...I ask you a question, Doug.

Why did APOLLO 13 receive more media coverage, and MILLIONS more attentive TV viewers, than APOLLO 12?

ANSWER: Because most Americans had become bored and jaded with Apollo 12 and its perceived slight variation on the APOLLO 11 mission...When asked by reporters, most Americans back then responded that they found the APOLLO 12 mission 'disappointing, boring, unimpressive,' etc...[Reuters]
(Today the phrase is "Been there, done that!")
But when the APOLLO 13 crew were involved in a tense life-and-death drama
[what I call blood-and-guts peril] interest in that mission SKYROCKETED.

HEY! It's human nature! You don't have to be a psychologist to know human beings crave
heart-pounding drama, life-and-death peril and frantic excitement.
Why do you think action/adventure movies and TV shows are so popular?

Ask any newspaper publisher in America what sells? And they'll tell you anything to do
with deadly peril, perceived bad news, violent death or anxiety about the same, and a few other things that deal with abnormality and abnormal situations.