History As We Know It Is A Lie: Looking Back at Dark Skies

As many of you know, I enjoy science-fiction, especially the classic era with all the imaginative (even including dated CGI) and a good ol' plot twist. Within the last few years I have branched out from anything from Star Trek to The X-Files to Star Wars. Be it myth, fantasy, fiction or reality, the subject of the cosmos and asking yourself if there is another race beyond Earth fascinates me. Recently I just finished a little known show called "Dark Skies" which aired on NBC and consists of 19 episodes. Created by Bryce Zabel and Brent V. Friedman, the show ran from September 21, 1996 to May 31, 1997. The series even won an Emmy award in 1997 for "Outstanding Main Title Design" presented to Mark Jones. Several reviews call out the show for taking inspiration from The X-Files due to similar storylines and upon further research,  I learned that between low ratings, the 'Saturday night death slot' and direct competition with The X-Files, it was cancelled after one season. Instead of the tagline "The Truth Is Out There" Dark Skies went for the deeper "History As We Know It Is A Lie". Now let us take a look back at this ill-fated series...and the characters whose stories remain unfinished almost 30 years later. 

                                    

Starting in 1961 and ending in 1967, the series follows John Loengard (Eric Close) and his girlfriend Kimberly Sayers (Megan Ward) who work under the Kennedy Administration. Much like Fox Mulder, John Loengard discovers an inside government conspiracy cover-up of an alien invasion and hive mind substance that is changing the course of humanity. To give it an even more eerie and serious vibe, The X-Files composer Mark Snow composed the score of the pilot episode "The Awakening" which on many occasions you can hear specific X-Files leitmotifs. However, unlike The X-Files the characters of both Loengard and Sayers are full believers of the UFO and eventually interview several "Throwbacks" (humans who are 'unworthy of assimilation'). Slowly the parasitic alien substance (referred to as the Ganglions) which had arrived at Roswell ("Moving Targets") infects the human mind and transforms it into a collective conscience referred to as the "Hive" (sound familiar, Trekkies?), changing the course of history and the future. Eventually, Kim Sayers herself is infected but is seemingly removed from the collective consciousness due to a secret government syringe that expels the alien parasite. From then on, the show takes a brilliant turn bringing in several historical figures from the 1960s and how their lives change due to the conspiracy and mythology of the series. Bringing in recognizable music from the period, the show lays a groundwork for the turbulent times it surrounds and cascades John Loengard's journey in uncovering the truth. Mid-way through the series, Sayers conceives Loengard's child but is eventually abducted by the Hive and chooses to become one with the alien race. In other words, she becomes a 'pod person' (cc: "Invasion of the Body Snatchers"). When she is taken in "Burn Baby Burn" we have a very reminiscent "NOOOOOOO!" scene which reminds me of The X-Files "This Is Not Happening" which aired...a few years later.  

Almost every episode is filled with a good sense of what life was like in the 60s, touching on various historical events from the Kennedy Assassination (a pivotal point in the alien conspiracy), The Warren Commission, The Watts Riots, The Hippie Movement and Area 51. We learn how President Harry Truman knew of the alien invasion and kept it secret from the people and from then on, only certain members of the government were privy to such knowledge, many of whom died under mysterious circumstances to keep the truth from coming out. As previously mentioned, the series contains a fantastic soundtrack of some of the best songs of the 60s including This Magic Moment by The Drifters, For What It's Worth by Buffalo Springfield and She's Not There by The Zombies. The latter opened one of my favorite episodes "Shades of Grey" which fit both the character and her backstory perfectly. Additionally, despite having a low budget, the series captured the 60s in clothing, hair and makeup quite well, notably with Kim Sayers and Juliet Stewart (whose hair and makeup is spot on in every. single. episode.).

In addition to Loengard and Sayers, a series of players within the government are shown, most especially with the secret organization Majestic 12 which has a hand in covering up the conspiracy and the alien Hive mind which is infecting humanity. The head of Majestic 12 is Captain Frank Bach (JT Walsh) who leads the mysterious organization and eventually becomes an ally of John Loengard once Kim Sayers is fully transformed into the Hive mind. I would like to note that JT Walsh's performance as Captain Bach was both believable and felt very natural throughout the series progression. In addition to Bach, Lt. Commander Phil Albano (Conor O'Farrell) remains a continual thorn to Loengard at Majestic 12 and as an audience member I questioned each move he made. The main antagonist of the series is Jim Steele, a converted Hive member who seeks out destruction wherever he goes. After fully transitioning Sayers to the Hive, the pair begin a journey across the United States infiltrating various organizations, including the anti-war movement and the Hippies. 

Captain Frank Bach shows John Loengard an alien corpse

Mid-season we meet (my favorite character, of course) Juliet Stewart (Jeri Ryan), a powerhouse extraterrestrial investigator and somewhat ally of Majestic 12. At first you are under the pretense she is a villain but soon her true motives are explained. After a rough childhood in Soviet Russia she became a combat spy under at the Russian version of Majestic 12 under Soviet Colonel Dimitri Mironov (who we later find infected with the Hive). Through her own loss as a widow and eventually revealed alien abduction as a child, she becomes Loengard's greatest ally and eventual lover. Her presence in the series was very enjoyable and I greatly appreciated the range she brought to the series. In other words, I did prefer her over the other female character of Kim Sayers as Stewart came from a perspective of knowing exactly what the Hive Mind wanted and demonstrated internal strength to overcome the mental and physical battle of the Hive aliens. 

