SPACE: Above and Beyond - Reviews and general geekiness

[saturn5]

This thread got me amped, so I just watched Never No More and Angriest Angel again. Good lord, that was a good fracking show!!!

New BSG certainly thought so. Have you watched 'Who Monitors the Birds?' yet?

 

[Forbin]

I've watched "Who Monitors the Birds" about six times over the years.

 

[Lindley]

Joss Whedon named "Who Monitors the Birds" as one of his inspirations for Buffy's "Hush".

 

[Admiral2]

Perry was the funny one (even wrote a lot of his own stuff having previously been a scriptwriter),

Aniston and LeBlanc had some comedy chops. Aniston had a few sitcoms under her belt before Friends (I first crushed on her when she was on "Molloy") and LeBlanc guested on Married with Children and starred in the really short-lived Top of The Heap.

the girls were gorgeous but the show would have still worked if it had just been Chandler and Phoboe. Of course it would have essentially been Dharma and Greg...

Yes, but Dharma and Greg rocked. That was a funny show!

Yeah Playboy worked out for Joey to have lived where he was supposed to would have cost $5000 a month. But the camera makes everything look bigger and you need decent sized places in order to fit all the equipment in

I understand that, but it makes it look like people who make barista's salaries can afford to live on Central Park West. It's annoying.

 

[saturn5]

Perry was the funny one (even wrote a lot of his own stuff having previously been a scriptwriter),

Aniston and LeBlanc had some comedy chops. Aniston had a few sitcoms under her belt before Friends (I first crushed on her when she was on "Molloy") and LeBlanc guested on Married with Children and starred in the really short-lived Top of The Heap.

the girls were gorgeous but the show would have still worked if it had just been Chandler and Phoboe. Of course it would have essentially been Dharma and Greg...

Yes, but Dharma and Greg rocked. That was a funny show!

Yeah Playboy worked out for Joey to have lived where he was supposed to would have cost $5000 a month. But the camera makes everything look bigger and you need decent sized places in order to fit all the equipment in

I understand that, but it makes it look like people who make barista's salaries can afford to live on Central Park West. It's annoying.

Yeah, I remember Jennifer Anniston playing Herman's sister in Herman's Head (along with Jane Sibbert who'd go on to play Ross' ex-wife). Also, Chandler's folks are rich so maybe he subsidises him?

 

[JarodRussell]

Just how could this turn into a discussion about Friends?


I never could really get into Space: Above and Beyond, I think I also missed half of the episodes because of that. The final episode annoyed me.

 

[Admiral2]

Just how could this turn into a discussion about Friends?

Just a side discussion. Carry on.

I never could really get into Space: Above and Beyond, I think I also missed half of the episodes because of that. The final episode annoyed me.

What specifically annoyed you about it?

This thread got me amped, so I just watched Never No More and Angriest Angel again. Good lord, that was a good fracking show!!!

Indeed it was, my friend, indeed it was.

For all you Shane-iacs out there (yes, I know, but eventually we'll need a name) I offer one of my favorite episodes, "The Dark Side Of The Sun," which could also be called "Shane gets payback!"

The 58th gets deployed to sentry duty at a processing station and gets ambushed by A.I.s, "Silicates" (for the uninitiated, think nuBSG skin jobs dressed like ENT augments). Everyone is either captured or killed except for Vansen and West, and Vansen's having her own problems confronting the things that killed her parents. Eventually she gets over it enough to ask one of them why they targeted her family. When she finds out, lots of Silicates get blow'd up real good!

I remember back when I first saw this episode I talked to my brother about it, and he asked me if I thought Shane's vengeful actions were justified, and I was like: "If it had been me I wouldn't have stopped to talk to the rest of the squadron about before I blow'd 'em up real good!"

Cause that's what Shane does. She stops long enough to talk to the others, and has to listen to West try to talk her down. (West, who in the previous episode flat abandoned all of them just to find his girlfriend. The nerve.)

Except for that tiny bit of hesitation, this episode rules.

Yeah, I remember Jennifer Anniston playing Herman's sister in Herman's Head

She was also the sister on the Ferris Bueller TV series.

Also, Chandler's folks are rich so maybe he subsidises him?

That explains him and you explained Joey. How do you explain flower child Phoebe who hates Pottery Barn chipping on rent?

