For All Mankind: Why Watch AppleTV Series?

For All Mankind

The conquest of space was one of the battlegrounds on which the Cold War was fought, in the second half of the 1900s. The ongoing rivalry between the States and the Soviets was the engine of a rivalry that pushed the two superpowers, leading the Americans to overtake their Russian rivals by a whisker, giving a precise, however incredible, direction to world social evolution. But what would have happened if it had been a Soviet cosmonaut who first set foot on the moon? It is from this fascinating question that For All Mankind came to life, a dystopian series in which this apparently insignificant detail becomes the turning point of a familiar world yet profoundly different from the one studied in the history books.

This imagined dystopian reality by Ronald D. Moore (a name dear to Star Trek fans), Matt Wolpert and Ben Nedivi is one of the flagships of Apple +, the streaming service of the Cupertino giant. A varied catalog that has offered us various satisfactions in the past, from The Morning Show to Foundation, passing through Ted Lasso, demonstrating a marked sensitivity in the selection of the stories to present to its audience. For All Mankind fully fits into this identity of AppleTV, showing how it is possible to create a series that combines drama and science fiction, working on one of the many variations of the genre. It is therefore not surprising that what should have been a ten-episode miniseries has become one of the most anticipated productions by AppleTV subscribers, who are preparing to see the third season of the series these days.

One small step for a man…

Soviet cosmonaut Alexei Leonov becomes the first man on the moon in June 1969, one month ahead of NASA's predicted American moon landing. This event makes the U.S.S.R. the world power that not only brought man into space, but also made it possible to tread the lunar soil. An important victory within the dynamics of the Cold War, a setback that pushes the American administration to change its objectives: to build the first permanent base on our satellite.

Another reality to conquer space

This is not the first time that a dystopian series has garnered favor with the public, as Amazon Prime Video could testify with its The Man in The High Castle, inspired by Dick's novel The Swastika in the Sun. Being able to find a synthesis between fantasy and historical reality is a difficult task, yet For All Mankind manages to build a world based on the States between the sixties and the present, credible and fascinating, relying precisely on elements of historical reliability. The presence of fictional characters is enhanced by the appearance of controversial historical figures, such as Werner Von Braun (Colm Feore) or political symbols of the period, from Ted Kennedy to Richard Nixon.



if ( jQuery ("# ​​crm_srl-th_culturapop_d_mh3_1").
This is also combined with an intelligent construction of the alternative line, in which this race for the Moon becomes an engine to give technology a different thrust, anticipating the times with respect to the official chronology of our reality. What is particularly fascinating is the way in which the change in the lunar landing has repercussions on the social evolutions of the period, with radical changes (John Lennon does not die, while the attack on John Paul II takes shape), giving life to a different social environment -cultural, which also includes issues dear to American society, not least the well-known social tensions linked to civil rights.

For All Mankind: space on a human scale

It would have been all too easy to limit ourselves to enhancing the scientific aspect of this dystopian challenge to conquer the Moon, but the writers of For All Mankind wanted to go further, rewarding first of all the human aspect of the characters. Not only by showing the sacrifices made, the personal tragedies that have often represented a high price to pay to achieve excellence, but by creating a series of interpersonal dynamics that help to consolidate a narrative that allows itself to analyze political power games and intimate issues. . Family dramas reflecting the mentality typical of the period and a continuous search for recognition by characters that reflect unfair approaches of real American society are an integral part of this dystopian portrait of an America that dreamed of conquering space, intent on reaching the highest stars. distant. Although it is a dystopian world, For All Mankind does not fail to portray the sadly known events that contrasted the States and the Soviets at the end of the 20th century, giving historical truth a different mask that does not fail to allow the harshness of a divided world to emerge. where, however, gestures of sincere openness are not lacking, aiming to make a common hope emerge, a trait d'union that leads everything back to a higher end, for all humanity.


At a time when the presence of science fiction series seems to have dwindled, the presence of For All Mankind in the AppleTV schedule is excellent news. With nothing to envy to other famous sci-fi productions such as The Expanse or the space opera Foundation, For All Mankind can count on a high quality creation, with a detailed care in the reproduction of the technology of the period, inserting fictitious elements with knowledge of the facts. . To fascinate is an agile writing, capable of carving out the right spaces not only to characterize the historical period but above all to portray the main protagonists of the series in a commendable way. In For All Mankind the humoral and intimate characterization of the protagonists is one of the strong points of the series, letting personal tragedies emerge that make the space epic of this alternate Earth even more realistic and engaging.

Stay up to date on all the our news and articles. Subscribe to the CulturaPOP Telegram channel