Should You Blast Off With The Astronaut Wives Club?

What Is This Thing?

As America gears up to enter the space race, seven men are chosen to be astronauts in the Mercury program -- a grueling process that's almost as hard on them as it is for the ladies they leave behind. As the guys get ready to make history, the women kind of have no choice but to bond with the only people who know what they're going through: each other.

When Is It On?

Thursdays at 8 PM on ABC.

Why Was It Made Now?

Though Pan Am, the network's last attempt at a '60s-set scripted drama, didn't exactly, ahem, take off (thank you), the success of Masters Of Sex on Showtime may have convinced someone that a show about the women who were married to the Mercury astronauts could work -- same wardrobe, at least, even with way less boning.

What's Its Pedigree?

Lily Koppel wrote the New York Times bestselling non-fiction book (of the same name) on which the series is based, and though she's credited as an Executive Producer, that's probably a title only; our Creator is identified as Stephanie Savage, formerly of Gossip Girl, Hart Of Dixie, The Carrie Diaries, and The O.C.. In other words, we're dealing with a true marriage of highbrow and middlebrow. Feature film director Lone Scherfig (An Education, One Day) is on board as Executive Producer and directs the pilot and at least one other episode we know of. You've seen a couple of the astronauts before -- Wilson Bethel (Hart Of Dixie) as Scott Carpenter; Bret Harrison (Reaper) as Gordon Cooper; and Desmond Harrington (Dexter) as Alan Shepard. You've also seen some of the wives: Yvonne Strahovski (Chuck, 24) as Rene Carpenter; Odette Annable (Brothers & Sisters, House) as Trudy Cooper; and Joanna Garcia Swisher (Once Upon A Time, my beloved one-season wonder Privileged) as Betty Grissom -- who, as a Yankee wife, probably had more preparation than anyone else for the dynamic of the show's women's special bond. Also on hand is '60s period TV veteran Erin Cummings, formerly of guest roles on both Mad Men and Pan Am, and here playing Marge Slayton; and Luke Kirby (Rectify) and Evan Handler (Sex & The City) as a journalist and PR Svengali, respectively.

...And?

Crucially, the show captures the nature of female friendship, good and bad. We open at a formal event to introduce the Mercury Seven astronauts and their wives to the world and one another, and though the women know they're expected to develop instant connections, some rankle even at their first meeting. As time goes on, the seven break off into smaller groups to talk shit about one another, as you do. But given the incredibly strange situation they're all in together, the ways they pull together is also credible: when the wives all show up to support Louise Shepard (Dominique McElligott) during Alan's televised launch, her mix of emotions is relatable and touching, even if some of these broads aren't people she'd spend time with under any other circumstances.

There's a reason TV keeps trying to capture this era: it's gorgeous to watch. At the centre of the story are seven glamorous women dressing for a lot of magazine shoots and TV appearances, and their looks (as you can see above) are ON POINT at ALL TIMES. After Alan Shepard returns from space and he and Louise get to meet President and Mrs. Kennedy, the TV announcer describes Louise as "the First Lady of space," and seeing her CGIed into a frame next to Jackie, it doesn't seem like a crazy nickname to give her. Even when Rene ruffles the other ladies' feathers by failing to adhere to the mandated dress code for their first Life cover and showing up in something other than a pastel shirtwaist dress, it's hard to get that mad at her.

Even the shoes are hot. Nice work, Rene.

...But?

While I'm almost always more interested in stories about women than men, once I get past how great they all look, it's a little hard to hook in to these ones in that they're literally all defined by the men they married. You know the story of the Mercury Seven either from The Right Stuff or, like, actual history, so having their exploits consigned to the margins of the story gives the proceedings a weird Rosencrantz And Guildenstern Are Dead quality. As a non-idiot, I grant that these women would have probably had limitations imposed on their lives by the societal mores of the day, which is why all seven of them are housewives now, but giving each lady one character trait or piece of intriguing backstory -- Marge lived in Japan as a single lady, maybe scandalously! Trudy has her own ambitions toward space flight! Annie stutters! -- doesn't quite put them on the same level as their pioneering mates in terms of intrinsic interest.

Also, other than Bethel and Harrington, the guys really could be cuter. And don't give me any "they were cast for historical realism" shit: these are the real Astronaut Wives, so obviously that was not such a priority.

...So?

Saying that it scratches my Pan Am itch isn't exactly an endorsement, not that any sensible person who ever watched Pan Am would take it as such...but I did watch every episode of that show and am in for the foreseeable future on this one too. Its mild soapiness is the kind of pleasant dullness one enjoys in a summer TV series, and if the story doesn't enrapture you, the dresses probably will.