The Best Episode Of Space: Above And Beyond Has Yet To Be Matched Decades Later
For a sci-fi series that lasted only one season, Space: Above and Beyond has had an outsized impact on genre shows over the last 30 years. Airing in 1995, the military sci-fi show followed the Wildcards squadron as they were dragged into an interstellar war against the insectoid “Chigs,” and while the ratings failed to keep it alive, one episode has stood the test of time, establishing a template for other shows to experiment with wild high-concept episodes that break the mold of the series. “Who Monitors the Birds” is unlike any other episode of the series, paving the way for other boundary-breaking episodes like The X-Files “Post-Modern Prometheus” and, of course, Buffy’s “Hush.”
Who Monitors The Birds
“Who Monitors the Birds” has almost no dialogue, focusing entirely on the struggle of Cooper Hawkes (played by Rodney Rowland), a genetically engineered In Vitro, left alone behind enemy lines. As his hope of a rescue fades, Hawkes time in the In Vitro education center runs before his eyes while a strange woman is seemingly beckoning him into the light. With no words, the episode encapsulates the best of Space: Above and Beyond, which created an intricate sci-fi world that deserved many more seasons of exploration, but also the strong characterization of the main Wildcards squadron and how they dealt with the war and their place in it.
Embracing The Grim Darkness Of War
The world of Space: Above and Beyond has more in common with Warhammer 40k than it does Star Trek, and the flashback scenes to the In Vitro education center make this painfully clear. Hawkes asks one question to the monitors overseeing his education, “Who monitors you?” and it’s enough to get him labeled as “Defective.” In Vitros were designed to be a loyal class of artificial humans to be used for menial labor, and as faceless grunts in war; they were not supposed to question their existence, their education, or the need to kill the enemies of humanity on sight.
“Who Monitors the Birds” shows how Hawkes’s education has shaped him, how he’s fought against it, and how, ultimately, no matter how noble the warrior may be, war kills all kindness. Space: Above and Beyond is a dark series, but without words, Hawke killing an enemy soldier is one of the darkest, saddest moments of the show’s sadly shortened run.
Broke The Mold So Others Could Follow
The episode aired on January 7, 1996, as the twelfth episode of Space: Above and Beyond, and though the public never witnessed the poetry of a high-concept episode that doesn’t need words to tell a deep, human story, notable genre writers were paying attention. Joss Whedon would eventually admit that “Who Monitors the Birds” provided the inspiration for “Hush,” and then the success of that episode gave the writers of Buffy the confidence to experiment with more wild episodes that shattered the mold from “Once More With Feeling” to “Tabula Rasa.” In a moment that closed the circle, Whedon cast Rodney Rowland in the Angel Season 5 episode, “Conviction.”
Prior shows had played around with mold-breaking concept episodes, notably Star Trek: The Next Generation, but they pulled their punches compared to Space: Above and Beyond with “Who Monitors the Birds,” though again, later series, including Discovery and Strange New Worlds would go balls to the wall with wild, mostly self-contained episodes. The one-season Fox military sci-fi wonder still has a strong fanbase today and is well worth checking out; after all, some of your favorite shows achieved greatness because it dared go where no series had gone before.
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