Space Above and Beyond - A Hidden Sci-Fi Gem

this video is brought to you by Xavi's new Star Trek merch line sci-fi television is no stranger to unjustly canceled shows Firefly Farscape the expanse briefly and even the original series of Star Trek but while these shows have gone to both dedicated cult fandoms or even a sprawling multimedia franchise some aren't so lucky so was the fate of space above and beyond created by x-files scribes James Wong and Glen Morgan space above and beyond chronicles the tale of humanity's first contact and subsequent war with an alien race while it's us app we've become extremely familiar with as a sci-fi fans above and beyond radical departure from what was established sci-fi TV style and unique world building presents us with a story with a hell of a lot of surprising nuance and depth looking back on the shores overall presentation from a modern context is pretty interesting you have to remember that this was 1995 in the thick of Star Trek's TV dominance the second year of Babylon 5s epic space opera and before the likes of Stargate sg-1 among others which would later go on to define what I have previously referred to as the Golden Age of sci-fi TV audiences had come to expect sci-fi shows to be about colorful aliens weird anomalies and set crews of characters wearing space-age uniforms going on adventures which is why Fox its original Network didn't really know what to do with space above and beyond here there aren't an array of aliens there's just one which we don't know the real name of and don't get very many glimpses of this isn't a crew on an intrepid starship representing the best of humanity this is a squad of ordinary people thrust into an interplanetary war representing only a single country the color palette is muted into grays and browns with a production design which leans far closer into modern military technology rather than the incredible classes of advanced Explorer ships space above and beyond is almost a precursor to halo in its approach to design battle groups of large carriers fighters bombers and drop ships as well as land vehicles there's a deliberate practicality in the design work of the show while shows like Babylon 5 still managed to create grounded looking human ships they're still pretty flashy but much of the crafts here aren't as sleek or cool-looking above and beyond approach to its visuals feels like a trial run for would later be perfected in the rebooted Battlestar Galactica while vsg would take heavy inspiration from shows like 24 The West Wing space above and beyond was instead taking a leaf out of far more classical World War two stories this is even reflected in the score by DC Animated universe veteran Shirley Walker while at times it does veer into that overly patriotic somber military style it's still a score which carries the action and emotional beats in terrific fashion the VFX generally hold up quite well while Babylon Phibes Chris Foss like colorful ship designs and inverted Lee highlighted the low-res textures and rough modeling the CGI in above beyond is actually aided by its gritty or visual approach while the human designs deliberately avoid the cool factor for the most part that doesn't stop the show from showcasing some cool alien designs for the chicks the nickname given to the mysterious alien race while the ships and craft fleet SIG's retain that sense of practicality they have a cool b-movie ask 1950s designed to them but updated just enough to fit comfortably in the more grounded aesthetic of the human Center designs I simply love the design of the Czech armor which we only get close-ups of quite rarely it's a really cool-looking design with an instantly recognizable silhouette almost as if it's been lifted right out of a tales to astonish front cover yeah at the same time it looks functional we believe this is a working set of battle armor simply created by something other than a human mind and it's this great balance between referencing classic war stories and using them to put new spins on established sci-fi tropes which informs so much of the show's great storytelling but first a word from this video sponsor this video was brought to you by a new Star Trek Merkley and on the 29th at Xavi comm a slew of brand new very cool designs to satiate your Star Trek itch I myself really like this section 31 ask jumper which I was kindly gifted with it's got a really nice embroidered design one of many really cool designs in this range and is pretty cozy for these winter months click the link below on the twenty-ninth and use the promo code battle 20 for 20% off the Star Trek range or the code battle 10 for 10% off the site white items you'd expect a war story to feature a hell of a lot of action-packed episodes but that's not what space above and beyond is really interested in while there are plenty of enjoyable space battles and gunfights throughout the focus is always on the morality of what is happening and the personal consequences for its characters there's the archetypal naive rookies becoming hardened soldiers through battle stories but there's also some fantastically unique episodes which you simply wouldn't get in any other sci-fi show these stories are well engineered thanks largely to the fantastic world building on display while the chicks are the big bands humanity's record is far from squeaky-clean the backstory of this world centres on numerous elements of the often mentioned AI wars is the classic scenario of rebellious robots but there's a cool spin on it here the robots are syndics as they're called here but a far less well robotic li than you'd expect their emotional and impulsive even passion and at times psychopathic this all stems from the way in which the syndics came to rebel in the first place rather than the usual machine see humanity is a threat and strike first scenario the creator of these syndics instead implanted a simple idea take a chance an idea which precipitated into the syndics taking a chance for their own freedom The Syndicate we then encounter have this usually human notion hardwired into their brains it allows them to act on gut feelings it makes them desperate and dangerous at the same time and once again the design work is wonderful these beaten up shells with exposed paneling and circuits made most distinct by their crosshair eyes in universe it was from the AI wars that an even more fascinating aspect of the show is brought in the in vitro to create better soldiers and at a faster rate the u.s. government grew new people to be birth to 18 years old and brainwashed into killing machines but due to