Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)"Space Above and Beyond" seemed like a good idea the time. Inspired by the TV show "Combat" and the novel "Starship Troopers", "Space" seemed a natural for network TV. Creators Glen Morgan and James Wong (writers and producers on both "The X-Files" and "Millennium")created 23 episodes(including the original two part pilot)of a compelling drama among the stars. Featuring a largely unknown cast, the series is much closer in spirit to the novel by Robert Heinlein that inspired the movie "Starship Troopers" than that film.
Earth suddenly finds itself at war with an alien race called the Chiggs when Earth begins colonizing other planets. When Nathan West (Morgan Weisser)is forced out of his position on one of the colony ships, he joins the Marines in hopes of being near his girlfriend. When his girlfriend is taken as a prisoner by the Chigs, his mission is to find and save her. Others that end up serving with him have their own reasons for joining the Marine Corps Space Aviator Calvary. Shane Vansen's (Kristen Cloke who also made memorable appearences in "The X-Files" and "Millennium" as well as "Final Desintation") family were murdered by rogue "replicants" (shades of "Blade Runner"!)and is inspired to serve by her deceased parents. Cooper (Rodney Rowland) is a Tank i.e., someone born in a lab and wants to escape the prejudice he faces on Earth including an attempt to hang him by bigots.
Well written by Morgan and Wong (they wrote the bulk of the first season) and directed by TV vets (David Nutter-"The X-File", "ER" and Winrich Kolbe-"Star Trek: The Next Generation" among them), it's a gritty TV show that doesn't pull its punches. The show only lasted a season so never moved beyond finding its legs and developing the storyarcs that were planned.
This five disc set isn't without its flaws. Some folks are having some problems with the discs freezing and skipping (mostly on X-Box players and computers)but it seems the discs play fine on progressive scan DVD players. I'm not reallly happy with the packaging. Fox has housed four of the discs in two slimline holders so there is a chance the dual sided, dual layered discs could become damaged. While the image quality is really, really good but could be better. I'm at a loss as to why Fox didn't put this out in other holders. I'm sure fans would have been willing to pay 5 or 6 bucks more for better packaging. That's a minor complaint that viewers can fix themselves by purchasing DVD holders.
For those looking to buy this for the extras there's bad news. There aren't any to speak of. Sure, we get the promos but there's no commentary tracks or making of featurettes like was done for "The Lone Gunmen" set. I could see why a featurette wasn't done but to not have any commentary tracks from the writers, actors or optical effects supervisors is a bit disappointing. Still, it doesn't diminish the overall quality of the series itself.
Until October "Space Above and Beyond" can only be obtained at Best Buy. After that time, you'll be able to get it at amazon.com, other sites and stores.
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In this cult fan favorite, it’s the year 2063. After 150 years of deep space exploration, the people of Earth feel certain they are alone in the universe. Then word comes that two Earth outposts light-years away from home have been brutally attacked by an advanced alien civilization. Now the new young recruits of the United States Marine Corps Space Aviator Calvary are heading for the front lines of space in the toughest battle the world has even faced.
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