 

[Saul]

**Notices a lot of new posts. Enters Thread. Sees "Friends" mentioned multiple times. Leaves thread.**

 

[Admiral2]

**Notices a lot of new posts. Enters Thread. Sees "Friends" mentioned multiple times. Leaves thread.**

Sorry! If it makes you feel better I feel the same way about Friends!

 

[Forbin]

For all you Shane-iacs out there (yes, I know, but eventually we'll need a name) I offer one of my favorite episodes, "The Dark Side Of The Sun," which could also be called "Shane gets payback!"

IIRC, the first time I saw that, when everyone sees her standing there amid the carnage with a smoking rifle, I actually cheered out loud.

 

[saturn5]

For all you Shane-iacs out there (yes, I know, but eventually we'll need a name) I offer one of my favorite episodes, "The Dark Side Of The Sun," which could also be called "Shane gets payback!"

IIRC, the first time I saw that, when everyone sees her standing there amid the carnage with a smoking rifle, I actually cheered out loud.

I wonder if Quentin Tarintino saw it, it rather reminds me of Lucy Liu's character's storyline in Kill Bill?

As for Pheebs (and I promise this will be the last Friends ref) maybe she offered 'extras' at her job in the massage parlour?

 

[Sindatur]

As for Pheebs (and I promise this will be the last Friends ref) maybe she offered 'extras' at her job in the massage parlour?

You mean like a few lines of "Smelly Cat" or whatever that stupid song was, LOL.

I really enjoyed Space Above and Beyond, what I saw of it when it first ran, and I got the Season Box Set for Christmas 2010, and watched it about a month ago (I've been watching all 26 Series of Classic Doctor Who during the last year, so, it took me a long time to be able to watch SAaB). Watching the whole Series straight through was fantastic, and so much I had missed from the first airing. The Season Finale Cliffhangers were really maddening though (Kinda like Farscape if they never would've made Peace Keeper Wars). So, I greatly appreciate the synopsis that was posted about where Season 2 was supposed to go.

I agree, with the concensus that West was boring, but, I really enjoyed the Paul Wang character and didn't feel he was a waste of air time like Nathan was.

 

[saturn5]

As for Pheebs (and I promise this will be the last Friends ref) maybe she offered 'extras' at her job in the massage parlour?

You mean like a few lines of "Smelly Cat" or whatever that stupid song was, LOL.

I really enjoyed Space Above and Beyond, what I saw of it when it first ran, and I got the Season Box Set for Christmas 2010, and watched it about a month ago (I've been watching all 26 Series of Classic Doctor Who during the last year, so, it took me a long time to be able to watch SAaB). Watching the whole Series straight through was fantastic, and so much I had missed from the first airing. The Season Finale Cliffhangers were really maddening though (Kinda like Farscape if they never would've made Peace Keeper Wars). So, I greatly appreciate the synopsis that was posted about where Season 2 was supposed to go.

I agree, with the concensus that West was boring, but, I really enjoyed the Paul Wang character and didn't feel he was a waste of air time like Nathan was.

No I was implying that she did favours for sailors but that's probably another thread

I thought Wang was boring, the only storyline that made him interesting was when he broke under capture from the Silicates but actor Joel Fuente hated that idea as he felt it was a demeaning cliche for Asian-Americans. At least Damphouse was pretty.
That said I did like the scene were McQueen and Wang late 'interrogate' the Silicate responsible.

Silicate; "Article 222 of the intergalactic legal code clearly states...."
McQueen (slamming his commando dagger into the table in front of him) "...NOTHING that means a damn inside THIS room!"
Bet they never had that at Guantanamo

 

[Admiral2]

As for Pheebs (and I promise this will be the last Friends ref) maybe she offered 'extras' at her job in the massage parlour?

You mean like a few lines of "Smelly Cat" or whatever that stupid song was, LOL.

I really enjoyed Space Above and Beyond, what I saw of it when it first ran, and I got the Season Box Set for Christmas 2010, and watched it about a month ago (I've been watching all 26 Series of Classic Doctor Who during the last year, so, it took me a long time to be able to watch SAaB). Watching the whole Series straight through was fantastic, and so much I had missed from the first airing. The Season Finale Cliffhangers were really maddening though (Kinda like Farscape if they never would've made Peace Keeper Wars). So, I greatly appreciate the synopsis that was posted about where Season 2 was supposed to go.

I agree, with the concensus that West was boring, but, I really enjoyed the Paul Wang character and didn't feel he was a waste of air time like Nathan was.

No I was implying that she did favours for sailors but that's probably another thread

Maybe she disguised herself as her twin sister and did those favors for Paul in "Mad About You."

