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alt title(s): Above And Beyond
Space: Above And Beyond was a show on Fox that only lasted one season. Set in space around the middle of the 21st century, it focused on a group of young, ragtag Marines living aboard the carrier
U.S.S. Saratoga. Humanity was embroiled in a war with an alien race known as "chigs." The central cast were Marine pilots in the 58th flying squadron, or the Wildcards. The show often focused on current issues and introduced moral dilemmas
without being pathetically obvious.
An example of this would be the several plotlines revolving around "InVitros," humans who had been
created in laboratories (whether it was by
cloning or some other method was never fully explained) and were trained from
birth decanting to be killers. They also performed the drudge work of society and did not have equal rights under the law when they were first created. As an InVitro, Lieutenant Cooper Hawkes of the 58th constantly dealt with racism, enduring terms like "nipple-neck" (InVitro umbilical cords stem from the neck and leave a puckered scar after removal) and "tank." He was physically a grown man, but had been "alive" for only six years — a socially awkward, dangerous killer.
Fox,
being Fox, dumped the show after one full season. The show ended with one character presumed dead, another two falling in an escape pod into enemy territory, one reunited with his prisoner-of-war lover, and the others in general limbo.
This show provides examples of:
- Artificial Human (The Invitro "Tanks", who are also victims of Fantastic Racism)
- As well as the Silicates, the original race of android servants created by humanity who Turned Against Their Masters. The InVitros were created to fight them.
- The Battlestar
- Bug War
- The Captain (T.C. McQueen repeatedly was shown to be the only guy who knew what the Hell he was doing)
- Cold Blooded Torture (The Silicates use torture for various reasons. McQueen recounts his own experiences during the Silicate War and how, even with an Invitro's enhanced pain resistance, he was still forced to divulge everything he knew.)
- Corrupt Corporate Executive (Aero-Tech)
- During The War (T.C. McQueen recounts some stories about the Silicate War where his kind were discriminated against. Likewise, the leader of the squadron has flashbacks to her childhood)
- Good Looking Privates (Well, of course, it's television)
- Government Conspiracy (oddly, for the human race's own good)
- Informed Attribute, combined with Strawman Political. In the episode "Eyes", one of the candidates for UN Secretary-General is the "far right wing" Nicholas Chaput. This is apparently noted by the swastika-like emblem of his political party, his distrust of InVitros (which the series showed was widespread among humanity), and his penchant for polygraph loyalty tests (but only from InVitros). All we are told about his politics is his belief that wealthier, industrialized nations should support less developed ones, which is hardly a typical platform for a far-right politician. He also reveals that his opponent's corporation provoked the chig attacks in the first place.
- Left Hanging
- Mildly Military (averted: The show went out of its way to show a rigid military command structure with a lot of division between ranks)
- Military Science Fiction
- Old School Dogfighting
- People Jars
- Psychic Powers (subverted: an entire episode is devoted to how the military turns what is likely common intuition into a deal that endangers the whole of the squadron)
- Shoot The Dog (The entire show is implied to be a series of these moments)
- Space Marine
- The Squad
- The Squadette (Vansen. Damphousse was female but not a Squadette.)
- Too Good To Last
- Torture Technician (Elroy EL)
- Turned Against Their Masters (The Silicates and InVitros)
- Two Plus Two Makes Five (Wang confesses under torture to war crimes he didn't commit.)
- What An Idiot (The human race. Created a slave race only to have it turn on you? The solution is not to create another slave race!. Dumbasses.)
