In the year 2063, humanity has started to spread out into the stars. After 100 years exploring space it appears we’re alone in the universe. At least that’s until an advanced alien civilisation attacks two outposts on distant worlds, including Earth’s first colony on another planet, not only making us aware of their presence but declaring war.

The series focuses on a group of young recruits to the United States Marine Corps Space Aviator Calvary as they head out to battle the aliens – who become known as Chigs – facing their fears as they take on the threat. Space: Above & Below also deals with mankind’s own prejudices, in this case towards in vitroes, who are artificially gestated humans that face intense prejudice from normal people.

Space: Above & Beyond is one of the long lists of TV sci-fi shows cancelled before their time. The series got a full season run, but that was it. Luckily though, while not all the loose ends are tied, the makers knew it was unlikely to return after Season 1, so the 22 episodes do have a sense of completeness to them, even if we’ll never fully discover what happened between mankind and the Chigs.

Created by James Wong and Glen Morgan after they’d worked on The X-Files but before they created the Final Destination franchise, Space: Above & Beyond is a very entertaining show that probably suffered in the ratings because it takes a few episodes to find its feet. For about the first six instalments it’s almost as if they’re trying out a new tone each week to see which ones work, eventually settling on something that’s as much military character drama as it is sci-fi action.

It handles both sides extremely well, creating a bunch of characters you can’t help but like. Best is Cooper Hawkes, who’s a stereotypical bad boy in the pilot, but becomes far more complex and playful after that, with the series exploring the fact he’s an in-vitro and was ‘born’ at the age of 18, something that presents odd challenges.

The special effects are also worth mentioning. First aired in 1995 and 1996, Space: Above & Beyond was one of the first shows to make extensive use of computer generated FX. Although you might expect this to mean it’s aged badly, it still looks good, with great space battles and a surprisingly gritty feel. It helps make it feel like a show that may be set in space, but is more a war story than anything else.

This release includes a new 40-minute documentary that features retrospective interviews with the cast and crew. Nearly all the main actors and behind-the-scenes figures are involved, giving a fascinating look at the show from its genesis to the reasons they believe it was cancelled. It’s a great addition to the set, although one word of warning – it’s included on Disc 1 but shouldn’t be watched until after you’ve seen all 22 episodes, as it’s spoiler-filled.

The rest of the extras are on the final disc and include a featurette called ‘Design For A Future War’, which includes more retrospective interviews concentrating on the look of the show and how that was created. There are also some interviews done around the time the show was made, a couple deleted scenes and a few other bits and pieces, which make a pretty good selection of extras for a show that would have been easy to chuck out on DVD without any features whatsoever.

Overall Verdict: It’s a shame Space: Above & Beyond was killed off so soon, but the 22-episodes we have are an entertaining bunch, which may be rather variable at first, but settle into a very well constructed space-set war series.

Special Features:
Audio Commentaries
‘Beyond And Back’ Documentary
Synopses
‘Design For A Future War’ Featurette
Cast Publicity Interviews
Deleted/Alternate Scenes
TV Spots
Stills Galleries

Reviewer: Tim Isaac

I’m torn between loving and loathing Suits. It’s a legal series that undoubtedly has charm and an easy wit, but the main characters are so smug it’s sometimes almost painful to watch. It’s also true that in an age of austerity, this celebration of wealth and conspicuous consumption feels slightly out of touch. But it’s one of the odd things about American TV – it loves rich people, and smugness is almost treated as the right of those who’ve succeeded. To me Suits is occasionally insufferable, but the strong writing elsewhere and the pairing of Gabriel Macht and Patrick J. Adams just about pull it through.

Adams plays Mike Ross, who ducks into a law office to try and avoid the police and accidentally scores an interview to join the firm. Mike is a prodigy, who may not have a law degree but passed the bar after a bet and has an eidetic memory that ensures he knows far more about the law than the Harvard grads the firm normally hires. Hotshot lawyer Harvey Specter (Macht) decides to take a shot on Mike, becoming the young man’s mentor.

Over the course of the series the duo work on all sort of cases, with Mike proving an astute legal mind, even if he doesn’t actually know the bureaucratic basics of being a lawyer. However the partnership doesn’t please everyone, particularly rival lawyer Louis (Rick Hoffman), who varies between wanting Mike for himself to trying to destroy him.

Mike and Harvey make a great team and genuinely seem to be having fun as they manipulate the law to serve their clients. With smart plots and a breezy style, most of the time it’s a lot of fun, with plenty of humour and a pace that never allows you to stop for breath. It would just be nice if they weren’t so smug and pleased with themselves all the time. To be fair sometimes they have reason to be self-satisfied but a bit of humility never hurt anyone. And I don’t mean the sort of fake humility American TV (including Suits) likes, where every so often we’re reminded they have a heart in the hope that we’ll ignore the smugness they spend 99% of their lives feeling.

I think it depends of your mindset as to how you take the character. Mike and Harvey kind of remind me of the guys in the Pepsi adverts who con their bossing into thinking he’s going mad. Presumably we’re meant to think those guys are cool and funny people we can aspire to be like (by drinking Pepsi of course), but to me they come across like complete assholes. And that’s the problem with Mike and Harvey, if you met them in real life there’s a good chance you’d really dislike them, particularly Harvey, who seems to have modelled himself on Charlie Sheen in Wall Street but without the realisation of the dangers of unbridled capitalism. Macht and Adams just about make it work, but I undoubtedly can’t help but being torn over the show, especially when it heads into ‘It is not enough to succeed, others must fail’ territory.

The four-disc DVD release includes all 12 episodes from season 1, plus the US version of the pilot. There’s also an audio commentary, outtakes and some deleted scenes to round things off. With a very reasonable RRP of £17.99, the show is worth checking out, but just be aware that the main characters are a bit of a love ‘em or loathe ‘em pair.

Overall Verdict: While its celebration of wealth and being pleased with yourself is sometimes a bit much to take, Suits is a funny, pacy and often entertaining legal show.

Special Features:
Audio Commentaries
Deleted Scenes
US Pilot
Outtakes

Reviewer: Tim Isaac