I was pleasantly surprised by this box set.
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The television series "Alien Nation" was based upon the James Caan film from 1988. The series ran for just twenty-two episodes and was canceled after its first season. The show was not canned because of poor ratings or poor storylines and the show´s producers had fully intended for a second season. The first season´s finale episode "Green Eyes" ended with a cliffhanger and when the cash-strapped Fox Network put an end to all of their dramas, the fans of "Alien Nation" were left with a lot of answers and no closure to characters they had followed during its first season.
The first of five made-for-television films, "Dark Horizon" is based upon the original script for the season opener of the intended second season. The story founds its way to novelization after the show was canceled and allowed for the followers of "Alien Nation" to find out what happens to the characters of the show. The popularity and appeal of the "Alien Nation" television show allowed new management at Fox to green light a television movie and after four years, "Dark Horizon" brought back Executive Producer and Director Kenneth Johnson´s creation and provided the answers that fans wanted to see on October 25, 1994. The film also continued the storylines and set the stage for four more films after "Dark Horizon."
"Body and Soul" and "Millennium" were shot back-to-back and provides a few more answers regarding the universe created for "Alien Nation" and expands upon the stories and lives of the show´s principle characters. "Body and Soul" debuted on television on October 10, 1995; a year after "Dark Horizon" brought the show back from the dead with the first television film. After a short few months, "Millennium" hit the airwaves on January 2, 1996. Both follow-ups were once again embraced by audiences and the fourth television film "The Enemy Within" aired on November 12, 1996 and a fifth and final "Alien Nation" television film, "The Udara Legacy" ended the series on July 29, 1997.
The "Alien Nation" television shows and these five films features a story about spacecraft survivors of the Tenctonese that were forced slaves and crashed to Earth to find a new life. On Earth, they are called the ´Newcomers´ and while they have earned their freedom from those that had enslaved them, their new life on Earth finds them having to deal with prejudice and discrimination from a large contingent of society that is not ready to embrace the aliens that now live amongst them. Not all look down upon the Tenctonese. Some of the have found jobs in society and befriended humans. There are inter-species relationships and deep friendships.
The television show looks at one Tenctonese man, George Francisco (Eric Pierpoint) who has become a detective for the Los Angeles police force. His partner, Detective Matthew Sikes (Gary Graham) is a trusted friend and helps George acclimate himself to society. George is not the only Tenctonese that is part of Matt´s life. He finds a romantic relationship with Dr. Cathy Frankel (Terri Treas) and whereas this was only hinted on during the television show, it becomes a major plot point in the five made-for-television films. George is married to Susan (Michele Scarabelli) and has two children, Emily (Lauren Woodland) and Buck (Sean Six). George and Matt work under Captain Bryon Grazer (Ron Fassler) at police headquarters and their daily routine has them working with a slow Tenctonese janitor named Albert Einstein (Jeff Marcus).
The first picture of the box set, "Alien Nation: Dark Horizon" answering two of the key questions from the cliffhanger ending of the television series. It looks at the bacterial infection that was designed by humans to eradicate Newcomers and also details out the growing romantic relationship between Matt Sikes and Cathy Frankel. To add to the plot-line of what was intended to be the start of season two, a new plotline finds a Tenctonese Overseer named Ahpossno (Scott Patterson) landing on Earth and pretending to have been living in the desert for five years. He has returned to schedule the arrival of a large Tenctonese mothership to arrive at Earth to enslave the Tenctonese survivors and humanity. Ahpossno becomes a new love interest for Cathy and a friend to Susan, which causes nothing but grief for both George and Matt.
"Body and Soul" is the second film follows closely to the events from the first television film. The first of two major plots to this film finds a half-breed child (Aimee & Danielle Warren) with human and Tenctonese traits. She is protected by a gigantic Tenctonese (Tiny Ron), but their escape from a former Overseer causes an uproar and uncovers a plan to sell Tenctonese secrets to the military. The second major plot line follows the blossoming love between Matt and Cathy as they realize that they will need training before they can engage in sexual intercourse. George and Matt have to investigate the story behind the large Tenctonese and the half-breed child while Matt must come to terms with whether or not to take part in sex education classes for Cathy.
