Aldrin helps mark his own milestone

The former astronaut will help host a marathon of space films on TCM.

Washington Post

Buzz Aldrin grew up a fan of such adventurous characters as Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers. As an adult, Aldrin would become the second man to walk on the moon.

And Aldrin sees a connection between fiction and reality when it comes to how movies may have influenced the country’s wanderlust for venturing into space.

“The whole idea was pushing the frontiers of knowledge and of storytelling and [the] existence of human beings in advanced-technology situations,” Aldrin said. “Certainly it really does stimulate curiosity.”

On Monday, the 40th anniversary of when he and Neil Armstrong touched down during the first manned lunar landing as part of the Apollo 11 mission, Aldrin will help host a marathon of space films on TCM.

He joins TCM’s Robert Osborne to introduce a 24-hour slate of films about the moon and astronauts beginning at 6 a.m.

Aldrin said science fiction at its best can reflect what’s possible today and realistically anticipate what may come in the future — “technology projection,” he called it. What he has less tolerance for, however, are the futuristic devices at the heart of films such as “Star Trek.”

“I think I maybe irritated a few science fiction writers by saying that I think that many times they’re leading a younger generation into really totally unrealistic expectations,” he said.

Aldrin, 79, said he’s trying to “initiate a new generation” into space travel. On top of a busy schedule of anniversary events nationwide, he has been promoting a new memoir, “Magnificent Desolation,” and can be seen in a rap video with Snoop Dogg and Talib Kweli on FunnyorDie.com.

“I’m not just closeting myself. I’m out there open to learning new and different things,” he said. “Who knows what will come next?”

SEE ALSO: Valley recalls moon spectacle 40 years later.

Space movies Moon over these flicks on TCM

TCM is devoting Monday, the 40th anniversary of the lunar landing, to space-based films.

6 a.m.: “They Came From Beyond Space” (1967)

7:30 a.m.: “From the Earth to the Moon” (1958)

9:30 a.m.: “First Men in the Moon” (1964)

11:30 a.m.: “12 to the Moon” (1960)

1 p.m.: “Destination Moon” (1950)

3 p.m.: “The Mouse on the Moon” (1963)

4:30 p.m.: “Have Rocket, Will Travel” (1959)

6 p.m.: “Moon Pilot” (1962)

8:15 p.m.: “For All Mankind” (1989)

10 p.m.: “The Right Stuff” (1983)

1:30 a.m.: “Marooned” (1969)

3:45 a.m.: “Capricorn One” (1978)

Among new programs this week geared toward the anniversary:

“Living on the Moon” (Sunday, 9 p.m., National Geographic Channel): The program looks to the future with NASA’s plans for missions to the lunar surface. The show explores the Constellation program, which hopes to establish an outpost on the moon by 2020 that would serve as an intermediate step to reaching Mars.

“Moonshot” (Monday, 9 p.m., History): This a two-hour dramatization that follows Buzz Aldrin, Neil Armstrong and Mike Collins aboard Apollo 11 and during mission training. The film combines dramatized scenes with news footage and information from mission transcripts and interviews.

“When We Left Earth: Special Edition” (Monday, 10 p.m., Discovery): This is an edited version of an episode of a series that aired last year. This broadcast about the Apollo program features newly remastered film and additional first-person accounts from Armstrong and Aldrin.