Science fiction is a genre of speculative fiction that has been called the "literature of ideas". It typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, time travel, parallel universes, fictional worlds, space exploration, and extraterrestrial life. Science fiction often explores the potential consequences of scientific innovations.
A novel sequence is a set or series of novels which share common themes, characters, or settings, but where each novel has its own title and free-standing storyline, and can thus be read independently or out of sequence. A novel sequence contains story arcs or themes that cross over several books, rather than simply sharing one or more characters.
Alien Nation is a 1988 American buddy cop neo-noir science fiction action film 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.
This book was written by Alan Dean Foster, and was released in 1989. It is an adaptation of the movie.
Alan Dean Foster is an American writer of fantasy and science fiction, who has written several book series, more than 20 standalone novels and many faithful novelizations of film scripts.
Alien Nation #1: Day of Descent
This book was written by Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens, and was released in 1993. It is a prequel to both the movie and television series, in the months leading up to the arrival of the Tenctonese on Earth. Matthew Sikes, a rookie detective, is on his first murder investigation when he stumbles onto a deadly conspiracy that threatens his whole world. Light-years away, a Tenctonese slave named Stangya Soren'tzahh (later to be known as George Francisco) is swept up into his people's fight for freedom against their ruthless masters, the Overseers. The slave ship crash lands on Earth, where Matt and George unknowingly work together to prevent a disaster that could destroy both their species.
Alien Nation #2: Dark Horizon
This book was written by K. W. Jeter, and was released in 1993. It was released prior to the production of the television movie of the same name. It was written to tie up some of the loose ends of the Alien Nation series at a time when it looked like it was never going to return to television. It recaps the events of "Green Eyes", the last episode of the series, and used the un-produced script from "Dark Horizon", the first episode of what would have been the second season.
Kevin Wayne Jeter, known both personally and professionally as K. W. Jeter, is an American science fiction and horror author known for his literary writing style, dark themes, and paranoid, unsympathetic characters. He has written novels set in the Star Trek and Star Wars universes, and has written three sequels to Blade Runner.
Alien Nation: Dark Horizon 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, Alien Nation: Dark Horizon appeared as a television film to pick up where the television series left off.
Alien Nation is a science fiction police procedural television series in the Alien Nation franchise. Adapted from the 1988 movie of the same name, 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.
The Tenctonese are faced with a deadly new bacteria created by a Purist group determined to rid the Earth of all Newcomers. George Francisco's wife & eldest daughter are infected with the bacteria, and as they lay close to death, a threat to the whole world appears. Someone has come from space to force the Tenctonese back into slavery, and they plan on taking all of humanity too.
Alien Nation #3: Body and Soul
This book was written by Peter David, and was released in 1993. It was a novelization of the then-unproduced script for what would become the second two-hour television movie of the same name. As with Dark Horizon, the later film was somewhat different from the novel. Matt and George investigate the rumor of the birth of a half-human, half-Tenctonese child. Meanwhile, Sikes' relationship with Tenctonese woman Cathy Frankel starts to get serious.
Peter Allen David, often abbreviated PAD, is an American writer of comic books, novels, television, films and video games. His notable comic book work includes an award-winning 12-year run on The Incredible Hulk, as well as runs on Aquaman, Young Justice, Supergirl, Fallen Angel, Spider-Man 2099 and X-Factor.
Alien Nation: Body and Soul was the second television movie produced to continue the story after the cancellation of Alien Nation.
Alien Nation #4: The Change
This book was written by Barry B. Longyear, and was released in 1994. It was based on an unproduced script for what would have been the second television season. George Francisco undergoes a metamorphosis that could mean the beginning of a new life - or his death. George must also face a vicious killer who has sworn revenge on him and his loved ones.
Barry B. Longyear is a United States writer and novelist who resides in New Sharon, Maine.
Alien Nation #5: Slag Like Me
This book was written by Barry B. Longyear, and was released in 1994. The plot concerns a journalist named Micky Cass who goes undercover as a Newcomer to expose the racism and discrimination suffered by the Tenctonese. Now Cass is missing, and Matthew Sikes must also disguise himself as a Newcomer to find him. This places Matt in the path of the worst violence the city has ever seen - and forces him to confront a hidden truth inside himself.
Alien Nation: Slag Like Me is an allusion to the book Black Like Me, a 1961 non-fiction book by Caucasian journalist John Howard Griffin, who travelled throughout the racially segregated states of the American South passing as a black man.
