When We Left the Earth chronicles the United States' complete space exploration history, from the early competitive days with the USSR, to President Kennedy's seemingly mad proclamation that we should land a man on the moon within a decade (after only a couple of short manned non-orbital trips into the outer atmosphere), through the triumphs and tragedies of the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo missions, culminating in today's space shuttle flights. What is continually beyond mind boggling throughout at least the first three episodes of this set is how completely primitive our technology really was back then. Seeing Mission Control with its gigantic "personal computers" and the luddite communication systems in use back then is almost like watching a bad 50s science fiction movie. Except this is science fact, and the fact is somehow we triumphed over these drawbacks to actually travel to our nearest satellite safely and then return.

There were of course hiccups along the way, and while When We Left the Earth doesn't really dwell on them, there's no denying momentarily sweaty palms when Gus Grissom's first splashdown ends in near tragedy when the capsule takes on water and begins sinking, followed in short order by Grissom himself. Of course that seems like a walk in the park compared to the tragic fate that befell Grissom and two of his compatriots at the dawn of the Apollo age, which gets a brief, if heart wrenching, treatment here, mostly as a "wake up call" that safety systems needed to be more redundant and thoroughly thought through.

This series is remarkable on a number of fronts, including its copious use of heretofore unseen NASA footage, some of it nicely restored and looking pretty darned good for something approaching half a century old. Everything from rocket POV shots as Titans escape Earth's gravitational pull to something akin to "home movies" taken on board various missions is included in this fascinating footage. This archival footage is intercut with contemporary interviews from virtually all of the surviving participants of the "space race," going back to the original Mercury 7, and then their Gemini and Apollo comrades. These men (and women--wives and female coworkers are also included, as well as the women astronauts who ultimately joined the initially all-male crew) simply emanate "the right stuff," a strange mixture of hubris and humility that is bracing and refreshing. Along the way, you're let in on some little-known facts, like Neil Armstrong being within 17 seconds of running out of gas as he landed the Eagle on that July 1969 day. I found myself more than once gripping the arms of my chair as a mission encountered unforeseen difficulties, even though my rational mind knew it must have come out OK since the astronauts survived and were giving interviews in 2008. But that's a testament to how viscerally these events are presented throughout this invaluable history lesson.

When We Left Earth features six episodes spread over three discs (with a fourth bonus disc of NASA material). "Ordinary Superman" deals with the original Mercury Seven, showing in some remarkable detail the intense testing they went through as they competed to become the first American shot into space. "Friends and Rivals" continues the friendly rivalry as Mercury gives way to Gemini and a new group of future astronauts is brought on board to augment the original team. "Landing the Eagle" documents the almost at times haphazardly fast leaps forward that ended up putting Armstrong and Aldrin on the lunar surface. "The Explorers" starts in the victorious afterglow of the successful moon mission but quickly gets into the horrors of Apollo 13, following up with the rest of the Apollo missions and Skylab. "The Shuttle" depicts the United States' move away from lunar or other planetary missions to the shorter range shuttle, culminating in The Challenger tragedy. Final episode "A Home in Space" focuses on both the Hubble space telescope and the long in construction international space station, which hopefully will ultimately be the start of an exciting new earthwide chapter in space exploration.

The Blu-ray

Video:
There's a very marked difference in video quality throughout this 1.78:1 1080p series, as might be expected from something cobbled together from source material spanning virtually 50 years. All of the contemporary interview segments, as well as the more recent archival footage, look completely crisp, with fine detail and excellent color and saturation. Somewhat surprisingly, even some of the newly restored vintage material looks great, such as Ed White's spacewalk, which crackles with definition and sharpness (compare it in the episode version with the original NASA unrestored version on an extra and you'll be amazed). At other times, the old 16mm and 35mm film elements are just kind of tired looking, with faded color and lots of grain. The historical importance of this footage overrides any momentary quality issues this set may display, however.

Sound:
Both the DD 5.1 and 2.0 soundtracks are excellent, if somewhat front-centric most of the time. Some of the blastoff segments utilize surround quite effectively. Gary Sinise's narration is always front and center and easy to hear. As with the image source material, some of the audio elements are a bit damaged from the ravages of time (not to mention the technology of the day), but, as with the visuals, these are just passing blips in an otherwise excellent presentation. English and Spanish subtitles are available.

Extras:
Each of the three episode discs contains several extras, including vintage footage culled from NASA promotional films and more contemporary interviews with several major players who were involved in the Mercury, Gemini, Apollo and Shuttle missions. Missions covered in archival footage include Gemini 4, Apollo 13, and Skylab. Interview subjects include Michael Collins, Al Bean, and Shannon Lucid as well as several Flight Directors (you'll see many others, like Armstrong, Aldrin and Borman in the actual episodes, have no fear). Disc Four consists of all vintage NASA films, and includes featurettes on Freedom 7, Friendship 7, Gemini 6 & 7, Apollo 8 and Apollo 11.

Final Thoughts:
I'm not ashamed to admit I got quite emotional several times while watching this brilliant multi-disc set. When We Left Earth managed to make me not just proud to be an American, something that is sometimes not so easy to be in this day and age, but also, more importantly, proud to be a human being, part of a generation that sought to reach beyond itself and start conquering the vast reaches outside of our atmosphere. Dramatically assembled from some very rare NASA footage as well as exemplary contemporary interview footage, When We Left Earth is an awe-inspiring history lesson that will frequently leave you breathless. Highly recommended.