When I was starting college, it was just about the time Wing Commander IV was coming out, and a bunch of my dormmates were talking about how awesome it would be if there was something besides video games that was actually advancing different avenues in Sci-Fi. (You know, something that didn't have the word "Star" in the title.)

Well, James Wong and Glen Morgan stepped up, bringing a really neat new show to Fox called Space: Above and Beyond. It was a look at humanity's first contact, and possibly their last. A race known as the Chigs destroys a colony at Telus, and when humanity mounts a counter-attack with their hotshot squadron, the Angry Angels, they're decimated.

Enter the members of the 58th Divsion, aka, the Wild Cards. After they all sign up for Marines for their own random reasons, Cadets Vansen, Wang, Hawkes, Damphousse and West, are thrust into the war, and find themsevles actually making a difference through dumb luck, a good commanding officer, and sheer willpower.

The show featured what was, at the time considered cutting edge special effects. Nowadays, they don't hold up real well, but the series holds up pretty good considering its been over 10 years, and it leaves you wondering, "Why isn't there a lot more good sci-fi out there?" (Aside from the new Doctor Who.)

For me the high point in the series is T.C. McQueen. (played by James Morrison) The role fits Morrison surprisingly well. I'm shocked that he hasn't been cast as more military officers, quite frankly. Almost as important as the actor is the writing done for his character.

I guess the writers spent the majority of the time working on his dialogue or something, because while characters like Nathan West and Shane Vansen just come off as one-dimensional, I feel that McQueen is one of the best developed/written characters I've ever seen on TV.

The series follows the trials and troubles of the 58th, ground missions, "air" missions, solo ops, and their development both as a squad and as individuals. I personally like the space combat episodes best of all, and my preference for space sim games like X-Wing and Descent: Freespace are probably a big part of why I enjoy this series so much, though personal slant aside, I still think the average generic sci-fan fan would enjoy this as well.

Unfortunately, the series ends rather abruptly due to Fox's rather abrupt cancellation of the series. I would have much rather seen how this whole saga all played out, but Fox denied viewers that opportunity. I'd actually really like to see someone take a whack and making this into a solid video game someday, so the story can continue in a format that's less flighty than television.

DVD Information

The entire series comes as a box set on 5 dual-sided DVDs. While I'm a fan of getting the entire series on one set of DVDs and not having to pay for a bunch of discs, the dual layer DVDs are annoying to flip, and on top of that, they appear to be a LOT more finicky in the player.

I have a slight scratch on one of the discs, and I had to go to 5 different DVD players before I found one that would just let me fast forward past that point on the disc. Not cool.

I recommend getting yourself a good DVD Burner and making backups immediately, and viewing off of those instead of risking the set.

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Better than Watching TV
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older