"Taken" (2002) TV series

User Rating:

7.8/10   

Creator:

Leslie Bohem

Seasons:

1

Release Date:

2 December 2002 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

Three families. Four generations. Fifty years of secrets.

Plot:

Taken spans five decades and four generations, centering on three families: the Keys, Crawfords, and Clarkes...

Plot Keywords:

Alien | Roswell | Medical Experiment | Project Blue Book | Cuban Missile Crisis

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 7 wins & 18 nominations

Cast

Dakota Fanning	...	Allie Keys (10 episodes, 2002)
Matt Frewer	...	Dr. Chet Wakeman (6 episodes, 2002)
Heather Donahue	...	Mary Crawford - Adult (5 episodes, 2002)
Emily Bergl	...	Lisa Clarke - Adult (5 episodes, 2002)
Adam Kaufman	...	Charlie Keys - Adult (5 episodes, 2002)
Camille Sullivan	...	Nina Toth - Adult / ... (5 episodes, 2002)

Also Known As:

"Steven Spielberg Presents Taken" (USA) (complete title)

Runtime:

877 min (10 parts) | Finland:842 min (DVD)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Germany:12 (cut tv version) | Germany:16 (DVD rating) | Argentina:13 | Australia:MA (DVD rating) | Finland:K-15 (DVD rating) | Singapore:NC-16 | Australia:M

Filming Locations:

Britannia Beach, British Columbia, Canada

Company:

DreamWorks Television

Trivia:

The WW2 bombing sequence in episode one was created using NewTek's "Lightwave 3D". The image of Germany was actually a spy photo taken from WW2.

Goofs:

Continuity: At the end of "Maintenance", the last day shown is November 8th, 1980. When that date first appears on the screen, it is daylight. Then we see Eric waiting for Becky to get out of her house (in order to live with her to Maine), it is then night time. When she doesn't go out he decides to hit the road back to his military base and finish packing up. When he enters the base, it is daylight again. However, when he finally takes off to Maine, while he is on the road, it is night time again and the date shown is still November 8th, 1980. It should be November 9th (or later) since at least one day and a half separates the scene when that date first appeared and the last scene it appears in.

Quotes:

Allison Clarke: The hardest thing you'll ever learn is how to say goodbye.

Movie Connections:

References "The Dukes of Hazzard" (1979)

Overall a very good thing. Many great sequences. Little kid Dakota Fanning was astoundingly brilliant!

There is more than one dimension upon which "Taken" must be judged. It's a movie, a TV mini-series, a large collection of "theatrical moments," it's somewhat of a social/political commentary, it's a diary for all the old (and young) hippies, and it's a "message" flick about possible new frontiers, etc. It's all of those things at once. It performs differently on all of those dimensions.

Without boring the reader with my opinions regarding each dimension, permit me to summarize by merely saying that yes, it is great in places, it works very well in others. It is a bit "TV-y" and trite on a small few. Also, the ending smacked of a corporate-marketing mentality. It almost said, "Stay tuned for a thin and overly drawn-out clunker of a TV series and/or series of never-as-good-as-the-original and frustratingly exploitative and hideous sequels." I really hope I'm not right about that--- but sadly, I fear that I am.

Overall, though, "Taken" it is a very good thing. Watch it, dig it, enjoy it! Oh--- and what's the deal with the little girl who played Allie? Dakota Fanning was her name? Wow! She was cute and perky, all right. But dang--- she went WAY beyond cute clear through to amazing. What a major find that little actor is! Think about it--- the producers needed a kid who could embody a cosmic wisdom that transcended all the earthly adults, AND still have the "little kid" vulnerability and cuteness of a real child. Fanning was a marvel at accomplishing all of those things at once.