Space: Above and Beyond Episode Guide

S03
Mutiny

Hawkes: Feeling pain's part of being human...
McQueen: Who said you're human?
Plot
The 58th hitch a lift with the SS MacArthur, a freighter, to reach the USS Saratoga. However, tensions between the In Vitros and humans on board come to a head as a Chig destroyer hunts them down.
Exposed to prejudice from human crewmen, Hawkes is forced to evaluate his identity as an In Vitro and a Marine. When the In Vitros mutiny over a decision to terminate the lives of an In Vitro cargo, Hawkes must choose between his two families - the family of In Vitros, or the family of the Corps.

Personal Comments
A very powerful episode exploring loyalty, prejudice and a need for belonging. There's also a strong element of mistrust and confusion thrown in - resulting from the, understandable, emotions of In Vitros towards their status in society. McQueen's quote (see above) highlights a very interesting point - are In Vitros 'human'? What defines 'human'? Just a few thoughts I'll pose but not answer - otherwise I'll end up soaking up bandwidth with an essay on Bladerunner...
Production Goofs
I actually have a goof! It's a good sign that the only way of writing something bad about a TV programme is by resorting to trawling through hours of taped episodes to find rare slip-ups. This is NOT intended as criticism of any sort, it's purely a bit of fun - the only thing every human is capable of doing, and to a high standard, is making a mistake. Trust me, I've made enough major goofs to last several lifetimes...
Anyway, back to the goof. An external shot (a good piece of scene-setting CGI, despite the problem) shows the Chig destroyer between the MacArthur and one of the nearby stars (the star is VERY close). We see the full size of the destroyer later on, so we know it's not particularly huge (in comparison to the MacArthur) - which means the destroyer must be close...
Cut to West looking at the LIDAR/RADAR. West says the ship is 2 parsecs away! Did West mess up under pressure, was the Chig destroyer scrambling the sensors - or did production not read their brief correctly? 2 parsecs is a very large distance - about 6-7 light years. The distance shown definitely wasn't 2 parsecs.
Personally, I think the destroyer was screwing up its return signal - giving the false distance. It fits nicely with the action. Any further thoughts?

[metaljoe@oocities.com]

S03	Mutiny

Hawkes: Feeling pain's part of being human... McQueen: Who said you're human?		Plot The 58th hitch a lift with the SS MacArthur, a freighter, to reach the USS Saratoga. However, tensions between the In Vitros and humans on board come to a head as a Chig destroyer hunts them down. Exposed to prejudice from human crewmen, Hawkes is forced to evaluate his identity as an In Vitro and a Marine. When the In Vitros mutiny over a decision to terminate the lives of an In Vitro cargo, Hawkes must choose between his two families - the family of In Vitros, or the family of the Corps.

	Personal Comments A very powerful episode exploring loyalty, prejudice and a need for belonging. There's also a strong element of mistrust and confusion thrown in - resulting from the, understandable, emotions of In Vitros towards their status in society. McQueen's quote (see above) highlights a very interesting point - are In Vitros 'human'? What defines 'human'? Just a few thoughts I'll pose but not answer - otherwise I'll end up soaking up bandwidth with an essay on Bladerunner... Production Goofs I actually have a goof! It's a good sign that the only way of writing something bad about a TV programme is by resorting to trawling through hours of taped episodes to find rare slip-ups. This is NOT intended as criticism of any sort, it's purely a bit of fun - the only thing every human is capable of doing, and to a high standard, is making a mistake. Trust me, I've made enough major goofs to last several lifetimes... Anyway, back to the goof. An external shot (a good piece of scene-setting CGI, despite the problem) shows the Chig destroyer between the MacArthur and one of the nearby stars (the star is VERY close). We see the full size of the destroyer later on, so we know it's not particularly huge (in comparison to the MacArthur) - which means the destroyer must be close... Cut to West looking at the LIDAR/RADAR. West says the ship is 2 parsecs away! Did West mess up under pressure, was the Chig destroyer scrambling the sensors - or did production not read their brief correctly? 2 parsecs is a very large distance - about 6-7 light years. The distance shown definitely wasn't 2 parsecs. Personally, I think the destroyer was screwing up its return signal - giving the false distance. It fits nicely with the action. Any further thoughts?