Space: Above and Beyond Wiki
Advertisement
Space - Above and Beyond 1

“We thought we were alone. We believed the universe was ours. Until one night in 2063, on an Earth colony 16 light-years away, they struck. Now we're at war. We fight when called, in space, on land, and at sea. To lose this war means more than defeat; to surrender is to never go home. All of us must rise to the call... above and beyond.”

Space: Above and Beyond[]

Space: Above and Beyond is an American science fiction television show that aired on the FOX Network, created and written by Glen Morgan and James Wong. Originally planned for five seasons, it ran only for the single 1995–1996 season, due to low ratings.

Set in the years 2063–2064, the show focuses on the Wild Cards, members of the United States Marine Corps Space Aviator Cavalry, 58th Squadron. They are stationed on the United States Navy space carrier USS SARATOGA, and act as infantry and pilots of SA-43 Endo/Exo-Atmospheric Attack Jet ("Hammerhead") fighters.

Episodes[]

Number Title Director Writer Debut Production Number
E01 Pilot David Nutter Glen Morgan & James Wong September 24, 1995 NA
A human colony 16 light-years away is attacked and destroyed by an unknown alien force (the Chigs) while a group of youngsters enlist in the United States Marine Corps. While they train to become aviators, war is declared and human military forces suffer several costly defeats. The recruits are sent on a training mission.

Captured enemy information reveals the battle plans of the alien attackers. The half-trained 58th Squadron, The Wild Cards, based upon the space carrier USS SARATOGA is deployed to the far rear. However not everything is as it seems and the inexperienced 58th are suddenly thrown into a desperate battle.

