It’s June 26, 1969, and people around the globe are glued to their TV screens to see live footage of the first person stepping foot on the moon. As he climbs down the ladder and places his feet on the surface, it’s Soviet cosmonaut Alexei Leonov! That’s right, the Russians have beat the Americans in the space race. NASA’s scheduled Apollo 11 mission was just a few weeks away, but now the U.S. is playing catch-up. Watching the broadcast from a bar with the other NASA astronauts and engineers is Ed Baldwin (Joel Kinnaman), the commander of the Apollo 10 mission, along with his best friend and co-pilot Gordo Stevens (Michael Dorman). Ed could have been the first—he was just 8 miles away from landing on the moon, but those in charge didn’t have the courage to let him try. At least that’s what he has just drunkenly told a reporter—an action he’ll regret in the morning when he finds himself demoted to the Apollo Applications Project , and his spot on the upcoming Apollo 15 mission put in question. In fact, the whole NASA space program is now in danger of being shut down. President Nixon is furious about the Russians being the first on the moon. He’s worried that he’s going to be blamed for fumbling the ball when it comes to the space program, and demands answers as to how this happened, blaming the CIA for providing poor intelligence on the Soviets’ progress.
It’s the Cold War era, and tensions between the Soviet Union and the United States are running high. Now that man has made it to the moon, the focus of the space race shifts towards colonization, and building the first military base to show dominance. Each season of For All Mankind is set in a different decade, this first season taking place from 1969, through the 1970s. As the season begins, NASA is very much a boy’s club, with the men as the astronauts and their wives—like Ed’s wife Karen (Shantel VanSanten)—staying at home with the kids, or consoling one another as their husbands go off on their dangerous missions. However, that’s about to change as the Soviets’ accomplishments put increased pressure on the U.S. to recruit female astronauts.
The series follows the personal and professional lives of these NASA astronauts, engineers and their families as this alternate timeline of the space race plays out. Though many of these characters are based on real people. NASA engineer Margo Madison (Wrenn Schmidt) is dedicated to her job, sleeping in her office, and smarter than most of the men in the command center. She just needs to prove that she belongs in there as well. Taking her under his wing is NASA director Wernher von Braun (Colm Feore). As NASA starts to ramp up its female program, Gordo’s wife Tracy (Sarah Jones) sees an opportunity to be more than just a housewife. We also meet astronaut Ellen Waverly (Jodi Balfour), who’s hiding a secret “unacceptable” lifestyle that could cost her her job. The season also follows the Rosales family as they illegally cross over the Mexican border into the U.S., but find their lives intersecting with the other characters as Octavio gets a job as a janitor at NASA while caring for his smart young daughter Aleida, who is obsessed with the space program.
For All Mankind comes from Ronald D. Moore (Battlestar Galactica), and is very smartly written, weaving in historical events, while also throwing in fun or interesting twists. It makes very creative use of archival footage to make it feel like these alternate events really did happen. We often see a paranoid and angry Richard Nixon and his audio recordings, but here they don’t involve Watergate. We hear a news report stating that Sen Edward Kennedy was cancelling a weekend party in Chappaquiddick after being ordered to return to Washington for hearings to determine how we lost the space race. There are a lot of these little things but they really add up to create a whole new alternate timeline that feels very plausible.
The main characters are given a lot of room to evolve and grow, with some great dramatic arcs. When you look at where some of these characters are at the start of the season, and where they end up by the end, it’s quite remarkable. At the same time, the series also mixes in some very exciting, intense, and dangerous space missions. The astronauts and engineers are exploring a brave new world, and often find themselves in tense and risky Apollo 13-like situations that require them to put their minds together to come up with a solution while under immense pressure and life-and-death circumstances. The series uses handheld cameras to intensify these sequences, and give the viewer the same uneasy feeling as the characters.
While the series airs in 4K on Apple TV+ with Dolby Vision HDR and Dolby Atmos, Sony has only given the season a Blu-ray disc release. However, the picture and sound quality are still fantastic—I can’t imagine it looking a whole lot better than it already does. The colors and costumes look beautiful, transporting the viewer back to the ’70s era in which the season is set. The only issue I noticed was some ghosting/reflections on some of the NASA engineers in the command center. However, I seem to recall having the same issue when first streaming the series, so it appears to be a limitation of the source material—perhaps it was filmed behind some kind of plexiglass. The audio track provides clear dialogue, and an excellent score, plus a generally immersive ambiance throughout. One thing that’s really noticeable is how when the show cuts to a scene in space, there is complete and utter silence.
The first season’s 10 episodes are split across 4 discs, which are placed on trays inside of a slightly thicker Blu-ray keepcase, which resides in a glossy cardboard slipcover. Unfortunately there is no bonus material or digital copy included.
What’s Included:
Episodes: (10:12:42)
- All 10 episodes of the first season
Disc 1 (3:09:29): “Red Moon”, “He Built the Saturn V”, “Nixon’s Women”
Disc 2 (3:01:34): “Prime Crew”, “Into the Abyss”, “Home Again”
Disc 3 (1:57:28): “Hi Bob”, “Rupture”
Disc 4 (2:04:11): “Bent Bird”, “A City Upon a Hill” - 1080p / Widescreen 2.00:1
- Audio: English 5.1 DTS-HD MA
- Subtitles: English, English SDH, French, Spanish
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Blu-ray:
Extras:
-
No bonus material has been included.
Final Thoughts:
For All Mankind is a brilliantly written and acted series. This first season was just as enjoyable to watch for the second time around on this Blu-ray set. The show finds the perfect blend of compelling character drama and exciting space missions, and finds fun and interesting ways to play with history. This first season makes an excellent binge, and will have the viewer eager to check out the next season to see where the 1980s takes the series. The visuals of the show look amazing, and the audio and video presentations are top notch. The only downside is that there is no bonus material. This release comes highly recommended for anyone looking for a smart drama. I hope Sony releases more seasons on of this series on Blu-ray in the I.S. soon!
For All Mankind: Season One (Blu-ray)
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