For All Mankind

Reality and fantasy thus continue to collide in thrilling fashion in this revisionist drama, arguably the finest on television, whose out-of-this-world speculative fiction proves as intriguing and nuanced as its diverse characters are inspiring.

For All Mankind is a fascinating, underrated show that offers science-fiction/alternate history on top of great storylines, strong characters, and well-written episodes. It all works together seamlessly without feeling like storylines are being sacrificed in the name of spectacle. If you liked the first two seasons, the third keeps up the momentum.

“For All Mankind” is simply one of the best things on TV. Aside from being uncomfortably prescient — the Russia/U.S. tensions induce cold shivers of recognition — it balances what might be with what is, mixing the not-all-that-fantastic with well-grounded human drama. Prepare for blast off.

At its best — which it still so often is — For All Mankind is able to present so many different, exciting movies at the same time that the missteps stick out more than they would on a series not trying to do as much, let alone as widely capable. By heading to Mars, FAM is reaching further than ever — a reach that sometimes exceeds its grasp, even as it’s a lot of fun to see them try.

For All Mankind Season 3 delivers more of what made its excellent Season 2 so thrilling. ... If there’s one spot, though, where For All Mankind Season 3 might frustrate viewers, it’s the resurrection of one of the most contested storylines in the show’s run. By the end of Episode 8, however, I could see where the writers were going with this story and its conflicted main player. ... Overall, For All Mankind is just freaking good TV.

If you have been on board already, season three proves as addictive as season two, albeit slightly more heightened because the technology of this timeline’s 1990s is advanced beyond space-faring technology then or now.

The show has learned from the mistakes of its first season, which had a very slow start. The initial episode of the current season feels as heart-pumping as a blockbuster action movie.

More than once, I was frustrated by season three — frustrated enough to resort to all-caps yelling to anyone who could listen. Even still, there are few shows I’ve enjoyed more this year and few finales I’ve looked forward to more than this one, and despite those frustrations, I still vastly prefer the show’s impulse to dig into the painful places rather than to skitter around on superficials.

This, then, is long-form drama on a grand scale and, with Kinnaman and the rest of the cast displaying an assured grip on their characters, one that never loses sight of the human stories that lie beyond the technobabble. After two seasons of relative obscurity, maybe it is time an unheralded masterpiece finally achieves blast-off.

“For All Mankind” excels in all the ways a space-pioneer drama needs to, including precision-ratcheted tension and white-knuckle flight maneuvers. But its secret fuel source is that blue-sky hopefulness.

For All Mankind remains competence porn of the highest order — and the best show you’re probably not watching.

Season 3 feels even more ambitious, and at times more meandering, than the two that came before it. For most shows, the race to Mars would be the entire season, but for one as bold as For All Mankind, getting to the Red Planet is only half the drama.

The show also goes small, depicting how national expectations roil the lives of those on the inside. While this dimension of the series isn't as strong as its alt-history, this is still a project by Ronald D. Moore, who set the space opera standard with the revival of Battlestar Galactica.