E02 The Farthest Man from Home David Nutter Glen Morgan & James Wong October 1, 1995 3S01
The Space carrier USS SARATOGA passes close to the planet Tellus where human colonists were ambushed. Hoping that his missing girlfriend Kylen somehow survived, West goes AWOL with a hammerhead and flies down to the planet.
E03 The Dark Side of the Sun Charles Martin Smith Glen Morgan & James Wong October 8, 1995 3S02
The Wild Cards are sent to secure a major fuel ore mining facility, only to find it in the hands of enemy Silicates.
E04 Mutiny Stephen Cragg Stephen Zito October 15, 1995 3S03
The 58th travel upon a civilian cargo hauler. The ship is attacked and the captain decides to sacrifice part of his In Vitro cargo in order to save his ship. A mutiny forces Hawkes and McQueen, both In Vitroes, to make a difficult decision.
E05 Ray Butts Charles Martin Smith Glen Morgan & James Wong October 22, 1995 3S04
A mysterious Colonel arrives unexpectedly on the USS SARATOGA. Recruiting the Wild Cards for a classified mission, he changes the mission's objective as soon as they're behind enemy lines.
E06 Eyes Félix Enríquez Alcalá Glen Morgan & James Wong November 5, 1995 3S06
The Secretary-General of the United Nations is assassinated by an In Vitro. The UN assembly decides to gather upon the USS SARATOGA to choose a replacement, while a mandatory loyalty test is imposed upon all In Vitroes in the military, including Colonel McQueen and 1LT Cooper Hawkes. Meanwhile West is informed that high-ranking UN officials knew about the alien threat before the colonists were sent to the Vesta Colony.
E07 The Enemy Michael Katleman Marilyn Osborn November 12, 1995 3S05
The members of the 58th are victims of a Chig mind-altering weapon on the contested planet Tartarus. Unable to control their innermost fears they begin to turn on each other.
E08 Hostile Visit Thomas J. Wright Peyton Webb November 19, 1995 3S07
The USS SARATOGA captures a Chig bomber and McQueen suggests that they use the vessel as a Trojan Horse. The plan is to attack the aliens' homeworld in order to raise troop morale - a plan that goes horribly wrong. (Note: Part 1 of 2)
E09 Choice or Chance Félix Enríquez Alcalá Doc Johnson November 26, 1995 3S08
The 58th crash-land on a moon deep inside enemy territory and Wang, West, Vansen and Damphousse are captured by Silicates while Cooper and McQueen manage to flee and evade capture. Wang is tortured and broken by a ruthless Silicate while West discovers that Kylen is among other prisoners. A Silicate decides that either Vansen or Damphouse will die and leaves the choice up to them. The Wild Cards attempt to escape. (Note: Part 2 of 2)
E10 Stay with the Dead Thomas J. Wright Matt Kiene & Joe Reinkemeyer December 3, 1995 3S09
Suffering a brain concussion, West is rescued among the corpses of several US Marines. His incoherent ravings that the 58th are still alive are dismissed due to an earlier transmission in which West stated that all his comrades are dead.
E11 The River of Stars Tucker Gates Marilyn Osborn December 17, 1995 3S10
When the 58th are trapped inside a damaged space APC stranded deep inside enemy territory on Christmas day, they receive a cryptic transmission which tells them how to "hitch a ride" back to safety upon an incoming comet's orbit.
E12 Who Monitors the Birds? Winrich Kolbe Glen Morgan & James Wong January 7, 1996 3S11
Undertaking a covert assassination operation in exchange for an honorable discharge, Cooper Hawkes is wounded while his team member is killed. All alone inside enemy territory he struggles to stay alive and is haunted by visions of death trying to seduce him in the incarnation of Shane Vansen. He remembers his past In Vitro education and how he was scheduled to be terminated because he asked too many questions.
E13 Level of Necessity Thomas J. Wright Matt Kiene & Joe Reinkemeyer January 14, 1996 3S12
After experiencing an anomalous precognition which saved the lives of the 58th, Damphousse is investigated by a colonel in charge of the Psi Corps. The colonel is convinced that she possesses psychic powers and deduces that only true mortal danger activates Damphousse's precognition. Therefore he joins the 58th in a very dangerous mission.
E14 Never No More Jim Charleston Glen Morgan & James Wong February 4, 1996 3S13
Several fighter squadrons gather upon the USS SARATOGA in preparation for a rumored future offensive. Vansen meets a former boyfriend, who is now the captain of the 35th Squadron, The Faithful. A single enemy fighter ace, nicknamed Chiggy von Richthofen, is rumored to be hunting and destroying entire squadrons. The brass decides that all knowledge about Chiggy von Richthofen has to be suppressed and officially denied by all high-ranking officers for the sake of morale. A spy satellite has to be deployed for the planned invasion; the 35th gets the assignment and Vansen decides to transfer to the 35th to support the mission. McQueen, risking a court-martial, gives her a warning to be extremely cautious. (Note: Part 1 of 2)
E15 The Angriest Angel Henri Safran Glen Morgan & James Wong February 11, 1996 3S14
A plan to trap and destroy Chiggy von Richthofen, who pilots a prototype Chig stealth space fighter, fails. Colonel T. C. McQueen, a survivor of the destroyed elite 127th Squadron, The Angry Angels, prepares himself to search, find and engage the enemy ace. (Note: Part 2 of 2)
E16 Toy Soldiers Stephen L. Posey Marilyn Osborn February 18, 1996 3S15
West is upset when his younger brother, who has joined the Marines, arrives upon the USS SARATOGA under the command of an inexperienced and foolish gung-ho Lieutenant.
E17 Dear Earth Winrich Kolbe Richard Whitley March 3, 1996 3S16
The members of the 58th receive letters from home, some with good news, some with bad, while McQueen and Cooper are ordered to cooperate in a TV documentary about In Vitroes serving in the United States Marine Corps.
E18 Pearly Charles Martin Smith Richard Whitley March 24, 1996 3S18
On a planet overrun with Chigs, the 58th retreat with a tank driver of the US Army 7th Cavalry Regiment upon a tank named "Pearly". They encounter the eccentric Major Cyril MacKendrick, sole survivor of a battalion of the British Cold Stream Guards. Wang encounters a Silicate of the same model that previously tortured him.
E19 R&R Thomas J. Wright Jule Selbo April 12, 1996 3S19
The exhausted Wild Cards are granted R&R aboard the Bacchus, a pleasure ship where it's said anything can, and does, happen.
E20 Stardust Jesús Salvador Treviño D. Howard Grigsby April 19, 1996 3S20
A mysterious group of extremely high-ranking officers embark on the USS SARATOGA and the 58th are ordered to escort an unresponsive space APC. The mysterious APC suddenly locks on their Hammerheads and opens fire.
E21 Sugar Dirt Thomas J. Wright Matt Kiene & Joe Reinkemeyer April 20, 1996 3S17
A planetary invasion by Earth military forces is ambushed and turns into a military disaster. There is no air support and no ground reinforcement as the supporting fleet, among it the USS SARATOGA, is forced to abandon 25,000 stranded Marines in order to launch another assault, which could ultimately save millions of lives, upon a more strategic planet. Among the scattered, abandoned and demoralized Marines are the 58th, struggling to survive.
E22 And If They Lay Us Down To Rest ... Vern Gillum Glen Morgan & James Wong April 26, 1996 3S21
The Wild Cards land on the moon of the Chig's home planet and encounter an extraterrestrial creature which may be an entirely different life form or an unarmored Chig. Soon afterwards the enemy proposes a truce.
E23 ...Tell Our Moms We Done Our Best Thomas J. Wright Glen Morgan & James Wong June 2, 1996 3S22
While peace talks on the USS SARATOGA go awry, the disgraced 58th are sent to retrieve POWs trapped in a crippled Space APC. Several enemy space fighters attack and the 58th take heavy losses. It is discovered the Chigs are only offering peace because they know Earth's military will defeat them.

References[]

Space: Above and Beyond at IMDB [1]

Advertisement