For All Mankind (TV series review – opening 2 seasons).
For All Mankind Season One
(pub: Dazzler/Sony, 2019. 4 DVDs 609 minutes 10 episodes 2*70 minutes 8* 50 minutes. Price: varies. ASIN: DAZ0169)
The premise of ‘For All Mankind’ is the Americans weren’t the first to land on the Moon but the USSR, which caught the former hopping. They were also the first to get a Soviet female cosmonaut there, too. NASA was caught napping, or rather, they hadn’t anticipated how far ahead the USSR was. In light of this reality, the space race continued despite Apollo 11’s unsuccessful landing attempt.
Over this 10-part first season, we follow most of the Apollo flights as a base, Jamestown, laid on the Moon on the edge of a giant crater containing water. On the opposite side of this same crater is a Soviet base. There’s also an American female astronaut program, which is just as well, or the series would be male-dominated, and the lucky few women do hold their own.
Each episode is obviously a spoiler, but you will be paying attention throughout, so don’t get any distractions. In the meantime, let’s explore some aspects. A couple of the astronauts crack up, but when you consider they are test pilots, you would have to think that isn’t very likely. Although the focus is on the people, we don’t really see how the technology evolves.
From our perspective, Apollo made incredible advances in computer technology, but the impression here is it’s not too advanced beyond the supercomputers they had on Apollo 11. They certainly had more funding to keep sending Apollos to the Moon. If you’re aware of our version or, like me, saw it as it happened, then you will be spotting parallels and where things changed.
For All Mankind Season Two
(pub: Dazzler/Sony, 2021. 4 DVDs 612 minutes 10 episodes variable length. Price: varies. ASIN: DAZ1170)
Once again, a significant amount of information has been revealed, and it appears that they made a significant leap and did indeed travel ten years later. The Jamestown base on the Moon is significantly larger and appears capable of accommodating at least twenty individuals, if not more. You would think they would take advantage of the supply rockets and use the hulls for metal buildings, yet we don’t see where it goes. I wish there was more detail about them building the Sea-Dragon spacecraft in the ocean, even if its size suggests it’s better supported in water and probably absorbs its fuel release.
Things are escalating between the USA and the USSR, with both countries deciding that their bases on the Moon should be armed. We don’t know the name of the Soviet moon base, nor do we have a clear understanding of their perspective on the situation. This stands in stark contrast to the development of the Apollo-Soyuz link-up in Earth orbit, where interesting relationships have developed.
The tensions are taut at a human and global level. The Americans still foul up from time to time, but there are a lot of time secrets that aren’t passed from the military to NASA. There aren’t many references to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, although when you consider that in our reality there is a stronger bond and certainly a need for rocket improvements, it would have been pleasing to see the connection. Mind you, there’s so much ground to cover; some things had to be missed. Nice for them to reference the SR-71 Blackbird, although they miss out that the astronauts are supposed to practice in one.
I do have a suspicion that this series will be required viewing for anyone involved with the moon base plans in our own reality, if for no other reason than not having similar faults.
I tend to treat both seasons as one entity; hence, putting them both together here, especially as there’s a convenient closure at this point. The fourth DVD in my second season had a fault on the last episode, but its replacement was ok, so presumably it’s an oddity, not the norm.
It wasn’t until I reached the end of season two that I discovered there were three more seasons, and the owners, Apple, were delaying their DVD/Blu-ray release. I do think they should remember they are dealing with two different audiences who aren’t likely to meet. I shall have to be patient for later releases before the price drops to affordable levels.
The series is certainly worth a look, if only to see how things would have been different had the Russians gotten to the Moon first.
GF Willmetts
February 2025