the premature end of the war many in vitro were released into society which had little or no place for them it's a constant source of tension throughout many episodes the loyalty of the in vitro Zoar tanks as they're often called is continuously questioned it's one of the rare allegories for racism which actually works a combination of shameful history and systemic prejudice expressing itself and the despicable actions and attitudes of normal people this image of an earth which isn't fully United is another huge departure from your typical sci-fi show even Babylon 5 with its president Clarke storyline still had a United earth government while above and beyond holds the secretary-general the United Nations as the de facto leader of the world something the expanse also does there's still an emphasis on individual nations and the diversity of the human race not only does this allow for a ton of entry conspiracy plots to go against the war stories but it also lets the show pull the rug out from underneath the audience by doing the same for the chicks one of my favorite episodes is who monitors the birds an episode with almost no dialogue following a single character on a black ops mission behind enemy lines we flash back to his early life as an in vitro and education center while being trained as a cold killer curiosity compels him to look up and wonder who monitors the birds and while in the thick of his mission his rifle trained on a chick soldier he witnesses his alien enemy doing the same thing it's one small moment among many in the show which surprises the audience who brought in to the simple odds against the aliens premise I'm not going to spoil all the ways in which this threat is expressed but it makes for a stunning final few episodes the characters from me at least are a slow burn to truly invest in the opening episodes paint them is mostly archetypes the rookie with a sweetheart girlfriend the loose cannon bad boy the GI Jane the toughest nails commanding officer but over time these archetypes are broken down and made more interesting Nathan West who started off as my least favorite character transforms into a battle-hardened soldier whose hope of finding his lost love diminishes as his trauma builds up and another one of my favorite episodes stay with the dead we spend the entire episode with West as he relives the brutality of a recent battle morgan wife's his performance is simply incredible and the audience is first to confront a sight of war which is often avoided and largely misunderstood Cooper Hawks starts off as the Maverick loose cannon but his status as an in vitro gives him a childlike personality he's easily the most capable fighter in the squad but is like a nervous toddler in social situations his evident crush on fellow squad Maeve ensign has him acting like a shy kid trying to work up the courage to ask his classmate to a dance he also bears the brunt of many discriminatory actions tearing him between the loyalty to his country unloyal tea to his in vitro and Vincent's own femininity actually survives her portrayal as a steadfast squad leader something which is quite rare the same revelation of relatability and dimensionality happens to virtually every character in the show after a while some of the best scenes are simply watching miss squads sit around and chat in their bunks talking about the lives they left behind what they hope to do should the war ever end questions they have about the enemy questions they have about their leaders that's ultimately what makes space above and beyond so terrific as a sci-fi series because it does what so much great sci-fi does it uses the tropes and staples of the genre to tell a truly human centric story but while Star Trek did that as a colorful outer space adventure Babylon 5 did as an epic space opera space above and beyond did it with an attempt to tell a real feeling war story but unfortunately it didn't get a chance to tell its whole story as mentioned before Fox just didn't know what to do with the show was this something to sell to the Star Trek crowd well no because this is more of a military drama then maybe it could be sold to the military drama crowd well no because it still has aliens and robots and stuff space above and beyond biggest failure that it was simply ahead of its time Battlestar Galactica and the expanse have proven there is an audience for grittier and more grounded sci-fi which can exist alongside the more colorful fast-paced space adventure types in 1995 Network simply couldn't find it after one season the show was cancelled due to poor ratings well this wasn't in the realm of for escape being canceled on a cliffhanger like Firefly it makes us wonder what might have been what was the feature in the planned five season run what might have happened in the unfolding war what new places what our characters be brought to questions which will unfortunately never be answered but as it stands space above and beyond is an awesome 23 episode run if anything in this video has piqued your interest then it's absolutely worth tracking down Daniel Clarke asks favourite Babylon 5 character there are so many great characters not sure it's hard to choose I'm actually rewatching it just now I'll probably change my mind as soon as I say this but I'll go for londo mollari right now just such a deeply tragic character but also an endlessly entertaining one it's a real testament to Peter juristic that he can have that hairstyle and that accent yet still movie to tears with his monologues most Sura big fluffy mouth all-out attack great name asks will you do videos on Space Battleship Yamato if this hidden gem series takes off then yes absolutely I really enjoyed the reason shows I think it's a really cool universe thank you for watching if you like my videos be sure to subscribe and hit the bell icon to stay up to date on all my new uploads over on my patreon you can see videos early for as little as $5 a month speaking of which special thanks to all of my patrons we're now appearing on screen have a good one until next time live long and prosper

Channel: Rowan J Coleman

Views: 287,406

Keywords: rowan j coleman, space above and beyond, hidden gem, did it suck, the x-files, babylon 5, star trek, farscape, battlestar galactica, the expanse, the expanse season 4, space above and beyond review, cancelled tv shows, space above and beyond space battle, space above and beyond soundtrack, space above and beyond openeing, space above and beyond full episodes, space above and beyond trailer

Id: JAGRUcKE7xk

Length: 11min 12sec (672 seconds)

Published: Fri Jan 24 2020