Eyes

Synopsis: In which Commander Sinclair’s past bad decisions catch up to him as an Earthforce colonel with a score to settle and his pet telepath come to the station.

We’ve raved about Space: Above and Beyond before but seriously, it’s one of the better seasons of television that either of us have ever seen. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space:_Above_and_Beyond

There are even some interesting connections to the other big Fox genre shows of the time, X-Files and Millennium, suggesting they shared a universe (along with the apparently completely unavailable Strange Luck).

Here’s a great clip of Col. McQueen for those of you unfamiliar with the show: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2p5KOq6Ekwg

(This clip won’t mean much to anyone not familiar with Space:Above and Beyond, but Wang impersonating Col. McQueen is still just amazing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0hsvt4Nbko)

We’re going to assume that Kirk, Picard, Sisko, Janeway and Adama are all familiar to you.

The Trolley and the Fat Man - a classic thought experiment about making tough choices when there are no good options. Kirk would have probably cheated and rigged the trolley to tip over before the switch. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trolley_problem

“The Immunity Syndrome” - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Immunity_Syndrome_(Star_Trek:_The_Original_Series)

Commodore Matthew “There is no third planet!” Decker - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Doomsday_Machine_(Star_Trek:_The_Original_Series)

In the Space:Above and Beyond episode “Sugar Dirt” Colonel McQueen and the USS Saratoga are forced to abandon a squadron of marines planetside for months, without any promise of rescue (except that this is a serialized American TV show so we know the main characters will get out). It is positively harrowing.

Captain Avatar of Star Blazers.  Best. Captain. Ever. http://starblazers.wikia.com/wiki/Captain_Avatar

Except for maybe Garrett or Georgiou...

Jeffrey Combs has just been in everything: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001062/?ref_=tt_cl_t13

The Doom Patrol. I mean, seriously.