Space: Above And Beyond: The Complete Series

A promising sci-fi series that, executive producer Glen Morgan says is ""kind of a World War II movie in space"" takes off with impressive special effects. In the year 2063, the final frontier is a battle field. An earth united in peace takes its first steps toward interplanetary colonization, only to be threatened by an enigmatic alien race. Enter the 58th Squadron, a group of wet-behind-the-ears pilots with the Marine Corps Air and Space Cavalry. Under the rigorous tutelage of Sgt. Maj. Frank Bougus, reluctant leader Nathan West and fellow cadets Shane Vansen and Cooper Hawkes embark on a mission to save the galaxy.

When the colony on Tellus is attacked and destroyed by the aliens, the cadets are forced to go into battle prematurely, but they prove themselves.

A survivor of the brutal attack on the Tellus colony is found, leading to believe that Kylen is still alive on the distant planet-a belief for which he's willing to risk his life.

Nightmares come to life for Shane when a sentry-duty assignment on an asteroid leads the 58th into a bloody confrontation with a battalion of rogue androids, among which are the AI's who murdered her parents.

When mutiny erupts aboard a civilian cargo ship carrying 200 In Vitro embryos, Cooper faces a difficult decision-should he protect his fellow soldiers, or join forces with the rebellious Tanks?

The Saratoga has a mysterious new passenger: a battle-scarred special-forces commando whose classified mission directives put the 58th at his disposal, even if it means leading them to certain disaster.

The Saratoga becomes a pressure cooker of violence and political intrigue when an assassination on Earth forces a delegation of UN officials to use the craft as the site of an important conference.

The soldiers of the 58th become their own worst enemies when a routine supply mission goes awry, leaving them stranded in alien territory and suffering from the effects of a mysterious Chig weapon.

A commandeered alien battleship provides the 58th with information about an important Chig outpost, giving the Earth forces an opportunity to make a Trojan-horse attack against the enemy-if the 58th can learn to fly the craft in time.

After narrowly escaping the crippled alien battleship, the 58th finds itself imprisoned in the catacombs of a Chig penal colony. While Wang suffers in an alien torture chamber, Nathan encounters someone he'd only dreamed of seeing again.

A failed rescue mission leaves the 58th presumed dead, except for Nathan, who lands in the hospital, where a nagging memory that his comrades are still alive is passed off as a result of suffering from severe head trauma.

Christmas Eve finds the 58th in dire straits: its transport vehicle, damaged in battle, is hurtling uncontrolled into enemy territory and the pilots must struggle to stay alive with no power, no weapons, and no hope of being rescued.

Stranded and practically defenseless on an alien world, Hawkes accepts an assassination assignment that's supposed to buy him an immediate Honorable Discharge from the Marines.

The 58th enters the tunnels to try to find and destroy a Chig ammo dump. In the tunnels on the way to the ammo dump, Lubin is killed, and Damphousse predicts that one more of them will die.

Shane risks her life when she volunteers to fight an enemy spacecraft with another squadron, led by a former boyfriend whose new love was killed during a mission. (Part 1 of 2)

McQueen seeks reinstatement of his pilot status so he can fly what could be a suicide mission: find and destroy a seemingly invincible Chig super-bomber.(Part 2 of 2)

West discovers that his brother has enlisted in the Corps and is serving under a young, gung-ho lieutenant who's so determined to make a name for himself as a soldier, that he will risk endangering the lives of his entire battalion.

In the midst of a mail call, McQueen tells Hawkes to resign himself to being left out of the festivities - InVitros have no families back on Earth. But the mail brings a surprise for the two men. In an effort to bring order to the ranks, the top brass have decided to make a motivational film about the efforts of InVitros fighting alongside natural born humans in the war against the Chigs and they order both men to participate. Hawkes is excited by the opportunity, but McQueen wants nothing to do with the documentary.

Stranded on an embattled planet, the 58th must race to reach the rendezvous point in time to save an injured Shane-and their only hope is a marooned officer, who's been on the planet for months, and has developed a possibly suspicious rapport with the enemy.

The 58th visits a pleasure ship called the Bacchus for some overdue R&R; but when a sudden call to action puts them in the heat of battle, Cooper discovers that he's addicted to a pain medication that's particularly dangerous for In Vitroes.

The 58th is embroiled in a dangerous, top-secret counteroffensive against the Chigs when the Saratoga takes on some mysterious passengers-a high-profile general, a stern colonel and the corpse of a recently executed criminal.

When Commodore Ross sees there's an opportunity to launch a potentially crippling offensive against the Chigs. Forced to abandon the 58th on a barren planet, Ross leaves the marines to fend for themselves with little ammo, no food-and no hope of rescue.

The 58th is deployed to a seemingly barren moon to make final preparations for a major offensive by the Earth forces, but when they arrive they discover that the moon is home to an unknown species-and that Operation: Roundhammer may cause its extinction.

Conclusion. Tensions increases as Earth forces prepare for peace talks with the alien Chigs, and Shane realizes that the enemy has learned details of Operation Roundhammer.