Suns & Shadows

Sci-Fi Friday Presents - Space : Above and Beyond ; The Farthest Man From Home

“When the USS Saratoga passes close to the planet where the earth colonists were attacked. West goes AWOL and flies down to the planet in hopes that his girlfriend, Kylen, somehow survived.”

Let us get right into it with this episode. It's very curious to see the series jump right into a Nathan-centric episode, specifically with Tellus and Kylen. You can look at it any number of ways, but the writers must have felt the need to address the Nathan West character right away. The elephant in the room so-to-speak with his character still haunted by the loss of Kylen enough to go AWOL for her. We were going to see this at some point in the show as it's cliché with this sort of character arc. At least, if felt like it was brought up swiftly and left open enough for further development.

Morgan really had a chance to emote through facials and body language for a section of the episode. I started to appreciate his character more at this point than earlier on. Not to mention it's great to see we don't need a monologue or a ton of talking to further the scenes. At the very least, West was actually able to locate and help the rescue of two survivors. This is an appropriate, if easy way out of punishing West and the 58th at the end of the episode. We haven't found Kylen yet, but there's still hope despite her obvious alien confinement.

Another aspect of this episode I really appreciated was the interplay between Hawkes, Vansen and West. There's still friction between everyone but it's great to see a slow and steady build of their relationships. This is accentuated furthered that it had only been a few weeks since the Tellus colony attack and their accelerated training. Thankfully, we're not fast forwarding time in order to tell a story in the quickest way possible. Though at times the pacing of the episode does feel a bit off and tends to hit a little flat. It doesn't become boring, but there are some moments that linger a bit too much.

There was a great moment when West finds Hawkes after being shot down. West just starts popping off about regulations. Hawkes just looks at him dumbfounded and says, “Yeah, you're one for following regulations.” Now, I will take points off for the cliché of “I can find Kylen or I can help that fighter that was just shot down.” It's a bit cliché, but these older series still had to paint within the lines to some degree.

There are smaller character moments that were definitely nice to see. For example, the scene at the beginning of the episode, where the 58th were in the lounge each doing different things. West was watching the History Network (History Channel), Wang was going on about the Chicago Bears, Hawkes was doing a shooting VR sim/ game, Damphousse and Vansen chit chatted, etc... It's the little characters touches that really flesh out this episode. The group still has tension to a degree, but they are starting to find some common ground together. Something of which many people can relate to when starting a new job with a ton of new coworkers. I'm looking forward to the group dynamic growing even more.

We are introduced to two new characters here. One being Commodore Ross played by Tucker Smallwood with an incredible presence. I'll try not to jump the gun, but from the moment we meet him he's played perfectly and with much wisdom. It's clear he's in charge and exudes that aura of authority throughout. We are also introduced to Howard Sewell from Aero-Tech, the corporation that is a bit shady at this point. He is played by Michael Mantell, who plays it pretty straight and mysterious. I like the subtlety in his delivery, clearly there is more going on with this guy. He's not a favorite character of mine, but maybe we shouldn't like his character or should we? This possibly plays a role later on when the 58th is basically told, this entire mission didn't happen. If you say otherwise then you'll be subject to severe punishment. Someone higher up was pulling strings and authority over Commodore Ross. Wang's response was so funny, “What the hell?” was delivered so spot on with the audience I couldn't help but laugh. Special shout out to the special guest star French Stewart. He played the traumatized Farthest Man From Home, which drove the story points forward in this episode. I barely recognized him. I only remember him from the Stargate movie in a role similar to this. It's great to see French Stewart before his time 3rd Rock From the Sun, when he could do more than silly comedy.

Last, but certainly not least, the aliens get a little more development. They are nicknamed “Chigs” as their appearance resembles a Chigoe Flea. In a display of restraint, we see partial remains of a deceased Chig in a sacred burial site. There are some new Chig ships and technology. I like the designs despite the dated CGI. There are times, it's tolerable and other times that are cringe worthy. We still trudge on with show and grow our questions of the Chig race. What kind of civilization are they? What do they really look like? Why are they keeping prisoners now? Why were we told they kill everyone? What's really going on here? They writers are very methodical in the reveal and motivation of this alien race and series overall. It's the details in the writing that tease us, leaving us wanting to know more.

Overall, The Farthest Man From Home is a solid followup that packed a bit of a punch. At times the pacing felt a bit off, the CGI continues to be hard to watch and we are still missing out on side characters like Damphousse and Wang. However, the story and characters still drive the series forward and a desire for more. I'll give this 7 /10 Hammerheads.

Do be sure to check out the fan group : Space: Above and Beyond / 2063