User Reviews

I started watching "For All Mankind" for a number of reasons: I'm generally a big science-fiction fan, Apple seems to be putting out quality TV on their new platform, and Ronald D. Moore's (Star Trek: TNG; Battlestar Galactica) involvement. After five episodes, however, it was doing little more than just barely holding my interest (maybe a 5-6 star rating). Over the course of the "back five" episodes, however, this show transforms itself into a riveting sci-fi/drama.

For a very basic overview, this first season of "For All Mankind" branches into an alternate U.S. history where the Soviet Union beat us to the moon. As a result of this, NASA comes under heavy scrutiny from President Nixon, relations between the countries become even more militarized, and a new initiative is created to send more women into space.

I should probably clear something up right away here: when most people think "alternate reality" about a space show, it likely gets automatically lumped into the science-fiction category. However, I would categorize "For All Mankind" as much "human drama" as anything too out-there sci-fi wise.

This human element somewhat works against the show in the early goings, as it seems to ping-pong from one issue to the next with little regard for "what happened last week". NASA leader Wernher von Braun (Colm Feore) is accused of being a Nazi, based-on-real-life figures Gene Kranz (Eric Ladin) and Deke Slayton (Chris Bauer) come under heavy scrutiny for losing the "space race", while whip-smart Margo Madison (Wrenn Schmidt) struggles to co-exist in the NASA "good 'ol boys" club. The initiative to promote more women to the astronaut title uncovers gems such as Molly Cobb (Sonya Walger), and there's even a young girl (Aleida; played by Olivia Trujillo) hanging around the building amazed by it all. In essence, just a lot going on and not enough time to devote to all of it.

At the end of the fifth episode, however, a time-jump occurs that almost magically sets the show back on track by allowing it to focus on a few specific angles. This includes the complicated home/space relationships between Ed Baldwin (Joel Kinnaman), wife Karen (Shantel VanSanten), Tracy Stevens (Sarah Jones), and husband Gordo (Michael Dorman). Also, a plot line involving the sexuality of Ellen Waverly (Jodi Balfour) is allowed to play out unbeknownst to all but a select few.

Starting with the episode "Hi, Bob", the remain installments had me hooked from beginning to end. The dichotomy between "life in space" vs. "life back down on Earth" is interesting, US/Soviet relations really heat up, and a general pairing down of numerous plots allows the best ones to take center stage.

Overall, I'll settle on 8 stars for this first season of "For All Mankind". Had it provided the same quality from the first half of episodes as the second, it almost certainly would have been higher. Perhaps a second season will be able to accomplish that more balanced goal. But as it stands, don't give up on this campaign in the early goings if you are only "so-so" about where the show stands, as I can almost guarantee your experience to improve!

I am so disappointed of this episode. Don't get me wrong, the whole series is fantastic, good acting, incredible special effects, believable characters, very contemporary science aware, well thought out. What I admired the most was their meticulous attention to detail, I probably only discovered half of it, but it was just amazing. How they honoured the Mercury 13 women's team, Molly Cobb, how they finally gave Wernherr von Braun the send-off he deserved. How they incorporated error 1202, Margo Madison as a tribute to Margaret Hamilton etc. etc. Each and every step they made sure that they stay on the reality side, making as many references to the real Apollo program and the real world in politics (Nixon the a-hole, Teddy the womanizer) and the real people and attitudes (John Glenn being prejudiced to women as another example). And then.....This.

Yes, it was a great storyline in this episode. But how, just HOW? ..can the LEM, lift off with its undercarriage, fly back and land, lift off again, and then, on top of it all...on a few drops left in another LEM, re-inject itself into earth orbit? This puts the science-based show completely on the fairytale side. What a waste. It seems almost unnecessary to point out all the other plotholes: A tether line that holds the entire 3rd stage of a Saturn V while accelerating with a huge amount of thrust. The grapple hooks attached to the thin aluminium can hold that load? Tracy has superpowers to unhook the line? What a terrible, terrible betrayal to the otherwise great show.

This episode landed for me in a way that solidified my complete devotion to this show that I didn't know I had until I watched it. What an epic season finale indeed! Like others have already mentioned, make sure to stay tuned to the finale scene after the credits roll. If you read the IMDb trivia for this show you would know that Season 2 will launch Friday, Feb. 19, 2021 with the first of 10 episodes, followed by one new installment dropping weekly. The new season picks up a decade later in 1983 during the height of the Cold War, where tensions between the United States and the USSR at their peak. The soviets & the Americans fight for resources on the moon during Ronald Reagan's run at the presidency. At the end of the post credit scene we see a new spaceship launching from the sea.

Season one was about 'we came in peace for all mankind, but we sacrificed a heck of lot for it.'" Every central Character had to make huge personal sacrifices for the greater good.

After watching the finale we learn that season 2 will be set in 1983 (almost a full 10 years have passed) and you can hear Ed and Karen in the post credit scene watching tv as a new kind of spacecraft is departing from from the middle of an ocean & is apparently carrying a bunch of Plutonium. This is probably going to be a major plot point revolving around the cold-war era where tensions are escalating to the point of nuclear war, and I'm totally here for it. I can not wait. It sounds like season 2 is going to be a brutal ride. No more Mr. Nice guy moon co-habitations. This is war!

This is supposed to be an alternative history, but it rapidly deteriorates into fantasy. In Apollo missions to the moon, the lunar module was between the 3rd stage of the Saturn V and the CSM. The LM was the lifeboat that saved the Apollo 13 astronauts when their service module was damaged. Here, there was nothing in that space. No LM, but apparently no payload that was jettisoned, just nothing. It sure would have been helpful to have that lander either for extra fuel or to land on the moon. But they must have forgotten to pack that. The only way to get on and off the moon is the new reusable Lunar Surface Access Module which doesn't have enough fuel to slow Apollo 24 so they need to siphon some off of the old LM sitting at the moonbase, but magically after Ed and Ellen land, there is enough fuel to get Ed back to the CSM and for the CSM to get back to Earth.

And then that spectacular scene after the credits that some loved. The alleged reason for launching from an alternative site was that the payload contained plutonium. In the real history of space exploration, a plutonium powered spacecraft was launched from Cape Canaveral in 1977. It was called Voyager 1. But for some reason, someone thought it would be safer to expose a Saturn V (or maybe just a Saturn I hard to tell) to the corrosion of salt water before using it to launch a radioactive payload.