Steven Spielberg Presents Taken

Rating:
Summary: A little girl is the only hope for humanity and this series
Review: "Steven Spielberg Presents Taken" is a 10-part maxi-series that spins a story of alien abduction and genetic experimentation out of the infamous story of the crash of a U.F.O. at Roswell, New Mexico. Actually "Taken" begins at the end of World War II, when aliens first abduct B-17 bomber pilot Russell Keys (Steve Burton) and his crew during a bomb run over Germany. For the rest of the century the life of Keys and his descendants will cross paths with two other families. Sally Clarke (Catherine Dent) takes an alien visitor (Eric Close) into her home, and ends up bearing his child. Eventually the grandchildren of these Russell and Sally will come together and produce the end product of the alien's breeding program. On the other side of the equation are the Crawfords, the first generation of which is Major Owen Crawford (Joel Gretsch), who is in charge of the Air Force's program to answer the mystery of the aliens.

Major Crawford is your stereotypical warped military commander who is completely obsessed by his project. The nicest thing you can say about him is that he is not a sadistic bully, just a murdering bully. No wonder General Hammond on "Stargate SG-1" is such a breath of fresh air. In Crawford's case it is nurture and not nature that warps his two sons and granddaughter and has them following in the family business. Basically the plot is a chess game between Crawford, the Air Force, and his scientists versus the aliens, in which the humans are almost always a step behind and a day late, whether they are trying to understand what the aliens are doing or trying to step the visitors from making the next move.

For most of "Taken" the audience knows little more than any of the characters. Even being privy to both sides provides little help. Actually the most important thing to pick up on during the first half of the series is the voice of the young girl doing the voice over narration in these episodes. That is because the payoff for this story is young Allison Clarke and it is not until young Dakota Fanning appears on screen that "Taken" really gets off the ground. Before that part the most interesting character is Owen Crawford, who is not a pleasant person.

Of course, this is the exact opposite of so many science fiction stories, where the set ups are great but the payoffs extremely unsatisfying. That is not the problem here, and if you have to struggle through the first half of "Taken" to get to this little girl, then make yourself do it. The result gets what would have been a mediocre science fiction series up to the level of being a good one. There really is not a big payoff in terms of the end of the story, either in terms of "The Day the Earth Stood Still" or "2001: A Space Odyssey," it all comes down to the little girl.

With her alien genetic background and what we have already seen some of her ancestors do when they were kids, you know that little Allie is going to be able to do some astounding things. But the most impressive thing she does is talk to others. People like to talk to her, she observes at one point, and for most of her time in "Taken" Allie looks like a cute little girl but also projects a calmness and sense of wisdom that are quite captivating. My favorite scenes are when she suddenly turns to an adult and says a sentence of such penetrating insight that it blows you away.

Maybe I am making too much of this. Given how low the bar is set in "Taken" it might be relatively easy for an 8-year-old to dazzle us. But given the resume Dakota Fanning has put together in this half of her life ("I Am Sam," "Sweet Home Alabama," and "The Cat in the Hat"), I am pretty sure she is pretty good. All I really know is that once she showed up I really started paying attention to "Taken."

Rating:
Summary: Totally Overrated
Review: First off I must preface this by saying I only watched the first two Episodes. That being said, they were a huge disappointment. The story was mediocre at best and the acting was also sub par. The special effects and the aliens were lackluster as well. The visual effects team should watch Farscape and Stargate SG-1 and try not to get too embarassed.

There must have been at least four times during the first episode where something so ridiculous happened that it completely drew me out of the experience. I like to call these "what the hell?!" moments. Four in one hour is bad news.

After the first episode I didn't really have much interest in the show, but I watched the second episode just be sure. My disappointment was confirmed. :-/

Rating:
Summary: Thought it was great!
Review: I picked Volume 1 of "Taken" off the shelf at my local Blockbuster, took it home and was completely hooked. Here I am just a few days later and I have already finished viewing the entire series. It had not a boring minute. It constantly moved, threw me numerous plot curves, and just kept me completely entertained from the start. I felt most of the acting was good and the actors matched well to their characters. If you have any interest in the subject or science fiction in general, you won't be disappointed.

Rating:
Summary: One of the best things that came from televison i've seen!
Review: This is one of the best things that came from T.V. i've seen. Though I didn't see it on televison, I like Science Ficton. I mean I don't like every thing SC-FI but I figured why not try this when I was at blockbuster. I rented it and watched. It took my breath away it was great. I loved it. From the begining to the end, I will admite parts of it were a little, well lets just say not my favorite. But, in the end it was amazing. I found the end a little sad, but all in all. It was one of the best thing I have every watched. I think this is a great buy and after I save enough will be buying it. I encourge people to buy it, and if your not sue I think you should rent it from a video store or try to catch the repeats on Sc-FI channel.

