Alien Nation: Dark Horizon

Last updated
Alien Nation: Dark Horizon
ANDarkHorizon.jpg
GenreSci-fi
Drama
Created by Kenneth Johnson
Written by Rockne S. O'Bannon
Diane Frolov
Andrew Schneider
Directed byKenneth Johnson
Starring Gary Graham
Eric Pierpoint
Michele Scarabelli
Terri Treas
Theme music composer David Kurtz
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Production
Executive producersKenneth Johnson
Steve Bell
Kevin Burns
Producers Diane Frolov
Ron Mitchell
Andrew Schneider
Production locationPasadena Ambassador College
CinematographyLloyd Ahern II
EditorsAlan C. Marks
David Strohmaier
Running time90 minutes
Production companies Foxstar Productions
Kenneth Johnson Productions
Twentieth Century Fox Television
Original release
NetworkFox
ReleaseOctober 25, 1994 (1994-10-25)

Alien Nation: Dark Horizon (original airdate: October 25, 1994) is a television film made as a continuation of the Alien Nation television series. Produced by the Fox Network, Alien Nation lasted a single season, ending in 1990 with a cliffhanger series finale. Dark Horizon was written to be the season opener for the second season, but when the series was unexpectedly canceled and looked like it might never return to television, the plot was published as a book. Finally, four years later (after a change in management at Fox), Alien Nation: Dark Horizon appeared as a television film to pick up where the television series left off.

Contents

Alien Nation: Dark Horizon was written by Andrew Schneider and Diane Frolov, and was directed by Kenneth Johnson.

Plot

In a recapitulation of the series' cliffhanger, Alien Nation: Dark Horizon begins with Susan Francisco and her daughter Emily falling victim to a newly developed viral infection that was created by a group of human Purists to exterminate the Newcomer species. There is also a new sub-plot running parallel to this one, the story of Ahpossno, a Tenctonese Overseer who lands on Earth to find any surviving Tenctonese and bring them back into slavery. The idea of a signal sent into space by the surviving Overseers was explored in the Alien Nation episode "Contact".

The series episode ended with contaminated flowers being delivered to the Francisco family and Cathy informing Matt that they have been hospitalized. Dark Horizon re-stages these events so that George Francisco is not present.

Eventually Ahpossno comes round to the freedom enjoyed by the Newcomers on Earth but has already alerted his superiors to their presence. In an act of self-sacrifice he is poisoned by the tainted flowers and uses his scout ship to return to the approaching Overseer mothership. With his dying breath he declares that all the Newcomers are dead - a result of the Earth's atmosphere being toxic to them. One of the Overseer supervisors smells the flower he has brought back with him and reacts to it, confirming his story.

Cast

Main cast

All of the original cast returned from the television series for the television movie.

Additional cast

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gary Graham</span> American actor (born 1950)

Gary Graham is an American actor, musician, and author. He has had a long career since the late 1970’s in television and movies but is perhaps best known for his starring role as Detective Matthew Sikes in the television series Alien Nation (1989–1990) and five subsequent Alien Nation television films (1994–1997) as well as his work in the Star Trek franchise, most notably the recurring role of Soval, the Vulcan ambassador to Earth in Star Trek: Enterprise.

<i>Alien Nation</i> (TV series) Science fiction police procedural TV series (1989–1990)

Alien Nation is a science fiction police procedural television series in the Alien Nation franchise. Adapted from the 1988 Alien Nation movie, it stars Gary Graham as Detective Matthew Sikes, a Los Angeles police officer reluctantly working with "Newcomer" alien Sam "George" Francisco, played by Eric Pierpoint. Sikes also has an on again-off again flirtation with a female Newcomer, Cathy Frankel, played by Terri Treas.

<i>Alien Nation</i> (film) 1988 film by Graham Bake

Alien Nation is a 1988 American science fiction action film written by Rockne S. O'Bannon and directed by Graham Baker. The ensemble cast features James Caan, Mandy Patinkin, and Terence Stamp. Its initial popularity inaugurated the beginning of the Alien Nation media franchise. The film depicts the assimilation of the "Newcomers", an alien race settling in Los Angeles, much to the initial dismay of the local population. The plot integrates the neo-noir and buddy cop film genres with a science fiction theme, centering on the relationship between a veteran police investigator (Caan) and an extraterrestrial (Patinkin), the first Newcomer detective. The duo probe a criminal underworld while attempting to solve a homicide.

Alien Nation was a science fiction novel series, based on the movie and television series of the same name. It began in March 1993 with Pocket Books publishing the series. Various books of the series were written by L. A. Graf, Peter David, K. W. Jeter, Barry B. Longyear, David Spencer, Garfield Reeves-Stevens and Judith Reeves-Stevens. All of the books follow the adventures of the Human Detective Matthew Sikes, and his Tenctonese partner George Francisco. Like the TV series, most of the books have two parallel storylines that converge at the end, and most of the novels take modern day issues and put a slightly alien twist on them.

