The 90s went Above and Beyond into Space!
To some, Space: Above and Beyond is, by far, one of the most underrated science fiction TV shows of the 1990s. To others, Space: Above and Beyond is just a bad copycat of Battlestar Galactica. Regardless of which camp you sit in one thing is for certain: Space: Above and Beyond is a highly entertaining cancelled tv show. A tv show which included an almost endless rogues gallery of character actors including James Morrison (24, Twin Peaks), Joel de la Fuente (The Man In the High Castle, Law and Order: SVU), Tony Amendola (Stargate SG-1, Continuum) and Alan Dale (Lost, The OC).
Space: Above and Beyond was originally planned for five seasons but was cancelled after only one season due to low ratings. It was set in the years 2063-2064 and it focuses on the “Wildcards”, members of the United States Marine Corps’ 58th Squadron of the Space Aviator Cavalry and their war with a race of Extraterrestrials called Chigs. What makes this science fiction show so different is it features a race of genetically engineered humans, referred to as Tanks, and so deals with not just war – but also race.
Space: Above and Beyond reflects a future version of the US Marine Corp in a largely favourable light whilst also reflecting the limitations of the US Defence Force. Despite the future timeline, Space: Above and Beyond closely resembles modern day America with its use of technology very similar to the current day. Unfortunately, the storyline so closely resembles Battlestar Galactica and the war with the Cylons that many prospective fans chose to write it up.
Despite this, it remains one of my all time favourite shows and I just couldn’t resist including some of these memorable quotes.
Space Above and Beyond Quotes
1. “In space, no one can hear you scream, unless it is the war cry of the U.S. Marines!”
– Sergeant Major Frank Bougus (Space: Above and Beyond)
2. “That’s when we teach them something every human knows – payback’s a bitch.”
– Lt. Col. Tyrus Cassius ‘T.C.’ McQueen (Space: Above and Beyond)
3. “Listen. All we know is what you people found last week. We have no idea what lies ahead. We know basically nothing about the enemy – numbers, weapons, tactics. That is why we have been LOSING and LOSING BADLY in every battle of this war!”
– Sergeant Major Frank Bougus (Space: Above and Beyond)
4. “Until this war is over, the only easy day is yesterday!”
– Sergeant Major Frank Bougus (Space: Above and Beyond)
5. “You’re letting them throw away our lives. We believed in you!”
– Lt. Nathan West (Space: Above and Beyond)
6. “Now the only thing you can believe in is each other.”
– Lt. Col. Tyrus Cassius ‘T.C.’ McQueen (Space: Above and Beyond)
7. “As part of your training, there is no commanding officer. You are on your own. From this moment until we win this war, the only easy day is yesterday.”
– Sergeant Major Frank Bougus (Space: Above and Beyond)
8. “I never had a mother, but you sound like one.”
– Lt. Cooper Hawkes (Space: Above and Beyond)
9. “Courage, honor, dedication, sacrifice. These are just the words they used to get you here. Now the only word that means a damn to you is “life”. Yours, your buddies.”
– Lt. Col. Tyrus Cassius ‘T.C.’ McQueen (Space: Above and Beyond)
10. “I’ve just been assigned as your squadron commander. And if you ever pull anything like what you did out there under my command, the only medal you’ll be wearing are cuffs in the brig.”
– Lt. Col. Tyrus Cassius ‘T.C.’ McQueen (Space: Above and Beyond)
11. “Elsewhere, stars are born. Other star systems, older, larger, continue to breathe. The Solar System dies of crib death. If that’s what it takes, then okay. If I must wait that long, then all right. Because when I think of this, nothing is more desirable than the hope of watching that last day, when the sun flickers out with you beside me. We’ll sit alone on a dark chunk of ice at the top of the world, and the stars above, beyond, and between us will never shine brighter as we drift away into space.”
– Lt. Nathan West (Space: Above and Beyond)
12. “Tonight we stand beneath a new heaven. After 150 years of calling out, the silence of the universe assures us that life is unique. We are alone. You and I are among the first to bring life to the stars – to this planet. The farthest any human has ever ventured. I know there are those at home who say that we are here only as a status symbol. Others say that we are fortune hunters, or that we’re running away. But I know we’re here because of faith – faith in each other, in a better world. The rocket fuel that brought us here can be burnt away, but our belief in ourselves, in one another, in the future, never can be; never will be.”
