Dark Skies
Encyclopedia
Dark Skies is an American UFO conspiracy theory
-based sci-fi
television series
that aired from the 1996 to 1997 season for 18 episode
s, plus a two-hour pilot episode. The success of The X-Files
on Fox
proved there was an audience for science fiction shows, resulting in NBC
commissioning this proposed competitor following a pitch from producers Bryce Zabel and Brent Friedman. The series debuted September 21, 1996 on NBC, and was later rerun by the Sci-Fi Channel
. Its tagline was "History as we know it is a lie."
have been among humans since the late 1940s, but a government cover-up has protected the public from such knowledge. As the series progresses, viewers follow John Loengard and Kim Sayers through the 1960s as they attempt to foil the plots of the alien Hive. The Hive is an alien race that planned to invade Earth through a manipulation of historical events and famous figures, including most notably the assassination of President John F. Kennedy
. In addition, the pair must stay one step ahead of Majestic 12
, a covert government agency that has mixed motives.
The show featured a number of real-life 1960s personalities in the plot, such as The Beatles
, Robert Kennedy, Jim Morrison
, and J. Edgar Hoover
.
Although the last episode produced provides some form of closure for the series, the show's creators had originally hoped to create five seasons, as indicated by the show's "Bible" or major planning document. According to Zabel and Friedman's original plan, the pilot and first season (given the overall title "Official Denial") would cover the period from 1961 to 1969, the second season ("Progenitor") 1970 to 1976, the third season ("Cloak of Fear") 1977 to 1986, the fourth season ("New World Order") would cover 1987 to 1999, and the fifth and final season ("Stroke of Midnight") would break from the decade-spanning format to encompass the apocalyptic final conflict against the invaders, taking place from 2000 to 2001.
Various stages from Alpha to Delta occur which show varying degrees of the infection. Initial symptoms of take-over include drastic mood swing
s, behavioral abnormalities, and nervous breakdown
s, as the parasite adjusts to taking control of the person's mind. Past medical records of a nervous breakdown are a tell-tale sign that someone may have been taken over. The Gamma and Delta stages are where the Hive organism takes total control over the host which becomes nothing more than a shell for the invading organism.
Not all humans make acceptable hosts for the Ganglions. Due to certain genetic factors, a minority of humans are incompatible with the Ganglions' biology; these have been dubbed "Throwbacks". There are several cases where a group of people were abducted and taken over by Ganglion parasites, but a Throwback in the group wasn't infected and simply returned, often because it would be too conspicuous to kill them. Captured Ganglion parasites have been injected with the blood of Throwbacks, causing them to die in agony. The Hive is running various experiments to try to either eliminate Throwbacks or develop more humans who are easier to control, such as growing cloned human babies in cows.
Some time ago, the Ganglions invaded an advanced alien race, dubbed the "Greys" — the typical depiction of a Roswell Grey alien. The Greys were a race not unlike humans, though they possessed technology making them capable of interstellar travel. The Ganglion parasites invaded them in much the same way that they're trying to invade Earth now, and by the time they realized what was happening, it was too late. Thus, the "Grey aliens" seen abducting humans are really just as much a slave race or "shells" for the Ganglions as the infected humans are.
The Hive's language, Thhtmaa, was developed by Reed College
linguistics
professor Matt Pearson.
When the Ganglions were evolving, apparently before they took over other animals as hosts, they had a natural predator — slug-like creatures called "buzz worms". They have actually brought samples of the buzz worms along with them with their ships, using them as a particularly gruesome means of executing their own kind.
Guest real-life 1960s characters
Executive producers Bryce Zabel
and Brent Friedman received permission from Sony to find a DVD releasing partner to put the series on the market. However, three independent DVD firms, while initially extremely enthusiastic about doing so, also backed away after discovering the potential costs involved in licensing the period music. Zabel told fans on his blog:
On January 11, 2009, Zabel reported that "Brent and I aren't ready to say that's the end of it, but it's the end of the beginning. We're probably more disappointed than any fan out there."
Region 2 distribution rights have now been acquired by Mediumrare, with the full series being released on DVD in the United Kingdom
on 18 October 2010.
On the August 9, 2010 episode of Coast to Coast AM
, Zabel announced that the series would be released on Region 1 DVD by Shout! Factory on January 20, 2011. The series has successfully been released in the US on 6 DVDs, including a number of special features (a "making of" featurette, and the never-before-seen pitch for the second season, among others) on the last disc.
in September 2006, featuring selections from the original television score composed by Michael Hoenig
and a previously unreleased Pilot Suite arranged by The X-Files
composer Mark Snow
.
UFO conspiracy theory
A UFO conspiracy theory is any one of many often overlapping conspiracy theories which argue that evidence of the reality of unidentified flying objects is being suppressed by various governments around the world...