                                                                            

                                                                       Jeri Ryan as Juliet Stewart 

Towards the end of the series, a tragic turn of events unfold for Loengard as Sayers abandons him for the Hive Mind, leaving him and Stewart to be the remaining forces against the destructive aliens. Together their partnership worked very well for me and I enjoyed the chemistry of the actors which both Close and Ryan played very convincingly. The two fuse as a coping mechanism for each other as they become partners in Majestic 12, working undercover to sabotage Hive mind operatives.                                    

Eric Close as John Loengard and Jeri Ryan as Juliet Stewart. The final episode ends on a sad note as both Loengard and Stewart are abducted and Bach takes the fall for their suspected deaths.

The series finale "Bloodlines" takes the audience to a Hippie Commune in 1967 San Francisco. Loengard and Stewart find Steele and Sayers (infiltrating the commune) placing a liquid substance (much like The X-Files 'Black Oil Virus') into acid cubes which leads the human mind to become one with the collective Hive. After throwing the Hive substance into the eyes of Loengard, Sayers and Steele leave, with the latter taking on the identity of one of America's most infamous murderers. The substance causes Loengard to see various visions of Juliet Stewart, Majestic 12 and his son aboard an alien ship. He volunteers to take part in "Project Intruder", a pre-planned secret government program apart of Majestic 12 which plans to send a human into the alien mothership. Later that night Majestic 12 uses the governor's mansion in California (enter Ronald Reagan) for Loengard and Stewart to attract the aliens. In their last moment, Loengard tells Stewart "Jules.." and she replies softly "I know..." indicating they both did grow to love each other. Once aboard the ship Stewart is in a blank state whereupon Loengard asks "why did you hold on?" to no reply. Personally I think Stewart held on to Loengard because in her heart she did not care about Majestic 12 or even the aliens. She just wanted to have someone again.  This is the last we see of her and her ambiguous fate. Again, it is very unfortunate this show was cancelled, but perhaps if Dark Skies had continued, Jeri Ryan would never have been able to play the iconic Seven of Nine in "Star Trek: Voyager" a year after Dark Skies aired. 

Meanwhile, the members of Majestic 12 watch as Loengard's space suit camera reports his live broadcast aboard the alien ship. He leaves Stewart and promises to return after kissing her forehead. He walks down a corridor and his camera stops working. With the broadcast ended, Captain Bach is humiliated in front of the Majestic 12 staff and voted out by his second-in-command Phil Albano. In a sudden twist, Albano is shown to be working with the Hive to infiltrate and destroy Majestic 12, thus wanting Loengard and Stewart to never return from the alien ship. Upon reaching the mothership's middle, Loengard sees a young boy revealed to be his son with Sayers who instead of a toddler is an adolescent boy. It is revealed the aliens wanted Loengard's bloodline to be the next generation of the Hive and are priming the boy for their collective project. However in the last moment, the boy chooses his father ad they both walk among the aliens who have now surrounded the. As the camera fades we see the ship moving away from earth. Loengard narrates the following:

 

“Since taking my son’s hand thirty years ago, I have learned that all endings carry in them the seeds of new beginnings. That I am able to tell you my story today is proof that hope is alive, even on this eve of the new millennium. Do not be afraid. The fight for humanity demands your courage.” 

In closing I find it quite disappointed that this show never received the full credit it deserved. Despite Loengard's narration which confirms he eventually made it back to earth, it is unfortunate we never get a final chapter of the other main characters Kim Sayers, Jim Steele and Juliet Stewart. We also never learn what happened to Majestic 12 under the infected Commander Phil Albano and the eventual alien invasion which was set to fully transpire at the millennium. According to the series creators Bryce Zabel and Brent V. Friedman, they had planned Dark Skies for five full seasons to take the audience on a further journey until 1999. 

John Loengard aboard the alien mothership

As nothing can beat the complex mythology that "The X-Files" contained, "Dark Skies" was just as daring in telling a story and creating characters that connected to the audience despite being such a short run. Upon researching, I find it unfortunate that many X-File fans had a hand in this series cancellation because they felt it competed with the iconic sci-fi drama. However, to me, I saw the show as not only science-fiction but a historical drama as well since it captured one of America's most iconic eras for music, stardom, politics and livelihood. Additionally some storylines featured in Dark Skies would be later reminiscent in later X-Files episodes, especially the Sayers and her baby similar to Scully and William. Needless to say, while I do think both shows were quite similar they were different in a good way. Its unfortunate both shows could not coexist in the 90s, but alas, as the saying goes "it is what it is." 

Someday if a television writer is reading this article I hope someday we can receive a well-written follow up to the series and continuation of John Loengard, Juliet Stewart and the outcome of Majestic 12. The potential is boundless. Additionally, I ask whoever reads this article to give Dark Skies the watch it deserves as next year it will turn 30 years old. Though not rerunning on syndication or streaming, Dark Skies is currently available on dvd and uploaded on various channels on YouTube which is how I was able to watch it. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. 

Always remember...History is a Lie.