Space: Above and Beyond

Show set-up

Set in 2063, Space: Above and Beyond followed one group of Marine fighter pilots, from their joining the Corps through their training and ultimately their serving in a war against an alien race. The future looked very much like Earth's present (it is humorous to note that the Marines' dress uniforms are presumed not to change in seventy years), with certain key differences.

Earth has a new underclass, the In-Vitros; created people who are 'decanted' fully grown and then speed-educated for whatever purpose they have been designed. They are despised disposable people, who are stuck all the dangerous jobs.

The In-Vitros, or IVs, were created to take the place of the AIs, or silicates, androids who had rebelled against their human masters and live in hiding, continuing their harrassing campaign against their hated creators.

The War

Human colonization is reaching farther into the galaxy and ultimately, humanity trespasses into the territory of an alien race. Retaliation is swift and brutal - a human colony is destroyed and we find ourselves in a war with an enemy that is completely incomprehensible to us. Dubbed the 'Chigs' because they appear bug-like, very little is known about them, because none have ever been captured alive.

The characters

Space: Above and Beyond's pilot episode shows us how all of the characters in the ensemble cast came to be Marine trainees.

Nathan West (Morgan Weisser) is separated from his fiancee, who is training to become a colonist, to make room on the expedition for In-Vitro colonists. This example of affirmative action leaves him slightly hostile towards IVs.

Shane Vansen (Kristen Cloke) saw her Marine parents murdered by rampaging AIs. She is both following in their footsteps and out for a little payback.

Cooper Hawkes (Rodney Rowland) is an in-vitro, sentenced by a judge to the Marines for defending himself from an attempted lynching. He's not very crazy about natural-borns.

Paul Wang (Joel de La Fuente) and Vanessa Damphousse (Lanei Chapman) have less poignant reasons for joining - Paul is looking for courage and Vanessa for a meaningful career.

They are commanded by T.C. McQueen (James Morrison), one of the first in-vitros to be accepted in the Corps. He is the quintessential Old Timer, tough, yet fair.

The five young Marines are collectively the 58th Squadron, the Wildcards. They are based on the USS Saratoga, commanded by Commodore Ross (Tucker Smallwood).

Space: Above and Beyond Show history

The series aired 24 episodes, ending on an extravagent special-effect-laden cliff-hanger with some of the main characters lost, some dead and the outcome of a potential peace negotiation very much up in the air. The continued devotion of the show's fanbase is perhaps due to the lack of closure on these issues.