Space: Above and Beyond

1995

Seasons & Episodes

  • 1
  • 0
7.8| NA| en| More Info
Released: 24 September 1995 Canceled
Producted By:
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website:
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Set in the years 2063–2064, the show focuses on the "Wildcards", members of the United States Marine Corps Space Aviator Cavalry, 58th Squadron. They are stationed on the space carrier USS Saratoga, and act as infantry and pilots of SA-43 Endo/Exo-Atmospheric Attack Jet fighters.

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Space: Above and Beyond Audience Reviews

Hellen I like the storyline of this show,it attract me so much
Lovesusti The Worst Film Ever
Cortechba Overrated
Micah Lloyd Excellent characters with emotional depth. My wife, daughter and granddaughter all enjoyed it...and me, too! Very good movie! You won't be disappointed.
tlotr_tloz When a friend recommended me a classic SF series, I was excited. The story of some soldiers defending Earth somehow promised a lot. But I don't think I've ever been more disappointed with a series. It was bad. It had a lot of potential, but never delivered. I started calling it the "almost"-series, because it was almost cool. Almost good. It almost had a good ending, good characters, a good story. But it didn't. After half the series I really didn't expect much anymore. But it still managed to disappoint me. I just kept watching because I wanted to know how it ended. It had to get better near the end, right? Hardly. It's tempting to suggest how this show could have been much better, but I won't. I'll just point out why I (and my brother) didn't like this show. The acting is decent at best. The characters are not interesting enough and there is almost no character development. Two or three go through some changes at one point, but that's all. Overall, they lack something that you just expect marines to have: attitude. Our heroes are supposed to be the best of the best. Yet they run around like some school boys playing with toy guns. Did the writers of the show really think that shouting 'booyah!' every now and then would make them cool enough? The script has a lot of potential, but never achieves full glory. Some of the story lines are truly glorious, but somehow they managed to mess up most of them. Either the acting is subpar, the music suddenly stops when it needs to be dramatic as possible, or the characters utter the most silly and cliché words imaginable. The aliens are uninspired and lack intimidation. You need a lot of imagination to see something else than suited people. Every episode consists of a short story, but it only takes a while before you realize none of them seem to matter. Nothing big ever happens. They're sent out on a mission, run into trouble and barely make it back. They receive a medal and that's the end of the episode. With some notable exceptions, you might as well watch the first 2 and the last 2 episodes of the whole series. I understand that it holds a lot of nostalgia value for many people and I don't mean to offend them. There are some pretty good episodes, but they could have been so much better, even for the mid 90s. Most episodes are just not worth it. I had to go through a lot of trouble to find this series. I had to go through a lot more to finish watching it. o through in order to finish it.
klaus_b Sorry Fanboys.It seems like this series is very popular for a lot of people. An Overall voting score of 8.2 can't mislead you... or can it?. I have been a sci-fi fan all my life and I am rarely skeptical about what I watch as long as it is sci-fi. But I must admit that I have never seen anything worse than this. I am sure that anybody who are into war themed movies and TV will love this series. The one plus for me was the the appearance of R. Lee Ermey who I have admired since I saw Full Metal Jacket for the first time back in the 80's. The first twenty minutes of the series looked quite promising, until the first close up scene of a spaceship in flight is seen. I know amateurs who make more convincing animations in 3D Studio Max, than the animations of human as well as alien vessels we see in this episode. It might be that my imagination is not what it used to be, but these amateurish special effects made me start laughing. It might be that the overall quality of the animations gets better deeper into the series but I had to give up there.I give this series a vote of 5 though I feel like only giving it 1. But since I only comment on half an episode it only seems fair.All respect to the fan boys, but I wasted my money on this one, and have learned never to blindly trust IMDb overall scores again.
Lee Alon It's hard reviewing this one with a straight face almost a decade and a half later. Through the lens of times passed, it frequently seems goofy and childish, yet the fond memories linger. This was supposed to be the ultimate sci-fi show when it came out, and although it didn't materialize like that in most regards, it remains a likable, no, lovable classic.So all those intervening months may render the costumes and settings slightly unconvincing and even woefully laughable at times – I found myself shaking my head at least once an episode, every episode, when re-watching the entire series on DVD. But the story and the various parts that make up Space Above and Beyond (SAAB) are just as evergreen and tantalizing as they were during the long-gone heyday of the 1990's, when the world was noticeably more innocent and before Lost et al took story arcs and mythologies to the next level.SAAB is firmly a 1990's gig – from its look and feel to the very obvious shadow government conspiracy, this is X Files/Millennium/Nowhere Man/Harsh Realm/Dark Angel territory with a huge helping of Wing Commander thrown in. Of course, a couple of years after this show bought the farm, Starship Troopers essentially lifted most of its look and basic tenets to awesome effect – oddly immortalizing SAAB while never acknowledging it.Like many of its stablemates, it too got the Fox cancel hammer slap bang on the noggin after just one short season. Not surprising and something that goes on to this day – at least the 1990's are with us like that. Thank you Fox. And also like its contemporaries, SAAB was big on telling multiple stories at the same time, but