series available at www.foolishearthlng.com)
THE LAST MAN ON THE MOON Michael Lennick 2013-12-09 | From Episode 13 of our Discovery Channel series "Rocket Science" - Gene Cernan, the last man (so far) to walk on the moon, describes the December, 1972 flight of Apollo 17. The cancellation of Apollo 18 triggered a crew rotation that secured the one and only seat in the Apollo program manned by a scientist (geologist Jack Schmitt, replacing former X-15 pilot Joe Engle), over Commander Cernan's early and prolonged objections. (Full 13-part series available at www.foolishearthling.com)
FOOLISH EARTHLING PRODUCTIONS OFFICIAL OUTLOOK ON LIFE Michael Lennick 2013-10-18 | From the stunningly silly yet hypnotically entertaining 1961 cheesefest "The Phantom Planet", featuring recycled "Men Into Space" sets and costumes, Francis X. Bushman's final gig, and introducing Richard Kiel as "The Solarite" - a large, odd-looking doggie-monster that, apparently, lives in the sun....or something.
SCOTT CARPENTERS MERCURY FLIGHT Michael Lennick 2013-10-11 | From Episode 5 off our Discovery Channel series "Rocket Science" - Scott Carpenter was cut from different cloth than his fellow Mercury astronauts - an experimentalist whose curiosity created much tension with his NASA superiors, and very nearly cost him his life. (Full 13-part series available at www.foolishearthling.com)
FLIGHT-TESTING THE LUNAR MODULE Michael Lennick 2013-09-09 | From Episode 11 of our Discovery Channel series "Rocket Science": The Apollo Lunar Module was so fragile it could only be fully flight-tested in space. That was the mission of Apollo 9, whose crew put the craft through a full shake-down flight in low earth orbit a few months before the first lunar landing. (Full 13-part series available at www.foolishearthling.com)
COMET HALE-BOPP Michael Lennick 2013-07-23 | From our 2009 feature doc "The Land of Space and Time" - Astronomer Alan Hale remembers the evening he first spotted the comet that would bear his name.(www.foolishearthling.com)
ALAN SHEPARDS MERCURY FLIGHT Michael Lennick 2013-05-05 | From Episode 5 of our Discovery Channel series "Rocket Science" - NASA's first man in space flies a 15 minute sub-orbital mission on May 5th, 1961. (Full 13-part series available at www.foolishearthling.com)
RICHIE HAVENS - Fire and Rain Michael Lennick 2013-04-24 | Richie Havens dropped by our Toronto cult TV series "The All-Night Show with Chuck the Security Guard" back in the summer of 1981. To our delight (and despite our technical limitations), he'd come to play...
FIRST SPACEWALK Michael Lennick 2013-03-18 | From Episode 6 of our Discovery Channel series "Rocket Science": Soviet Cosmonaut Alexey Leonov performs history's first EVA - March 18th, 1965. (Full 13-part series available at www.foolishearthling.com)
VIDEODROME - FORGING THE NEW FLESH Michael Lennick 2013-02-24 | A documentary supplement we produced some years back for The Criterion Collection's DVD release of David Cronenberg's 1983 unnervingly prescient classic, VIDEODROME - in which we look back at the making of the film from the perspective of Rick Baker's make-up effects team and our own visual effects unit. (This documentary and lots of other cool stuff is included on The Criterion Collection's gorgeous new Blu-ray release of VIDEODROME. You can and most definitely should by it here: http://www.criterion.com/films/240-videodrome)
ROBINSON CRUSOE ON MARS Supplement: DESTINATION: MARS Michael Lennick 2013-02-23 | A documentary supplement we created a few years back for the Criterion Collection's "Robinson Crusoe on Mars" DVD release, detailing the parallels between Byron Haskin's 1964 film and our contemporary understanding of Martian surface conditions as well as available mission technology (including some NASA plans we didn't know about at the time). This documentary, along with a breathtaking film transfer and lots more cool stuff, is available on the Criterion Collection's terrific Blu-ray release of "Robinson Crusoe on Mars". You can and definitely should buy it here: http://www.criterion.com/films/821-robinson-crusoe-on-mars
TSAR BOMBA Michael Lennick 2013-02-10 | A brief excerpt from our PBS special "Dr. Teller's Very Large Bomb", with special thanks to Tom Lehrer. (Full video available through www.foolishearthling.com)
NEW MEXICO CENTENNIAL Michael Lennick 2013-01-19 | Three television promos we produced last year to help celebrate New Mexico's centennial, featuring the remarkable space history of the Alamogordo region.
