History Series / SpaceAboveAndBeyond

* DistractedBytheSexy: Played with. Vansen is suspicious about some strange events, including the 58 being denied access to their fighter craft. She has West be her lookout while dives in head first into her cockpit, with her shapely butt in the air. West takes a quick look before remembering he's suppose to be on the look out. It is possible the West actor was more into the quick look as older TVs with smaller screens might not have picked it up.

** "I believe in you," a hasty message recorded in an audio picture frame by Lt. West's girlfriend; it is his [[TheQuest reason to stay in the fight]], the hope that [[IWillFindYou he will find her]] and rescue her after her colony was attacked by the Chigs. [[spoiler: At the end of the series, she changes the message to say "[[MeaningfulEcho I believe in]] ''[[MeaningfulEcho all]]'' [[MeaningfulEcho of you]],", addressed to the entire squadron after they saved her.]]
** [[OperationBlank Operation Roundhammer]]: [[spoiler: The planned Terran invasion of the Chig Homeworld.]]

* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler: One of the Wildcards almost certainly dies in a firefight while two others are falling in an escape pod into enemy territory; [=McQueen=] is severely injured in an explosion that kills a handful of important human officials; the war, once within sight of peace, now rages as intense as ever and the human forces have lost the initiative, making Operation Roundhammer irrelevant. On the other hand, the colonists held captive since the series pilot, including West's girlfriend, have been successfully rescued. We also learn that the alien aggression might not have been as unwarranted as we've been told. All in all, it would have been a very interesting second season.]]

** [[spoiler: In the next to last episode, an armourless Chig runs around a wet swamp without problems. It's more likely that that first one committed suicide.]]
*** [[spoiler: Then again, Damphousse might have a degree in ArtisticLicenseBiology, since she started pumping water into what was obviously a gill used for breathing. Odds are, if the first one didn't commit suicide, it drowned.]]

* DangerousDeserter: Major [=McKendrick=] is a subversion of sorts. In fact, when [=McQueen=] points out his refusal to be rescued and evacuated is technically desertion, he gets extremely offended, as he considers his current work [[spoiler: decoding the Chig language]] to be much more important than the pencil pushing the British Army would undoubtedly reassign him to. This doesn't stop the Wildcards from suspecting him first when a power cell goes missing. [[spoiler: it was actually Wang who stole the power cell]]

* DeathNotification: After the death of [[spoiler: Nathan West's younger brother Neil]], Nathan is shocked to discover that the notification letter was sent to the ''wrong address''. He ends up writing a letter of his own home to inform [[spoiler: their mother]] himself. It is implied that rather than being hand-delivered, the notices are sent in the mail in "ugly yellow envelopes".

* DramaticUnmask: When a [[spoiler: Chig ambassador aboard the ''Saratoga'' takes off it's helmet, revealing itself as the same alien species the 58th aided on Anvil.]]

* DueToTheDead: A number of episodes feature memorials for fallen comrades of one kind or another, notably for [[spoiler:Pags]] in the pilot and [[spoiler:Winslow]] in "The Angriest Angel." Averted by the Chigs, who not only practice no such rituals but also dismember any human remains they find. [[spoiler: Not believing in any form of afterlife, they took the human belief in "life after death" a little too literally...]]

* FacelessGoons: The enemy was almost always shown wearing their environmental suits. They have a suicide pill that turns them into goo if someone tries to force their helmets off [[spoiler: but you see what they look like near the end.]]

* FakingTheDead: In "Stay with the Dead", the 58th use this as a ploy against the Chigs. [[spoiler: Unfortunately, their fellow Marines believe it too.]]
* FantasticDrug: "Green meanies", a painkiller in the form of [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin green pills]] that [=InVitros=] find highly addictive. [[spoiler: Hawkes is prescribed them by an unthinking doctor and spends the rest of the episode either addicted or detoxing; when he offers to help get him clean, Col. [=McQueen=] mentions he also had gotten addicted during the AI Wars.]]

%% * GettingCrapPastThe Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2021. If you are reading this in the future, please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.
* GloryHound: Lt. Herrick to the core - he's obsessed with wanting to see action and prove himself to the veterans around him, even if it means [[spoiler: disobeying orders. His unit is wiped out when he leads them on an ill-advised attack.]]

* HandicappedBadass: Lieutenant Colonel T.C. [=McQueen=], call-sign "Queen Six". He suffered a crippling injury to his inner ear during a [[CurbStompBattle battle with the Chigs]] in the first episode, being the only survivor from his squadron. He has an artificial implant which allows him to not suffer crippling nausea, but high-g maneuvers (such as those experienced during SpaceFighter combat) would cause it to [[YourHeadASplode explode]]. In the second episode featuring Chiggy Von Richthofen, [[spoiler: he has the implant removed, trains himself to be able to stand upright and function ''without a working inner ear'', and proceeds to defeat Chiggy Von Richthofen in one-on-one combat while presumably suffering the kind of nausea that would leave most badasses vomiting and sobbing inside their space helmets.]]

