By Jack Brummet, Paranormal and Unexplained Phenomena Editor
One of my favorite television shows ever has finally been released on DVD, some sixteen years after it first aired. Yeah, you could find boots, and I did, but they were rough (although far better than not seeing the show again). But here it is at last. It even includes some great "bonus material" (which I usually barely watch), including audio commentaries, interviews, a behind-the-scenes documentary, network promos, and studio sizzle reels.
Right up there with The Sopranos, Hill Street Blues, Deadwood, and a very small handful of other TV shows...is Dark Skies. Dark Skies aired in 1996/7 and detailed the Greylien "history" that has accumulated (like tartar) over the years. Unlike other shows, Dark Skies established an elaborate mythology and framework for the grey lore, built through research of the voluminous outpouring of writing and reporting on alien-related topics.
Bryce Zabel and Brent Friedman developed an amazing five year plan for the show, ranging from the early 60's to the millennium, all grounded in historical events. Each episode details the impact of The Hive on historical events. Harry Truman, The Beatles, Ed Sullivan, Jack Ruby, William Paley, Hubert Humphrey, JFK, Bobby Kennedy (in a recurring role), Timothy Leary, Jim Morrison, Jerry Rubin, Carl Sagan, and others all appear on the program. The "lookalike" actors are outrageously over the top and campy...which adds a note of bent humor to the proceedings. The Greys, it seems, are merely hosts for the real aliens, called the Hive. The Hive is far more dangerous and insidious than the Greys. The Greys, in fact, are a race not particularly warlike until they are taken over by The Hive.
"Dark Skies" was set in the '60s, and, as such, it has aged well. It still looks like the 60's! They actually took a lot of care in 1995 to recreate American streets of the 60's, and the locations, wardrobes and cars are all spot on.
The Hive, in the form of The Greys, has stealthily infested America, and the world. The awful truth is kept from the American people by Captain Frank Bach, the leader of a super-secret government organization called Majestic-12. John Loengard and Kim Sayers are on the run from the alien Hive and from the Government. Their travels lead them all around the country as they learn more about the massive infestation of The Hive, and Majestic's efforts to control it at any cost.
It's never clear in the show whether the cure is worse than the illness. Dark Skies seamlessly put together science fiction, UFOlogy, and past political events and social movements that took place during the 50's and 60's. Unlike the X Files, Dark Skies was a one trick pony--it was about aliens, and UFOs, and nothing else.
Just the titles of their one season tell you much:
The Awakening
Moving Targets
Mercury Rising
Dark Days Night
Dreamland
Inhuman Nature
Ancient Future
Hostile Convergence
We Shall Overcome
The Last Wave
The Enemy Within
The Warren Omission
White Rabbit
Shades of Gray
Burn, Baby, Burn
Both Sides Now
To Prey in Darkness
Strangers in the Night
Bloodlines
In a lot of ways, the story is better than ever. It is, with all that has happened and become known in the last fifteen years[1], it is, perhaps, more plausible than ever before. . .
[1] Several governments, including ours have admitted they did withhold information, generally when they they were stumped...to avoid panic. France, Russia and other countries have begun in the last two years to release massive amounts of their once secret files on UFOs and aliens.
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