“Star City” is a direct response to fans of “For All Mankind” who wanted more.
“For All Mankind” has easily been one of my favorite shows over the last few years. I have to hand it to Apple for giving the team an opportunity to produce such a great show. I also appreciate that they know when a show should stop, but still cater to the fans by providing an alternate continuation.
Small parts of Star City stray a little too far from reality. But, on the whole, it’s memorable, it’s inspiring, and it’s unique.
In the same way that “For All Mankind” is a parallel reality of the space race from the U.S. point of view, Star City achieves the same thing from the USSR’s point of view. As someone who was born in Moscow in 1992 and grew up in a Soviet household, this hits even closer to home.
The Soviet mindset is depicted realistically. The relationships created, built, betrayed, and destroyed feel real. Even the few unrealistic, “made in the USA” type scenes are a nice touch without being overused.
After one season, this is officially my “new favorite show,” and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoyed “For All Mankind.”
As a fun fact, I was watching this with my parents, who grew up in the USSR during the Cold War. If it weren’t for them, I wouldn’t have noticed a couple of cool Easter eggs. Here are some that I remember:
- The photo with Irina as a child shows Brezhnev, who was a general secretary in the Soviet Union. My parents recognized him immediately.
- The Chief Designer (Glavny Konstruktor) was actually imprisoned. Though it wasn’t shown, the story that was made up by Lyudmilla in the show was a commemoration in real life.