Apple TV+’s compelling sci-fi drama For All Mankind debuted its highly anticipated fourth season with “Glasnost,” an episode that introduced new challenges and a devastating loss (RIP, Kuz). It deftly navigates the trials and triumphs of characters new and old, reminding us why it’s one of the best science fiction series on TV. Part of what makes it enthralling is the creative team’s attention to detail, especially as it provides an in-depth account of an alternate timeline.
The opening minutes of “Glasnost” get us up to speed regarding the eight years between Season 3’s end and the current year in Season 4 (2003). They’re jam-packed with exciting nods to real-world events while offering us a glimpse of what could have been. Let’s break down each news piece here.
1996
The episode opened with Ellen Wilson (Jodi Balfour) delivering a speech as she campaigned for reelection, with George H. W. Bush as her vice president. Of course, in real life, Bill Clinton was president in 1996. In For All Mankind, the Wilson-Bush ticket defeated Governor Jerry Brown. Brown ran for president three times in our world: 1976, 1980 and 1992.
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Next, the episode dove into the M-7, or Mars-7, Alliance — its treaty and the plan to expand the Mars colony (Happy Valley). Those part of the Mars-7 Alliance include the US, Soviet Union, Japan, North Korea, India, the European Space Agency and the Coalition of Communist Countries for Spaceflight. Then, we learn about Helios losing its anti-trust lawsuit brought on by Exxon, Shell and Halliburton. Newscasters predicted the lawsuit would bring an energy jobs surge on the Moon (and it did).
Fun fact: Jerry Maguire still showed everyone the money in this timeline.
1997
May 11, 1997 — a machine, Deep Blue, bested one chess player. This happened in real life, too. Ellen Wilson began her second term, continuing to break records as the first openly gay president and the first woman to hold the office. One French news article from July 1997 revealed that Great Britain ceded its hold on Hong Kong. China regained control of it. This also transpired in our timeline in the same year.
Next, Helios CEO Richard Hilliard declared the company’s plasma propulsion technology a “game changer.” They’ll no longer have to wait for the “Mars window” for travel. Instead, trips to Mars would only take one to two months. On an unrelated note, Mike Tyson still bit Evander Holyfield in this alternate world.
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Coming Home
It’s a homecoming — Ed Baldwin (Joel Kinnaman), Danielle Poole (Krys Marshall), Lee Jung-Gil (C.S. Lee), Grigory Kuznetsov (Lev Gorn), Will Tyler (Robert Bailey Jr.), Lars Hagstrom (Nick Boraine), Rolan Baranov (Alexander Sokovikov), Dr. Dimitri Mayakovsky (Goran Ivanovski) and Louisa Mueller (Anne Beyer) arrived home after 15 months on Mars. However, Danny Stevens was nowhere to be found in the survivors’ photo.
Speaking of survivors, Lee Jung-Gil was celebrated as the first North Korean man on Mars. He even got a parade at home. On a baseball note, Michael Jordan played for the Seattle Mariners (he only played one season in 1994 with the Birmingham Barons in real life). The September 23, 1997 article showed a pic of him in action.
Then, the Hilton opened its first hotel on the Moon, marking the rebirth of space tourism after the Polaris Hotel incident in Season 3. Surprisingly, it was available to the general public. Meanwhile, Jimmy Stevens testified against the Johnson Space Center bombers, who were found guilty after a five-month trial. He struck a plea bargain agreement with prosecutors the year before.
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Finally, to round out 1997, we learn the Thomas Paine Space Telescope (the James Webb Space Telescope in our world) would identify and map asteroids. Oh, and Ellen had been renewed for a sixth season (it only ran five seasons in real life).
1998
September 4, 1998 — Hillary Clinton filed for divorce from “ex-governor” Bill. I’m assuming he committed a public infidelity akin to the Monica Lewinsky incident. (Or it’s just that.) Then, President Wilson signed the landmark Marriage Inclusion Act, legalizing same-sex marriage. On October 27 (my birthday), the “Mars baby,” Kelly Baldwin’s (Cynthy Wu) son Alex, celebrated a third birthday.
Next, Race to Mars premiered, with Clint Eastwood portraying Ed and Jada Pinkett as Danielle. No “Smith” is in her surname, suggesting she never married Will. The following news segment chronicled a “building boom” on Mars as “tech fuels expansion of Mars base.” Happy Valley could manufacture aluminum from the Martian surface.
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1999
Oh, and guess what? Woodstock ’99 was also a thing in this alternate timeline. On November 2, 1999, Harvey Weinstein was charged with sexual assault (as opposed to May 25, 2018). Then, an aircraft that was a “successor to the Concorde” was deemed “capable of reaching low Earth orbit and shortening travel time.” The real-life Concorde was retired in 2003.
In other 1999 news, Stanley Kubrick died at 70 (as he did in our timeline). Eli Hobson’s (Daniel Stern) autobiography, Recharged: How an Autoworker’s Son ‘Plugged In’ and Saved Chrysler, also hit bookshelves this year. Next, on October 8, 1999, John F. Kennedy Jr. kicked off a Senate run. In real life, Kennedy died on July 16, 1999.
2000
Even the For All Mankind timeline wasn’t spared from the Y2K madness. One news article in the opening montage from January 2, 2000, declared that clocks aboard the International Space Port had been reset, no thanks to the “Y2K bug.” Meanwhile, Helios increased its Mars workforce, expanding to jobs in mining, construction and the service sectors.
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Cast Away swept the nation in 2000, as did news that former Helio CEO Dev Ayesa (Edi Gathegi) started a new robotics company. Then, on March 8, 2000, the question on everyone’s minds was whether Vice President Bush could keep the “Wilson Coalition” (moderate and conservative Democrats’ votes) as he squared off against Al Gore for the next presidential election.
Later, in November 2000, Gore became the 42nd President of the United States. (Of course, in real life, Gore lost to George W. Bush, who was never president in this alternate timeline.)
2001
June 15, 2001 — Ellen Wilson married Pam Horton (Meghan Leathers), and the happy couple moved to a ranch in South Texas. I’m so tickled that she got her fairytale wedding with Pam. On a separate note, another news headline told of insurgents in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, seizing control of key government buildings.
2002
John Lennon performed for the 2002 Super Bowl halftime show, a slot taken by U2 in our timeline. Then, reality TV took the media circuit by storm, including The Osbournes, Survivor and Moon Miners (I’d love to watch that last one). Meanwhile, Mikhail Gorbachev still led the Soviet Union in the 2000s (in real life, he left office in 1991 upon the Soviet Union’s dissolution). He ushered in an economic boom for the nation and formed a strong alliance with President Gore.
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Finally, the news montage ended with Gore delivering a speech about the US and Soviet Union alliance and its significance for Earth and Mars. His final words declared an official end to the Cold War (about 11-12 years too late compared to our timeline).
What news piece from the opening minutes of “Glasnost” did you find most interesting? What do you hope to see expanded upon this season? Sound off in the comments below!
For All Mankind streams new episodes every Friday on Apple TV+.
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What I do: I'm GGA's Managing Editor, a Senior Contributor, and Press Coordinator. I manage, contribute, and coordinate. Sometimes all at once. Joking aside, I oversee day-to-day operations for GGA, write, edit, and assess interview opportunities/press events.
Who I am: Before moving to Los Angeles after studying theater in college, I was born and raised in Amish country, Ohio. No, I am not Amish, even if I sometimes sport a modest bonnet.
Bylines in: Tell-Tale TV, Culturess, Sideshow Collectibles, and inkMend on Medium.
Critic: Rotten Tomatoes, CherryPicks, and the Hollywood Creative Alliance.
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