none as convoluted and passive-aggressive as the ones we're getting now.SAAB takes place in the 2060's, when humanity's at war with an alien civilization known simply as the Chigs. This is a racist term, not the actual name, which we never found out. Thanks again Fox.In the background are running some very complex themes, but we're privy to almost all that there is to them. InVitros are growth-accelerated humans born in tanks that look suspiciously like what was later used in The Matrix. They're an underclass that was designed for use as soldiers and workers, and by the events of the show, are rather marginalized and hated. Then there's the Silicates, a race of AI's that revolted against humanity and escaped into space only to cooperate with the Chigs, and a corporate-government conspiracy. Plus, creators Morgan and Wong made sure to include a lot of B/G texture and politics. The observant will be rewarded, and note much of that stuff would never go through self-censorship now – like subtle hints that China was retaken by Taiwan-based nationalists (their flag represents China in the inter-planetary war).But the basic premise is simple – five marines, the 58th squadron, are based on carrier USS Saratoga, where life is much like it was in Wing Commander. Missions, cut scenes and endless drinking at the bar. These guys are OK and it's too bad most didn't do too much afterwards. Kirsten Cloke is Californian Shane Vansen, Joel Le Fuente does Chicago native Paul Wang, Rodney Rowland is InVitro Cooper Hawkes, Lanei Chapman is New York geek Vanessa Damphousse, and Morgan Weisser is Nathan West, nominally the main character, although all get developed equally.The real stars, however, were the two officers – the amazing James Morrison shines as Col. TC McQueen, a more human version of Kirk (and an InVitro as well) and Tucker Smallwood puts in a marvelous showing as Saratoga skipper Commodore Glen Ross. The chemistry between these two is palpably awesome, made better by some excellently witty writing and dialogue. SAAB has quite a few LOL moments that are intelligent and genuinely funny, not idiotic. The writing was strong, and the military terminology and protocol quite extensive, although obviously unrealistic most of the time. The 58th are supposed to be flyers yet get engaged in all sorts of mundane tasks like guard duty and resupply runs. SAAB couldn't decide whether they were Top Guns or grunts – which took its toll on ratings, possibly.Also, it had some of the most annoyingly obvious red-shirts and character shields in history. Everyone outside the 58th, McQueen and Ross died sooner or later – mostly sooner, while nothing ever serious befell the cast. Even when stranded for months on a hostile planet they still looked fresher than the Losties, which is saying a lot. Speaking of planets, almost all those depicted in the show had human-friendly atmospheres and looked mysteriously like the Australian outback. But at least the aliens didn't speak fluent Oregonian like in some other shows.For its time, SAAB was very panoramic and included tons of detail. The effects still look passable today, and sometimes impressive. But the clearly unworkable assault rifles and BDU's are now really showing their age, or maybe ours, for back then I actually didn't notice how ridiculous they looked. Or maybe I just forgot.Either way, anyone with any interest in sci-fi needs to make tracks and get this series on disc. Anyone with a thing for the 1990's – doubly so. Now that the new X Files movie is out, there's an excuse to relive that spectacular golden age, so what are you waiting for?
karl-leofrsson It seems to be that if a show has gadgets, lots of flashy lights and at least one taking computer, it is set to be a hit. Think of Blake's Seven, Star Trek, more Star Trek. If a show has a deadly enemy, structural technology and computers that are programmed rather than told, it is doomed. Here think of Babylon Crusade, and Space, Above & Beyond.Dr Who & Star Trek were axed, once, a long time ago, but they were brought back by popular demand a private investment, so put the money up and anything is possible. I think that Farscape survived and grew because the ship was organic, a living conscious entity. This was unique and imaginative.Stargate survived because... What can I say. Stargate has established its own genre, as well as securing its place in TV history.When Space, Above & Beyond was first broadcast, I only got to see the first episode. I think it was work that I missed the rest of it. But those first forty-five minutes hit hard. I never forgot those few precious scenes.A few weeks ago I was introduced to Babylon 5's spin off series, Crusade. Much more engaging and enjoyable than Babylon 5, yet cut off at thirteen episodes. Not only was the story not finished, it was not even ended. It just ran out of time. A great opportunity of storytelling thrown away.Yet this gave me the push I needed to start trying to find out what happened to Space, Above & Beyond. I found out of course, axed at part twenty four. The characters were amongst the best of any in a space series. The interaction of the members of the team was tightening, as they became a family. The relationship between Commodor Ross and TC MacQueen was fascinating, being a distant fondness of family, with a close respect and understanding of command.This series could have run for years, incorporating true life politics and experiences was wars around the world into the matrix of its story structure, but this was not to be. When you consider the cost of the costumes and the principal sets, the models and the props, and the concept art and sculpting for the aliens, how can they justify cancelling after so short a time, and then have the gall to claim that the show was not a financial success. The drawings, designs, tech specs and models for the tow dozen or so different types of space craft used, Terran and alien, fighters, bombers, transports, shuttles, escorts and capital ships, there is thousands of hours of work, for an eighteen hour program.I will never understand the mindset of entertainment executives, or whatever they like to call themselves nowadays, and I do not know if this series will ever be available on DVD. For those who know where to look, the series is available to watch again.It is their mistake. It is our loss.