Space: Above and Beyond Season 1 poster

Space: Above and Beyond — Season 1

199523 episodes7.3/10 (49 votes)

About this season

Set in the years 2063–2064, the show focuses on the "Wildcards", members of the United States Marine Corps Space Aviator Cavalry, 58th Squadron. They are stationed on the space carrier USS Saratoga, and act as infantry and pilots of SA-43 Endo/Exo-Atmospheric Attack Jet fighters.

Episodes (23)

Pilot
E1

1. Pilot

5.5

Aired 24 September 1995 • 91 min

In the year 2063, the final frontier is a battle field. An earth united in peace takes its first steps toward interplanetary colonization, only to be threatened by an enigmatic alien race. Enter the 58th Squadron, a group of wet-behind-the-ears pilots with the Marine Corps Air and Space Cavalry. Under the rigorous tutelage of Sgt. Maj. Frank Bougus, reluctant leader Nathan West and fellow cadets Shane Vansen and Cooper Hawkes embark on a mission to save the galaxy.

The Farthest Man from Home
E2

2. The Farthest Man from Home

7.5

Aired 1 October 1995 • 45 min

When the USS Saratoga passes close to the site of the Tellus Colony, where the Earth colonist were attacked, West goes AWOL and flies down to the planet in hopes that his girlfriend, Kylen, somehow survived.

The Dark Side of the Sun
E3

3. The Dark Side of the Sun

7.0

Aired 8 October 1995 • 45 min

Nightmares come to life for Shane when a sentry-duty assignment on an asteroid leads the 58th into a bloody confrontation with a battalion of rogue androids, among which are the AI's who murdered her parents.

Mutiny
E4

4. Mutiny

7.5

Aired 15 October 1995 • 45 min

When mutiny erupts aboard a civilian cargo ship carrying 200 In Vitro embryos, Cooper faces a difficult decision-should he protect his fellow soldiers, or join forces with the rebellious Tanks?

Ray Butts
E5

5. Ray Butts

8.0

Aired 22 October 1995 • 45 min

The Saratoga has a mysterious new passenger: a battle-scarred special-forces commando whose classified mission directives put the 58th at his disposal, even if it means leading them to certain disaster.

Eyes
E6

6. Eyes

6.7

Aired 5 November 1995 • 45 min

The Saratoga becomes a pressure cooker of violence and political intrigue when an assassination on Earth forces a delegation of UN officials to use the craft as the site of an important conference.

The Enemy
E7

7. The Enemy

8.0

Aired 12 November 1995 • 45 min

The soldiers of the 58th become their own worst enemies when a routine supply mission goes awry, leaving them stranded in alien territory and suffering from the effects of a mysterious Chig weapon.

Hostile Visit (1)
E8

8. Hostile Visit (1)

8.0

Aired 19 November 1995 • 45 min

A commandeered alien battleship provides the 58th with information about an important Chig outpost, giving the Earth forces an opportunity to make a Trojan-horse attack against the enemy-if the 58th can learn to fly the craft in time.

Choice or Chance (2)
E9

9. Choice or Chance (2)

7.0

Aired 26 November 1995 • 45 min

After narrowly escaping the crippled alien battleship, the 58th finds itself imprisoned in the catacombs of a Chig penal colony. While Wang suffers in an alien torture chamber, Nathan encounters someone he'd only dreamed of seeing again.

Stay with the Dead
E10

10. Stay with the Dead

7.0

Aired 3 December 1995 • 45 min

A failed rescue mission leaves the 58th presumed dead, except for Nathan, who lands in the hospital, where a nagging memory that his comrades are still alive is passed off as a result of suffering from severe head trauma.

The River of Stars
E11

11. The River of Stars

7.5

Aired 17 December 1995 • 45 min

Christmas Eve finds the 58th in dire straits: its transport vehicle, damaged in battle, is hurtling uncontrolled into enemy territory and the pilots must struggle to stay alive with no power, no weapons, and no hope of being rescued.

Who Monitors the Birds?
E12

12. Who Monitors the Birds?

7.5

Aired 7 January 1996 • 45 min

Stranded and practically defenseless on an alien world, Hawkes accepts an assassination assignment that's supposed to buy him an immediate Honorable Discharge from the Marines.

Level of Necessity
E13

13. Level of Necessity

8.0

Aired 14 January 1996 • 45 min

The 58th enters the tunnels to try to find and destroy a Chig ammo dump. In the tunnels on the way to the ammo dump, Lubin is killed, and Damphousse predicts that one more of them will die.

Never No More (1)
E14

14. Never No More (1)

8.0

Aired 4 February 1996 • 45 min

Shane risks her life when she volunteers to fight an enemy spacecraft with another squadron, led by a former boyfriend whose new love was killed during a mission.

The Angriest Angel (2)
E15

15. The Angriest Angel (2)

6.5

Aired 11 February 1996 • 45 min

McQueen seeks reinstatement of his pilot status so he can fly what could be a suicide mission: find and destroy a seemingly invincible Chig super-bomber.

Toy Soldiers
E16

16. Toy Soldiers

8.0

Aired 18 February 1996 • 45 min

West discovers that his brother has enlisted in the Corps and is serving under a young, gung-ho lieutenant who's so determined to make a name for himself as a soldier, that he will risk endangering the lives of his entire battalion.

Dear Earth
E17

17. Dear Earth

7.5

Aired 3 March 1996 • 45 min

The members of the 58th receive letters from home, some with good news, some with bad, while McQueen and Cooper are ordered to cooperate in a TV documentary about In Vitroes serving in the United States Marine Corps.

Pearly
E18

18. Pearly

7.5

Aired 24 March 1996 • 45 min

On a planet overrun with Chigs, the 58th retreat with a tank driver of the US 7th Cavalry upon a tank named "Pearly". They encounter the eccentric Major Cyril MacKendrick, sole survivor of a battalion of the British Coldstream Guards. Wang encounters a Silicate of the same model that previously tortured him.

R&R
E19

19. R&R

8.0

Aired 12 April 1996 • 45 min

The exhausted Wild Cards are granted R&R aboard the Bacchus, a pleasure ship where it's said anything can, and does, happen.

Stardust
E20

20. Stardust

8.0

Aired 19 April 1996 • 45 min

A mysterious group of extremely high-ranking officers disembark on the Saratoga and the 58th are ordered to escort an unresponsive space APC. The mysterious APC suddenly locks on their Hammerheads and opens fire.

Sugar Dirt
E21

21. Sugar Dirt

8.0

Aired 20 April 1996 • 45 min

When Commodore Ross sees there's an opportunity to launch a potentially crippling offensive against the Chigs. Forced to abandon the 58th on a barren planet, Ross leaves the marines to fend for themselves with little ammo, no food-and no hope of rescue.

And If They Lay Us Down to Rest...
E22

22. And If They Lay Us Down to Rest...

8.5

Aired 26 May 1996 • 45 min

The 58th is deployed to a seemingly barren moon to make final preparations for a major offensive by the Earth forces, but when they arrive they discover that the moon is home to an unknown species-and that Operation: Roundhammer may cause its extinction.

...Tell Our Moms We Done Our Best
E23

23. ...Tell Our Moms We Done Our Best

7.0

Aired 2 June 1996 • 45 min

While peace talks on the USS Saratoga go awry, the disgraced 58th are sent to retrieve POWs trapped in a crippled Space APC. Several enemy space fighters attack and the 58th take heavy losses. It is discovered the Chigs are only offering peace because they know Earth's military will defeat them.

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