Alien Nation #6: Passing Fancy
This book was written by David Spencer, and was released in 1994. The plot follows Matt who meets a mysterious woman from his past and is thrown into an investigation of a lethal Newcomer drug. He must then ask the woman he loves to risk her life for someone she's never even met. The case causes tension to mount between Matt and George as they discover that some Newcomers will do anything to assimilate into human society - even if it means their destruction.
The book Black Like Me is again mentioned here and is read by Sikes in order to understand.
Alien Nation #7: Extreme Prejudice
This book was written by L.A. Graf, and was released in 1995. It sees Matt, the Franciscos' and Cathy attending a conference in Pittsburgh when a series of murders has them suspecting a Tenctonese creature is on the loose.
In a tongue-in-cheek joke by the author, a Tenctonese husband-and-wife writing team use the pen name "L.A. Graf" for the author of a series of science fiction novels.
Alien Nation #8: Cross of Blood
This book was written by K.W. Jeter, and was released in 1995. The most radical of all of the books, "Cross of Blood" explores the possibility of Tenctonese female Cathy Frankel getting pregnant with human Matt Sikes' child. The resulting political tension and racial riots threaten to tear Los Angeles apart.
This book recalls characters and events from Dark Horizon.
Zefram Cochrane is a fictional character in the Star Trek universe. Created by writer Gene L. Coon, the character first appeared in the 1967 Star Trek episode "Metamorphosis", in which he was played by Glenn Corbett. James Cromwell later played Cochrane in the 1996 feature film Star Trek: First Contact and the 2001 Star Trek: Enterprise pilot, "Broken Bow". Footage of Cromwell from Star Trek: First Contact was used in the Enterprise episode "In a Mirror, Darkly ", along with new footage of an identically-dressed actor whose face is not shown.
Hikaru Kato Sulu is a fictional character in the Star Trek media franchise. Originally known simply as "Sulu", he was portrayed by George Takei in the original Star Trek series. Sulu also appears in the animated Star Trek series, the first six Star Trek movies, one episode of Star Trek: Voyager, and in numerous books, comics, and video games. Sulu's first name, "Hikaru", appeared in a 1981 novel well over a decade after the original series had ended. John Cho assumed the role of the character in both the 2009 film Star Trek and its sequels, Star Trek Into Darkness and Star Trek Beyond.
Eric Pierpoint is an American actor and author. He is perhaps best known for his role as George Francisco on Fox Network's Alien Nation. He has also notably appeared on all of the Star Trek television spin-offs.
The Tenctonese, also known as Newcomers, are the main fictional humanoid species in the Alien Nation franchise, including the 1988 film, the subsequent television series, and spinoff media. They are from the planet Tencton, though references to numerous slave colonies throughout the series and telemovies indicate that they are widespread beyond their own planet. They are easily distinguished from humans by their hairless, spotted heads and lack of external ears. According to the show, more than a quarter of a million Tenctonese reside on Earth in the United States, mostly in the Los Angeles area.
Julia Ecklar is a John W. Campbell Award–winning science fiction author and a singer and writer of filk music who recorded numerous albums in the Off Centaur label in the early 1980s, including Minus Ten and Counting, Horse-Tamer's Daughter, and Genesis. Her Divine Intervention album released in 1986 was the first filk genre release to combine the lyrical elements with orchestral and rock arrangements.
Michele Scarabelli is a Canadian actress. She is probably best 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.
Stephani Danelle Perry is an American novelist.
Alien Nation: Millennium was the third television film produced to continue the story after the cancellation of Alien Nation.
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 Dianne Frolov and Andrew Schneider, and directed by Kenneth Johnson.
Alien Nation: The Udara Legacy (1997) is the fifth and final television film produced to continue the story of the television series Alien Nation.
Star Trek: The God Thing is an unproduced film script written by Star Trek series creator Gene Roddenberry. Following the success of Star Trek in broadcast syndication during the early 1970s, Paramount Pictures sought to produce a feature film based on the property. The film's plot follows the Enterprise crew after the events of The Original Series: when an alien entity declares itself God and begins travel to Earth, Admiral James T. Kirk reunites the crew, who send it back to its own dimension. Roddenberry completed the story on June 30, 1976, but Paramount rejected the script for reasons Roddenberry attributed to the religious views of company executives. The story was rewritten as "In Thy Image" for the proposed television series Star Trek: Phase II and then as Star Trek: The Motion Picture.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
