About "S:AAB"
About "Space: Above and
Beyond"
by RedBaron
"Space: Above and Beyond" was a rare breed
of television.
It was created by the talented team of Glen Morgan and James
Wong.
The men blended military science fiction with human, and
non-human characters.
They didn't back off from showing the realities of war, but not
losing the "human"-ness of their characters.
The show deals with issues ranging from loyalty to racism, from
faith to betrayal,
from dealing with the past to facing the future.
|
| The 58th saluting their dead friends. |
The show centers on a young group of Marine recruits,
collectively known as the 58th, the Wild Cards.
The Wild Cards are made up of Shane Vansen (Kristen Cloke),
Nathan West (Morgan Weisser),
Vanessa Damphousse (Lanei Chapman), Paul Wang (Joel de la
Fuente),
and Cooper Hawkes (Rodney Rowland).
 |
| Ross and his guitar, Roslyn. |
Each have their own reasons for joining the Marines,
each from very different backgrounds.
They learn to rely on each other, and more importantly to trust
in themselves.
They become a family, under the guidance of Lt.-Col. T.C. McQueen
(James Morrison)
and Cmdr. Ross (Tucker Smallwood).
 |
| One of the few times McQueen smiles. |
Morgan and Wong introduce new "races" such
as the "Tanks" or Invitros,
humans who have been artificially gestated, and born physically
as adults, but mentally still are children.
Both McQueen and Hawkes are representative of this new form of
humanity.
The "Tanks" were bred to be human fighting machines, to
battle the AI's, Artificial Intelligence creations
that rebelled against their creators. McQueen is a veteran
of the AI Wars,
and Hawkes, in contrast is like a naive child, trying to find his
place.
 |
| A Chig... |
The 58th face a new enemy, the Chigs, after the Chigs
attack and destroy two human colonies.
As they continue in the battle, they realize that the enemy may
be closer than they thought.
Intrigue, betrayals and hatred fuel the war.
 |
| West and his lost love, Kylen. |
This is a show that touches your heart and mind, and
we can all relate to someone in the show.
Whether it's Wang still trying to find faith after losing it,
Vansen fighting the demons of her past,
West trying to find a lost love, Damphouse finding herself,
Hawkes looking for a family,
or even McQueen trying to keep them all safe in a brutal and
uncertain war.
This was a show ended far too soon, without the story being fully explored...
