FOR ALL MANKIND / EPISODES REVIEWED: 1-5 / STARRING: JOEL KINNAMAN, MICHAEL DORMAN, WRENN SCHMIDT

Alternative history is a long-standing staple of the sci-fi genre, but seldom gets the in-depth treatment. Thankfully, Battlestar Galactica producer Ronald D. Moore has picked a very interesting idea for his space exploration drama, For All Mankind. The show’s premise is simple; what if the Russians got to the moon a few weeks before the Americans? And what if that was completely unexpected?

Anyone with even a passing interest in space exploration knows the basic details of the Apollo program, and most of us are familiar with the community of astronauts, engineers, technicians and their families that sprung up around NASA’s bold project. 1960s-style period dramas set during this time are plentiful, and most of us are aware of historical figures like Buzz Aldrin or Wernher von Braun. For All Mankind fixes this by adding new characters to the mix, ones that could have easily been part of the program but are, in fact, fictional.

This takes the viewer out of their comfort zone and reminds us that we are well into the land of “what if?” The script is tight and unflinching when it comes to the attitudes and prejudices of the time. Much of the drama focuses on things such as the astronaut program and mission control. With the Russians ahead in the space race, we end up with a ticking clock running all the way through the show; the USSR is winning a cultural war in terms of advancing humanity’s development, and Americans have to buckle down. Because it’s space exploration, the goal is always changing, which means that exciting risks are taken throughout.

In the real world, the history of space exploration is filled with ideas that never quite made it. Things like Mercury 13 and Lunar Application of a Spent Stage are pretty much forgotten in our world, but one of the lovely things about For All Mankind is that we get to see what could have been. This is not a happy fantasy, however; the characters suffer and rub shoulders with actual historical events. Though not quite as ‘out there’ as Watchmen in terms of alternate history, it does throw a few hefty curveballs at the viewer’s expectations.

For fans of all things vintage space, this show is a delight – the attention to detail is near perfect. The performances, especially from Joel Kinnaman as astronaut Edward Baldwin, are very engaging. The human drama drives this story on, rather than the fireworks of the space program itself, but these characters talk like NASA astronauts.

Hopeful enough to be watchable, gritty enough to be engaging and fantastic enough to inspire daydreams, For All Mankind really seems to have the right stuff. We hope it carries on in this vein, as season two has already been commissioned. Maybe we’ll even get to see the same treatment given the USSR space programme in future seasons.