For all mankind: how Ronald D. Moore's new television series Apple TV builds on the past

By Jesse Schedeen

Apple launches its hat in the arena of streaming with Apple TV +. And where many current and upcoming services are based on exclusive franchises (Star Wars, Pixar and Marvel on Disney +, The Lord of the Rings on Prime Video from Amazon, etc.), Apple instead relies on renowned creators . Ronald D. Moore, one of the creators of this genre, is one of the founders of extremely popular shows such as Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Battlestar Galactica and Outlander that have been restarted.

Apple has released the first trailer of Moore's new series, For All Mankind. Although this new series marks a departure for Moore in the sense that it is not an adaptation of a pre-existing work, it is already clear that For All Mankind will deal with familiar themes and conflicts. Read on to find out more about the For For Mankind set and how it builds on projects such as Battlestar and Outlander.

The plot of For all men

The first trailer successfully throws viewers for a loop. Initially, it seems that the new Moore series is a dramatization of the Apollo 11 lunar landing, similar to what we saw in First Man, in 2018. However, it finally appears that this new series takes place in a universe alternative where the Soviets, not the Americans, were the first to land on the moon. Moreover, this event seems to be just the beginning of a counterfactual historical saga where the race to space between the two superpowers of the world becomes more fiery.

For all, humanity will no doubt deal with a number of key issues and ramifications. Why did the United States lose the race for the moon in the universe? Is this the sign of greater technological weakness, perhaps resulting from the end of World War II? And if so, what is the impact on the course of the cold war in the 1970s and beyond? Does this accentuate the political and military tensions between the two empires, or does the emphasis on space exploration actually benefit humanity, diverting the attention of US and USSR land conflicts? Does this accelerate the progress of technological and social progress? The fact that NASA seems to create an astronaut contingent composed exclusively of women in this universe certainly suggests it.

The newspaper mentioned above suggests that other factors affecting the chronology could also be at play, including a serious water shortage in Texas. Between this and a reference to the water hidden beneath the surface of the moon, the Earth could be facing a major climate crisis or a prolonged drought in this universe. No doubt the story will continue to diverge more and more from what we know as the series progresses. Several characters in the trailer allude to the race to land on Mars. In our world, putting humans on Mars is a goal that still has many years in the future. In this universe, this can happen well before the end of the 20th century.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

While Moore has made his mark on Star Trek: The new generation, Deep Space Nine has really left its mark on the franchise as a supervising producer and possibly co-executive producer. During Moore's tenure, Deep Space Nine has established itself as a very different brand from the more history-based Star Trek series. The series became much more serialized and much darker than its predecessor, the following seasons being more and more dominated by the long destructive war between the Federation and the Dominion.

Ignoring the outer signs of space, the greatest similarity between Deep Space Nine and For All Mankind is the focus on humanity that strives to overcome its worst impulses and build a future better. The most defining feature of Deep Space Nine is the way it celebrates the optimism inherent in the franchise while putting it to the test. In the original series and The Next Generation, humanity has achieved a true utopia, ending war, hunger and poverty while venturing into the stars. In Deep Space Nine, it is clear that humanity has not completely exceeded its worst characteristics. As if by magic, the problems of the old have not disappeared overnight, simply because the earthlings realized that they were not alone in the world. ;universe. The Federation can be built on an ideal, but many of its leaders have blood on their hands.

Deep Space Nine and For All Mankind both seem to be built around the same basic idea that humanity is able to achieve fabulous achievements, but also that humans will always be susceptible to their worst impulses if they do. opportunity.

Battlestar Galactica

It should be clear now that Moore is a storyteller fascinated by the promise of interstellar travel and the future of humanity. After short passages in series such as Star Trek: Voyager and Roswell, he is then interested in restarting one of the most famous science fiction shows of all time – Battlestar Galactica.

Even after a trailer, it's obvious that Battlestar fans will feel at home watching For All Mankind. Moore's version of Battlestar takes place in a universe where human civilization once existed as an interstellar empire known as the Twelve Colonies. But after a devastating attack by androids called Cylons, this vast empire is reduced to 50,000 survivors aboard a battered frigate. These survivors are united by one goal: to survive the plague of the Cylons long enough to locate and restore the thirteenth lost colony, the Earth.

There is a timer element similar to For All Mankind. The series takes place at the height of the Cold War, with the United States and the USSR facing an even more arduous space race than our own world. A possible climate crisis only feeds this fire. Mankind may well exist under the constant threat of nuclear annihilation or ecological calamity as the race to travel beyond the moon and to Mars becomes more and more desperate. Just as the Earth is the goal sought after by the inhabitants of Battlestar Galactica, exhausted by the war, Mars could be the price at the end of this protracted conflict between superpowers.

Warning: the following paragraph contains spoilers for the final of the Battlestar Galactica series!

It should also be noted how the alternate history of For All Mankind recalls the end of Battlestar Galactica's twist. Battlestar ended with humanity to finally reach a new peaceful but very primitive planet, even if it was not the Earth of yore. But as the series ends around 150,000 years later with images of our 21st century civilization, it becomes clear that Battlestar Galactica was not a story about the future of humanity, but its past distant. We must ask ourselves if this premise is the only time Moore will radically change what viewers think they know about being the status quo.

Outlander

Moore's preoccupation with alternative history continued in his next major television project, Outlander. Adapted from Diana Gabaldon's novels, Outlander tells the story of a Second World War nurse named Claire Randall, who finds herself immersed in 18th century Scotland. There, she falls in love with a freedom fighter named Jaime Fraser and plays a role in the Jacobite uprisings, even though she and others are drawn in time.

There are two essential similarities between Outlander and For All Mankind. One is the notion of a different schedule, which results in increased power and authority for women. In Outlander, Claire's twentieth century sensibilities often put her in conflict with the more domineering men of the 18th century in Scotland, while her intimate knowledge of medicine gives her power and status out of reach for most other women . In For All Men, a society once dominated by men is overthrown by the creation of a team of all-female astronauts. It is unclear why this version of NASA chooses to create such a group (perhaps by discovering that women are more physically or emotionally able to handle the pressures of distant space travel), but it is clear that the new series will discuss the dynamics of gender to play in this alternative chronology.

The other major similarity is the effect that the improvement of the technology of the past has on the progress of human civilization. In Outlander, Claire introduced medical techniques totally alien to the men and women of 1743. She also tried to use her knowledge of the future to help the Jacobites in their war against England, but did not reveal much in the end.

But where Outlander finally seems rather pessimistic about the possibility of being malleable, For All Mankind seems to want to embrace the notion of new technology and new opportunities placing humanity on a radically different trajectory. It remains to be seen whether this will ultimately work for the better.

To learn more about Apple's major projects in 2019, find out more about the upcoming Apple Arcade and discover the upcoming changes with iOS 13.

Jesse is a writer with gentle manners for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket in follow @jschedeen on Twitter, or Kicksplode on MyIGN.