Happy Birthday Science Fiction Channel!
Wheee!
Today is not only the birthday of the Science Fiction Channel, but also Space: Above and Beyond! The SciFi Channel launched today in 1992 and started a revolution in television.
But, just as important my favorite science-fiction show of ALL time launched today in 1995. There wasn’t anything quite like Space: Above and Beyond, and there hasn’t been anything like it since, either. Imagine all the best things about Star Trek combined with the grit from Heinlein’s Starship Troopers (the book, not the movie!) and you start to get an idea. It was military science-fiction at its finest! The story, in a nutshell, is that Earth colonies get attacked by an unknown alien invasion force and we’re suddenly off to war. The series focused on a group of Marine pilots who fly off to space, each for their own reasons, to fight the enemy. And then it started to get really interesting. In my opinion, there hasn’t been writing this good in either science-fiction or television in years. I was really sorry to see it go. Maybe I’ll get lucky and the SciFi Channel will bring it back again! Or, maybe you would like to see it on DVD? Well, so would all the fans, but it’s not out yet. If you’d like to see this show released on DVD, why not sign the Space: Above and Beyond DVD Petition?
(This also appeared on my other weblog, The Fantasist’s Scroll, today.)