Originally aired as a 13-hour miniseries in five parts in April 1985, a re-edited nine-hour version of James A Michener’s Space was re-run on CBS during the summer of 1987.
This novelisation of the evolution of the American space program began at the end of World War II when the US and Russians both sought to obtain the best German rocket scientists and continued through to the exploration of the moon in the early 1970s.
The central focus of Space was WWII naval hero and lawyer Norman Grant (James Garner) who, after becoming a senator, used the space program as a platform to build a long-term power base. His position was frequently undermined by the weakness of his wife, Elinor (Susan Anspach), who never liked politics.
Elinor – who successively lost her husband to law school, the navy, the war, and his political career – became an alcoholic and got involved with con man Leopold Strabismus (David Dukes), who concealed his real name, Martin Scorcella, to take advantage of the public’s fascination with outer space, UFOS, and extraterrestrials.
Penny Pope (Blair Brown) was an astronauts wife and ambitious lawyer working for the Senate Space Committee, chaired by Grant, with whom she had an affair.
Her husband, John (played by Harry Hamlin), dreamed of exploring the universe and progressed from a US Navy air crew member to a test pilot and then an astronaut.
His Korean War buddy, Randy Claggett (Beau Bridges), was a Texas adventurer who saw space as the last great frontier. His wild Don Juan exterior hid the cool brain and boundless courage that could take him to the Moon.
Most important to the success of the space program were the German rocket scientists, led by Dieter Kolff (Michael York), a scientific genius who had been brought to America after the war with his sweetheart, Liesel.
The man responsible for liberating the Germans, Georgia Tech astrophysicist Stanley Mott (Bruce Dern), continued to work with them over the years, despite the inherent problems dealing with both the federal bureaucracy and the rivalries among the different military services.
It was their perseverance, along with the changing political climate, that eventually led to the creation of NASA under the Eisenhower administration and the highly successful space program of the 1960s.
In the climactic episode of Space, astronauts Pope and Claggett were teamed on the successful voyage to the dark side of the Moon.
Senator Norman Grant
James Garner Elinor Grant
Susan Anspach Randy Claggett
Beau Bridges Penny Hardesty Pope
Blair Brown Stanley Mott
Bruce Dern Rachel Mott
Melinda Dillon Leopold Strabismus (Martin Scorcella)
David Dukes John Pope
Harry Hamlin Dieter Kolff
Michael York Liesl Kolff
Barbara Sukowa Debbie Dee Claggett
Stephanie Faracy Senator Glancey
Martin Balsam Finnerty
James Sutorius Tucker Thomas
G D Spradlin Cindy Rhee
Maggie Han Funkhauser
Wolf Kahler Marcia Grant
Jennifer Runyon Skip Morgan
David Spielberg
