For All Mankind

I have to say that I enjoyed For All Mankind a lot more than I thought I would. It's actually become one of my favorite new shows of the last few years. It's a sci-fi mystery thriller that takes you down the road of "what if" during the space races. While the show does has its flaw overall it is a very good show. The writing and acting are all terrific, especially Joel Kinnamon. The use of actual footage and real events just make the story that much better. Each episode gets better and better. I put off watching it for some reason and I'm now binging all 3 seasons and can't stop. If you're a sci-fi fan and have been putting it off like me...stop! Go watch this as soon as possible because I promise you won't be disappointed.

This show has a cool premise, that being what if the space race never ended. It's a sort-of alternate reality and it does a good job of weaving in actual historical events with where the timeline diverged. The main problem is that I feel like the show is being pulled in two directions. In one direction, there is the tension of the space race, engineers scrambling to be the first on the moon/mars and dealing with all manner of technical issues in a realistic-ish way. That part of the show I enjoy. Then, for some reason, the show also throws in a bunch of trite interpersonal drama and stupidity. Like inter-marital affairs, people leaking NASA secrets to the soviets, and a CLEARLY unstable drug-addicted astronaut being given solo control of a super important mission. It's like the showrunners thought the show couldn't stand on it's own without dumb drama, as if there couldn't organically be issues and drama in the context of Frigging SPACE. The first season does this better, but by the 2nd/3rd seasons most of the issues come not from unforeseen difficulties of life on the moon/mars but idiots. It really makes me wonder if they just aren't sure who their audience are. The people who like the technical stuff are not going to like the artificial drama, and vise-versa. Pick a lane, show, and stick with it.

For All Mankind had everything going for it - a brilliant "what if" scenario where the Soviets land on the Moon first, potentially rewriting the entire course of space history. You'd expect gripping political tension, scientific breakthroughs, and bold explorations of humanity's place beyond Earth.

Instead, what you get is hours upon hours of personal drama, love triangles, family issues, and emotional monologues - all set against the occasional backdrop of NASA. The space race becomes more of a side note, and every potentially exciting plot point somehow turns into a drama or relationship crisis.

It's frustrating. The show clearly has the budget, cast, and concept to deliver something exceptional, but it chooses to dwell in soap opera territory. If you're into emotionally-charged drama with people crying in every other scene, this might work for you. But if you came for smart alternate history or meaningful space exploration - look elsewhere.

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 one of my favorite sci-fi shows that I've ever seen and that's not hyperbole. I really can't get over how much I loved this show. It's a sci-fi show where Russia beat us to the moon and the great space races never ended. It may start off a little slow for some but after a few episodes you'll be hooked. It gets more exciting the further into the show you get. It's a character driven show that takes you into the lives of NASA astronauts and their families. The visuals in this are amazing and how they take real footage and real life videos and intertwine them with fiction into the show is awesome. This is an intense sci-fi series that must be watched by any true sci-fi fan. I hope they continue to more seasons.