The third film, "Millennium" takes a look at the change of the Millennium and how the impending year 2000 has caused hysteria among much of society. A Tenctonese artifact that was introduced during the television show returns and finds itself in the hands of a cult where Jennifer (Kerrie Keane) and her partner Calaban (Steve Flynn) are finding profit from the holographic-like experiences that the artifact allows those who walk through its portal. George´s son Buck has become more and more aloof from society as he struggles to find himself and he becomes part of this cult that will eventually lead many humans and Tenctonese to their death. This film also finds young Emily and a human boy, Jason Webster (Brian Markinson) finding romance, but Jason´s intentions may not be for either Emily´s ability to play a synthesizer or for her heart. A quick appearance by "Married with Children´s" David Faustino also takes place during "Millennium."
"The Enemy Within" looks at prejudice of some Tenctonese looking down on another group of Tenctonese called the Eenos. The Eenos are people who did the dirty work on the Tenctonese spaceship and are said to have eaten other Tenctonese to fight off starvation. They have grayish spots and are looked down upon as being inferior. In this film, a young Eenos girl is killed and a noxious and poisonous gas is found in the dead fetus of her unborn child. George must investigate a supposed savior to the Eenos existing below the streets of Los Angeles. The second major plot-line to this fourth film finds Albert Einstein and new bride May (Dana Anderson) asking George to be a surrogate father and impregnate May. This causes a rift with Susan.
The final film of the box set is "The Udara Legacy." This made-for-television film reveals that Susan was a Tenctonese resistance fighter for the Udara. Unfortunately, Udara ´sleeper´ agents are being awoken to perform assassinations. After Susan reveals she knows about the Udara sleeper agents, she and George suffer marital problems. The biggest maelstrom occurs when Susan tells George that their daughter Emily is one of these sleeper assassins. George and Matt have to quickly find out which former Udara agent is activating the sleepers and having prominent people murdered. As with each of the films, a second major plot-line follows in parallel and this time it involves the problems facing Matt and Cathy as they begin to live together.
I had never seen any of the episodes of "Alien Nation" and my recollection of the James Caan film is very sketchy. As I began to watch the first of five films featuring the cast of the television spinoff, I realized I was lacking any background information and knowing that "Dark Horizon" began where the show left off. While I probably would have enjoyed these films had I had the knowledge from the television show, I did find that I was able to step into the lives of George Francisco and Matt Sikes with relative ease and although I would have had more appreciation for the storylines and characters with the knowledge of the televisions shows, their plots and character arcs were still enjoyable and easy enough to follow. It didn´t take long to understand the relationships between all of the characters and realize that Matt was a Martin Riggs-like character who is accepted as almost family by George and his family. It was very apparent from the start that both George and Matt benefitted from having the other as their partner.
I may not have been as familiar with the subject matter as those who followed the television series and/or watched these films when they initially aired, but I was more than familiar with the social themes brought to light by "Alien Nation." Racism, spiritualism, bigotry, bi-racial relationships and discrimination were all touched upon during the five made-for-television films. The Tenctonese are viewed very much as a minority in the universe created by the show´s writers and many of the plights of the Tenctonese mirror the social ills suffered by African Americans. The Tenctonese struggle to find equal ground in employment, social acceptance and are typically looked down upon by the ´purists´ of human society. The alien people also have their own kind they consider themselves superior to and this lends to a strong look at bigotry during "The Enemy Within."
With decent storylines, well fleshed out characters that continually evolve and a pulse on today´s most pressing social issues, the "Alien Nation" films are worth taking a look at. Even without a background in watching either the James Caan film or any of the original twenty two episodes during its prime time run on the Fox Network, it is easy to jump into the narrative of "Dark Horizons" and understand what is going on. Much of the ninety minute running time of that first film was used to introduce the characters to a new audience and I would tend to feel that any of the five films are accessible at some level to those unfamiliar with the characters of George Francisco and Matthew Sikes.
"Alien Nation" is more police drama than it is science fiction. Each film does provide a little science fiction elements to keep things feeling ´alien.´ Whether it be the spiritual portal device introduced during "Millennium" or the Tenctonese weaponry briefly highlighted during "Dark Horizons," "Alien Nation" is rooted in science fiction, but its storylines are so tied to today´s world and set against modern day society that "Alien Nation" never enters the realm of hard-core science fiction and this too allows the films to be a little more accessible to new fans and those that may not typically find interest in the science fiction genre. This could cause some argument with those that were looking for a film titled "Alien Nation" to be truer to the science fiction genre, but you don´t always need phasers and robots for something to be effective science fiction.
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