Like the others here, I liked this movie when I first saw it in the late '80s, probably the end of 1987 or early 1988. It was on some cable channel, maybe WOR(which we have not had here in this area for many years now), and the plot grabbed me, and I started watching it.
I noticed a few things in the movie:: (Spoiler alert!!)
The "base" in which the "replacement" astronaut reports to , and is "reformed in",looks a LOT like the wildfire lab from "andromeda strain". This would make sense, as the set may have still existed and would have been convenient to use. It looks intriguing here, as it did in AS.
The US actually ALLOWED the Rusians to send a manned Mars mission , KNOWING that they would die from the atmosphere, as did "Bryce" on the US mission. I doubt that would really occur in reality. I imagine that when the truth came out, near the end of the movie, that the Russian craft would most likely have made an abort, probably around the moon, and came back home, with a LOT of questions and innuendo, justifiably so!!
Near the beginning of the movie, on character(perhaps Jackie Coper) is driving in his car, and the radio is speaking about the "fiscal year 1981". 1981!! That is when we were SUPPOSED to have made a Mars landing. Of course, we can't even get to the MOON today, with the shuttle!!
All in all--I liked the movie.I have it somewhere on an old videotape, from TV. I watched it in the last few years, and it looked pretty good still, after all of these years!!
ADD edit- March 2017---This movie is now available on YOUTUBE. I would advise anyone who wants to see it..go to YT and "get it" while it is still there. I spoke of this a couple of years back on the message boards...but those are gone now..so I am doing it HERE..
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