# Identify this 1980's movie - Astronaut is exposed to something and something happens **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 29, 2018, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-1980s-movie-astronaut-is-exposed-to-something-and-something-happens/826886 "2018-12-29T22:03:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Atomic\_Alex](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atomic_alex/32/175_2.png) [@Atomic\_Alex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atomic_Alex)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2018, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-1980s-movie-astronaut-is-exposed-to-something-and-something-happens/826886/1 "2018-12-29T22:03:04Z")
Yes, descriptive I know. I have vague memories of my dad and brother watching a movie, or possibly a TV show in the mid to late 1980’s. An astronaut is on a space-walk and something unexpected happens where he is exposed to cosmic rays or some other weirdness. He is brought back to Earth and shenanigans ensue. I left the room at this point because it had scared me, I fully expect to find it was about as frightening as Bambi, but I was pretty young. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2018, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-1980s-movie-astronaut-is-exposed-to-something-and-something-happens/826886/2 "2018-12-29T22:13:50Z")
Northstar? [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/xi23kQXoggI/hqdefault.jpg "Northstar (1986) starring Greg Evigan VHS Quality") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xi23kQXoggI) ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2018, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-1980s-movie-astronaut-is-exposed-to-something-and-something-happens/826886/3 "2018-12-29T22:45:21Z")
Astronauts coming back to earth having had weird things happen to them is a common theme, going back into the 1950s. I don’t know which 1980s movie you saw, but here’s a list: \*\*The Quatermass Xperiment \*\* (known as **The Creeping Unknown** in the US) – 1955 **First Man Into Space** – 1959 **The crawling Hand** – 1963 **Monster a Go-Go** – 1965 **The Incredible Melting Man** – 1977 **Xtro** – 1982 **Xtro 2** – 1990 **The Astronaut’s Wife** – 1999 I’d bet "The Incredible Melting Man was the film you described, based on the date, although I don’t think there’s a space walk in it. The Astronaut’s Wife has a space walk in it, though, but it’s much later. This list isn’t complete. ---
**Author:** ![Poysyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Poysyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Poysyn)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2018, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-1980s-movie-astronaut-is-exposed-to-something-and-something-happens/826886/4 "2018-12-29T22:53:53Z")
My guess is The Astronaut’s Wife - but was not 80s ---
**Author:** ![Atomic\_Alex](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atomic_alex/32/175_2.png) [@Atomic\_Alex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atomic_Alex)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2018, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-1980s-movie-astronaut-is-exposed-to-something-and-something-happens/826886/5 "2018-12-29T23:02:57Z")
[quote=“Bear\_Nenno, post:2, topic:826886”] Northstar? [/QUOTE] I’m 99% certain this is it, though I thought the space scene at the beginning was a lot more dramatic than that. But then I thought the bar scene in Superman was a brutal bloody fight to the death until I re-watched it pretty recently. Thanks Nanno, and everyone! 🙂