I’ve been rewatching Space: Above and Beyond and have some thoughts. I’ll avoid revealing major plot points but some spoilers are unavoidable so consider yourself warned.
I watched it when it first aired on Fox back in 1995-96. I had (and still have) some issues with how the military was portrayed but I did like the stories.
The show did a good job exploring the grey areas that are part of war. There are moments of heroism and weakness by all the characters and their flaws are believable. The women are on an equal footing with the men. In fact it’s clear that Shane Vansen is second in command of the squadron and the others defer to her when McQueen isn’t around (which he usually isn’t since he doesn’t go on missions). While Vansen and Damphousse are pretty women, they aren’t made objects of lust like SGU’s Lieutenant James.
Since the show was created by two executive producers of The X-Files and Millennium it should be no surprise that there is an over arcing conspiracy story. The Aero-Tech corporation seems to know more about the alien Chigs than they let on. Aero-Tech may also be meddling in UN politics behind the scenes.
Seeing the AIs reminded me of the new BSG. The AI backstory is similar (created to be servants but rebelled) though the S:AAB AIs have distinctive eyes so they can’t be mistaken for humans. Still, one AI model in particular keeps popping up in different episodes the way BSG’s skinjobs did. I wonder if Ronald Moore watched this show and the idea was planted. On a side note, that recurring female AI model was played by a well known porn actress trying to make a mainstream crossover. And yes, I recognized her immediately when I watched the show back in the 90s.
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| I'm guessing she was a pleasure model. |
On to what bugs me about the military on the show. It’s made very clear from the beginning that it is the U.S. Marine Corps, Navy, and Army fighting the war but some things about how they’re shown doesn’t work for me.
But Ghost, you’re saying, it’s set in 2063 so of course things will be different.
Well allow me to retort. The show uses current U.S. military uniforms and even trots out R. Lee Ermey to do a television friendly version of Gunnery Sergeant Hartman in the pilot.
UPDATED - Here's a cringe worthy scene of future Marine boot camp
It’s supposed to be the same military with better technology. But Cooper Hawkes’ hair drives me apeshit every time he’s onscreen. Hawkes should have had that hair cut off when he first showed up for boot camp. None of the other military men on the show have hair anywhere near as long. I get that he’s a nonconformist and the hair is part of the bad boy image but he’s a Marine, dammit. I’ll give the women a pass on the hair, though. Vansen’s battle braid when she’s on duty is at least reasonable. It also bothers me that McQueen wears the uniform of a unit that was destroyed and he’s no longer a part of. Yes, the black uniform makes him distinctive and looks cool, but it just doesn’t make sense to not wear the uniform of the unit you’re commanding. Since I brought BSG, in a lot of ways life on the Galactica looks more like what I expect the U.S. Navy in space would look like (probably from Ronald Moore’s Navy experience).
UPDATED - Here's a cringe worthy scene of future Marine boot camp
It’s supposed to be the same military with better technology. But Cooper Hawkes’ hair drives me apeshit every time he’s onscreen. Hawkes should have had that hair cut off when he first showed up for boot camp. None of the other military men on the show have hair anywhere near as long. I get that he’s a nonconformist and the hair is part of the bad boy image but he’s a Marine, dammit. I’ll give the women a pass on the hair, though. Vansen’s battle braid when she’s on duty is at least reasonable. It also bothers me that McQueen wears the uniform of a unit that was destroyed and he’s no longer a part of. Yes, the black uniform makes him distinctive and looks cool, but it just doesn’t make sense to not wear the uniform of the unit you’re commanding. Since I brought BSG, in a lot of ways life on the Galactica looks more like what I expect the U.S. Navy in space would look like (probably from Ronald Moore’s Navy experience).
By the way, why is the U.S. fighting the war anyway? I realize the show was made in the 1990s when we were the undisputed sole superpower who could save the whole world but it still seems odd that the U.S. seems to be the only major country directly fighting the Chigs. Where are the EU, Chinese, or Russian space navies?
And why are highly trained pilots being used for grunt work anyway? The Marine Corps spent a lot of time and money to train these guys and gals to fly a complex, expensive piece of machinery. Why are they doing tasks that have nothing to do with that training. I get that every Marine is a rifleman but as an infantryman I can tell you there's more to being a grunt than just shoving a rifle into someone's hands and pointing them towards the enemy.The Saratoga has ground troops assigned (they're always showing up to pick up downed pilots and such) so why are the pilots doing that stuff?
And why are highly trained pilots being used for grunt work anyway? The Marine Corps spent a lot of time and money to train these guys and gals to fly a complex, expensive piece of machinery. Why are they doing tasks that have nothing to do with that training. I get that every Marine is a rifleman but as an infantryman I can tell you there's more to being a grunt than just shoving a rifle into someone's hands and pointing them towards the enemy.The Saratoga has ground troops assigned (they're always showing up to pick up downed pilots and such) so why are the pilots doing that stuff?
My gripes are relatively minor, though. Overall I’m enjoying watching the show again. I don’t remember all the details or even every episode so there are still plenty of surprises waiting when I watch the back half of the season. When I finish the show I’ll post more of my thoughts.
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