JOE KITTINGERS LEAP FROM THE EDGE OF SPACE Michael Lennick 2012-07-26 | An excerpt from the feature documentary "The Land of Space and Time" (Foolish Earthling Productions/2009.) See how Felix Baumgartner's mentor did it more than 50 years ago. (Additional clips about Joe Kittinger, his mentor Col. John Paul Stapp, and the astounding pre-NASA work they did at the edge of space can be found on the sciencehighway YouTube channel as well as through our website - www.foolishearthling.com)
OWL/TV - LIVE WIRES Michael Lennick 2012-07-18 | In the 1980s and 90s I wrote and directed several segments for the PBS/CBC/SHOWTIME series OWL/TV. (And portrayed a talking skeleton; The less said about that the better.) This episode, featuring my late Uncle Ben Gans, is my favorite.
A MESSAGE FROM SPACE Michael Lennick 2012-02-06 | A brief excerpt from our recent special "A Message From Space" that looks at whether alien life might resemble us or be even ickier. Plus a remarkable parting photograph snapped by Carl Sagan.
THE WOW SIGNAL Michael Lennick 2012-02-06 | A brief clip from our recent special "A Message From Space", celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI). Was Stanley Kubrick scooped on "2001: A Space Odyssey"? For a moment there, he sure thought so.
HIROSHIMA & NAGASAKI Michael Lennick 2010-07-24 | From the PBS documentary "Dr. Teller's Very Large Bomb" (Further information available at www.foolishearthling.com)
MANNED ROCKET SLED RUN Michael Lennick 2010-05-31 | From Episode 1 of our Discovery Channel series "Rocket Science":Dr. John Paul Stapp's extraordinary 1954 rocket sled run.(Full 13-part series available at www.foolishearthling.com)
A TRIBUTE TO GUENTER WENDT Michael Lennick 2010-05-04 | From Episode 8 of our Discovery Channel series "Rocket Science": Pad leader Guenter Wendt reflects on mission danger in the wake of the Apollo One tradedy. (Full series available at www.foolishearthling.com)
BUILDING A MOON ROCKET Michael Lennick 2010-03-26 | From Episode 9 of our Discovery Channel series "Rocket Science": NASA's mighty Saturn moon rocket evolves from humble beginnings. (Full 13-part series available at www.foolishearthling.com)
FIRST MAN IN SPACE Michael Lennick 2010-03-26 | From Episode 5 of our Discovery Channel series "Rocket Science": American astronaut Alan Shepard and Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin race to become the first man in space. (Full 13-part series available at www.foolishearthling.com)
SCOTT CROSSFIELD BREAKS MACH 2 Michael Lennick 2010-03-25 | From Episode 2 of our Discovery Channel series "Rocket Science": Scott Crossfield breaks Chuck Yeager's air speed record. Yeager responds. (Full 13-part series available at www.foolishearthling.com)
BREAKING THE SOUND BARRIER Michael Lennick 2010-03-24 | From Episode 2 of our Discovery Channel series "Rocket Science": Chuck Yeager flies the Bell X-1 past Mach One on October 14th, 1947. (Full 13-part series available at www.foolishearthling.com)
NEIL ARMSTRONGS LUNAR LANDER TRAINER ACCIDENT Michael Lennick 2010-02-28 | From Episode 11 of our Discovery Channel series "Rocket Science": Neil Armstrong survives a LLRV trainer crash during a rehearsal for the lunar landing. (Full 13-part series available at www.foolishearthling.com)
GEMINI 4 - ED WHITES SPACEWALK Michael Lennick 2010-02-28 | From Episode 6 of our Discovery Channel series "Rocket Science": Ed White performs NASA's first EVA during Gemini IV. (Full 13-part series available at www.foolishearthling.com)
