Posted by Jonathan Klotz | Published
Sci-fi of the 90s was more miss than hit, with only Star Trek once X files to be huge hits, but that didn’t stop the networks from trying and failing to get new shows off the ground. In the middle SeaQuest DSV, World 2, Earth: The Final Conflicteven William Shatner TekWar he came Space: Above and Beyond.
Space: Above and Beyond he tried to do something different from all the others: it was a military series. Centered around a group of jet pilots, the main thrust of the series was to find bugs, kill bugs, and make it home in one piece.
Space: Above and Beyond began with a two-hour made-for-television film as its pilot, detailing the destruction of a human colony at the hands of the bug-like Chigs, and the sudden recruitment of new pilots. Those new pilots included our main squadron, the 58th Squadron, called the “Wild Cards.”
Poorly trained, the force is on the USS Saratoga, which was supposed to raise the rear guard of the Earth forces when they found themselves under attack and engaged. Outgunned and outgunned, the Wildcards manage to survive, but just barely, and that sets the tone for the rest of the series.
Although the special effects are the latter, especially when the aspect of the planet, Space: Above and Beyond it goes, well, beyond the effects by adding new wrinkles to the story of space conflict. In addition to the Chigs and humans, there are the Silicates, humanoids of artificial intelligence who turn against their masters and ally with the Chigs, well, at least some of them do, and then there are the In Vitroes, genetically engineered humans designed to be front-line soldiers.
Over the course of the series, which only lasted one season, alliances were made, peace deals were made, and, for a 90s sci-fi show, there was a lot of torture, death, and dealing with PTSD.
An excellent episode of Space: Above and Beyondin my opinion, it is “Who’s Watching the Birds?” It stands out for its unique hook, as it remains silent.
Rodney Rowland, who plays In Vitro Wildcard member Cooper Hawkes, is injured behind enemy lines during an assassination attempt. Alone with his thoughts, we see his upbringing in an In Vitro facility, his struggle to stay alive while thinking about ending his suffering, and the result is one of the greatest episodes of sci-fi television that has been forgotten.
Except, of course, it wasn’t forgotten by Joss Whedon, who would go on to make the Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode “Hush,” who admitted in interviews that it was heavily influenced Space: Above and Beyond. Rowland, luckily, will move on to guest star in an episode of Angel.
Space: Above and Beyond airs on Fox, which means that you, an observant sci-fi fan, know exactly what happened to ensure that the series never got a second season. While Firefly he was stuck in dead moments, the previous Fox sci-fi series was given time to grow, and it was not badly interfered by the management, however, in the first season of the show, especially the one that relies heavily on story arcs, any change can lose the audience.
That, along with a large production budget that included a lot of 3D CGI effects (in 1995, remember), meant that the show couldn’t delve into the world it was slowly revealing to the audience.
Space: Above and beyond Unwatchable
Today, you can’t find Space: Above and Beyond on any streaming network, even on Video on Demand, and that’s a shame, since there are very few military sci-fi series out there today. Series features can be found at Battlestar Galacticawhich also focuses on military and conflict with an almost unknown enemy, but that’s about it, and even that series has been off the air for over a decade.
Military sci-fi, like the novels of David Weber or John Ringo, is ready for adaptation, and although it lasted only one season, Space: Above and Beyond it still has a strong following today, proving that there is still an audience for this type of story. Henry Cavill’s Warhammer 40k, which probably wouldn’t have focused on the Astra Militarum and gave us that. Gaunt’s ghosts the adaptation I’ve been looking for for years, may be the closest we get this decade.
Until then, you can find out Space: Above and Beyond on DVD, and I hope some streaming company picks it up so a new generation can learn about the Battle of the Belt.
