That time I found an old VHS of 'Space Above and Beyond' in my parents' basement

I was cleaning out their garage last weekend and popped it in just for kicks. Turns out that show from the 90s had this gritty war drama vibe that I totally forgot about. It was wild seeing how dark TV used to be before everything got all polished and streaming-friendly. Anyone else remember that show or am I just dating myself here?

3 comments

3 Comments

terrywilson11d agoMost Upvoted

I mean, "gritty war drama vibe" is doing a lot of heavy lifting there. I remember that show, and yeah it had some darker moments, but let's not pretend it was some lost masterpiece of prestige TV. It was basically "Starship Troopers" without the satire and with way more cheesy alien makeup. The whole "dark TV before streaming" thing feels like a stretch too, plenty of 90s garbage was just as polished and fake as anything now. Maybe the VHS tape just made it look more serious than it actually was, you know?

graceprice11d ago

Read an article once that made the case VHS actually made everything look grimier and more "real" than it was, which tracks with how fondly people remember stuff that was pretty average. The alien makeup in that show was especially rough even for the 90s, some of those monster designs were genuinely laughable.

the_lucas10d ago

The romanticizing of 90s TV is out of control sometimes. People act like because it was on VHS and had some grain it was automatically deeper or more authentic. That alien makeup was so rubbery and bad, it took me right out of any "gritty" mood. You're right that plenty of that era was just as polished and hollow as anything today, people just remember the hits and forget the mountain of average shows that looked fake even then.