Product Description

In this cult fan favorite, it’s the year 2063. After 150 years of deep space exploration, the people of Earth feel certain they are alone in the universe. Then word comes that two Earth outposts light-years away from home have been brutally attacked by an advanced alien civilization. Now the new young recruits of the United States Marine Corps Space Aviator Calvary are heading for the front lines of space in the toughest battle the world has even faced.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #7242 in DVD
• Brand: SPACE-ABOVE & BEYOND
• Published on: 2005
• Released on: 2005-11-08
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, Subtitled, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English, Spanish
• Dubbed in: English, Spanish
• Number of discs: 5
• Dimensions: 1.00 pounds
• Running time: 60 minutes

Amazon.com
The science fiction series Space Above and Beyond, which enjoyed a brief run in the 1995-96 season, was created by X-Files producers Glen Morgan and James Wong as a revision of the classic war series Combat!. Set in the not-too-distant future, Space Above and Beyond follows the adventures of five inexperienced Marines of the 58th Squadron, who are involved in a war against the Chigs, a race of aliens bent on conquering the Earth. Morgan and Wong gave their main characters intriguing personalities--Nathan West (Morgan Weisser) has joined the Marines to save a girlfriend captured by the aliens, while Rodney Rowland's Cooper is an artificially created human whose service is inspired by a desire to escape the violent prejudice he faces on Earth. The action and stories are gritty and dramatic, and put a fresh spin on traditional wartime stories--highlights include "The Enemy," in which the 58th is stranded behind enemy lines; "Toy Soldiers," in which West's younger brother is serving under a dangerously reckless lieutenant; and the two-part "If They Lay Us Down to Rest…" and "Tell Our Moms We Done Our Best," which brought the series to a close with the Earth on the verge of peace talks with the aliens as the military launches a perilous operation. Commentary by Morgan and Wong and the cast would have been welcome, especially if the plans for the unseen second season could've been revealed, but unfortunately, no supplemental features are included in this slickly produced, no-frills set. --Paul Gaita

Customer Reviews

Semper Fi
"Space Above and Beyond" seemed like a good idea the time. Inspired by the TV show "Combat" and the novel "Starship Troopers", "Space" seemed a natural for network TV. Creators Glen Morgan and James Wong (writers and producers on both "The X-Files" and "Millennium")created 23 episodes(including the original two part pilot)of a compelling drama among the stars. Featuring a largely unknown cast, the series is much closer in spirit to the novel by Robert Heinlein that inspired the movie "Starship Troopers" than that film.

Earth suddenly finds itself at war with an alien race called the Chiggs when Earth begins colonizing other planets. When Nathan West (Morgan Weisser)is forced out of his position on one of the colony ships, he joins the Marines in hopes of being near his girlfriend. When his girlfriend is taken as a prisoner by the Chigs, his mission is to find and save her. Others that end up serving with him have their own reasons for joining the Marine Corps Space Aviator Calvary. Shane Vansen's (Kristen Cloke who also made memorable appearences in "The X-Files" and "Millennium" as well as "Final Desintation") family were murdered by rogue "replicants" (shades of "Blade Runner"!)and is inspired to serve by her deceased parents. Cooper (Rodney Rowland) is a Tank i.e., someone born in a lab and wants to escape the prejudice he faces on Earth including an attempt to hang him by bigots.

Well written by Morgan and Wong (they wrote the bulk of the first season) and directed by TV vets (David Nutter-"The X-File", "ER" and Winrich Kolbe-"Star Trek: The Next Generation" among them), it's a gritty TV show that doesn't pull its punches. The show only lasted a season so never moved beyond finding its legs and developing the storyarcs that were planned.

This five disc set isn't without its flaws. Some folks are having some problems with the discs freezing and skipping (mostly on X-Box players and computers)but it seems the discs play fine on progressive scan DVD players. I'm not reallly happy with the packaging. Fox has housed four of the discs in two slimline holders so there is a chance the dual sided, dual layered discs could become damaged. While the image quality is really, really good but could be better. I'm at a loss as to why Fox didn't put this out in other holders. I'm sure fans would have been willing to pay 5 or 6 bucks more for better packaging. That's a minor complaint that viewers can fix themselves by purchasing DVD holders.

For those looking to buy this for the extras there's bad news. There aren't any to speak of. Sure, we get the promos but there's no commentary tracks or making of featurettes like was done for "The Lone Gunmen" set. I could see why a featurette wasn't done but to not have any commentary tracks from the writers, actors or optical effects supervisors is a bit disappointing. Still, it doesn't diminish the overall quality of the series itself.

Until October "Space Above and Beyond" can only be obtained at Best Buy. After that time, you'll be able to get it at amazon.com, other sites and stores.

Another short lived, full of potential show axed by Fox
Created by X-Files collaborators Glen Morgan and James Wong, Space: Above and Beyond was one of countless sci-fi series' (Strange Luck, Milennium, Harsh Realm, etc.) that were created as a companion to the megahit X-Files, and like those aforementioned shows, it only lasted a season before getting the axe (although Milennium lasted a full 3 before Fox gave up on it). The series begins with Earth colonizing other planets, and soon finding themselves in an interstellar war with a mysterious alien race. The show mainly focuses on a group of soldiers, all of whom have their various back stories (one is searching for his missing lover, another was created in a lab) that make for some interesting arcs. The series has it's share of faults, chief among them are the choppy special effects and some wooden acting, but the realm of potential was unbelievably high for what might have been had Fox put more faith in it. The series reaches it's highpoint in mid-season, and the final episode is amazingly poignant, but who knows what might have been. All in all, Space: Above and Beyond isn't anything too special upon first viewing, but it's hard not to appreciate the imagination and heart that Morgan, Wong, and co. put into it. Fox also dropped the ball with the DVD release as well, there's no extras to be found, and at least a commentary or interviews with Morgan and Wong would have been more than welcome here.

Looks like the problems with disc one have been fixed
For those of you that are thinking of buying this set but have heard of the error on disc one, it looks as though Amazon.com is now selling corrected versions. The set went out of stock for half a month, was listed as a pre-order, and is now back. At least one report on the Space: Above and Beyond fan discussion boards attests that the new sets from Amazon work fine. To the best of my knowledge, Best Buy and other stores are still selling the original release with the problems on disc one, or at least have made no effort to get them off the shelves to distinguish them from new corrected sets. That makes Amazon the place that you want to go to for ordering this particular set.

Please note: this is still speculation based upon a small amount of evidence. There may still be a problem with these discs, but it sure looks like they've been corrected.