Taken
Spanning
from World War II to the present, Taken journeys through
generations of three families tied together by alien abductions,
many of which come from well-known alleged incidents.
After
chasing "foo fighters," WWII pilot Russell Keys (Jason Quartermaine)
gets abducted from his plane. From there the story moves to
the alien crash in 1947 Roswell, New Mexico and into the future.
Narrated by Russell Keys's great-granddaughter Alley Keys
(Dakota Fanning) the story weaves the journey of the abductees,
their families, and the people seeking power from these phenomena.
An X-Files-ish
style blends with the narration by the adorable and talented
Fanning to take you right into the story. Relating the Roswell
incident with such reasonableness, you have to wonder if it's
really fiction. Or does the military just want us to believe
it's fiction?
The quick
scenes of the aliens probing their abductees have been played
before, but it still sends chills down the spine. We must
have something embedded in our minds that makes us cringe
at skinny green (or in this case, white) balloon-headed big-eyed
freaks sticking tubes in our nostrils. Maybe it's the lack
of genitalia.
Making
it a little more intense, Taken places a surprisingly
high emphasis on telepaths, psychics, and special people.
True to X-Files form, it only hints at what's really going
on, never quite giving you the big picture. But then, you
wouldn't keep watching if they just spilled everything.
Joel
Gretsch plays Owen Crawford, the villain in the series. His
agenda seems simple enough: power. Arrogant, he will do anything
to get power. While chasing Mr. John "Doe… I presume" (Eric
Close), a pretty funny name for an alien to assume, Crawford
goes to great lengtghs to manipulate the people of 1947. How
easily the public listens and obeys, proving things haven't
changed that much in fifty-five years. Without using the media,
Crawford lurks around town with his soldiers, claiming they
are looking for a deserter. Everyone tries to help him nab
Doe.
Fortunately
for the alien, he's good looking, and he ends up shacking
up with Sally Clarke (Catherine Dent), and then… poof. He
goes home. Wham bam, thank you Ma'am. But not without also
getting a gift from Sally, a star-shaped earring that she
wants him to take home.
This
series really taps into the fears of the time. Do they come
in peace? Or will you go in pieces? With plot ties that will
unravel more as the series progresses, this pilot successfully
etches the key element that it needs to become a Close Encounter
of the Television Kind. Despite its dancing around, it has
a simple plot, providing a great introduction to all the things
you need to know for now.
With
a title like Steven Spielberg Presents Taken it has
built-in hype. But is Sci-Fi Channel really up to par with
HBO's Band of Brothers, or the WB's Animaniacs?
Give
in and give it a shot. You won't be disappointed, with a simple
and quick run. Every day (for twenty days) brings a new episode,
and reruns all the time. It has everything you could want
from a Spielberg mini-series: suspense, drama, and things
that make you go hmmmmm.
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