For All Mankind

(At the time I'm writing this, three seasons have aired and a fourth one is confirmed.) As an enthusiast for space flight, For All Mankind is an obvious fit for me. The first season with its far-extended Space Race, with Wernher von Braun, the Saturn V, and the Apollo program, was very special to see. Admittedly, it took the series a few episodes to properly take off, but when it finally did, it delivered fantastic characters, an interestig plot, a furious finale, and -- most of all -- perfectly legitimate and realistic depictions of space flight.

The second season continued in a similar vein. Character plot lines continued, the space race continued, the politics continued. The space flight kept its level of realism, though it progressed far beyond what was actually possible with our circumstances.

The third season I felt devolved into too much soap opera. Character-driven plot lines have always been a firm and important part of For All Mankind, but in the third season they began to eclipse the space stuff. There is one episode in particular which could and should have been about strange new worlds but instead spent three quarters of the time on a character being gay and the last quarter on astronauts being absolutely unprofessional. (Both themes actually occur frequently throughout the entire series, but they're typically only part of the narrative, not its entire focus to the detriment of the space stuff.) Nevertheless, the third season delivered a nice finale as well, and I'm eager to see what is going to happen in season four (and hopefully in future seasons as well).

Apart from the soap opera extending its reach, I also have to criticise a certain naiveté. The universe of For All Mankind in many ways feels much more favourable than our reality, and while at many times that feels perfectly reasonable, at others it is a bit overdone.

What impressed me quite a lot, however, is how well the series manages to span the many decades. Starting in '69, the third season is set in the nineties, with the final scene announcing the fourth season to be in 2003. We see the characters age (and, in quite many cases, die), see their children grow up, and that actually works incredibly well.

And, of course, the realistic and genuinely reasonable space stuff is just fantastic!

I've completed season 1 and have been hugely impressed with this production. The storyline is fictional space exploration from a US viewpoint in competition with Russia, coupled with the impact on multiple characters relationships, impacted by the political and social climate of the times in which the story is set. The quality of production and acting throughout is very high, the individuals, couples and teams' stories are as entertaining as the dramatic action scenes. I've started and paused episodes multiple times due to interruptions and poor planning on my part, leading me to the conclusion that this truly deserves to be given your full attention, to treat it like a visit to the cinema/movies. It's that good.

Just finishing season 2 and even had a slow start, I rediscovered this show over the holiday seasons.

Its being a cool ride so far.. Interesting take on a what might have been.. I liked the progression from the 60s to today.. Speaks volumes that the show is able to sustain till now.. The characters are well written and the acting cast is pretty solid..

I have some apprehension about the upcoming season 3 due to some of the negative reviews about it. But I will probably power through it and see where it leads me.

Still so far my favourite character is Gordo.. His redemption arc is fascinating to watch.. I hope he gets the girl finally.. haha.. Dont spoil it for me..

Molly Cobb is still one of the most original characters of the show. Always refreshing to watch the actress perform the character.. Shes so different from the rest. Margo Madison is also interesting although her character can be quite one dimensional at times.

So far, I am enjoying it. Most of us who are space program enthusiasts know about Werner Von Braun's history with the Nazis. That he was brought to the US with his colleagues to work on ballistic missiles (initially with the US Army Ballistic Missile Agency) but during his confrontation with the Congressional Panel, this was not brought up. The US knew about his background, but did not disclose this initially.

Also, there's a woman character - Margo Madison - who at one point says, "I know the code!" This has made me wonder if her character is a shout out to Margaret Hamilton, the woman engineer who led the Apollo guidance computer software development team at the MIT Instrumentation Lab (now the Draper Lab). You can find photos online of her standing next the pile of computer printout of the Apollo computer code.

For All Mankind is a series that, in general aspects is very good. The first seasons despite having a uchronic point of view, are very well documented, which makes it a series that fits you perfectly if you are interested in the subject. The series develops a narrative focused on NASA, which makes it not balanced and does not show us both sides of the story, something I missed.

I would like to highlight the impeccable production of this series, and the great amount of resources that have been invested in it. During the course of the episodes you will be able to see how the era they are in is represented to perfection, getting even more that you can immerse yourself in their environment.

On the other hand, they also deal in a secondary way with the social inclusion of homosexuals in the 70's or the opportunities of African Americans in the space race, including these arguments perfectly in the overall narrative of the story.

In conclusion, it seems to me a very high level series, with good performances and a level of progression that makes you gradually fall in love with its plot.