Space: Above and Beyond

Space Above and Beyond was a great show I'll admit I didn't watch in when it was first on mainly because it kept getting moved around for football and the super bowl and stuff. Unlike shows like star trek this show was completely about war so practically every episode had flashy effects, big explosions, and enough action that is lacking in practically every TV show now. The view of the future was very different from what we've been fed. Humans don't fight with lasers in this, the ships aren't always well lit, and we aren't politically correct towards the enemy. Now I can only watch repeats on Space and always think once and a while `Why did Fox cancel this show.'

It seems that any show I feel is truly worth watching gets cancelled. So you better hope I don't start watching the shows you like! S: AAB was outstanding. Excellents writing, acting, special effects. A space-war-soap opera-type feel that just seemed to drag you in. The way I understand it, it is getting exceptional ratings on Sci-Fi Channel and if we bother them enough, they may do more shows or TV movies for S:AAB.

HOO RAH!

This was one of the best TV shows I've ever seen, and its cancellation was an enormous loss as well as a blow to its fans. It took ordinary characters and relevant issues and made them into a story that was intense, realistic, and worthwhile. The creators did not err and make things black or white; as in actual life, each situation had at least two sides to it, and the characters had to make their choices accordingly. This show dealt with fear and bigotry, betrayal and friendship, loyalty and love, and did it honestly. The acting was OUTSTANDING and the synergy hard to top. And for those of us addicted to hope, the characters were ever willing to extend a hand. As they should.

Space Above and Beyond was and still is in my opinion one of the best war dramas ever made for TV. Really when you watch the show, you cant help but feel that this is a World War 2 show in space.

There is Racial discrimination (Tanks/Natural Borns, AI/Humans, Chigs/Humans) suffering and loss. Political coups and entanglements. Shadowy Corporations, Religion and its implications to a soldier and of course battles.

I think the main thing that brings SAaB down, is that many people feel that it should be compared to other Sci-Fi shows. I do not, and will never consider this a "Sci-Fi" show. Its a War Drama. I don't have to sit through a lecture on the Jefferys Tubes or why I cant exceed Warp 8. I know that these young soldiers need to do their best, and I am here to experience this. How their ships and guns work is a granted, a thing outside of notice. Do you have to learn how an M-16 works before watching Platoon? No. Its the Same with SAaB.

The acting I have to admit is kinda bad in the first 2 episodes. But the Actors AND writers both find their stride by 3 and it just continues to get better from there.

Of course the show was canceled and you can readily see this by the fact that around eps. 14-16 it goes from showing the war as being a long drawn out affair to we need to finish this in the next 10-8 episodes. Story lines are obviously cut out or shortened up. The reason the Aliens are fighting us, for example goes from what I'm sure was going to be a Season 4 or 5 reveal hits us around episode 20, and only gets a 4 line delivery.

For all that, I highly recommend this show, and ask all of you to please Mail FOX and ask them to release these treasures on DVD.

I saw this in its first run in 1995-96 and was a huge fan. I used to look for it every week (because Fox moved constantly instead of letting it find an audience).

The premise of the show was fairly straightforward: Humanity begins reaching for the stars as technology has evolved, and we believe we are alone in the universe. Shortly after the first two human colonies are established, unknown beings from another planet attack and Earth is forced to muster defenses to fight an alien force.

But from there the plot diverges. Executive Producers Morgan and Wong take us on a season long journey that allows us to examine the military industrial complex, racism, drug addiction, political conspiracies, and attempt to answer the question "why we fight." The back drop is the war which is not a depicted as a "rah rah" atmosphere, but as one that is harsh and somewhat graphic in its depictions of the consequences of battle (see the episode "Stay With the Dead").

In sum, the show was innovative and tried to answer old questions in a new way. The good guys were not always good, and from the outset, the bad guys are not necessarily bad, nor are they all that different from us.

While the portrayal of the military required one to suspend disbelief, the overall product was done quite well...

One of my top ten.