When Russian cosmonaut Alexei Leonov becomes the first man on the moon in 1969, NASA and the whole of America finds itself in crisis – can they still find solace in reaching the moon second? And will they be allowed to continue their work?

Alternate histories have been all the rage in genre these last few years. It’s a rich vein that gets to the very heart of that ‘what if?’ question which powers most fantastical literature and film while also giving it something solid on which to hang its hat. It’s nice for once that the ‘what if?’ here doesn’t involve some permutation of Nazis winning the second world war or the Confederacy winning the American Civil War, and in fact where you might expect this show to go from its core concept is quite the opposite of where it seems headed, if this pilot is anything to go by.

It’s certainly nailed the sense of the time in which it’s set, opting cleverly to use a talented mimic for the bits of dialogue President Nixon never actually said but not going with a full screen presence for them, meaning you don’t get distracted by how much the actor in question does or does not look like the man. The show seems to mix archive footage from the era itself in at points, although it’s possible it’s also just some clever lens work in the same vein as Gareth Edwards’ efforts on Rogue One, but at any rate, the aesthetic of the show is very authentic.

That seems to permeate through to the detail as well – this really does seem to be a show that’s done its homework, referencing accurately historical events that don’t interfere with its premise such as the fire which killed three astronauts on Apollo 1, and the Apollo 10’s ‘dry run’ mission which took it within 8 miles of the lunar surface to ensure the equipment was sound. This forms a significant part of the story as we follow Joel Kinnaman’s Edward Baldwin, one of the astronauts on that mission, and his frustration at a system he feels has become too risk-averse, which has allowed the Soviet victory in the race to the moon.

If there’s an issue with this opening episode, it’s that it feels a little fragmented. There’s a lot going on, between Kinnaman’s arc, the tale inside mission control which includes some sort of relationship existing between director Wernher Von Braun and Margo Madison, a young woman on the backup mission control team with aspirations of being flight controller. There’s also a strand involving a young Mexican girl and her family which doesn’t really seem to bear any relevance to the rest of proceedings here but doubtless all will be revealed in time.

It’s not pacey, but it does wring out the drama, meaning that when you get to the point of Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins’ mission there are real stakes given the big changes the show has already made to history and the issues they face. I was literally gripping the edge of my seat in the back twenty minutes of the episode, and the sense of tension and emotion conveyed by the script and the cast was genuine.

Verdict: Obviously made by people with a deep knowledge of the history with which they are messing, and a deep appreciation of the era itself. It won’t win any awards for action, but it certainly has a lot of drama and plenty of tension. 8/10

Greg D. Smith