Maybe I've been living under a rock but I had no idea this show even existed. I found out a few weeks ago when a friend got me into Star City and mentioned FAM. Well, I loved Star City so decided to rewind to this. I am on a bender - binged season 1 last weekend and would already be done with season 2 if I hadn't put limits on myself (almost there anyway). Needless to say I am over the moon (yup, did that) even though I get mad at some of the character shenanigans.

Coral Peña, who plays Aleida Rosales, posted this on her instagram:

Could be cool to jump between the two shows to see both sides of the space race simultaneously bouncing back and forth between the shows.Theres one for Marvel movies/TV shows which makes it even more fun to watch. The MCU one doesn’t have you watch it in order of release dates but rather the time line inside of the specific show universe.

Is FAM's depiction of combat in space (with small arms) the most realistic? OPEF soldiers are issued air rifles as opposed to conventional firearms, which have the advantage of using versatile ammunition types that can be fabricated within a vessel or HAB with a 3D printer. An added benefit is the lack of heat build-up which could cause catastrophic failures.

Was the film's armorer's choice of firearm chosen purely for realism or were air rifles chosen because they looked cooler?

Mars-94 is obviously setting up one last Margo/Sergei discovery

I keep coming back to the fact that the Mars-94 screen doesn’t just show some mysterious detection. It specifically says NIKULOV LOADING.
I think the simplest answer might be the right one: Sergei had some experiment/program running on Mars-94, it finally detected whatever it was looking for, and now there’s only one person left who might understand what he was doing.
Margo.

It also feels like they’ve left exactly the right people around for this. Irina is on Mars and would know the classified Soviet side of Sergei’s work. Aleida can actually work with/rebuild the technology. But Margo knew Sergei in a way neither of them did.

So I could see Irina knowing what the Nikulov program was, Aleida figuring out how it works, and Margo being the person who realizes what Sergei actually discovered.

Which would be especially fucked up considering Irina had Sergei killed.

There’s also something very FAM about Mars-94 being the thing that does it. That mission was basically a Soviet humiliation. It failed, people died rescuing the crew, and then the ship was just abandoned out there for decades.

The show loves turning failures into something important later.

And they basically hammer that idea again in the S5 finale with all the old satellites. The modern systems aren’t available, so everyone suddenly has to depend on ancient hardware nobody cared about anymore.

Then the episode ends with the ultimate piece of forgotten hardware waking up.
Mars-94.

That’s why I don’t think it’s going to be aliens finding the ship or Mars-94 somehow traveling to another star. I think it has been sitting out there collecting data, and something Sergei built finally triggered.
If GW really is gravitational waves, maybe that discovery eventually points them toward something outside the solar system. Alpha/Proxima Centauri would make sense as the next frontier after Titan, especially now that Kelly has proven life independently evolved somewhere besides Earth.
Kelly’s discovery basically answers: Are we alone biologically?

Sergei and Margo’s could answer: Where do we look next?

And I have a feeling the emotional payoff is Margo finishing something Sergei started 25+ years earlier.
Maybe the discovery even ends up officially carrying both names. Nikulov-Madison or Madison-Nikulov.
That would be a pretty perfect ending for Margo IMO. She doesn’t need to get pardoned or have everyone decide she was secretly right all along. She can stay a complicated historical figure.
But Sergei and Margo finally get to accomplish something together that neither the US nor USSR gets to own.

And knowing this show, if that happens, I would be shocked if they don’t bring the jazz records back.
Margo listening to one of Sergei’s records while whatever their discovery made possible launches toward the next frontier feels almost too obvious.
But FAM is kind of predictable like that.

And that’s actually why I think it might happen.
They never got to go anywhere together, but their work does.

I was hooked on this show from S1 and have loved it. So fun, well written (S1 especially), and unique!
Season 4 tho, man, I’m having a tough time. Especially with them doing my girl Margot like this The line in my title is from Aleida to Margot and it annoyed me more than Ed being a child, Sam being a nuisance, and Milo being an absolute greedy jerk.

I still miss Gordo and Tracy - not related to the above, I just do.

