I’ve watched a lot of TV over the years – and become a fan of many quality series that lasted only one season [or less]. One of the best of these is Dark Skies, a sci-fi series that suggested that the Earth’s history was not what we read in history books. Rather, it was manipulated by aliens, acting on their own agenda. The series starred Eric Close and Megan Ward as Congressional aide John Loengard and his girlfriend Kim Sayers – who stumble onto this secret and set out to thwart the alien agenda.
On January 18th, 2011, Shout!Factory is releasing Dark Skies: The Declassified Complete Series on DVD – with a ton of special features. To learn more, follow the jump.
DARK SKIES: THE DECLASSIFIED COMPLETE SERIES
Starring Eric Close and Megan Ward
Secrets and Conspiracies Spill from All 19 Original Riveting Episodes,
Extensive DVD Bonus Content, Special Booklet and much more!
OWN THE COLLECTIBLE 6-DVD BOX SET ON JANUARY 18, 2011
FROM SHOUT! FACTORY
An idealistic Congressional aide discovers evidence of aliens living among us. When he stumbles into the government’s longtime cover-up, his life changes forever. In the landmark television series Dark Skies, freedom fighter John Loengard declares that “history as we know it is a lie,” and sets out to find the truth before it’s too late. He and girlfriend Kim Sayers embark on a cross-country crusade, attempting to derail plans by the sinister alien “Hive.” Majestic-12, a covert government agency assigned to secretly fight the aliens, monitors Loengard; and Capt. Frank Bach is ready to silence him—or quietly aid his quest. Call it alternative history or call it the unthinkable truth. Either way, call it… Dark Skies.
Created by Bryce Zabel and Brent V. Friedman, Dark Skies, a brilliantly intense sci-fi drama, explored the thrilling intersection of history and mystery, politics and paranoia. Starring Eric Close (Without a Trace), Megan Ward (General Hospital, Boomtown) and the late J.T. Walsh (The Negotiator, Pleasantville), the series, set in the turbulent 1960s, won devoted fans throughout its 1996-97 run on NBC. Besides its fresh focus on the debate over UFOs, the show also incorporated historic figures’ participation into its plots: Bobby Kennedy, Jack Ruby, Timothy Leary, J. Edgar Hoover and other famous names helped to advance the story.
Fifteen years after Dark Skies first aired on network television, the entire series will finally be unleashed for the first time on DVD when Shout! Factory debuts the Dark Skies: The Declassified Complete Series DVD box set on January 18, 2011, marking the 50th anniversary of President Kennedy’s inauguration. Newly remastered, this collectible 6-DVD box set includes all 19 episodes, an international TV pilot, a special commemorative booklet featuring a behind-the-scenes essay by Zabel, and extensive bonus content. The show’s creators Bryce Zabel and Brent V. Friedman, along with stars Eric Close and Megan Ward, discuss the series and their roles in an intimate look back Signal To Noise: Uncovering Dark Skies. Dark Skies: The Declassified Complete Series is a must-have for fans of science fiction, mystery and intrigues. This collectible DVD box set is priced to own at $44.99 SRP.
With fast-paced writing and innovative twists, Dark Skies offered alternative answers for that mysterious crash in Roswell, New Mexico, and the secrets surrounding JFK’s death in Dallas: was the president killed because he planned to tell the country the truth about UFOs? The period drama chronicled America’s path, in official Washington as well as small-town Main Street, from the roar of Cape Canaveral’s space-race excitement, through the haze of Viet Nam and the groovy “summer of love.” Everywhere, Hive aliens lurked, ready to “implant” ordinary citizens—including Kim, and John Loengard’s own brother—while moving toward the goal of world domination and “singularity.”
Dark Skies won an Emmy® for its edgy opening sequence, and received four Emmy® nominations during its run. The show’s richly detailed look, often embellished with real news footage, featured iconic, accurate touches of the times: chrome-grilled cars, TV dinners, and pastel telephones. Musically, Dark Skies offered an eclectic soundtrack of the 1960s, whether folk, rock, or in between. Recognizable names from real life enhanced the show’s premise: Howard Hughes’ famous fear of germs leads the reclusive billionaire to join John and Kim in their search for a Hive tunnel; Attorney General Bobby Kennedy orders a meeting with the pair on a country road; and music artist Jim Morrison has relevant, if volatile, information. Other familiar names cropping up in Dark Skies include Marilyn Monroe, Ronald Reagan, Hubert Humphrey, Colin Powell, Gerald Ford, Norman Schwarzkopf, Carl Sagan, Dan Rather, the Beatles and columnist Dorothy Kilgallen —all realistically portrayed in dramatic reminders of a different era.
For sci-fi enthusiasts and imaginative observers of history, Dark Skies: The Complete Series is a gem of a time capsule, revisiting a familiar period in history with new angles on what we know—or think we know.
Dark Skies: The Declassified Complete Series DVD Bonus Features:
- International pilot
- Cast & creator commentaries
- Signal To Noise: Uncovering Dark Skies– A 3-part intimate look back with creators Bryce Zabel & Brent V. Friedman and stars Eric Close & Megan Ward
- Network promos
- The Dark Skies Glossary
- Original sales presentation
- EPK
- Never-before-seen Season Two proposal
- …And more!