-based sci-fi
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
television series
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
that aired from the 1996 to 1997 season for 18 episode
Episode
An episode is a part of a dramatic work such as a serial television or radio program. An episode is a part of a sequence of a body of work, akin to a chapter of a book. The term sometimes applies to works based on other forms of mass media as well, as in Star Wars...
s, plus a two-hour pilot episode. The success of The X-Files
The X-Files
The X-Files is an American science fiction television series and a part of The X-Files franchise, created by screenwriter Chris Carter. The program originally aired from to . The show was a hit for the Fox network, and its characters and slogans became popular culture touchstones in the 1990s...
on Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
proved there was an audience for science fiction shows, resulting in NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
commissioning this proposed competitor following a pitch from producers Bryce Zabel and Brent Friedman. The series debuted September 21, 1996 on NBC, and was later rerun by the Sci-Fi Channel
Syfy
Syfy , formerly known as the Sci-Fi Channel and SCI FI, is an American cable television channel featuring science fiction, supernatural, fantasy, reality, paranormal, wrestling, and horror programming. Launched on September 24, 1992, it is part of the entertainment conglomerate NBCUniversal, a...
. Its tagline was "History as we know it is a lie."
Plot summary
20th century history as people know it is a lie. AliensExtraterrestrial life
Extraterrestrial life is defined as life that does not originate from Earth...
have been among humans since the late 1940s, but a government cover-up has protected the public from such knowledge. As the series progresses, viewers follow John Loengard and Kim Sayers through the 1960s as they attempt to foil the plots of the alien Hive. The Hive is an alien race that planned to invade Earth through a manipulation of historical events and famous figures, including most notably the assassination of President John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy assassination
John Fitzgerald Kennedy, the thirty-fifth President of the United States, was assassinated at 12:30 p.m. Central Standard Time on Friday, November 22, 1963, in Dealey Plaza, Dallas, Texas...
. In addition, the pair must stay one step ahead of Majestic 12
Majestic 12
Majestic 12 is the alleged code name of a secret committee of scientists, military leaders, and government officials, supposedly formed in 1947 by an executive order of U.S. President Harry S. Truman...
, a covert government agency that has mixed motives.
The show featured a number of real-life 1960s personalities in the plot, such as The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
, Robert Kennedy, Jim Morrison
Jim Morrison
James Douglas "Jim" Morrison was an American musician, singer, and poet, best known as the lead singer and lyricist of the rock band The Doors...
, and J. Edgar Hoover
J. Edgar Hoover
John Edgar Hoover was the first Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation of the United States. Appointed director of the Bureau of Investigation—predecessor to the FBI—in 1924, he was instrumental in founding the FBI in 1935, where he remained director until his death in 1972...
.
Although the last episode produced provides some form of closure for the series, the show's creators had originally hoped to create five seasons, as indicated by the show's "Bible" or major planning document. According to Zabel and Friedman's original plan, the pilot and first season (given the overall title "Official Denial") would cover the period from 1961 to 1969, the second season ("Progenitor") 1970 to 1976, the third season ("Cloak of Fear") 1977 to 1986, the fourth season ("New World Order") would cover 1987 to 1999, and the fifth and final season ("Stroke of Midnight") would break from the decade-spanning format to encompass the apocalyptic final conflict against the invaders, taking place from 2000 to 2001.
The Hive
The series depicts The Hive as an alien species who are covertly invading Earth. They are a parasitic race of small multi-legged spider-like beings that can take control of host bodies, by attaching themselves to the brain. They do this by entering through orifices on the head, commonly the mouth, though they are also shown to enter by squeezing through the nose and ears, with great discomfort to the host. Due to the way they attach themselves to the brain's ganglion regions, the series' protagonists dub the creatures "Ganglions".Various stages from Alpha to Delta occur which show varying degrees of the infection. Initial symptoms of take-over include drastic mood swing
Mood swing
-Associated disorders:Mood swings are commonly associated with mood disorders including bipolar disorder and depression. In patients with cases of bipolar disorder, the patient experiences serious mood swings that last for days or even weeks...
s, behavioral abnormalities, and nervous breakdown
Nervous breakdown
Mental breakdown is a non-medical term used to describe an acute, time-limited phase of a specific disorder that presents primarily with features of depression or anxiety.-Definition:...
s, as the parasite adjusts to taking control of the person's mind. Past medical records of a nervous breakdown are a tell-tale sign that someone may have been taken over. The Gamma and Delta stages are where the Hive organism takes total control over the host which becomes nothing more than a shell for the invading organism.
Not all humans make acceptable hosts for the Ganglions. Due to certain genetic factors, a minority of humans are incompatible with the Ganglions' biology; these have been dubbed "Throwbacks". There are several cases where a group of people were abducted and taken over by Ganglion parasites, but a Throwback in the group wasn't infected and simply returned, often because it would be too conspicuous to kill them. Captured Ganglion parasites have been injected with the blood of Throwbacks, causing them to die in agony. The Hive is running various experiments to try to either eliminate Throwbacks or develop more humans who are easier to control, such as growing cloned human babies in cows.
