Houston, We've Got a Problem

Houston, We've Got a Problem is a 1974 American made-for-television drama film about the Apollo 13 spaceflight, directed by Lawrence Doheny and starring Ed Nelson in the role of NASA Flight Director Gene Kranz.

Houston, We've Got a Problem
Genre	Drama / Sci-Fi
Written by	Jeremy Helson
Directed by	Lawrence Doheny
Starring	Robert Culp Clu Gulager Gary Collins Sandra Dee Ed Nelson
Music by	Richard Clements
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
Production
Executive producer	Harve Bennett
Producer	Herman S. Saunders
Production locations	Johnson Space Center - 2101 NASA Rd., Houston, Texas
Cinematography	J.J. Jones
Editor	Robert F. Shugrue
Running time	74 min.
Production companies	Silverton Productions Universal Television
Original release
Network	ABC
Release	March 2, 1974 (1974-03-02)

Technical and historical accuracy

See also: Houston, we have a problem

The title of the film is a misquotation of the ominous announcement made by Commander Jim Lovell following the explosion of an oxygen tank which tore off the side of the spacecraft's service module. Lovell actually said, "Houston, we've had a problem".^[1]

The film does not focus on the spaceflight itself, but rather on the crises in Mission Control. Jim Lovell wrote a letter to TV Guide about the film, saying that the crises in Mission Control were dramatized. Lovell called the film "fictitious and in poor taste."^[2]

Executive producer Herman Saunders said he could have never sold the television station on a documentary and that warnings were added to the film to indicate it was fictitious.^[2]

• Spaceflight portal