from the earth to the moon

Graham Yost may have brought the noir western back to television with the hit FX series 'Justified,' but it's not his first foray into the wild west. That is if you can actually call his first western "wild."

According to his IMDB page, Yost's first writing job was for the short-lived Nickelodeon series 'Hey Dude' in the late 80s and early 90s, an afternoon sitcom about the day in the life of an Arizona dude ranch. He wrote 13 episodes of the series, the most of any other writer on the staff.

He went on to write a number of screenplays for hit action movies such as 'Speed' and 'Broken Arrow,' and even contributed to critically acclaimed mini-series including 'From the Earth to the Moon' and 'The Pacific.' Still, it just amuses me to know that such a storied and impressive career all started on Mr. Ernst's ranch. It also shames me a little bit to admit that I remember watching that show.

This is one of the many reasons I love Turner Classic Movies.

They're celebrating the 40th anniversary of the moon landing on Monday, July 20 with classic, revered movies you'd expect, like The Right Stuff and From The Earth To The Moon, but they also have the sense of humor to also show They Came From Beyond Space, a ridiculous (but entertaining), low-budget 60s sci-fi movie about aliens who come to take over Earth but can't control one scientist because he has a metal plate in his head.

Here's the full schedule for the all-day TCM marathon.