I was looking for some little older Sci-Fi, because being not happy with what runs today, except couple serials. So, spotted this pretty much high rated at IMDB . And what I can say ? This is probably most overrated serial I seen.It was clear from start, that will be military type, and that was OK for me, although I'm not really much for such type, but if it is well made, can be good and enjoyable. There was nothing original really, plenty of cliche, some lovers, who were forced to separate, yelling officers and other usual 'supplement' .Some things already did not make sense, attacks of aliens were presented poorly. CGI was not that bad actually - we are couple years after Jurassic Park and Terminator 2 . But realism was almost equal to 0 . Most noticeable in battle near to end of ep2 . They went in space battle with airplanes like those from 1980, with classic guns. I did not see even missiles. Dear God ! What a lame excuse for Sci-Fi. Where is science ? And fiction was like bad joke. So, we seen practically something like in Top Gun, just in vacuum. Lot of maneuvers possible only in atmosphere. And they shut down bogeys mostly with gun fire, with ridiculous explosions. Why so much ratings of 10 here ? That's good question, and I will not go in it deeper.. Only will say: those who called this deep really have no clue about what that word means when talk about anything other than digging hole.I guess that this was financed my US Military (as Top Gun too). Was it planned for more seasons, how much popular was it really ? I guess that we will not get answers here. I think that was not much popular - I mean not much people liked it. Those who liked, liked it too much :-) And that's not enough to keep it alive. For once, I'm happy because that.

I've rated this a ten for what it could have been if played out over 5 seasons. I'm also rating it a 10 for its time.Strong performances, not afraid to be dark and as others have said a prototype for the re-invented BSG.The series contained some genuinely surprising plot twists and when it was good, it was very very good.However, when it was bad, it was horrid and was let down by two key things:1. Plots that are unbelievable right from the very start (involving the deaths of major characters or fantastic scientific breakthroughs a la Voyager that you know will come to nothing). 2. Arrogance: they thought they had 5 seasons in the bag with Fox, therefore from episodes 10-19 all we get is hokey explorations of character and failed experiments. This is why the audience dwindled. It's like all the worst Star Trek (TNG/DS9/Voyager) mid-season bullshit rolled into into one long long long exploration of characters that you would rather see addressing the main agenda of defeating their alien enemy.That being said, still a great show, very much ahead of its time, a prototype for BSG (who borrowed the plot from episode 8 and possibly the character of a female lead).Ironically, many of the horrors that the American marines were subjected to were shortly unleashed by the US against its enemies in real life.It probably fell short because people felt too good at the time but is worth a re-examination. The last two episodes are stellar.

Well I must admit from the beginning that the idea, rather simple, it's not bad. It was done before , it will happen again as the commercial goes...But it smells from the beginning to the bitter end as..."Battlestar Galactica", in other words something real bad. Don't get me wrong, I love S.F. and good quality S.F. movies so that is why I can't tolerate low-bad-made quality shows and I must make a stand for it. I said "real bad" because "Battlestar Galactica" it's a pathetic attempt of a S.F. show, in fact it's not a show at all , it's just joke they want us to believe it could be taken for a T.V. show. The only changes are that the script this time is a better one (but with no gain whatsoever for the show) and that the no-name young-macho type actors are pathetic. They act so bad that if the show wouldn't be canceled you didn't remember them at all when the show would end. The only funny guy is the typical training Sargent. On the other hand, this script with some real good cast, a skilled director and with some polishing a bit here and there could've been a winner. Unless you are teenager and SF fan..don't waste your time on this. You will thank me later. One more thing...the person who decided to kill this show was , for sure, a wise one.

Some have commented that compared to (the newer incarnation of) Battlestar Galactica, SPACE: ABOVE and BEYOND pales in comparison, or at least that's the feeling I get. That's partially true if you watch BSG then go back and watch SPACE: ABOVE and BEYOND later.You have to look at SPACE: ABOVE and BEYOND in the time frame of when it was made. Up to that point in time, sci-fi programs, usually had good writing and acting. For example, Star Trek had excellent story lines, but even for it's drama, there was a sense of levity. When SPACE: ABOVE and BEYOND came out, the closest comparison, in my opinion, would may be ALIENS if only for the sci-fi/action/drama/military similarities.What SPACE: ABOVE and BEYOND had going for it was pretty decent writing, well-developed characters and at the time of it's inception, good CGI (for t.v.). It suffered the same fate most (NOT ALL) shows of the genre have when put on the networks, they just can't seem to find an audience, especially when you put them up against programs like FRIENDS, SEINFELD and FRASIER.I think another reason Also SPACE: ABOVE and BEYOND didn't do well, was because the stories were grittier and the characters were abrasive and not as likable (upfront) as on other sci-fi programs. That doesn't necessarily mean they didn't have depth or someone you could identify with (as BSG has proved recently) but, when lumped in with all the sitcoms and other shows of the time, it just didn't fit in well. Who knows, if SPACE: ABOVE and BEYOND had been produced on the Sci-Fi Channel, it may still be on today or at the very least had a much longer run.