ALL SCI-FI

[ralfy]

I remember watching this on TV and enjoyed latter episodes, but when I tried to re-view it recently, I stopped during the first episode because I couldn't stand the sloppy military training and long hair. I guess I was expecting something more realistic, especially given the point that the Sgt. Major was played by R. Lee Ermey.

[Bud Brewster]

I have never seen a single episode of this series. I just keep putting it off, you know?

We all do that. We think we'll get around to things like this eventual, but the next thing you know you're lying on your death bed, and a loved one leans close to whisper words of comfort.

"Don't be sad, Bud. You've lived a rich, full life."

To which I'll reply, "Sure . . . but . . . I never got around . . . to watching . . . Space, Above and Be . . . Be . . . * "
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Randy]

If you finally get around to watching this show, you will never forget it. I don't get upset easily, but I almost threw my tea cup through my TV set when they announced that the show was cancelled!

[Pow]

I thought that this was a terrific sf show with very strong writing to it.

Similarities certainly exist between S: A&B & the Battlestar Galactica reboot series.

Both shows had a war theme.
Both shows had an intense, gritty, dark atmosphere about them.
Both shows had artificial intelligent lifeforms created by humans: Silicates on S:A&B, Cylons on BG.
Both shows eschewed the usual sf TV shows conceits by not coming across planets with aliens all the time, time travel episodes, parallel worlds/dimensions, all powerful omnipotent beings, etc.

But S: A&B got there first.

[Bud Brewster]

I just put this series on my Netflix list. Looking forward to getting acquainted with it.
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Jack Deth]

Really liked this series for its never completely revealing the identity of the Aliens. And the multi-tasking "Wild card" pilots.

Have my own multi-disc series DVD set from "Oldies.com".
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No Matter Where You Go.
There You Are.

[Gord Green]

I loved the hammerhead fighters from this show!
Unfortunately it was canceled too soon!

[Pow]

The Saratoga & shuttle ships along with the alien vessels all had terrific designs.

The artistic designers did a marvelous job with the interior sets & look of the equipment.
I think that a sci-fi series like S:A&B can be challenging to create the look of the show due to the era it is supposed to be set in.

It's just far enough into the future that the audience should have a sense of wonder about the myriad design elements for the earth equipment.Yet,it is not so far into the future that the designers can have a anything goes approach & have the audience questioning the realistic possibilities of technology too far fetched.

An example would be to have had this show having a transporter as seen on ST:TOS

While that worked on ST:TOS because it was so visually compelling & original.It would have been startling--& not in a believable way--to see such tech on board the earth ships.
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This was a terrific sci-fi tv show with profound scripting & a marvelous cast.

I was always struck by its similarities to the new Battlestar Galactica which would debut some years later.

Both shows had a dark & grim atmosphere with a wartime setting.

Both shows featured AI's.Silicates on S:A&B,Cylons on BSG.Both rebelled against humanity.

Both series avoided such sci-fi tv tropes as time travel,parallel earths,omnipotent beings or alien civilizations on the new planet-of-the-week.
Yes,S:A&B did do battle with aliens but only one culture.The humans did not encounter any other new aliens. BSG only dealt with the Cylons.

And both series showed that the humans were not always right or the enemy always wrong.They went deeper than that with these amazing shows.

[Bud Brewster]

The special effects for this series were pretty good — except for that damned "shaky camera" technique I hate so much. I have no idea why anybody thinks that sort of photography makes the movie or show looks more "realistic". All it does is remind me that the camera is there, not that the image is "real".

The YouTube videos below don't have the best picture quality (although I've seen worse), but if you need to stimulate your memories of this series by watching a few key scenes, maybe they will be helpful.

Just for fun, here's an excerpt from the Wikipedia article. The fact the aliens possess FTL propulsion, while the humans do not, is similar to a plot element in the novel I'm working on, Sail the Sea of Stars. (Yes, folks . . . that was a shameless plug. )
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In the years leading up to 2063, humanity has begun to colonize other planets. Lacking FTL technology, this is accomplished by taking advantage of transient but predictable, naturally occurring wormholes. Without warning, a previously unknown alien species, the "Chigs", attack and destroy Earth's first extra-solar colony and then destroy a second colony ship. The bulk of the Earth military forces sent to confront the Chigs are destroyed or outflanked, in part because the Chigs have some form of FTL, affording them greater freedom of movement (although this technology appears limited, and the Chigs also primarily utilize natural wormholes).
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________ Space Above And Beyond S01E01 Pilot


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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Pow]

Wikipedia:

While drawing comparisons to author Robert Heinlein's science fiction novel Starship Troopers and the feature film of the same name, producers of Space: Above and Beyond said that the main fictional work that influenced their series was Joe Haldeman's SF novel The Forever War.

Other influences were: The 1895 Stephen Crane novel The Red Badge of Courage.

The 1948 biographical novel The Naked and the Dead by Norman Mailer.

The classic work The Iliad.

ABC's 1962~1967 Combat television show.

The company Area 51 provided the special effects for Space: Above & Beyond.

IMDB: Full-scale models of the "Hammerhead" fighters for the show were constructed in Australia where the pilot was filmed.

They were stored on board a freighter before shipping to the United States where all of the series episodes were shot after the pilot.

According to show creator and runner Glen Morgan, before shipping, crewmen of a Russian freighter were caught taking pictures of the Hammerheads, mistakenly thinking they were some kind of secret new advanced U.S. tactical fighter military jets.

Lt. Colonel Tyrus 'T.C.' McQueen (James Morrison) was named after actor Steve McQueen.

Cooper Hawkes (Rodney Rowland) was named after Gary Cooper.

Shane Vansen (Kristen Cloke) was named after the classic western movie Shane.

Kristern Cloke met producer Glen Morgan on the series and they later married. When Kristen walked down the aisle to marry Glen, it was to her character Shane's theme song from the series.

[Bud Brewster]

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I discovered that the link to episode 1 which I posted above was in Spanish. I replaced it with an English version.

Perdoname amiga!
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Pow]

The pilot for Space: Above & Beyond was shot in Australia, with the intention of filming the entire series Down Under. Due to the time change between the U.S. & Australia, and other factors, it was decided to relocate the show back here in Hollywood for the production.

I always found it interesting that while some TV shows can base their production in Australia successfully, such as Mission: Impossible (1988~1990), and one of my all time favs, Farscape, other productions are unable to make it work for them.

Terra Nova was also shot in Australia. Turned out to be a disaster for the production company keeping it all together while filming there, but having to coordinate with America. Seriously escalated costs which, in part, lead to the demise of TN.

Wouldn't you think that if a American studio or network planned on shooting a TV series in Australia, they'd do some serious research? Talk to the producers of Farscape, producers of M: I, Space: Above & Beyond. Find out why they were able to make it work and what challenges they did run into? And talk to the Terra Nova people too. Learn from their mistakes.