2023/10/27

For All Mankind debuted on November 1^st, 2019, the first season, and all the following seasons, contains 10 episodes. It is produced for Apple + TV, created by Star Trek / Battlestar Galactica Goeroe Ronald D. Moore, plus Matt Wolpert & Ben Nedivi. The show is about what would have happened if the global space race never has ended when it is in fact the Soviet Union who were the first in succeeding a crewed Moon landing ahead of the United States! The series title is inspired by the lunar plaque left on the Moon by the crew of Apollo 11, which in part says: "We Came in Peace for All Mankind".

Ronald D. Moore explained how history had been different in the series: "Sergei Korolev was the father of the Soviet space program; in our reality, he died during an operation in Moscow (in 1966) ... And after that point, their Moon program really never pulled together.... Our point of divergence was that Korolev lives, ... and he made their Moon landing happen."

Although it is in part SCI-FI, the TV series is also full of drama. Everything that happens around these astronauts, the wives of the astronauts, the people working at NASA, the bar these astronauts go to for relaxation and what not. What I am trying to say that you certainly don’t have to be a SCI-FI fan to enjoy this show. It is quite realistically filmed and told, and only the alternate reality stuff you can consider SCI-FI.  

It has a big ensemble cast including Joel Kinnaman (Ed Baldwin), Michael Dorman (Gordo Stevens), Sarah Jones (Tracy Stevens), Shantel VanSanten (Karen Baldwin), Jodi Balfour (Ellen Wilson), Krys Marshall (Danielle Poole), Wrenn Schmidt (Margo Madison), Chris Bauer (Deke Slayton), Sonya Walger (Molly Cobb) & Nate Corddry (Larry Wilson). The recurring cast is just as long and in the following seasons this will only grow further.

It is of course an intriguing idea where the Russians won the race on being the first to put man on the Moon in 1969. What is also interesting and a puzzling that this didn’t happen in real life, is that the space race continues beyond the Moon and in this show, we see the space race continue beyond that. This for me is a reason why I found this TV show so interesting, what could have happened?! I mean, for instance, look at SeaQuest DSV, created in 1993, set in 2018. As a viewer you probably think that 30 years later, this could be happening in real life, except, it doesn’t, anyway, not in the same you see on SeaQuest DSV.

Not only the Moon related scenes and storylines are interesting, but it is also very interesting to see how this effects the people who stay behind on earth, mainly the wives of these astronauts. As I said, it really gives some very good drama, in that respect I think Shantel VanSanten, who plays Karen Baldwin, the wife of Ed Baldwin, is to be applaud of how she portrays her character, the emotions she brings to the screen, she does a wonderful job, it is not for nothing that Shantel VanSanten is an actress you see in many other TV shows too, because she is so darn good!

What was also interesting, the Russians were not only the first ones to set a man on the moon! They also succeeded in bringing the first woman on the moon! This comes as a shock in the Unites States, which, at that time, does not even have any female astronauts. This soon changes, because obviously the United States cannot stay behind on the Russians and so Deke Slayton gets the assignment to train women to be astronauts, which becomes very successful.

The episodes:

There isn’t a weak episode among them, it is a solid season, and it addresses many interesting drama driven things: like the loss of a child, claustrophobia on the Moon, cold war on the Moon and the women, who are, rightly so, just as much heroes as the men are. And even in this alternate universe, it is unwise to be honest about sexual preference, man of female. My favorite episodes are “Hi Bob”, where claustrophobia is an issue and on earth a tragic accident happens! Episode 8, “Rapture”, where the viewers are witnesses to the aftermath of the terrible accident. Episode 10 “A City Upon the Hill” where Ed Baldwin is getting a Russian visitor on the Moon base, a terrible accident happens in Earth’s Orbit which costs lives and we get a quick peek in the year 1983, keep watching till after the end credits!

Blu-ray:

I also wanted to say a little bit about the Blu-ray release, which, to my surprise, was announced last year. After a few delays, seasons one and two were released on May 1^st of this year. Quite a surprise if you ask me because it is a streaming show. It is not Apple+/ Sony who released the show but a small UK studio called Dazzler Studios. Season one is a perfect presentation, it looks awesome on Blu-ray. It is a 4-disc set, for only 10 episodes, so not crammed on just 2 discs. Three discs would be great already, let alone 4. The set does have English subtitles but be aware, the set is region B locked! So, you need a region free player or a region B player. But I understand that the US release, from Sony, has also been announced, although the price is much higher!

Final Word:

Two more seasons on Blu-ray to go, 3^rd season will be released on October 9^th, if there aren’t any delays that is. If I remember correctly the 2^nd season is the best one, looking forward to that. I highly recommend this show, it is just that good. Check it out if you get the chance.

Screencaps via Google Search