Chapter Text
Cold Open
Scene 1a:The Astronaut Office lobby at Cape Kennedy,mid-morning.
It is a busy morning at the Astronaut Office. Secretaries are well underfoot,as well as training supes and medical personnel. On the walls we see pictures from Mercury and Gemini missions. This is the first time we’ve properly seen the lobby of the Astronaut Office.
A young blond woman enters,pretty,in her late twenties. This is Katie Nelson (Deborah Harry),cousin of Tony Nelson,recently hired by the Astronaut Office as a social coordinator. She walks up to a desk occupied by a fadedly pretty secretary in her thirties.
Secretary:Yes?
Katie (nervously,more so than you’d expect from a woman as pretty as she is):Uh,hi,I’m Katie Nelson,I’m the new social coordinator for the astronauts and I was told to ask for Laverne Sadelko?
Secretary:Laverne’s out today - she probably forgot to mention she’s seven months pregnant. I’m Veronica Patterson and - yes,Laverne did say you might come today. You’re in Room 78 on the third floor and I’ll have to escort you there. Come with me,okay?
Scene 1b:The corridors of the Astronaut Office
Veronica is leading Katie through the corridors and conversing with her as she goes.
Veronica:....and last December,right before Christmas,that nice Major Nelson got married. Your last name’s Nelson,isn’t it? Quite the coincidence.
They pause in the middle of the hallway.
Katie:No coincidence,actually. He and I are cousins. He’s a few years older than me.
Veronica:Well,I’ll be! What’s he like as a family man? Did you know about his marriage?
Katie:I had to hear it from his mother when she sent me a letter. He’s a very nice man - given our age difference I didn’t see him often,but we’re all proud of him.
Tony and Roger enter the hallway. Tony stops short when he sees Katie.
Tony:Katie? What are you doing here? I didn’t know you were visiting.
Veronica:She’s the new social coordinator for the astronauts here,Mr Nelson.
Roger:So Annie’s husband is going to Subic Bay after all!
Katie:I guess so. (She turns to Tony) So when am I gonna meet the infamous Jeannie?
Tony:Tonight,if you want to. I’ll bring you over for dinner. I’ll give you the address. (He reaches into a pocket and pulls out a post-it note and a pen. He writes ‘1137 Palm Drive’ on the post-it note and hands it to Katie.)
Katie:Thanks.
She kisses Tony on the cheek and leaves with Veronica.
Roger:Guess the girl’s out of the bag now.
Freeze frame on Tony’s amused face.
IDOJ Intro and Theme Song
Act 1
Scene 2: Tony’s office, about an hour later
Tony is working on some paperwork with the same pen he used earlier to write his address. His office has seen some remodeling over the summer:one of the Gemini 7/6 photos has been replaced by the Apollo 10 crew photo and the Atlas missile photo has been replaced by a signed group photo of the Mercury Seven in front of a fighter jet. There is also a model of the Saturn IB rocket on his desk. Atop the filing cabinet are three more models: the Saturn V from “Who Are You Calling a Genie?”, the Mariner 4 Mars probe,and the Titan IIIC rocket from “Marooned”. To the left of the Saturn IB model is a photo of Tony and Jeannie from their wedding day.
Roger comes through the open door,sounding a little breathless as he stands before the desk. Hearing his heavy breathing,Tony takes notice of him.
Tony:Something the matter,Rog? You sound like you ran around the Industrial Area on foot.
Roger:That bad,huh? Well,I’ve got news for you,old pal. Serious news for a serious guy like you. (He sits down by the base of the filing cabinet) Dr Bellows told me a while ago when I passed him on the ground floor. And by a while I mean about twenty minutes ago.
Tony:What news?
Roger:We’re done here at the Cape,Tone.
Tony (standing up):I’d have heard if they were cancelling the space program.
Roger:No,Tone. We - the astronauts here at Kennedy - we’re being reassigned. NASA HQ up in Washington decided the expense of maintaining two astronaut teams based a thousand miles apart was too much,so come year’s end we’re all moving to Houston and the Astronaut Office’ll be there for all time to come.
Tony (demeanor changed,he’s all smiles now):Rog,that’s great news! Well,great for most - Jeannie’ll miss Cocoa Beach very much. I’ll tell -
Roger:That’s just the thing,you can’t tell her yet. Dr Bellows,me,you,that cousin of yours,and a few guys in the Training Office are all the people in this building who know of this so far. The news’ll be announced to the guys on Wednesday and it’ll be made public next week.
Tony:How does Katie know about this?
Roger:Dr Bellows said he told her before he told me. It was by Jetstream’s office but he’s in Houston looking over the LM simulator.
Tony:I’ve known Katie for 27 years,Rog,and it’ll be hard to persuade her to keep a lid on this. I can’t believe I’m saying this,but since we’re two days out from this announcement I’d like you to spread some rumor seeds,as it were,around the building. Capisce?
Roger nods and leaves Tony to his paperwork.
Scenes 3a-3d: a montage in the Astronaut Office,over the course of the day.
Tony is walking down a corridor leading to the lunchroom when he sees three astronauts gathered by a corner,beneath a photo of the unmanned Apollo 4 launch. They are whispering among themselves. Tony catches sight of Roger by the lunchroom door and gives a thumbs up.