– Colonial Governor Borman (Space: Above and Beyond)
13. “I can tell you what I know about you. You’re not the farthest man from home.”
– Howard Sewell (Space: Above and Beyond)
14. “I’ll be damned if he takes the easy way and dies before I can get at him.”
– Lt. Col. Tyrus Cassius ‘T.C.’ McQueen (Space: Above and Beyond)
15. “I can’t wait ’til this planet gets an expansion team.”
– Lt. Paul Wang (Space: Above and Beyond)
16. “They killed my family because a coin came up tails. They don’t leave this rock.”
– Lt. Shane Vansen (Space: Above and Beyond)
17. “It’s November 19th. Sunday back home. Sundays this time of year, I used to lay in bed and watch the morning football game. And then I’d go out when the sun was just… right. Golden. Autumn. I grew up in San Diego, and people say that there are no change of seasons in California, but… there are. I could always feel it. Always. There is just this… cold, inevitable edge in the air. The light, the colors… it’s as if the Earth were letting you know that Summer was gone. There’s no getting it back. Winter’s coming and there’s nothing that you can do to escape it. A lot of people say that they fall in love in the Spring. Not me. I always fell in love in Autumn. It is just the most… romantic… sexy… desperate… And I’ll never see it again. This enemy could kill every last person on Earth and there would still be Autumn. But I’m going tomorrow morning to make sure that there is always someone there to feel it.”
– Capt. Shane Vansen (Space: Above and Beyond)
18. “’… and, when he shall die, Take him and cut him out in little stars, And he will make the face of heaven so fine That all the world will be in love with night And pay no worship to the garish sun.’ Thank you, Shane.”
– Lt. Paul Wang (Space: Above and Beyond)
19. “If this is a gift, you can have it back.”
– Lt. Vanessa Damphousse
20. “Abandon All Hope my ass!”
– Commodore Glen Van Ross
20. Commodore Glen Van Ross: I’ll be a son of a bitch if I go to your funeral, Ty.
Lt. Col. Tyrus Cassius ‘T.C.’ McQueen: Yes you would, sir. But we’ll talk about your mother when I get back.
21. “My maker was some geek in a lab coat with an eyedropper and a petri dish. What do I need to make peace with him for?”
– Lt. Col. Tyrus Cassius ‘T.C.’ McQueen (Space: Above and Beyond)
22. “Looking darkly upon Hector, swift footed Achilles answered, ‘I cannot forgive you. As there are no trustworthy oaths between men and lions, there can be no love between you and me. Before then to glut with his blood, Ares, the god who fights under the shield’s guard. Now the time comes for you to be a spearman and a bold warrior. You will pay in a lump for all the sorrows of my companions you have killed in your spear’s fury.’”
– Lt. Col. Tyrus Cassius ‘T.C.’ McQueen (Space: Above and Beyond)
23. “Lookin’ for action. I’m a dead-stroke player going strong for the cheese. Won’t fade with the nits or sharks. Got no time for hustles, lemonading, or stalling. Now, *who* in this room has the… *heart* to show me their speed?”
– Capt. Shane Vansen (Space: Above and Beyond)
24. “Son, I don’t think you’re going to understand what I have to say. This is Rosayln. You damage her, you damage me, and I will make you walk all 12.6 lightyears back to Fat Anthony’s Guitar Parlor in Shreveport, Louisiana to repair a single nick.”
– Commodore Glen Van Ross (Space: Above and Beyond)
25. “You are encouraged, but not so ordered, to continue to engage the enemy. If, however, your positions become untenable, you are authorized to surrender. Semper Fidelis, and may God be with you always.”
– Commodore Glen Van Ross (Space: Above and Beyond)
26. “Ooh-rah! Lieutenants Winslow, Jenkowitz, Woodiak, Nelson… This is for you!”
– Lt. Paul Wang (Space: Above and Beyond)
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