ORBzine - Space: Above and Beyond TV Review

Morgan Weisser as 1st Lt. Nathan West

Kristen Cloke as Capt. Shane Vansen

Rodney Rowland ( Sixth Day ) as 1st Lt. Cooper Hawkes

Joel De La Fuente as 1st Lt. Paul Wang

Lanei Chapman as 1st Lt. Vanessa Damphousse

James Morrison [ Prey ] as Cmdr. Tyrus Cassius "T.C." McQueen

Tucker Smallwood [ Enterprise S3 ] as Commodore Glenn Van Ross

Season 1

Space: Above and Beyond [Season 1, Episode 1-2] Pilot
Shown 24 Sep 95
Shown November 2000

X-Files scribes Morgan and Wong originally wanted to do a story about the Pacific campaign against the Japanese in WWII. Instead they set it in the future and came up with a shoot-em-up in space.

Rodney Rowland plays a tank, an in-vitro artificially gestated human. The in-vitros are victims of prejudice - yes, this is a metaphor for the treatment of African Americans early in the 20th Century.

Things aren't all bad for the in-vitros. There is a new campaign of Affirmative Action, which means that Morgan Weisser is kicked off the colonists' spaceship while his GF Selina Kylen [a reference to Catwoman?] is forced to stay aboard. He can go out to join her on the next mission - in 5 years time!!!

Kristen Cloke plays Shane Vansen, a military brat whose parents were killed by rogue androids in the AI Wars. She enlists with the aim of joining an elite unit, the 127th.

The 3 heroes meet up at boot camp where Drill Sergeant R. Lee Ermy [ Frighteners ] turns them into USMC space aviators. They are posted with a couple of ethnic minorities, Paul Wang and Ms Damphousse.

Earth is ruled by a Secretary General - apparently the UN is now an EFFECTIVE organisation! He announces that Earth's interstellar colonies have been sneak-attacked by a highly advanced alien civilisation. Just like the USA was hit at Pearl Harbour. Which allows for a Pacific Campaign in Space show!

  3.   1- 3        103      1 Oct 95   The Farthest Man from Home
  4.   1- 4        104      8 Oct 95   The Dark Side of the Sun
  5.   1- 5        105     15 Oct 95   Mutiny
  6.   1- 6        106     22 Oct 95   Ray Butts
  7.   1- 7        108      5 Nov 95   Eyes
  8.   1- 8        107     12 Nov 95   The Enemy
  9.   1- 9        109     19 Nov 95   Hostile Visit (1)
 10.   1-10        110     26 Nov 95   Choice or Chance (2)
 11.   1-11        111      3 Dec 95   Stay with the Dead
 12.   1-12        112     17 Dec 95   The River of Stars
 13.   1-13        113      7 Jan 96   Who Monitors the Birds?
 14.   1-14        114     14 Jan 96   Level of Necessity
 15.   1-15        115      4 Feb 96   Never No More
 16.   1-16        116     11 Feb 96   The Angriest Angel
 17.   1-17        117     18 Feb 96   Toy Soldiers
 18.   1-18        118      3 Mar 96   Dear Earth
 19.   1-19        120     24 Mar 96   Pearly
 20.   1-20        121     12 Apr 96   R & R
 21.   1-21        122     19 Apr 96   Stardust
 22.   1-22        119     20 Apr 96   Sugar Dirt
 23.   1-23        123     26 May 96   And If They Lay Us Down to Rest... (1)
 24.   1-24        124      2 Jun 96   ...Tell Our Moms We Done Our Best (2)

Space: Above and Beyond [Season 1, Episode 2 ]
Shown th June 2006 [Wednesday]