<i>Cliffhangers</i> (TV series) American 1979 drama TV series

Cliffhangers is an American drama television series that aired on NBC from February 27 to May 1, 1979. It attempted to revive the genre of movie serials in a television format. Each hour-long episode was divided into three 20-minute segments, a mystery Stop Susan Williams, a science fiction/western hybrid The Secret Empire and a horror story, The Curse of Dracula.

<i>Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles</i> (2003 TV series) Animated series

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is an American animated television series developed by Lloyd Goldfine. It is the second animated series and third television series in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise. The series premiered on February 8, 2003, as part of Fox's FoxBox programming block and ended on February 28, 2009. A sequel film, Turtles Forever, serving as both the series finale of the series and a crossover with the 1987–1996 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated series, was released on November 21, 2009.

The Ambassadors of Death is the third serial of the seventh season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in seven weekly parts on BBC1 from 21 March to 2 May 1970. Written by Trevor Ray, Terrance Dicks and Malcolm Hulke, the serial was directed by Michael Ferguson.

Kenneth Culver Johnson is an American screenwriter, producer and director. He is known as the creator of the V science fiction franchise as well as The Bionic Woman (1976–78), The Incredible Hulk series (1977–82), and the TV adaptation (1989) of Alien Nation. His creative efforts are almost entirely concentrated in the area of television science fiction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Terri Treas</span> American actress, writer and director (born 1957)

Terri Treas is an American actress, writer and director who has starred in films and on television.

Michele Scarabelli is a Canadian actress. She is well-known for her role as Tenctonese Newcomer Susan Francisco on the Fox Network science fiction series Alien Nation and the five television movies that followed.

Jeffrey Marcus is an American actor who stars on television, film and theater. Between 1980 and 1990, Marcus appeared on and off-Broadway in such plays as The Survivor and Almost an Eagle.

<i>Alien Nation: Body and Soul</i> American TV series or program

Alien Nation: Body and Soul was the second television movie produced to continue the story after the cancellation of the Alien Nation television series. In this series, human Los Angeles Police Department Detective Matthew Sykes and his alien partner George Francisco investigate crimes related to the Tenctonese, a race of aliens that have become stranded on earth.

<i>Alien Nation: Millennium</i> American TV series or program

Alien Nation: Millennium was the third television film produced to continue the story after the cancellation of Alien Nation.

<i>Alien Nation: The Enemy Within</i> American TV series or program

Alien Nation: The Enemy Within was the fourth television film produced to continue the story after the cancellation of Alien Nation. It was written by Diane Frolov and Andrew Schneider, and directed by Kenneth Johnson.

<i>Alien Nation: The Udara Legacy</i> 1997 television film directed by Kenneth Johnson

Alien Nation: The Udara Legacy is a 1997 American science fiction television film directed by Kenneth Johnson and written by Renee and Harry Longstreet. It is the fifth and final film produced to continue the story of the television series Alien Nation. It aired on Fox on July 29, 1997.

<i>Law & Order: Special Victims Unit</i> (season 7) Season of television series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

The seventh season of the television series, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit premiered September 20, 2005 and ended May 16, 2006 on NBC. It aired on Tuesday nights at 10pm/9c. Critically the show's most successful season, both lead actors received nominations at the 58th Primetime Emmy Awards with a win by Mariska Hargitay.

Diane Frolov is an American television writer and producer. She has written for several television shows, including The Sopranos and Northern Exposure. She frequently co-writes episodes with her husband, Andrew Schneider.

Two Fathers (<i>The X-Files</i>) 11th episode of the 6th season of The X-Files

"Two Fathers" is the eleventh episode of the sixth season and the 128th episode overall of the science fiction television series The X-Files. The episode first aired in the United States and Canada on February 7, 1999, on the Fox Network and subsequently aired in the United Kingdom on Sky1. It was written by executive producers Chris Carter and Frank Spotnitz and directed by Kim Manners. The episode earned a Nielsen rating of 11.5, a total of 18.81 million viewers. The episode received mostly positive reviews.

Alien Nation is an American science fiction media franchise created by Rockne S. O'Bannon, comprising film, television, and other media productions about alien refugees living on Earth. The series began with the 1988 film Alien Nation, which was adapted into a Fox Network television series of the same name in 1989. Fox cancelled the series abruptly after one season, but continued the story in five TV movies. The series also produced other media and merchandising tie-ins, including novels and comics. Aside from the sci-fi angle, the franchise fits into many different genres including drama, police procedural and buddy cop.

<i>Chance</i> (TV series) 2010s American TV series

Chance is an American television series created by Kem Nunn and Alexandra Cunningham which stars Hugh Laurie. The series is based on Nunn's 2014 book of the same name and was ordered straight-to-series in January 2016 with a straight two-season order containing twenty episodes. It premiered on Hulu on October 19, 2016. The second season premiered on October 11, 2017. On January 9, 2018, the series was cancelled.

References