In 1959, the newly formed NASA begins its search for the very best test pilots in the country to be entered into its program to launch the first American into space.

Based on the 1979 Tom Wolfe novel of the same name (itself the basis for the 1984 movie also of the same name), this is a show which sets out its stall early. There’s plenty going on, between the behind the scenes lack of glamour at the newly set up NASA and the various private lives of our protagonists, but this is really a story about three men – John Glenn, Alan Shepard and Leroy ‘Gordo’ Cooper.

Taking a similar stance to Apple TV’s For All Mankind, this sets itself as an unvarnished look at these men who have passed into legend, revealing their flaws, their defects of character and the all-too human rivalry that existed between them as they all competed to be the absolute best of their bunch. In fact, it zeroes in so sharply on these elements, it rather leaves all the space programme stuff on the sidelines a bit by comparison. Whether this is what you want or not from something like this is likely to inform whether you enjoy the show or not.

This opening episode begins two years on in 1961, as Shepard and Glenn prepare for one of them to take that first flight, and the words which pass between them leave us in no doubt as to the relationship that they have. Then it rewinds two years and sets about the task of introducing the whole bunch, with more focus on some than others.

Watching the relationships between the characters is itself very entertaining. As much as the main protagonists are a little simply drawn – Glenn the boy scout, Shepard the venal alley cat and Cooper somewhere in-between the two – the actors turn in great performances to draw the viewer in. Jake McDorman in particular clearly relishes his turn as Shepard, glorying in the sheer self-confidence that informs the character’s every pronouncement. Patrick Adams also clearly enjoys playing the clean-cut, god-fearing Glenn and Colin O’Donoghue arguably has the most to do in a part that feels somehow the most complex and also the most underwritten. All three are excellent, and backed up by a supporting cast to match. The script is punchy without ever feeling like it’s going to cross any boundaries (for obvious reasons) and the set dressing and camera work really add to a sense of late fifties Americana seen from a more cynical eye than might usually be the case.

At its heart, it feels like there’s an odd tension to proceedings, the script and aesthetic always promising a little more bite than the overall thing is willing (or possibly able) to deliver, but as a decent soap opera-style affair examining the men behind the legends, it isn’t half bad. If anything, it feels like a shame that For All Mankind beat it to the punch, and punched a little harder with it. The Coopers in particular always felt a little sharper, a little edgier and a little more compelling in that show.

Verdict: If you’re looking for hard sci-fi examining the period, look elsewhere, but as a look into the lives of the men of Mercury 7, it’s a decent enough way to spend some time. 7/10

Greg D. Smith