Summer of 1969. Millions of people are in front of the television to watch live the arrival of man on the moon. The moon landing is a success and the heroes of the mission utter the words that will go down in history: "this is a triumph of the Marxist-Leninist lifestyle." That is the premise of For All Mankind, the science fiction series that wonders what would have happened if the Soviets had won the space race. 

To begin with, the space race would not have ended. With that historic milestone not being achieved, the United States would take on the task of keeping those efforts alive. How? Among other things, by allocating a large part of its budget in the coming decades to investment in scientific and technological development instead of weapons and wars.

The alternative history proposed by Ronald D. Moore, the creator of the reimagining of Battlestar Galactica, along with Matt Wolpert and Ben Nedivi, brings with it a myriad of political, military, economic, and social implications that the series skillfully explores throughout its seasons.

Among all those implications explored successfully based on its premise, the immediate entry of women into the space race is one that radically changes the course of the series and also of History within fiction.

An event that occurs simply because the Soviets were the ones setting the pace, and after being the first to reach the moon, they surprised the world again with the image of the first woman stepping onto the lunar surface, something that NASA had not even considered.

Extreme Situations and Visual Delight

The hand and experience of D. Moore are remarkable in the series. Like in Galactica, politics, strategic games, personal sacrifices, and the extreme situations faced by the characters are an important part of its DNA. 

Furthermore, it also stands out in the technical aspect as the photography, sound, and special effects in the space scenes are a constant visual delight where Apple TV+ has not spared a single dollar. A lavish budget that blends perfectly with the various subgenres of space science fiction and their mix with others, such as psychological horror. 

It is also worth mentioning the season finales of the series, which are truly spectacular and leave the viewer breathless. All this makes For All Mankind a perfect series to binge-watch in the summer. Four truly exceptional seasons that will leave you wanting more and with the peace of mind knowing that it has already been renewed for a fifth. 

A Spin-Off in the Works

With the renewal announcement, Apple TV+ also gave the green light to a spin-off titled Star City, described as a paranoid thriller that returns us to the key moment of the alternative history of the space race when the Soviet Union became the first nation to put a man on the moon.

This time, the story is explored from behind the iron curtain, showing the lives of the cosmonauts, engineers, and intelligence officers involved in the Soviet space program, and the risks they all took to advance humanity.