I thought Wang was boring, the only storyline that made him interesting was when he broke under capture from the Silicates but actor Joel Fuente hated that idea as he felt it was a demeaning cliche for Asian-Americans. At least Damphouse was pretty.

Like I said earlier, I liked Paul because he was an NFL fan and a geek. And Damphousse was pretty, right down to a pretty, lilting voice...which totally did not fit the concept of a rough and ready Leatherneck at all!

That said I did like the scene were McQueen and Wang late 'interrogate' the Silicate responsible.

Silicate; "Article 222 of the intergalactic legal code clearly states...."
McQueen (slamming his commando dagger into the table in front of him) "...NOTHING that means a damn inside THIS room!"
Bet they never had that at Guantanamo

That you know about...

 

[BlackFire3]

blarg! if people want to talk about "friends" make a thread.

i liked all the tech in the show especially the hammerhead fighters. i did like "the angriest angel" episode, but i kinda like the episode "ray butts" more. i just think that it had the greatest death ever which in turn ties itself to a really good ending.

after seeing others mention the newer version of "battlestar galactica" i kinda wondered which would win in a battle, "saab" (space above and beyond) or "battlestar galactica" (new version).

 

[stonester1]

"Angriest Angel" and "Ray Butts" are my fav eps. But anytime you have Johnny Cash and a spaceship being crushed by a black hole is tops.

 

[Star Wolf]

I didn't really care for it at first. After seeing the final episode, I thought it may be worth it to see the whole thing. A couple years back I got the DVDs for cheap. There were worse ways to kill a weekend.

I thought it was odd though, the way everyone was a pilot and a ground troop. Reminded me of the GIJoe cartoons from the 80s. I really wasn't sure if it was a conscious statement on the part of the writers to make future warriors completely adaptable. Or just lazy writing. "Eh, !@#$ it, everyone's a pilot and ground pounder. And a diver. And they snow board."

I'm afraid you have to chalk that up to the cliches of storytelling, like Captain Kirk leading every away party or The Unit's members being able to blend into every enviroment, the series wanted to explore every aspect of the war but keep the continuity of the characters

Making the main characters combined fighter pilots/ground soldiers simply opened up more story-telling opportunities. Some people questioned the realism of having such "multi-purpose" soldiers. But then again, it's supposed to be the year 2063, who knows how the military is gonna work then?

It had always been that way and not just because of the Marine Corps hold on American society. I remember a Black Sheep Squadron episode with an officer's platoon of pilots serving as infantry during WWII.

Its as bad as General O'Neil and Teal'c of Stargate suddenly becoming fighter pilots. I just wish the Saratoga had taken major damage and the Wildcards surviving Hammerheads were said to be given to another squadron rather then they were just short of grunts, here is a rifle Marine which is how it plays in my memory.

 

[saturn5]

I'm afraid you have to chalk that up to the cliches of storytelling, like Captain Kirk leading every away party or The Unit's members being able to blend into every enviroment, the series wanted to explore every aspect of the war but keep the continuity of the characters

Making the main characters combined fighter pilots/ground soldiers simply opened up more story-telling opportunities. Some people questioned the realism of having such "multi-purpose" soldiers. But then again, it's supposed to be the year 2063, who knows how the military is gonna work then?

It had always been that way and not just because of the Marine Corps hold on American society. I remember a Black Sheep Squadron episode with an officer's platoon of pilots serving as infantry during WWII.

Its as bad as General O'Neil and Teal'c of Stargate suddenly becoming fighter pilots. I just wish the Saratoga had taken major damage and the Wildcards surviving Hammerheads were said to be given to another squadron rather then they were just short of grunts, here is a rifle Marine which is how it plays in my memory.

Yeah, that would have been better. I like the Hammerhead, it has a sort of functional brutality about it, very practical design

 

[Forbin]

Practical in basic appearance, but it doesn't look like it could carry more than 30 minutes of fuel, and certainly not enough to achieve orbital velocity from the ground! But that's the "fiction" part of the equation.

 

[saturn5]

Practical in basic appearance, but it doesn't look like it could carry more than 30 minutes of fuel, and certainly not enough to achieve orbital velocity from the ground! But that's the "fiction" part of the equation.

If we can accept inter-stellar travel we have to accept that. I like the Hammerhead because it could easily have been the cliched F15 Eagle style supersleek fighter but instead they went for something more practical like the A10 Warthog