Question: What are the chances of four guys of their age ACTUALLY passing the physical to the required standards? I know they all kept reasonably fit but they struggled with running etc. so it seems unlikely they would pass all the tests. I know movie rules dictate suspense of disbelief to a certain degree, I'm just wondering what their chances would be in reality.
The_Iceman
3rd Feb 2016
Space Cowboys (2000)
Chosen answer: It wasn't a matter of how physically fit they were, but that their particular combination of knowledge, skills, and past experiences were needed for this specific mission. The physical criteria would be amended in order to recruit them for that mission.
They were specifically told they wouldn't be given an easier ride and would need to pass the exact same tests as the younger astronauts. The physical criteria wouldn't have been amended to suit them so is it possible for 4 guys of this age to pass?
Remember that at some point in the process it became a political issue - the old cowboys were wanted for their PR value, so physical test results would have been "fudged", if not ignored altogether.
Agree that the physical requirements were a major plot point and part of the 'deal' for the team to go, but there was some relaxing of requirements and politics. In general, the answer is YES, old folks can go to space without major fudging of the requirements as was demonstrated by lots of astronauts in their late 50s, a few in their 60s, and John Genn at 77. Just recently an 82-year-old woman flew on Jeff Bezos' tourist rocket.
18th Aug 2013
Fawlty Towers (1975)
The Builders - S1-E2
Revealing mistake: When Basil smashes Manuel against the wall where the dining room is meant to be, we can see it is made out of cardboard. Notice how it begins to fall off, even though it is meant to be sealed and covered in wallpaper. (00:16:05)
Upvote valid corrections to help move entries into the corrections section.
Suggested correction: Perhaps this was due to O'Reilly's shoddy workmanship?
You could say that but Fawlty towers had wobbly sets all the time. I would say this would be covered under "mistakes".
Where is the 'codswallop' as you so euphemistically put it? To me it looks like O'Reilly cut corners by shoddily placing a sheet of plasterboard in the doorway without attaching it well then shoddily wallpapering over it. Hence the reason for it falling out.
Answer: Eastwood would be out on height alone and the rest probably have high blood pressure. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/johnson/pdf/606877main_FS-2011-11-057-JSC-astro_trng.pdf.