Tony is in the lab section of the building,studying carefully a mock-up of the Apollo CSM ECS. A short,pretty blond in a lab coat walks in and begins to ask him a question,but he shushes her and carries on with his work.
Tony takes a stroll in a small garden area behind the building that we’ve never seen before. He sits down on a bench and is just about to light a cigar when a man wearing the uniform of a Marine captain sits down next to him. The man is quite excitable.
Marine:Major Nelson,is it true that you’ve been asked to stand in for 14’s Lunar Module Pilot? Dr Bellows was saying -
Tony:I wish I could tell you,Scott,but we’re talking privileged information here.
Scott gets up and leaves. Tony lights his cigar.
Tony is conversing with a secretary at her desk on the floor above the astronaut offices. She is a blond woman with a slight lisp.
Secretary:Major,is it true you’re leaving NASA? Commander Wingate told me over lunch.
Tony:Don’t worry,Allison,that was just a rumor. (He walks about twenty feet and sits down in an alcove) I love that Rog. He’s a swell guy.
Scene 4:The dining room of the Nelson house,early evening.
Tony,Jeannie,and Katie are seated around the table,each with a fruit salad and milk glass in front of them. Tony has changed into a sort of dinner suit for the occasion. Katie is wearing a Ship’n’Shore blouse with the NASA meatball over the right breast and an evening skirt. Jeannie is dressed in mid-1950s style clothes. She has been introduced to Katie and they are getting along,if not friends yet.
Jeannie:It is ever so nice to meet a cousin of Anthony’s who isn’t an out-and-out conman.
Katie (chuckling):So you’ve met Arvel already?
Jeannie (indignant):Yes,I have. He was trying to sell chili with Anthony’s face on it as a way of attracting custom. It’s a violation of both Air Force and NASA regulations to have an officer advertise a product in the civilian sector,and I know because Roger checked - that’s his best friend.
Katie:Believe me,I know who Roger Healey is. Tony met him in flight school at Pax River. They were in Electronics Test together.
Jeannie:I sense some sort of joke here from the way you said it.
Tony:Electronics Test was where most of us were assigned. Roger was on loan from the Army Corps of Engineers’ civil works division. He was to go on to a posting in France but chose to stay because he loves planes.
Tony leaves the table
Katie:Jeannie,you should know another thing - we’re from opposite sides,as it were. Tony and Arvel are cousins through his mother. Arvel is a Gerber and his mom’s youngest brother - she was born Laura Gerber. I’m cousins with Tony through his father - he’s the son of Frank Nelson and I’m the daughter of Tom Nelson. So hopefully you’ve got us straight now.
Jeannie:And I suppose there are other cousins too.
Katie:Many of us - we’re a pretty big family.
Jeannie:You must be very proud of him.
Katie:Why wouldn’t we be? Any family would be proud to have an astronaut. I’ll bet Neil Armstrong’s folks are proud of him to the moon and back.
Jeannie:Oh,no,I didn’t mean to imply that you weren’t proud of Anthony. (Changing the subject) So,have you been to Cape Kennedy before?
Katie:A handful of times. I was here for the Stardust - his first launch in ‘64. It had to be aborted -
Jeannie:I remember that mission. I met him after he got back to the United States. He was a different man then. He was engaged,actually -
Katie:None of us liked Melissa Stone. She was a shrew then and she’s probably one now. My dad said that a fair face hides a foul heart,and he was right about her.
Jeannie (smiling wryly):Well,there’s one thing we can agree on. My great uncle Sido said the same thing about a man once,and that man later became a warlord.
Katie returns her smile.
Jeannie:So where are you staying?
Katie:I was hoping I could stay here for a couple of nights.
Tony re-enters the room:he has heard this last.
Katie:Is there a problem with that,Tony?
Tony:You staying over? None that I can think of. Jeannie?
Jeannie:Yes?
Tony:Can you help set Katie up in the guest room? I’ve got some late work to do and I’ll not be interrupted.
Jeannie:Of course. Come along,Katie.
She and Katie walk upstairs.
Tony:Only a few more hours till breakfast.
He goes to the living room to do some more paperwork.
Scene 5:The same,early the next morning
Tony enters the room to find Jeannie alone at the table. The day’s newspaper is spread out before her.
Tony:Morning,Jeannie. Where’s Katie gone off to?
Jeannie:A friend of hers picked her up about twenty minutes ago. Did you have to tell her something?
Tony:No,I have to tell you something,and I’ll be straight out with it.
Jeannie:Tell away.
Tony:We’re moving in three months.
Jeannie (visibly upset):So you’re leaving NASA?
Tony:No,Jeannie,no one’s leaving NASA. The Astronaut Office team here will be moving to -
Jeannie:Let me guess. Houston. I’m no dummy,Anthony. I know about the space center there. Do they not call it the Manned Space Center?
Tony:Close enough,it’s the Manned Spacecraft Center. It’s where Mission Control is.
Jeannie:You know what this means,Anthony. I will have to find us a new house. It may be a difficult task.
Tony:Difficult it may be,but I’ve got faith in you. Now,I’ll be off to work. One thing,though.
Jeannie:Yes?
Tony:I know you’re friends with some of the astronaut wives around here but please don’t go telling them about this. It’s to be revealed tomorrow.
Jeannie:On my honor,Anthony.