As for the color - before the initial images were returned, techs swarmed over the monitors to make sure the color they would display would be completely accurate. All of that in full view of the hoards of media people awaiting the first live color images from Mars.
When the actual images began to be displayed, the project manager with a cry of dismay ran to the monitors and cranked up the red to max.
Its a red planet, you know. Wouldn't want to disappoint tbe folks.
I remember reading just the opposite at the time. The original video was off because the automatic calibration was geared towards terrestrial photography and artificially corrected the sky towards blue, they had to turn it off to get the accurate colors.