Earth Final Conflict

Starring: Kevin Kilner, Von Flores Dvd Release: 3rd April, 2006 Number Of Discs: 6 Format: PAL, Region 2 Encoding

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Earth: Final Conflict is a science fiction television series posthumously created by Gene Roddenberry. Early in the 21st century a species of aliens called the Taelons come to Earth. They offer their advanced technologies to the people of Earth & in return, we let them live here. With the new technologies disease is almost wiped out, as is pollution & war. Despite all this there are some people who think the Taelons are not as benevolent as they seem. A resistance movement is organised & as the show progresses we see just how right their fears were. The show is unusual in that ultimately the Taelon aliens are not all-out evil, nor are they actually trying to conquer the world, however they do have a hidden agenda & have no problem violating basic individual civil liberties to reach their goals. The shows pilot episode aired on 18 October 1997 & ran for 5 seasons before finally ending with a series finale.

At long last, the first & absolutely best season of the posthumously produced Gene Roddenberry series, Earth: Final Conflict. Due to issues of ownership of rights, seasons three, four & five were released long before seasons one & two; indeed, this is the advent of season ones availability, & season two is not yet available, but surely cannot be far behind.

This is the year that started the series, & is generally considered the best of the lot, both by those who liked the rest of the series, & those who disliked its later directions .

The premise is that a race of aliens, named the Taelons, have come to Earth ostensibly to offer peace & technological exchange. Their technology cures almost all diseases, eliminates poverty & hunger, & causes a banding together of people in a new world order. However, there are those who mistrust the motives of the alien companions , & an underground resistance has formed. In a rather interesting production decision, it is at this stage that we the viewers come into the story - we dont see the arrival or initial steps, but only the beginning of the rocky period.

One can look for parallels in history for this - were early colonisers, from Greek & Romans to modern nations, seen as invaders or friends? Even when the newcomers offered gifts & promises, things often worked differently.

In the first year of the series, the central character is William Boone , a double-agent officially in service of the Taelon companions, but in reality a resistance agent. Supporting the resistance is the billionaire Jonathan Doors , shuttle pilot Lili Marquette & computer wizard Augur . On the Taelon side are Daan & Zoor , served by their ever-present guardian & toadie Sandoval . The episodes in the first year explore the relationships of the Taelons to each other, to the human race in the present time & in prehistorical contacts, & the dynamics of a resistance that is not always sure of itself & a superior force torn between the decision of whether to collaborate or conquer.

The effects are very good at times, & standard television fare at others. The series as a whole suffers from the continuing loss of lead characters, but that had not yet become the mode of operation for the series during the first year.

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