Suns & Shadows

Sci-Fi Friday Presents Space : Above and Beyond ; Ray Butts

“The members of the 58th are suspicious after a tough war veteran, who arrived on the Saratoga with orders to take them on a classified mission, changes the mission's objective once they're behind enemy lines.”

I bid you all welcome, to the first uniquely named but excellent episode of Space : Above and Beyond. Ray Butts! What else can you say? Any fan of this series knows this episode and the stamp it put on the series. That kind of stamp that says, buckle up and enjoy the ride cause we're driving this show forward!

Lieutenant Colonel Raymond Thomas Butts, played by Steve Rankin, kicks off the episode in style. A lonely Hammerhead docks on the Saratoga after overriding security and safety protocols. When the security team open the cockpit they find an unknown pilot knocked out. What's funny is that someone mistakenly thinks he's dead and ultimately a huge brawl spills out. One of the lines of this episode, and mind you this is a highly quotable episode, is from McQueen. “Kind of a bummer, getting your butt kicked by a dead guy!” All while making facials bemused of the situation. Butts comes across harsh and rough early on, but as the episode develops his character gets fleshed out in regards to motivation, story and ultimately who Lt. Colonel Ray Butts really is. Butts has a profound effect on the team in just about every way. Steve Rankin played this role just perfectly. This character never set out to be a hero of the episode or even a “good” guy. His character exemplified a man who has been through so much in his entire career and life. Yet, somewhere in there is a man of honor and respect who sees what he became and to make peace with that.

The 58th stand tall as the secondary cast to Ray Butts. This is perfectly fine as we don't need one individual to stand out in this episode. The group has finally connected and it was Butts who cemented that. When Butts initiated a brawl with Wang and the 58th it stood to became a definite highlight of the episode. It's especially notable in regards to Wang who showed a set of balls after being dressed down by Butts. In one of the more unintentional, largest laughs of this episode is when West accidentally punches Hawkes in the middle of the brawl. The cast played off Steve Rankin exceedingly well, he brought a dose of reality and harshness. At the same time it also brought awareness and unity to the team. My favorite scenes are actually with McQueen and Butts as being two sides of the same coin. The two of them have exemplary records and history with the Marines, each have grown into similar but very different characters. James Morrison and Steve Rankin could have done so much more. At the same time, they did just enough to allow each and every scene to breathe between them. It's pitch perfect! This, to me is Space : Above and Beyond at it's finest.

The acting is settled, the writing is tight and the group dynamic is stellar. The character aspect of Space : Above and Beyond is truly a sight to see. It is the bread and butter of this show. It's no wonder how series, years later, took that concept further. The score and music selection are somber and epic. Johnny Cash brought a nice brevity of emotion to round out the episode.

Other fun notes for this episode come in the form of the Wild Cards helmets. These look so cool, the detail work on full display and then seeing the nicknames the characters have. King West, Joker Wang, etc... The battle towards the end and the black hole effects, while dated, are interesting, fun and a damn to cool to watch! If only they had the graphics of today! It was fitting that the Chig's played a role in this episode. This is especially useful as they keep moving through the background of the last few episodes. It's not like we need a reminder, but it shows the focus and determination to make every episode important. We are definitely building to something big coming up. I, for one, cannot wait to see how this develops on my re-watch.

Overall, Ray Butts is the first episode where everything feels like it's hitting on all cylinders and delivers in spades. The character arc of Lt. Col. Ray Butts is nothing short of outstanding for that exclamation point on the Wild Cards. Ray Butts is an utterly fantastic episode, even the rough CGI couldn't take points off for this one! My one complaint would be this would have served well as a two part episode. I'm sending 10/10 pancakes into space! “Easy as eating pancakes!”