* INeverToldYouMyName: Invoked by Nathan in "Choice or Chance", when [[spoiler: "Kylen"]] calls for two of Nathan's squadmates to follow, he [[spoiler: coldly shoots her.]]

* IWillFindYou: West spends the entire series searching for his girlfriend, whose colony ship was attacked by the Chigs shortly after he was pulled off the colony mission. [[spoiler: He and his squadron rescue her and the other surviving colonists in the series finale.]]

* MacrossMissileMassacre [[spoiler: [=McQueen=] kills Chiggy von Richthofen with one.]]

* ManchurianAgent: "Eyes" involves the possibility that one of the 58th's own might be one. [[spoiler: It turns out to be one of the squadron's new replacements, although Hawkes finds himself getting this treatment as well and coming within a hair of killing his target.]]

** "I Believe In You," by the end of the show, it becomes [[spoiler: "I believe... in]] ''[[spoiler:all]]'' [[spoiler:of you."]]
** Not to mention the [[SemperFi UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS]] [[BattleCry BATTLECRY]]: [[spoiler: In the pilot, Wang is incapable of producing a convincing battlecry without the help of two [[DrillSergeantNasty Drill Sergeant Nasties]] demonstrating one for him at point blank range. In the series finale, he produces a fine battlecry while making his [[HeroicSacrifice Heroic]] [[LastStand sacrifice]]. To top it off, he even throws in a ToAbsentFriends by screaming the names of every Wild Card RedShirt and MauveShirt who died on the show as part of his battlecry.]]

** [[spoiler: they knew about the existence of the aliens for years, but never even told their own government.]]
* MenAreTheExpendableGender: Averted. Plenty of female soldiers fight and die over the course of the series, on and off screen. [[spoiler: At the end of the finale, the only two members of the 58th still fit to fight are West and Hawkes.]]

* TheNeidermeyer: Ray Butts, due to a combination of HeWhoFightsMonsters and PoorCommunicationKills, is generally despised by the 58th. Played with, in that once the rest of the 58th learn why he's co-opted them from Col. [=McQueen=] - [[spoiler: his previous unit was wiped out; he wanted to go back to the site of their last stand in part to give his men a proper burial]] - they gain some respect for him.

** The enemy pilot flying the distinctive AceCustom in later episodes quickly earns the nickname, "Chiggy Von Richtofen". [[spoiler: he's even deadlier than his namesake.]]

* OperationBlank: Several examples, most notably the much-foreshadowed "Operation Roundhammer", [[spoiler: the all-out invasion of the Chig homeworld.]]

** In particular, "Stardust" referernces Operation Mincemeat, a British misinformation ploy against the Germans, and the series two part finale reveals that Operation Roundhammer to be an obvious nod to [[spoiler: Operation Downfall, the planned Allied invasion of the Japanese home islands.]]

** [[spoiler: In the episode "Eyes", one of the candidates for UN Secretary-General is the "far right wing" [[CheeseEatingSurrenderMonkeys Nicholas Chaput]]. He's set up to look like the bad guy via the [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything swastika-like emblem]] of his political party, his [[FantasticRacism distrust of [=InVitros=]]], and his penchant for polygraph loyalty tests (but only from [=InVitros=]). He then reveals that his [[ThereAreNoGoodExecutives opponent's corporation]] provoked the Chig attacks in the first place, and said exec (who winds up getting elected as world leader) tries to have Chaput assassinated.]]
** The same episode also had [[spoiler: A group of [[AIIsACrapShoot Silicates that had been invited to the gathering for some reason. They don't cause any problems for the entire time they are there.]]]]

* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: Vansen goes on one when she learns why the Silicates killed her parents: [[spoiler: they flipped a coin,[[note]]Heads, they kill Vansen's family. Tails, the family across the street[[/note]] as Silicates view betting as a semi-religious experience]]. She starts her rampage off by [[spoiler: beating a Silicate to death with her bare hands]].

* TwoPlusTortureMakesFive: [[spoiler: Wang]] confesses under torture to war crimes [[spoiler: he]] didn't commit.

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: In the episode "Choice or Chance" he Wildcards are captured and thrown into a Silicate prison where they discover what looks like the missing Tellus colonists imprisoned, including West's girlfriend Kylen, mining fuels for the Silicates. At the end of the episode, it's revealed that [[spoiler: "Kylen" was some sort of shapeshifter]], but what about the rest of the prisoners?

* WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes: [[spoiler: The Chigs' Amygdala weapon turns any mild fear into a crippling phobia]].

Fox cancelled the show after one full season. The show ended with one character presumed dead, another two falling in an escape pod into enemy territory, one reunited with his prisoner-of-war lover, and the others in general limbo.

** The military had long since abandoned the issue of sending letters to inform families of their dead loved ones. Appropriately, to avoid exactly the sort of situation Nathan finds himself in one episode. [[spoiler:His parents not getting the letter and still believing their son is alive.]]

