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THE CHALLENGER DISASTER
November 16, 2013  | By David Bianculli

Science Channel, 9:00 p.m. ET

 

This two-hour telemovie is the Science Channel’s first foray into dramatic rather than nonfiction programming – and what a great start. The only thing wrong with it is its title, because you may well presume, as I did, that it’s a TV movie about the explosion of the 1986 space shuttle Challenger. In reality, it’s a drama about what came afterward: the Presidential Commission set up to determine the cause of the tragedy. Members included astronauts Neil Armstrong and Sally Ride, but the focus of The Challenger Disaster is scientist and professor Richard Feynman, played by William Hurt. As depicted here, he’s part Serpico, and part Columbo: doggedly determined to pursue and uncover the truth, despite political and institutional concerns and cover-ups. Co-stars include Bruce Greenwood and Brian Dennehy, who, like Hurt, are terrific. Stay tuned for the final credits, when footage of the real-life Feynman, delivering his climactic testimony, proves just how accurate Hurt’s performance is.

 
 
 
 
 
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