Forget The Expanse, Fox’s 23-Episode Space Opera Is The Original Military Sci-Fi Masterpiece

Published Oct 6, 2026, 10:00 PM EDT Zach Moser has been writing for ScreenRant since 2022, covering movies, classic TV, and streaming TV. His areas of expertise cover a wide range of genres with a particular interest in horror and drama, and the conversations around the TV and film industry. When he's not covering the latest film releases or chronicling the latest season of a new show, he's writing humor pieces for McSweeney's Internet Tendency, Slackjaw, and Points In Case or working on short stories and his second novel. If The Expanse is your idea of the quintessential military space opera series, then you need to expand your horizons and check out this forgotten 23-episode sci-fi classic from Fox. The Expanse on Amazon Prime, with its origins on Syfy, is a six-season epic of a science fiction TV show. The show is based on James S. A. Corey's series of novels, and is set in a future where the Solar System has been colonized and split into three competing empires: the United Nations of Earth and Luna, the Martian Congressional Republic of Mars, and the Outer Planets Alliance. The Expanse explores the interplay between massive space-faring kingdoms and how politics, war, and survival look the same from any point in human history, past or future, when viewed from a high enough vantage point. It's an original, excellent series, but it's not the first to explore these military dynamics. The Expanse owes quite a bit to Space: Above and Beyond, a science fiction series that premiered on Fox in 1995 and ran for one season and 23 episodes. The series is set in the years 2063 and 2064, centered on the United States Marine Corps 58th Squadron of the Space Aviator Cavalry, called the "Wildcards" in the show. Without access to faster-than-light travel, Earth has only slowly begun to colonize the Solar System. The arrival of a more powerful extraterrestrial empire necessitates the need for specialized units like the Wildcards who have to learn the finer points of space combat on the fly. Fox’s Space: Above And Beyond Is A Masterclass In Sci-Fi Military Realism Image via MovieStillsDB Space: Above and Beyond is a fantastic example of sci-fi military realism, a sub-genre of sci-fi. Battlestar Galactica, Stargate Atlantis, Stargate SG-1, and the Halo TV series are some other popular examples in the sub-genre. Starship Troopers and the Alien franchise also fit. Military sci-fi involves getting into the nuts and bolts of military conflict, explaining the intricacies of a weapon system as thoroughly as a romance novel may explain the intricate relationship between two characters. Space: Above and Beyond dives right into the sub-genre from the very beginning. From the main cast's Marine Corps background to the specifics of their space carrier the USS Saratoga, to the mini-attack fighters the Wildcards pilot, everything in Space: Above and Beyond is crafted with an eye towards realism. The series wants to show you things you've never seen before, but it also wants to show you things you can comprehend. Space: Above And Beyond Set The Tone For The Expanse 2 Decades Later Credit: MovieStillsDB The Expanse is no doubt a stronger series than Space: Above and Beyond. It lasted for six seasons and had the full weight of Amazon behind it. However, Space: Above and Beyond was far ahead of its time in a way that The Expanse can't compare. There are plenty of great hard sci-fi shows to watch these days. Back when Space: Above and Beyond premiered, it was one of the few shows of its ilk on the air, and there's no doubt that the social, scientific, and psychological realism of the show inspired what eventually became The Expanse, which also endeavored to tell a story of the future that feels firmly planted in the world we know. Release Date 1995 - 1996-00-00 Network FOX Directors David Nutter, Thomas J. Wright, Charles Martin Smith, Félix Enríquez Alcalá, Stephen Cragg, Winrich Kolbe, Henri Safran, Jesús Salvador Treviño, Jim Charleston, Michael Katleman, Stephen L. Posey, Tucker Gates Writers Marilyn Osborn, Richard Whitley Cast Morgan Weisser Lt. Nathan West Kristen Cloke Shane Vansen Creator(s) Glen Morgan, James Wong