Dark Skies - Oscure presenze

This show would be a smash hit today, with the state of science fiction being as mainstream as it is. I hated how NBC bounced it around so much; it never had a chance to establish itself (NBC has a habit of this, i.e. the John Larroquette Show).

It was very bold for a television show to link major historical events into a government conspiracy, but I think this show handled it very well and didn't make it seem hokey or dumb. At the core, this show was just thoroughly entertaining, whether you're really into science fiction or not. If you haven't seen it, I think the Sci Fi channel still shows them occasionally.

Although this was a very likable show, it was very underrated as many people dismissed this show as another imitation of The X Files therefore it was going to be very hard to compete against a superior show with a larger fan base. Although Dark Skies didn't attract a bigger audience at the time on TV, it's good to see it does have its fans out there over 18 years later.

Set in the 1960's, John Loengard (Eric Close) and Kimberly Sayers (Megan Ward) are a young couple on the run from the U.S. Government who work to uncover the truth about an alien invasion that planned to invade Earth through a manipulation of historical events and famous figures. As well as the alien invasion, a secret government organisation named Majestic 12 led by Captain Frank Bach (the late J.T. Walsh) has its own agenda in dealing with the threat. I enjoyed the fact the show featured famous people such as Jim Morrison, The Beatles, Ed Sullivan, Robert Kennedy, J. Edgar Hoover, Marilyn Monroe and President Harry S. Truman.

I first saw this as a 13 year old when it first aired on Australian TV in 1997 and it has me hooked and very intrigued. I was disappointed when the TV show was later cancelled after one season due to low ratings as I would have liked to have seen the show continue on as it did have a lot going for it.

8/10

Bryce Zabel and his team deserve a lot of credit for the creation of the series. This was shown on cable as a feature film, and not knowing anything about it, we decided to take a chance. Well, what a surprise it turned out to be! The time flew by and we were hoping it wouldn't have ended!

The first thing that attracted us to this unknown film was J.T. Walsh, the late character actor. Mr. Walsh was an excellent actor who played second fiddle in a lot of movies. His presence was always a sight for sore eyes. His characters tended to be on the "heavy" side, but Mr. Walsh always made it fun to watch because with his acting had an economy of gestures that revealed the gist of this person to the viewer immediately. Mr. Walsh's passing at such a young age was horrible. He is sadly missed.

The other reason for watching "Dark Skies" is the performance of Eric Close. He is always credible and he shows a knack for acting and taking us along for a magic ride.

The special effects in the film are not far fetched, the way they are presented. It's a shame this series didn't survive. Not having seen any of the episodes is regrettable. Good luck to Mr. Zabel with any future projects.

This was a great series ! And a shame it was killed off way too early in its existence. I was told the reason it was killed off was that its popularity ratings (in the USA) weren't as high as expected. Yet on the other side of the Atlantic, UK and Europe, it really took off, with broadcast taking place at peak time, and a second series was eagerly anticipated. Shame it's not out on DVD yet either. The whole plot was fresh, and the way the writers interlaced real historical events with the storyline of the episode was always intriguing. Never looked at The Beatles in the same light again ........ It's good to see that there are others that think that this series needed to continue, and that it remains much missed.

Great show, I don't understand why it was cancelled when it won awards or was nominated for them, as well having mostly good reviews thesedays.

The show is co-written by Brent V. Friedman and Bryce Zabel of the "Need to Know" podcast with Ross Coulthart.

On the podcast, Zabel tells a fascinating story about a mysterious guest who turned up to the Dark Skies private screening party. The man explains that he had already seen the show (which was impossible) and that most of the story is quite accurate. He drew an equation on a napkin that described "sound, light and frequency" and gave it to Zabel Friedman... then he walked off into the night...

It would be good to remake the show or carry on from where it stopped.