A gentle, humorous, very loose take on real events as Parkes in regional NSW finds itself at the centre of operations in NASA’s 1969 Apollo moon landing.
Cardigan-wearing, pipe-smoking Cliff Buxton (Sam Neill) manages the team (of three) running the biggest satellite dish in the southern hemisphere. It’s all a laid-back concern with the dish slap bang in the middle of a sheep paddock. That is, until NASA and the eyes of the world turn their attention to the need for Parkes to broadcast the live moonlanding images to the rest of the world.
Small town politics, snobbery, pride, more than a little panic and even unrequited love bubble to the surface as the landing looms closer. Not all the scenarios are successful – the shrill, agit-prop daughter of Mayor McIntyre (Roy Billing) is particularly grating – but director Rob Sitch tells this version of the tale with enjoyable whimsy and genuine warmth.
Rating: 64%
Director: Rob Sitch (The Castle, Any Questions For Ben?)
Writer: Santo Cilauro (The Castle, Any Questions For Ben?), Tom Gleisner (The Castle, Any Questions For Ben?), Jane Kennedy (The Castle), Rob Sitch (The Castle, Any Questions For Ben?)
Main cast: Sam Neill (Jurassic Park, Hunt for the Wilder People), Roy Billing ( Mystery Road, Charlie & Boots), Tom Long (Two Hands, The Book of Revelation)
An Opinion or Two 