APOLLO 12 STRUCK BY LIGHTNING Michael Lennick 2010-02-28 | From Episode 12 of our Discovery Channel series "Rocket Science": Alan Bean describes the lightning strike that knocked out power on the second lunar landing mission shortly after launch. (Full 13-part series available at www.foolishearthling.com)
APOLLO 10 NEARLY CRASHES ON MOON Michael Lennick 2010-02-28 | From Episode 11 of our Discovery Channel series "Rocket Science": Gene Cernan recalls a little-reported near-calamity during the lunar landing rehearsal. (Full 13-part series available at www.foolishearthling.com)
JOHN GLENN IN ORBIT Michael Lennick 2010-02-28 | From Episode 5 of our Discovery Channel series "Rocket Science": John Glenn's remarkable day in space. (Full 13-part series available at www.foolishearthling.com)
SPACE TOURISM OF THE FUTURE Michael Lennick 2009-10-01 | Concept reel for the television special "A Tourist's Guide To The Solar System" (www.foolishearthling.com)
MANHIGH 3 Michael Lennick 2009-09-21 | A pre-NASA preview from the award-winning feature documentary "The Land of Space and Time". (www.foolishearthling.com)
JOE KITTINGER - FREEFALLING FROM SPACE Michael Lennick 2009-09-13 | A brief clip from the award-winning documentary "The Highest Step In The World" featuring Joe Kittinger's first jump (of three) from Excelsior One. (This was the pilot episode for our 13-part Discovery Channel series "Rocket Science". It's available, with or without the full series at www.foolishearthling.com)
ROSWELL: ANOTHER THEORY Michael Lennick 2009-09-13 | A brief clip from the award-winning Discovery Channel documentary "The Highest Step In The World", featuring an interesting theory about the Roswell mystery. (www.foolishearthling.com)
IVY-MIKE FIRST HYDROGEN BOMB TEST Michael Lennick 2009-09-08 | A scene from our PBS documentary "Dr. Teller's Very Large Bomb" (with perhaps a bit too much information on how to build your own hydrogen bomb.) (Complete hour-long documentary available at www.foolishearthling.com)
DR. TELLERS VERY LARGE BOMB - Opening Michael Lennick 2009-09-08 | A brief, fusion-powered preview of the PBS documentary "Dr. Teller's Very Large Bomb" (full program available at www.foolishearthling.com)
HOLLOMAN HIGH SPEED TEST TRACK Michael Lennick 2009-09-01 | A Mach 10 preview from the award-winning feature documentary "The Land of Space and Time". (www.foolishearthling.com)
V-2 ROCKET TESTS AT WHITE SANDS Michael Lennick 2009-08-31 | An edge-of-space preview from the award-winning feature documentary "The Land of Space and Time". (www.foolishearthling.com)
ALAMOGORDO, NEW MEXICO Michael Lennick 2009-08-28 | A couple of minutes from the award-winning feature documentary "The Land of Space and Time". (www.foolishearthling.com)
ARTHUR C. CLARKE - ALIEN 1.5 Michael Lennick 2008-03-23 | A little gag Sir Arthur treated us to when we interviewed him in Sri Lanka in 2000 for the Discovery Channel special "2001 & Beyond" (www.foolishearthling.com)
WALLY SCHIRRAS LAUNCHPAD DECISION Michael Lennick 2007-05-06 | From Episode 7 of our Discovery Channel series "Rocket Science". Cmdr. Schirra deals with a launch pad emergency prior to conducting the first two-vehicle rendezvous in space. (Full 13-part series available at www.foolishearthling.com)
SCOTT CROSSFIELDS X-15 EMERGENCY Michael Lennick 2006-09-11 | From Episode 2 of our Discovery Channel series "Rocket Science": Scott Crossfield, the first man to fly Mach 2, describes a typical day at work during his test pilot days. (Full 13-part series available at www.foolishearthling.com)
