Apollo 11 archive - update

[John Stewart Miller]

I have the following additional info to supplement a thread some time back; researching what was transmitted; and what survives of the Apollo 11 broadcasts.

ITN coverage; July 1969.

ITNs space team plus Peter fairley covered events. 'The studio team was the same used for Apollo 10. Alistair burnett, Peter Fairley and Paul Haney (head of public affairs for space flights)'.

Schedule for sunday touchdown at 21.21 P.M. 'David frost will then carry on an open ended show. TV will cut from a studio at Wembley where Frost hosts a collection of celebrated entertainers (inc. Clif Richard and englebert Humperdinck); to the ITN studio for moon updates. Outside broadcast teams will interview members of the public for reactions to the event'.

Update on this LWT - ITN co production. An entry indicating it exists is made in the ITN archive.

The other two entries appear to moon shot footage and interviews with the astronauts. These all date from July 1969. This would appear to be insert footage for unrecorded ITN bulletin broadcasts.

To give an idea;

MON 21 JULY 1969 - Man on the moon 18.30, Coronation St 19.30, World in action 20.00, Playhouse 20.30, News at ten 22.00 extended by 15 mins to include updates on moon mission, 22.45 the X film (Loneliness of the long distance runner), 23.35 Responsibility and the job (adult education programme about decision making).

TUES 22 JULY 1969 - Moon broadcasts resume4 at 12.55, closedown at 13.05 (!) till 15.15 ('July in the garden' magazine). 16.15 news headlines.

The broadcast at 12.55 was a recording apparently featuring Peter Fairle and Peter Haney. Some of the broadcast highlights (flight etc in action) seem to have been recorded and repeated either the next day. or a week later.

Will verify more details on this when I have time.

[h hartley]

I always thought it a bit strange that the BBC have complete day/night recordings of the 1966/70 elections
which might be considered boring by many. Yet an historic event like this one, which was broascast over a couple of days. they have little or nothing?

I think the same applies to the American archives?

[Laurence Piper]

Me too, Hartley.

My memories of the ITV Apollo 11 coverage were mainly studio-based discussion with Alastair Burnett and Peter Fairley, talking us through the mission with diagrams, graphics and models etc and also of viewer phone-ins, where thery would ask questions about the mission. Alastair Burnett would preface each call with "Good morning / afternoon, you're on the air". It got a bit wearing after about three times! Not sure at what point in the mission these programmes happened though, although I recall them being on for long chunks during the daytime at certain points.

I do wonder if much (any?) of this "day-to-day" footage exists though. As Hartley says, Elections and other such extended broadcasts were telerecorded (at the very least) off-air, even though they might be considered unrepeatable or dull to most people after first viewing. Yet this landmark Apollo mission wasn't considered worth keeping in it's entirety by EITHER BBC OR ITV, even though at least some footage from the missions either side of this one - which were far less historically important - seems to have been.

[John Miller]

Just to add, I sincerely apologise to those awaiting more of the billings I logged some time ago here. I'm afraid I've been unable to continue to add to it, as I've lost my original notes!

However, hopefully what I did manage to post gives an idea of how the ITV mission coverage was shown in it's context at the time.

Wonder why the Frost show of it is never used ?

[Gary Critcher]

Mr.Paradine wants too much money for it??

[Gary C]

seriously, if anyone has a copy of the Apollo 11 programme that went out on BBC4 this year, could they contact me at [e-mail] ?

[John Miller]

Gary said:

Mr.Paradine wants too much money for it??

Could be contactual, yes - I didn't think of that. As I say seems to be listed on the ITN database. The show was I think after the event, charting updates and public reactions to the landing - not the actual event itself, but nevertheless an important social document.