[tshiggins]

Originally Posted by RogerBW

Agreed, I watched and enjoyed most of that.

Another:

Very High External Pressure

The setting: Alt-1960s, as the 1930s-model solar system (think Space 1889 more or less, though without the Martian canals) is being opened up by spacecraft with offboard plasma propulsion (that's Project Orion to you and me). Colonists are heading for Mars and Venus, only to learn that humanity is not alone.

The characters: The USN and VKF are stern-jawed scientists and military men, making the worlds safe for democracy or communism respectively. The RN makes do with the USN's leavings and tries to put its own print on a new age of colonialism.

The activities: as crew aboard a relatively small ship (though even the smallest are 300 tons), explore the surprisingly habitable solar system, and deal with human-enemy plots and alien subversion, as well as potential ancient supertech.

Cold War tropes, big fins and lots of chrome, Nazi remnants, swampy Venus…

I'd play in this. :)

Have you read S. M. Stirling's Lords of Creation books? This setting resembles that one, quite a bit.