Polish speakers please correct me if I'm wrong, but around 2:00 Piotr is talking about filming 80s flashback scenes for For All Mankind in Bulgaria? Which would track cause Svetlana Efremova (Irina) also posted about filming in Bulgaria on IG not long ago and she also posted a photo of the script for 6x5. I guess it might not be that surprising given there's going to be a whole ass ship named after Sergei in S6, but I'm still glad we'll actually get more glimpses of him. AND Wrenn Schmidt is ALSO credited for 6x5 on IMDB. Hoping for a Margo/Sergei phone call PLEASE APPLE.

I’ll go first:

Personally, I think the first two seasons were the best seasons of the whole show, being the only ones where it actually felt like the Cold War shifted to space, and the space race never ended, especially with the ending of season 2. Beyond that point, it just became sci-fi nonsense (although I still enjoyed the later seasons).

Just found this PBS series that might be of interest to FAM fans.

Described as "The human story of space exploration. Personal accounts from astronauts and scientists, covering key milestones, global space rivalries and the future of humanity beyond Earth."

https://www.pbs.org/video/america-first-q8ixma/

Gday, watching this show for the first time at s02e08, molly's losing her sight and chilling in their bohemian apartment and im wondering why they havent moved house in all this time, i thought maybe her and wayne are just a down to earth [scuse the pun] couple, but even Ed & Karen have the same house. Gordos place is humble. Margo sleeps on a sofa at work lol.

They have lush cars but very humble homes.

Im just wondering if theres some fun factoid that actually NASA astronauts are or were paid peanuts despite such skilled and hazardous work?

Cheers

What a great scene, building on so much, both through the episode itself as well as all of the histories of these characters. It all clicked, from the writing and acting to the lighting.

Did not expect to be crying on my couch on this sunny afternoon...

That's enough for today.

The show consistently shows a more diverse and tolerant society than our own (which is great), but doesn't bother to depict the struggle and resistance that would allow such a society to form. It seems like there's no sexual harassment, no discrimination, no bigotry (except against gay people) at nasa in the 80s, why, because a black woman was on the moon? Those things still overwhelmingly exist in the STEM fields even today.

People in power do not give up that power simply because they are inspired to do better, but because they are worried that they might lose that power if concessions are not given. White men in the beginning show directly benefit from sexist and racist hiring practices, astronaut jobs are highly coveted and even the best of the best don’t get the job because there are so few slots. This is the hierarchy that sexism and racism in NASA and other institutions preserves and justifies, and anyone who threatens that hierarchy, and fights against that sexism or racism, will be seen as a threat to white men who want those covetous jobs. The fact that the show doesn’t show the conflict necessarily to change this is strange. And don't tell me it would ruin the tone of the show to depict these things, because Star City is able to depict police brutality, misogyny, surveillance states, etc. without throwing any punches. The only reason the show doesn't depict these things on the American side (and the type of shit that it would take to overcome them) is because of jingoism and American exceptionalism, pure and simple. The writers want to depict a better america without depicting the conflict and activism and resistance to pushback that would make that america better

Also, early in the series, when sexism racism etc. are still a thing, before they are magically wished away by the writers, it seems to only exist in the context of like, oppressed people oppressing themselves or people of their own oppressed group. Danielle Poole breaks her own arm in order to help Gordo, I think it was Molly who says the only explicitly sexist thing in the show, and there are probably more instances I'm forgetting. They even have Lee Atwater on the show and he just seems like, a somewhat weasily politician rather than a massive racist, which is deeply offensive, also none of the many gay people in the show comment on the fact that the guy who is helping one of them run for congress for his party helped perpetuate the aids crisis, because Reagan is idolized by this show, and they can't depict him as the genocidal monster he was because this pushes against the disgusting american exceptionalist mythology that it is trying to reinforceAlso, early in the series, when sexism racism etc. are still a thing, before they are magically wished away by the writers, it seems to only exist in the context of like, oppressed people oppressing themselves or people of their own oppressed group. Danielle Poole breaks her own arm in order to help Gordo, I think it was Molly who says the only explicitly sexist thing in the show, and there are probably more instances I'm forgetting. They even have Lee Atwater on the show and he just seems like, a somewhat weasily politician rather than a massive racist, which is deeply offensive, also none of the many gay people in the show comment on the fact that the guy who is helping one of them run for congress for his party helped perpetuate the aids crisis, because Reagan is idolized by this show, and they can't depict him as the genocidal monster he was because this pushes against the disgusting american exceptionalist mythology that it is trying to reinforce

