For All Mankind (AH Tv series at Apple TV)
- Thread starter Michel Van
- Start date
I wonder if the North Korean probe becomes a kind of deus ex machina solution for most problems. Perhaps it has not only parts they need but also enough usable fuel for more than one travel of the Popeye? So nobody needs to stay behind.
Except the Korean. He might think that Mars is better than home.
The Korean success can be a useful tool for all space programs. I can see NASA shouting: " Come on, even North Korea can go to Mars and we decide it is too risky or too expensive? We stop our space program now and you can bet the Soviets, Chinese, Koreans or perhaps even India, Brasil or even Vanuatu* will gladly take our place. And then we wake up with Mars being really the Red Planet". In Moscow heads will roll (bye, bye, Sergey). At least the North Korean ship actually reached Mars, unlike the Soviet one.
So the astronauts on Mars are saved, space exploration is saved, season 4 is saved.
But I kind of agree that North Korean cosmonaut on Mars might be too close to jumping the shark.
Except the Korean. He might think that Mars is better than home.
The Korean success can be a useful tool for all space programs. I can see NASA shouting: " Come on, even North Korea can go to Mars and we decide it is too risky or too expensive? We stop our space program now and you can bet the Soviets, Chinese, Koreans or perhaps even India, Brasil or even Vanuatu* will gladly take our place. And then we wake up with Mars being really the Red Planet". In Moscow heads will roll (bye, bye, Sergey). At least the North Korean ship actually reached Mars, unlike the Soviet one.
So the astronauts on Mars are saved, space exploration is saved, season 4 is saved.
But I kind of agree that North Korean cosmonaut on Mars might be too close to jumping the shark.
*With all respect to the wonderful people of Vanuatu and their country.
It doesn't matter if it was mentioned early in the series it's a stupid thing to write and is completely unrealistic. And no North Korea was not affluent by first world standards so don't rationalize it.
Some random third world country like Argentina, South Africa or Iraq was more affluent than North Korea at that time. It was a stupid decision that drives the show into ASB territory.
Some random third world country like Argentina, South Africa or Iraq was more affluent than North Korea at that time. It was a stupid decision that drives the show into ASB territory.
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IMHO fusion power in the 1980s is already ASB territory. But with regards to North Korea, we should keep in mind Argentina, to a point Apartheid South Africa and even a bit Iraq need to balance their people's needs into their budgets. Or, at the very least in Iraq's case, a military capable of fending for itself instead of relying on China and the USSR if push came to shove.
North Korea, OTOH, can spend into whatever the current Kim wants, and they'll also be licensing Soviet technology, so their needs to do R&D is limited. And if your astronaut's lives matter little to you and you can put people in Earth's orbit, sending astronauts to Mars can be a matter of adding extra fuel, a greenhouse and crossing your fingers during the landing part. After all, you can go to Mars with a "regular" hydrogen or kerosene powered rocket - you need a bigger rocket, multiple launches and to carry little payload. Would it suck for that astronaut stuck in that tin can? Absolutely. But why should the North Korean king care?
North Korea, OTOH, can spend into whatever the current Kim wants, and they'll also be licensing Soviet technology, so their needs to do R&D is limited. And if your astronaut's lives matter little to you and you can put people in Earth's orbit, sending astronauts to Mars can be a matter of adding extra fuel, a greenhouse and crossing your fingers during the landing part. After all, you can go to Mars with a "regular" hydrogen or kerosene powered rocket - you need a bigger rocket, multiple launches and to carry little payload. Would it suck for that astronaut stuck in that tin can? Absolutely. But why should the North Korean king care?
I didn't say they were affluent by first world standards, but they were compared to the famine stricken disaster they are now.
I will add that the Korean rocket refueled in orbit. Most likely at the Soviet orbital station. So fuel is not a problem. Interestingly, on the map of Mars, the Koreans have another "rover" to the northwest.
Why is North Korea called the People's Republic of Korea?
Why is North Korea called the People's Republic of Korea?
Likely just a production mistake, with someone accidentally leaving out the “Democratic” part of the DPRK’s name
Well um.
We have to all remember that this Alt-history North Korea has not lost half of its economy in the 1990s mainly thanks to the fact that the Soviets are maintaining their zero-interest exports to the nation, so things like cheap oil and electricity are still common, so the downward spiral that the nation suffered in the 1990s has not happened so the nation isn't the true hermit kingdom that we all know of in the 21st century.
Apparently the DPRK "unmanned" probe launching in the 94 window had actually docked in orbit to refuel before heading to Mars so North Korea has a orbital refueling platform near Earth which gives us an idea of their current Space infrastructure, there is also another North Korean probe on the surface of Mars. It is noteworthy that India and Turkey have both landed 3 Probes on the surface of Mars although its likely that they were sample return missions and not manned suicide missions to Mars
Although its highly likely that the plan the North Korean space program had with its maned one way trip to Mars mission was to have their astronaut hitch a ride back to Earth with the Mars 94 mission, the gun and tactical vest that the North Korean astronaut has is basically insurance that he won't be left behind on Mars.
