Media we love: For All Mankind

Media we love here at EarthSKy. Watch the For All Mankind trailer.

Media we love: For All Mankind

Marcy Curran recommends For All Mankind

Over Labor Day weekend, my husband and I watched all three seasons of For All Mankind on Apple TV+.

I was already watching Episode 5 of Season 1, when my husband got interested. So, naturally, we started back at the beginning. The series uses an alternate reality timeline. It plays with the idea of what might have happened if the Soviet Union had been first to land on the moon and the global space race had never ended.

I’m old enough to remember the day the United States’ Apollo 11 landed on the moon – July 20, 1969 – and how excited I was that day. So when Apple TV+ released the series (Season 1 premiered in November 2019), I refrained from watching it, because it tells a very different story from what actually happened during the Space Race.

Why I liked it

But the Artemis 1 launch that will soon return us to the moon – via the Orion spacecraft – brought back the thrill and excitement I felt more than 50 years ago with the Apollo missions. So, I decided to watch the first episode of For All Mankind, to see what I thought.

And, in fact, I found the series’ storyline intriguing, because it mixes history with fiction. I enjoyed the alternate reality, and the side stories about people and events. It makes you ponder the idea that one change can lead to many completely different outcomes.
Also, the series shows how hard, dangerous and challenging getting to the moon was and remains to this day. Plus, you clearly see the toll it takes on everyone involved in space exploration.

So, if you want some good space exploration entertainment – mixed with a bit of soap-opera drama – you’ll enjoy watching For All Mankind.

Media we love! EarthSky Editors share their favorite Earth- and space-based books, TV shows, movies, games, podcasts, YouTube videos and more.

Bottom line: In this installment of Media we love, EarthSky editor Marcy Curran recommends the TV series For All Mankind.