Dark Skies: The Awakening (1996)

Date(s) of Broadcast: 21 September 1996
Episode Running Times: 50 mins
Format: Technicolor
Sound: Dolby

CREDITS

PRODUCTION
Production Companies: Bryce Zabel Productions / Columbia Pictures Television
Executive Producers: Joseph Stern, Bryce Zabel
Co-Executive Producer: Brent V. Friedman
Producer: Bruce Kerner
Co-Producer: Bernie Laramie
Unit Production Manager: Larry Kostroff
Production Manager (Washington DC): Carol Flaisher
Production Coordinators: Ellen Wolff, Debra Olchick
Production Coordinator (Washington DC): Theresa Rubino

SCRIPT
Script: Bryce Zabel, Brent V. Friedman

DIRECTION
Director: Tobe Hooper
1st Assistant Director: Richard Schor
2nd Assistant Director: Jeffrey Srednick
2nd Assistant Director (Washington DC): Alison Rosa
2nd 2nd Assistant Director: Tamu Blackwell

PHOTOGRAPHY
Director of Photography: Bill Butler
Camera Operator: Pernell Tyus
1st Assistant Camera: Alex Touyart
Loader: Luke Stern
Gaffer: Dave Maddux
Key Grip: Richard Jones
Camera / Lenses: Panavision
Video Facilities: 4MC / Digital Magic
Colourist: Randy Starnes
Colour: Technicolor

EDITING AND POST-PRODUCTION
Post Production Coordinator: Bonnie Stern
Editor: Andrew Cohen
Assistant Editor: Ron Shaw

MUSIC
Music: Mark Snow
Music Editor: Marty Wereski

SOUND
Sound Supervisor: Erin Hoien
Sound Mixer: Marty Bolger
Re-Recording Mixers: Sherry Klein, Bob Edmondson, Joel Fein
Sound Effects Designer: Dane A. Davis
Walla Group Producer: Joshua Stern
Recorded At: Sony Picture Studio, Culver City, California

MAKE UP AND COSTUMES
Make Up: Joyce Westmore, Alan Friedman
Key Hair: Sher Flowers
Costume Designer: Jennifer Parsons
Wardrobe Supervisor: Victoria De Kay

SPECIAL MAKE UP EFFECTS
Special Effects Make Up: Todd Masters

SPECIAL EFFECTS
Special Effects Creatures Designer / Creator: Todd Masters
Special Effects: Larry Fioritto
Animatronic Project Heads: Scott Tebeau, Luke Khanlian, Scott Coulter, Greg Johnson, David Matherly
Alien Effects Coordinator: Kristine Morgan
Alien Effects: Todd Masters Company
Todd Masters Company Crew: Jaremy Aeillo, Mark Boley, Tim Huizing, Mark Dillon, Thomas Kileen, Dana Klaren, Chris Koranek, Vince Niebla, Walter Phelan, John Shea, Matthew Singer, Shanna Tebeau, A.J.Venuto

VISUAL EFFECTS
Special Visual Effects: Sony Pictures Imageworks
Visual Effects Coordinator: Fiona Bull
CG Supervisor: Matt Hausle
CG Producer: Frank Foster
CGI Animators: John Bevelheimer, Michael Sanchez, Bill Diaz, Martin Foster, Rachel Nicoll, David Schaub, David Worman, Randi Munn
Technical Assistant: Ian Wosiski

DESIGN AND SET CONSTRUCTION
Production Designer: Curtis A. Schnell
Set Decorator: Christa Schneider
Props Master: Brad Breitbarth
Construction Coordinator: Alun Vick

MISCELLANEOUS
Script Supervisor: Helen Pinkston
Production Accountant: Steve Beeson
Production Assistants: Michelle Dupont, Blue Nelson, Arthur Scott, Jeffrey Jones
Assistants to Producers: Erin Kaufman, Adam Sigel, 'Flip' Filippelli
Assistant to Director: Michael Hoffs
Transportation Coordinator: Jeri Kelly

LOCATIONS
Location Manager: Tim Hillman

STUNTS
Stunt Coordinator: John Moio

CASTING
Casting: Judith Holstra
Casting Associate: Ken Miller

CAST
Eric Close (John Loengard)
Megan Ward (Kimberley Sayers)
J.T. Walsh (Frank Bach)
Robin Cammell
Lee Carlington
Paul Gleason
Francis Guinan
John M. Jackson
C.D. Spradlin
Scott Allan Campbell
Tim Kelleher
Basil Wallace
Don Moss (Hubert Humphrey)
Marilyn Rockafellow (Mrs Lincoln)
Al Sapienza (Francis Gary Powers)
lan Fudge (Major Friend)
Thomas Knickerbocker (General Brown)
Nancy Stephens (Mrs Bach)
Grant Mathis (MIB 3)
Joe Basile (MIB 4)
Mark Joy (MIB 5)
Jack Wallace (Mr Chesney)
James Edward Lawrence (controller)
Jerry Whiddon (Goodwin)
Fred Saxon (reporter)
David Svensson (man in crowd)

SUMMARY

Government employees John Loengard and Kimberley Sayers find themselves drawn into the clandestine machinations of the shady Majestic 12, an ultra top secret agency charged with protecting the Earth from aliens who are trying to establish a bridgehead on the planet in advance of a full-scale invasion.

CAPSULE REVIEW

Despite a tendency for things to happen rather too conveniently (Loengard stumbles onto the identity of the man running the government's secret alien defence organisation rather too easily), The Awakening is an auspicious debut for Dark Skies. Hooper, whose career trajectory had been on the downswing for many years, does a creditable job, injecting a certain urgency into the information dense script, managing to gloss over a lot of the inconsistencies with breakneck pacing. The script is the weakest link in the chain, but only because it's a tad too ambitious which, in itself, certainly can't be faulted. Zabel and Friedman had a massive amount of information to convey in a very short space of time and they do it by cutting a few corners. The special effects are a little ropey too, particularly the poorly matted computer generated images which often look clumsy and unconvincing. But overall, this is a solid start for an excellent series.

AVAILABILITY

UK
Television Distributors: Channel 4 Television Corporation

USA
Television Distributors: NBC (1996 - 1997); Columbia TriStar Domestic Television (2001); Sony Pictures Television (2002 - )

CENSORSHIP HISTORY

Australia
Rating: M

REFERENCES

OTHER SOURCES

screen
credits

KEYWORDS

alien invasions, aliens, conspiracies, military, ufos

Last Updated: 1 January, 2009