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Pilot
Season 1, Episode 1
Space - Above and Beyond 1
Air date September 24, 1995
Written by Glen Morgan and James Wong
Directed by David Nutter
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The Farthest Man from Home

The two-hour Pilot is the first episode of Season 1 of Space: Above and Beyond.

The episode aired September 24, 1995 on the Fox Network.

A human colony 16 light-years away from Earth is attacked and destroyed by an unknown alien force while a group of youngsters enlist in the United States Marine Corps. While they train to become aviators, war is declared and human military forces suffer several costly defeats. The recruits are sent on a routine training mission.

Captured enemy information reveals the battle plans of the alien attackers. The half-trained 58th Squadron, The Wild Cards, based upon the space carrier USS SARATOGA is deployed to the far rear. However not everything is as it seems and the inexperienced 58th are suddenly thrown into a desperate battle.

Summary[]

Nathan West and Kylen Celina are part of a new colonization program by AeroTech. After years of hard training they will be launched to Tellus in only nine hours. But after the final training countdown they are both called into the office of the governor and they are told that only one of them can accompany the colonists as the government has mandated that ten In Vitroes, have to accompany the Tellus project. Nathan is devastated and tries to sneak into the Colony Ship but is found.

Meanwhile in Philadelphia, Cooper Hawkes, an In Vitro, is hunted down by naturally born humans. They try to lynch him at a deserted building site but he escapes, and while pursuing one of his attackers, he is detained by the police and arrested.

Shane Vansen visits her former home on a deserted United States Marine Corps base near San Diego, California. In 2044, when she was five years old, her parents were killed during the AI War. She and her two sisters were sparred but ever since then she has had nightmares about that fateful night at her former home. To take revenge she joins the Marine Corps.

Vanessa Damphousse, coming from a New York family, joins the Corps to find her way through life, she is a highly intelligent and adventurous woman and she immediately befriends 'Pags' Pagodin who wants to fly a SA-43 Hammerhead trans-atmospheric fighter jet.

Paul Wang is a shy and introverted young man who wants to gain confidence by joining the Corps. He is a fan of the Chicago Bears football team.

They all meet at the U.S. Marine Corps Space Aviator Recruit Depot in Loxley, Alabama. Shane and Nathan befriend each other almost immediately but Nathan is reluctant to accept Cooper Hawkes. Cooper has been forced to join the Corps by court order and he tries to make it clear that he does not want to be part of the squadron.

Sergeant Major Frank Bougus tries his best to make a 'gung-ho' outfit from these recruits but he has a hard time. During a test flight in the simulator, Hawkes freaks out and kills the whole squadron. Later, during a bar brawl with the 127th Squadron, the Angry Angels, Cooper does not participate and watches McQueen, an In Vitro member of the Angels. They exchange a glance meaning "if you help your folks, I will help mine."

After aliens attack the Vesta Colony and Tellus Colony, the recruits are sent on an exercise to Mars. No commanding officers is sent with them, so they have to figure out for themselves whether one of them has the ability to lead.

On the flight from Space Station Goddard Shane has nightmares again and Cooper wakes her up. She tells him about the murder of her parents and how she feels about taking responsibility. She does not want to take responsibility any longer, not for her sisters nor for her friends. When she asks him if he had ever lost a friend or a loved one, he misunderstands her and bends over to kiss her. Surprised, she pushes him away and Cooper is rejected.

On Mars, Cooper is angered by Nathan's taking command and Nathan picks a fight with him. Shane is the one who pacifies them by using authority and force, taking charge of the group and the mission.

While the group repairs a System Tracking Drone, they observe the crash landing of an unidentified spacecraft and Vansen decides that they should examine the crash-site and they set out on a march to the crash-site. When they arrive, they are ambushed by sniper fire and Pags is killed. Hawkes is somewhat devastated but West sets out alone to kill the alien and they take the alien captive. Nathan wants to take revenge for his girl-friend Kylen, but the Marines take the alien back to their transport.

Hawkes is curious and interrogates the alien. He discovers that the aliens have name tags just as the Marines do. When Vanessa wants to give him some water, Nathan storms out because he does not want to be friendly with this killer. Despite their own shortage of provisions Shane and Vanessa decide to give the alien some water after it urges them to do so. Vanessa tells it that humans do not wish him harm but by giving the alien some water, she inadvertedly kills it.

After their return to Earth they complete their training as officers. They are given their new Hammerhead aircraft and are assigned to the 58th Squadron. Each of them receive a 48-hour pass for leave before receiving the next set of orders. Shane accompanies Nathan home and they watch a TV broadcast of the first battle of the Chig War. The 127th Squadron is devastatingly outnumbered in the battle and most of them are killed. Meanwhile, Cooper visits the grave of Pags and he asks him what he should do. Pags has been the only friend he ever had and he had treated Cooper like a normal human being and not like a "tank".

The new officers recalled back to their base and the 58th squadron is briefed to take part in the defence of Groombridge 34, covering the rear left flank. Nathan is furious and asks to be transferred to another squadron but he is reprimanded by the commanding officer. Hawkes suspects that the information about the attack on Groombridge station was planted by the CHigs in the alien scout craft that crashed on Mars, but no one wants to believe him.

The squadron is assigned to the space carrier USS SARATOGA and there, one of the remaining Angry Angels, LTC T.C. McQueen prepares them for what lies ahead of them. The aliens have indeed deliberately planted false information which deceived Earth Forces and they are on their way to Earth while Earth's fleet is assembled at Groombridge 34. The Marines have to stall the alien battle fleet with an ambush and McQueen makes clear that they have to act as a team because otherwise the are dead within the hour.

While hiding in the asteroid belt of Jupiter, the 58th Squadron realizes that the alien battle fleet will not pass their ambush area. After some moments of thought, Cooper baits them back towards their position. The Chig fleet takes up the bait and the Marines engage then in a fight. When Earth forces arrive the battle is won and the Marines return to Earth. They are awarded medals and McQueen informs them at the reception that he has been promoted to command of the 58th.

Cast & Characters[]

Main Cast[]

Recurring Cast[]

Additional Cast[]

Crew[]

Director[]

Writers[]

Executive Producers[]

Producers[]

Music[]

  • Shirley Walker


References[]

  • Pilot on IMDB [1]
  • Episode Transcript [2]
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