“HISTORY As We Know It Is A Lie.”

DARK SKIES (1996-1997)

NBC

John Loengard (Eric Close)

Kimberly Sayers (Megan Ward)

Captain Frank Bach (J.T. Walsh)

Juliet (Jeri Lynn Ryan)

Series created by Bryce Zabel & Brent V. Friedman

John Loengard (Eric Close) was an idealist who came to Washington DC with his girlfriend Kimberly Sayers (Megan Ward) in 1962 with a bright future in mind and the American Dream in their hearts.  John gets a job with his home state Congressman and ends up investigating Project Blue Book.  He is thurst into a government agency cover-up of UFOS and aliens.   He is forced into a secret government group called Majestic 12 who want to keep the conspiracy a secret while fighting the aliens (who take over human bodies with little parasites attached to the brain).   The aliens are of a hive mind that wants to bring everyone to singularity.   John fights the Hive with Kim while wanting to expose the truth to the public.   Majestic 12 is helping John in their own way while making sure the world doesn't know the truth about Roswell and the Hive.

DARK SKIES was an ambitious show that aired on NBC from 1996 to 1997.   It lasted for one year to be cancelled.   Bryce Zabel and Brent V. Friedman created a series witha  unique take on history as seen through an alien conspiracy.   I wish this sci-fi series lasted more than one season because I wanted to see the show progress through the different decades to the modern times.    It was a victim of a too early timeslot and being unfairly compared to THE X-FILES.   John Loengard was naive and yet a brave man.  J.T. Walsh is great as the hard Captain Bach, leader of Majestic 12.

DARK SKIES blends history with fiction and alien conspiracies.   It puts new spins on the JFK assassination, the big Alaska earthquake in the 1960s, and the Roswell Crash in 1947 in addition to featuring such people like Jim Morrison, Robert Kennedy, The Beatles, Jesse Marcel, and Charles Manson.   The filter the show puts on things is a very interesting one to peer through.   It's a cult classic series that should have lasted longer than one season.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

Audio commentaries-

THE AWAKENING with Creators Bryce Zabel & Brent V. Friedman, and Actors Eric Close and Megan Walsh

BLOODLINES with Creators Bryce Zabel & Brent V. Friedman, and Actors Eric Close and Megan Walsh

They give some insight into the show including how J.T. Walsh seemed unhappy at the end and wanted out of the show.

DISC 6 extras:

International Pilot movie

SIGNAL TO NOISE: UNCOVERING DARK SKIES is an hour long look back documentary that tells the origins of the series, talks about the cast, the making of the series, why the series wasn’t embraced, and the legacy of the series.  Features interviews with Creators Bryce Zabel & Brent V. Friedman, and Actors Eric Close and Megan Walsh

THE DARK SKIES GLOSSARY has Creators Bryce Zabel & Brent V. Friedman explore the various important terminology of the series.

Original Sales Presentation

Series EPK

Also on the set are the 12 original Network Promos to promote the premiere of the series

 Never-Before-Seen Season 2 Proposal is a three minute promo that shows where the series could have gone.

FINAL ANALYSIS:  DARK SKIES was a series that could have thrived on cable if it came along a little later.  Still it is a show that I like better now than when I first watched it.   The set is full of informative extras about the series.  Credit goes out to Shout Factory for putting together such a set of a show that SPHE might not have put as much care into.

This DVD review is ©1-6-2011 David Blackwell and cannot be reprinted without permission.  Send all comments to lord_pragmagtic@hotmail.com