Taken (also known as Steven Spielberg Presents Taken) is an American science fiction television miniseries produced by DreamWorks Television that originally aired on the Sci-Fi Channel from December 2 to December 13, 2002. The series was created and written by Leslie Bohem, with Steven Spielberg serving as executive producer.
Overview
The miniseries spans five decades, from 1944 to 2002, and follows the intersecting lives of three families: the Crawfords, who seek to cover up the Roswell crash and the existence of aliens; the Keys, who are subjected to frequent experimentation by extraterrestrials; and the Clarkes, who sheltered a surviving alien from the crash. The story culminates with the birth of Allie Keys (voiced and portrayed by Dakota Fanning), the final product of the aliens' genetic experimentation.
Production
The series had a reported budget of $40 million. It was filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Ten directors contributed to the series, including Tobe Hooper, Breck Eisner, John Fawcett, Jeremy Kagan, Sergio Mimica-Gezzan, Bryan Spicer, Félix Enríquez Alcalá, Thomas J. Wright, Michael Katleman, and Jeff Woolnough. The music was composed by Laura Karpman.
Episodes
The miniseries consists of 10 episodes, each running approximately two hours:
- "Beyond the Sky" (December 2, 2002)
- "Jacob and Jesse" (December 3, 2002)
- "High Hopes" (December 4, 2002)
- "Acid Tests" (December 5, 2002)
- "Maintenance" (December 6, 2002)
- "Charlie and Lisa" (December 9, 2002)
- "God's Equation" (December 10, 2002)
- "Dropping the Dishes" (December 11, 2002)
- "John" (December 12, 2002)
- "Taken" (December 13, 2002)
Cast
The ensemble cast included Julie Benz, Steve Burton, Eric Close, Catherine Dent, Dakota Fanning, Jason Gray-Stanford, Joel Gretsch, John Hawkes, Tina Holmes, Michael Moriarty, Willie Garson, Ryan Hurst, Chad Morgan, Anton Yelchin, Julie Ann Emery, Desmond Harrington, Ryan Merriman, Matt Frewer, Emily Bergl, Heather Donahue, Adam Kaufman, James McDaniel, and Michael Jeter.
Reception
The series received positive critical reception. It won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Miniseries and was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Miniseries or Television Film.
Home Media
The series was released on DVD on October 21, 2003, by DreamWorks Home Entertainment. A soundtrack album was also released by DreamWorks Records.
