Comando Espacial

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.

This is without doubt one of the truly great sci-fi series of all time. Why it was ever cancelled is, equally, one of the great mysteries of all time. The characters were all highly charismatic and all very different; yet they blended together perfectly to make one hell of a team. Nowhere was there a weak link: the weakest was the tendency to photograph the entire series in near blackness - a fault shared by so many TV and cinema films these days e.g. The X-Files. This is not a series with a single 'star' with everyone else playing satellite roles: in S:AAB, there are either no stars or everyone is a star. You cannot choose individuals as the entire series emphasises time and again that the group of youngsters and their commanding officers are all part of the team, and that they are all functioning as one unit. To anyone who is not impressed by S:AAB, then I really would like to know what they fancy, as I probably would not.

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.

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!

If there is justice a 2nd series would be in the planning stages, you'd think everyones preoccupation with war recently and S:AaB 'Vietnam' like scenario would fit in very nicely.

If you can remake Battlestar Galactica, then someone rake together a few quid to fund this beauty of a series. Liked not seeing much of the enemy race till right into the series, and OK the CG of the space battles where a little rough round the edges, but to think of how so many other Space Ship gun fight series have now got it just right - that could probably get sorted nowadays.

Great cast of reasonably unknown actors too, it was good to see Mr Robinson (aka in Neighbours) get some work even if he was to die 5 Min's in. All i have to do now is wait for a UK DVD release and sit and hope people get back into it again.