Apparently the DPRK "unmanned" probe launching in the 94 window had actually docked in orbit to refuel before heading to Mars so North Korea has a orbital refueling platform near Earth which gives us an idea of their current Space infrastructure, there is also another North Korean probe on the surface of Mars. It is noteworthy that India and Turkey have both landed 3 Probes on the surface of Mars although its likely that they were sample return missions and not manned suicide missions to Mars
Although its highly likely that the plan the North Korean space program had with its maned one way trip to Mars mission was to have their astronaut hitch a ride back to Earth with the Mars 94 mission, the gun and tactical vest that the North Korean astronaut has is basically insurance that he won't be left behind on Mars.
Here is a good video documenting the Chekhov's gun moment of For All Mankind, although I seriously thought that we were going to see the North Korean flag and a dead body instead of this plot twist...
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I’m reserving judgment on the ending until I see the next episode. My hunch is that DPRK most likely got to Mars after the U.S. and USSR and there’s something about the mission that the Soviets or possibly the Chinese haven’t told us about yet (perhaps it links back to the Margo subplot?).
What I am confident about is that FAM is clearly setting up Ellen’s VP to defeat her in the GOP primary. Backlash against this combined with the ongoing economic devastation caused by the transition away from fossil fuels and increased backlash towards NASA (especially if Margo’s work with the Soviets leaks out) will cause a Democrat to win in 1996. I’m guessing that it’ll be Gephardt, Boxer, or Lieberman since they’ve all been mentioned on the show so far. However, some kind of incident in space involving a hostile nation like North Korea, Iran, or China between 1997 and 2000 will probably then lead to greater public support for NASA and John McCain getting elected in 2000.
What I am confident about is that FAM is clearly setting up Ellen’s VP to defeat her in the GOP primary. Backlash against this combined with the ongoing economic devastation caused by the transition away from fossil fuels and increased backlash towards NASA (especially if Margo’s work with the Soviets leaks out) will cause a Democrat to win in 1996. I’m guessing that it’ll be Gephardt, Boxer, or Lieberman since they’ve all been mentioned on the show so far. However, some kind of incident in space involving a hostile nation like North Korea, Iran, or China between 1997 and 2000 will probably then lead to greater public support for NASA and John McCain getting elected in 2000.
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I'm curious what will happen to the Baldwins going forward. Assuming Karen saves Helios from outright bankruptcy and is able to thread the needle of the board's demands for revenue and her, Ed and Dev's desire to keep pushing the envelope in space, post timeskip we could see a burgeoning capitalist space nation with Ed and Karen in charge. And if the US government goes through with gutting NASA there's going to be a lot of former personnel looking work.
Additionally if the Soviet Union does collapse their lunar base could be the last standing remnant of the USSR, trading moon resources for food and other supplies from Earth, creating a second space nation but communist.
Earth turns away from space, but there's already enough infrastructure and willing people up there to keep the Space Race going.
Additionally if the Soviet Union does collapse their lunar base could be the last standing remnant of the USSR, trading moon resources for food and other supplies from Earth, creating a second space nation but communist.
Earth turns away from space, but there's already enough infrastructure and willing people up there to keep the Space Race going.
Well since the spoilers are dead I guess I'll go and mention that all the way back in the end of Season 2 we saw the North Korean astronaut step foot on a Mars that was covered in a dust storm.
This subtle little hint from a year ago implies that the maned DPRK probe likely landed on the Martian surface in the middle of the dust storm in 1995 that covered Mars landing sites in episode 5 of Season 3, this storm prevented Helios from winning the race to Mars and allowed the Joint US/USSR mission to catch up and "win" the race to Mars...
The fact the North Korean astronaut was already standing on Mars during the 1995 dust storm that was covering the landing sites of Helios and the US/USSR can only mean one indisputable fact, that the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea has likely triumphed against the impossible odds of being the first nation to land a man on Mars.
It's so sad that so much effort was spent on something so monumentally stupid. With a single stroke of their pen they have invalidated the premise of the entire season. It succeeds both in destroying any rewatch value Season 3 has but it also messes up with the characters and the wider world of the show as a whole. Every character's and every organisation's intelligence is immediately brought into question. Neither NASA nor Roskosmos tracked this vessel on any of its stages nor did they kept a close eye on it while they were out there, things that you would expect to be routine on a voyage to Mars, on which they were also embarking on. They just took North Korea at its word. No character, all of them trained astronauts and cosmonauts didn't think it odd that a North Korean thing was also on its way there, maybe take a second look, you know. Makes you wanna join the protesters outside JSC and "defund NASA".
In short, to paraphrase another great showrunner "Everybody kind of forgotten the DPRK and their probe"
For the record I’m still onboard. I laughed- nay, chortled- heartily at the end of that episode. It is still possible things might dim after the finale, but I can “yes, AND” for another week.
Honestly, it’s not my favorite season. But we’ve got a swiftly rotating cast, new themes, and new goals each season. Show trajectories are a soft rule, but this one has some extra tools other shows don’t to help them pull a reboot. To grow the beard, if you will.
Honestly, it’s not my favorite season. But we’ve got a swiftly rotating cast, new themes, and new goals each season. Show trajectories are a soft rule, but this one has some extra tools other shows don’t to help them pull a reboot. To grow the beard, if you will.