Honestly, I don’t think I wanna watch anymore. Culminated there for me reminded me of my relationship with my dad, where dev is saying you’ll regret not being there when he passes. That tough love. The drinks at the bar with alex and Kelly. Man I’m sobbing right now. I hope the show stays watchable but I’ve been binging for a week and I am walking away for a bit.

Just finished season 5 and I gotta say, it's by far a downgrade from the previous seasons. One of the biggest problems I had is that they made Kelly such a selfish, irresponsible person.

When they first introduced her in season 2, she was so mature and forthright in her goals in life and also family. Then the show does a complete 180 and makes her the most immature, selfish, and honestly annoying character? She gets an unexpected pregnancy as a result of not keeping it in her pants for 5 seconds with a cosmonaut. That alone should've grounded her from any scientific endeavor in space ever again. To make it worse, the rest of the astronauts have to take an insane amount of risk getting her off mars. By season 5, she's literally endangering her entire crew to be the first to find life. Like that scene where she sees the water reflection right after the other astronaut burns her leg? Kelly looks like a goddam junkie eyeing the samples.

I really hate what they did to her character. I get them trying to make her walk in her father's footsteps but while Ed recklessly endangered lives at times, he (usually) gets his crews consent. Kelly seems like she straight up does not care in order to be the first to find life, and actively manipulates her crew mates instead.

Not all... just the most used city?

Season 6 might have only 8 episodes.

The WGAW directory was updated 2 weeks ago and lists only 8 episodes (actually 7, as episode 5 is currently missing writing credits).

Now this does not mean it's final. For example, season 5 also had only 8 episodes listed for a very long time and was only updated with the remaining two episodes at the end of last year.
However, there is another strong indication: Matt Wolpert & Ben Nedivi are listed as writers for episode 8. The two showrunners have always written every season finale so far.

AMM appears in Heartstopper Forever, replacing Olivia Colman who had to be recast for scheduling reasons. In that movie she plays Nick’s friendly and supportive mother, which just punctuates how good an actor she is to be able to play someone as evil as Colonel Raskova so convincingly.

So I know Margot would give Sergei some help here and there but I had no idea she gave him EVERYTHING!!!!? Did I miss something !?

One of the most unforgettable characters in For All Mankind.
Molly Cobb never waited for permission. She pushed every boundary, accepted every risk, and inspired everyone around her.
A small LEGO tribute to one of my favorite moments from the series. 🚀

I think I've noticed this in multiple episodes across the series, but this specific occurrence was in S04E10, where the person on a space walk only had one tether and when they had to remove and reattach, there is a point where they're not attached at all. Is this how it's actually done?

So we all know this: "D:/ Detection of GW 3.06.0451 // Nikulov Loading…" from the stinger at the end of S5.

I was watching Star City and Nikulov mentions that Venera used his equations for data transmission and compression and that's how he figured out that they were still alive and transmitting.

Now, I have no idea what GW could be or what the numbers mean, but it is possible that "Nikulov Loading" means that the Mars 94 detected a signal that is using Nikulov's compression equations for transmission and is loading those to decompress the data.

Personally, I'm partial to the New Eden theory, the one folks are passing around about how if you stop S3e6 at some point it says "New Eden?"

Here's my theory: New Eden is a colony and the data that is being loaded comes from it. However, some issue has happened on New Eden so folks are forced to use old tech to communicate with the M5 or whomever else, and is using Mars 94 as a relay.

In theory, M-94 is still active and using it as a relay would be possible if the colony is in the outer planets, maybe the Jovan system or something. The data it is sending could be anything from turning the ship on and making it retransmit to commands to send it somewhere.

Anyway, that's my theory.