* AliensSpeakingEnglish: {{Justified}}: One of the early hints that not all is as it seems with the Chigs is that they appear to learn human languages remarkably quickly despite the apparent WeComeInPeaceShootToKill situation in the pilot. And not just English: in "Stardust" the protagonists plant disinformation written in Navajo. Whereas humans have almost entirely failed to decipher the Chig language. At the midpoint of the series the Chigs turn out to be in contact with the Silicates. [[spoiler:In the GrandFinale it turns out a MegaCorp first encountered the Chigs several years earlier and kept it quiet to protect their newfound source of profit. The war started because of the MegaCorp [[BullyingADragon reneging on the deal it had made with the Chigs]].]]

* InformedAbility: Played with. The Angry Angels are reputed as the top pilots in the Marine Corps, so much so that they get a CustomUniform. The entire unit is obliterated in the first major battle with the Chigs in the pilot. Possibly {{justified}}: it's indicated in the pilot that there hasn't been a major Earth conflict since the A.I. War about twenty years earlier, so it would appear the Angels actually attained their reputation during military exercises in peacetime. [[spoiler:It's only ''much'' later in "The Angriest Angel" that we see their real skill, when T.C. [=McQueen=], the only member of the unit to remain on active duty after the battle in the pilot, personally goes out and kills [[TheDreaded Chiggy von Richthofen]] in a solo sortie despite having been crippled during the Angels' last battle.]]

* AndroidIdentifier: "[=InVitros=]", artificially-created humans, do not have [[BellyButtonless belly buttons]], but rather nipple-like bumps on the back of their necks from where artificial placentas attached to them in the womb-tanks (hence the FantasticSlurs "nipple-neck" and "tanks").

* BellyButtonless: The [=InVitros=] lack standard belly-buttons. Instead, they have nipple-like bumps on the back of their necks from there the artificial placentas attached to them in the womb-tanks (hence the FantasticSlur "nipple-neck").

* CunningLinguist: Played with in "Sugar Dirt": the Chigs use recorded human voices to try and lure surviving UN forces into booby traps. When that doesn't work, they try taunting them, which works even less well:
-->"Hey! [[CaptainObvious Abe Lincoln's dead!]]"[[note]]The Chigs apparently took the Literature/TheFourGospels too literally and thought humans could sometimes come back to life after dying, hence a practice seen elsewhere of mutilating human dead.[[/note]]

* DistractedBytheSexy: Played with. Vansen is suspicious about some strange events, including the 58 being denied access to their fighter craft. She has West be her lookout while dives in head first into her cockpit, with her shapely butt in the air. West takes a quick look before remembering he's suppose to be on the look out. It is possible the West actor was more into the quick look.

* DistractedBytheSexy: Played with. Vansen is suspicious about some strange events, including the 58 being denied access to their fightercraft. She has West be her lookout while dives in head first into her cockpit, with her shapely butt in the air. West takesaquick look before remembering he's suppose to be on the look out.

** Commodore as a United States Navy rank was phased out in the 1980s. While officers in certain posts may still be referred to by that title, none would be in the chain of command of a carrier. Additionally, all present day commodores are senior captains, whereas Commodore Ross wears the single star of a rear admiral. This may again be the result of the show drawing heavily on World War II for inspiration, as the conflict saw a revival of the rank. It may also be due to a case of rank-based OneSteveLimit, allowing the show to sidestep questions of why Lt. Col. [=McQueen=] would outrank (Marine) Captain Vansen but not (Navy) a Captain Ross, or why an Admiral Ross would answer to other admirals an generals.

** No, [=Colonel McQueen=], the real Marine Corps does ''not'' routinely send naval aviators in as infantrymen. Despite the Marine creed that every Marine is first a rifleman, that would be a stupid risk of very expensively trained officers. It's also worth noting that Marine aviators are not primarily air-to-air combatants as shown in the series (though that does happen), but rather mainly provide air support to ground forces.

* DareToBeBadass: In the pilot, Coop, an unwilling recruit to the Marines, complains to [=McQueen=] (who is still with the Angry Angels at this time) that "I won't die for them!" (referring to natural-born humans in general). [[ArmorPiercingQuestion McQueen retorts]], "What ''would'' you die for?"

* WeAreStrugglingTogether: to a small degree as the Saratoga comms officer gets frustrated with the 58th sending mundane reports over the radio during the raging battles in "Sugardirt." McQueen cuts her off and sends the team an uplifting reply, and then chews her out reminding her to "never make them think they are not needed!" After two months on their own, these generally useless reports were the only thing keeping the 58th from collapsing from exhaustion.

* GuiltyPleasure: When the 58th gets R&R on a pleasure ship, they're offered whatever their hearts desire. Colonel [=McQueen=]'s desire is to kick back and watch WesternAnimation/BugsBunny cartoons all day.

* TheCameo: Creator/RLeeErmey appears as a drill instructor in the pilot.