September 30, 2003
Sci-Fi's 'Taken' is Good TV
I just watched the first episode of Taken on the Sci-Fi channel and I'm already looking forward to the second episode. Yeah, it's that good (even better than V was way back in...um...1983).
In a nutshell, Taken is a fictional account of alien encounters with us terrestrials dating from the old Roswell events of the late 1940's to present day. It involves aliens with unknown motivations, shifty-eyed military types, and a host of other mysterious characters.
Taken is a Steven Spielberg production, meaning that it has a bit more credibility than your typical made-for-TV mini-series. So far, it's really enjoyable. The acting is pretty good and, unlike most TV fare, the production quality is top-notch -- on par with most movies I've seen recently.
As I always say, TiVo it if you can...watch it live if you have to.
Loved 'V'. However, my benchmark for television SF continues to be J.M. Straczynski's 'Babylon 5'.
My wife and I drove over the speed limit in raging snowstorms to get home in time to view first-run episodes. My mom and dad (who were born in the 1930s) used to come over to visit and end up watching 4-6 hours of B5 videos to catch up, and almost missed their plane home because of the episode 'Babylon Squared'. This is one of the few SF series that made me laugh, shout, and yes, even cry.
It's spoiled me for a lot of other SF series. So much so that.... hmmm.... Seems I've gone off tangent and might as well write a brand new article... Stay tuned...
Posted by Sam at September 30, 2003 10:36 AMI hate to say it, but it's Star Trek (the original series). Even with 60's excesses, it had the best content (and it still has). I finally collected all episodes of the original Star Trek in video (this is prior to DVD), and I still watch it when there is nothing good on TV.
Posted by Ken at September 30, 2003 12:15 PMTo leave a comment or read updated entries, please visit GearBits' current site. Thanks.