Rating:
Summary: No way to reccomend this highly enough!
Review: I just saw the last two episodes of Taken last night. I bought it on DVD after seeing parts on it on TV and being highly intrigued. It also gave me the chance to see some actors/actresses in non-familar roles: Adam Kaufman and Julie Benz from BtVS, Ryan Merriman from the Pretender, and Chad Donella from an episode of Smallville. Also, seeing Steven Spielberg do a TV mini-series was neat. If you haven't seen it, I can't reccomend it highly enough.

A quick summary:

Taken follows three families who are involved in alien abductions over the course of approximately 55-60 years. One family repeatedly abducted, one family with alien blood in their veins, and one family involved in hunting aliens. It culminates in a not totally unexpected, but still emotional final scene.

See it and enjoy!

Rating:
Summary: Too good to be science fiction
Review: "Taken" the miniseries practically caught my interest that I always made sure I was home Sundays in time for the movie. It was simply wholesome entertainment in its pure form. I have not seen much of the actors in other films but I found their performance compelling and worthy of praise, most particularly "Allie", the innocent alien hybrid with a kind heart. It was truly a classic Spielberg masterpiece. I can't wait to see the sequel... I could only imagine what Allie can and will do when she returns to reunite with her parents...

Rating:
Summary: Underwhelmed
Review: First, I will confess that I've not seen the
whole of this series, only the first four 90
minute segments (vol. 1 & 2) and I'm not sure that
I'll make it through the rest. On the plus side is
that the story s entertaining and even fairly well
informed. The acting and the effects are pretty
top-notch as well. However, I was expecting more of a
documentary feel to this, and not the emphasis on
making this 'something for the family' - I guess
because the subject of abduction is pretty
disturbing. I guess what I'm trying to say is that
this comes off more like the 'made for television'
series that it is(!), than the 'here's the real scoop'
it could have tried harder to be. It lacks the
tension of X-files, and characters like the
Colonel comes off as being so 'over-the-top-evil' that
it doesn't feel like a real character as much as it
does a cartoon villain. His motives are vague and I
felt left hanging when he 'exits'.
Even Close Encounters still feels more 'with it' somehow.
Taken is good for passing time, but for those who
feel a more 'personal' connection to its subject - or for those
who actually study the subject of abduction - they
may feel a bit underwhelmed. I dunno, maybe that's
for the best at the end of the day? As an introduction
to the phenomenon of abductee experience, I'd say it
wasn't bad.

Rating:
Summary: CREEPY ALIEN SOAP OPERA
Review: With Steven Spielberg's name above the title, TAKEN (DreamWorks) the 10 part alien abduction epic that parallels mid to late 20th Century history, became a huge hit for the Sci-Fi channel.

See what happens to three generations of American families who get involved with unearthly invaders with an agenda. This alien soap opera is clever, chilling and involving.

Rating:
Summary: WHITLEY STRIEBER GETS HIS DAY
Review: His book, Communion-A True Story, still haunts almost 20 years later and is an obvious influence over this massive mini-series. However, the show is not a treaties on "how this is happening," it's simple entertainment with The Major X-File plot line directly lifted and repotted here. Now I didn't do a massive background study on the writers/producers/directors, etcetera involved to verify that the two shows were connected in some way - but, there is no mistaking the similarities. I loved X-Files, so this is no big deal, but those interested in some different aspects may find themselves wanting more.
Enjoy!

Rating:
Summary: Taken by Taken
Review: Extraordinary! A brilliant screenplay amazingly carried out by everyone who participated. Everything about this production is so well done, scenery, costumes, sets, special effects, casting and acting. I was hooked immediately and couldn't wait for the next episode. I bought the DVD the day it became available. All the characters are unforgetable, especially Owen Crawford, who at times is worse than the aliens in his treatment of people who cross his path, or worse yet become "the sun and the moon" to him. Dr. Wakeman's caustic, rapier wit gives his character so much depth. There is a lot of truth in Ally's narrative which will bear some thinking about for years to come. The ultimate sentence of the series is "all your memories play at once, all your memories and all your fears." Not anything I'd care to see and scarier the more it is comtemplated. A fascinating mix of science and science fiction that is not to be missed. I'm making everyone I know watch it, you should too.