Some time ago, the Ganglions invaded an advanced alien race, dubbed the "Greys" — the typical depiction of a Roswell Grey alien. The Greys were a race not unlike humans, though they possessed technology making them capable of interstellar travel. The Ganglion parasites invaded them in much the same way that they're trying to invade Earth now, and by the time they realized what was happening, it was too late. Thus, the "Grey aliens" seen abducting humans are really just as much a slave race or "shells" for the Ganglions as the infected humans are.
The Hive's language, Thhtmaa, was developed by Reed College
Reed College
Reed College is a private, independent, liberal arts college located in southeast Portland, Oregon. Founded in 1908, Reed is a residential college with a campus located in Portland's Eastmoreland neighborhood, featuring architecture based on the Tudor-Gothic style, and a forested canyon wilderness...
linguistics
Linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics can be broadly broken into three categories or subfields of study: language form, language meaning, and language in context....
professor Matt Pearson.
When the Ganglions were evolving, apparently before they took over other animals as hosts, they had a natural predator — slug-like creatures called "buzz worms". They have actually brought samples of the buzz worms along with them with their ships, using them as a particularly gruesome means of executing their own kind.
Cast
- Eric CloseEric CloseEric Close is an American film and television actor.-Early life:His father is an orthopedic surgeon, and Close is the eldest of three brothers. His family moved to Indiana, then to Michigan, and finally settled in San Diego when Close was seven years old.Close graduated with a B.A...
... as John Loengard - Megan WardMegan WardMegan Marie Ward is an American actress best known for her numerous credits in science fiction and horror movies and television series...
... as Kimberly Sayers - J. T. WalshJ. T. WalshJames Thomas Patrick "J. T." Walsh was an American character actor. He appeared in many well-known films, including Nixon, Hoffa, A Few Good Men, Backdraft, Miracle on 34th Street, Breakdown, and Good Morning, Vietnam.Walsh was known for his roles as "quietly sinister white-collar sleazeballs"...
... as Frank Bach - Tim KelleherTim KelleherTim Kelleher is an American writer, actor and director.Born in The Bronx, Tim grew up across the five boroughs of New York City, and played football with an elite corps of young men at perennial powerhouse Msgr. Farrell on Staten Island...
... as Jim Steele - Conor O'FarrellConor O'FarrellConor O'Farrell is an American actor mainly appearing on television.-Acting career:O'Farrell's most prominent roles are as Darren Leopold on daytime soap opera Port Charles, Phil Albano on the short lived science fiction series Dark Skies and as Jeffrey McKeen on the crime drama CSI: Crime Scene...
... as Phil Albano - Charley Lang ... as Dr. Halligan
- Jeri RyanJeri RyanJeri Lynn Zimmermann Ryan is an American actress best known for her roles as the liberated Borg, Seven of Nine, on Star Trek: Voyager; Tara Cole on Leverage; and Veronica "Ronnie" Cooke on Boston Public. She was also a regular on the science fiction show Dark Skies and the legal drama series...
... as Juliet Stuart
Guest real-life 1960s characters
- James F. KellyJames F. KellyJames F. Kelly is an American actor best known for playing Robert F. Kennedy . Between the years 1981 and 1997 he played RFK in seven different productions....
... as Robert Kennedy - Hansford RoweHansford RoweHansford Rowe is an American character actor who has starred in films and on television. He has been known to play ministers in some of his roles....
... as President Harry Truman - Mike KennedyMike KennedyMichael Kennedy is a former professional ice hockey centre who played in the National Hockey League from 1994–95 to 1998–99 for the Dallas Stars, Toronto Maple Leafs and New York Islanders....
... as Allen Dulles - Don Moss ... as Hubert HumphreyHubert HumphreyHubert Horatio Humphrey, Jr. , served under President Lyndon B. Johnson as the 38th Vice President of the United States. Humphrey twice served as a United States Senator from Minnesota, and served as Democratic Majority Whip. He was a founder of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party and...
- Jack Lindine ... as Jack RubyJack RubyJacob Leon Rubenstein , who legally changed his name to Jack Leon Ruby in 1947, was convicted of the November 24, 1963 murder of Lee Harvey Oswald, the alleged assassin of President John F. Kennedy. Ruby, who was originally from Chicago, Illinois, was then a nightclub operator in Dallas, Texas...
- Paul GleasonPaul GleasonPaul Xavier Gleason was an American film and television actor, known for his roles on TV series such as All My Children and films such as The Breakfast Club, Trading Places and Die Hard.-Early life:...
... as Nelson RockefellerNelson RockefellerNelson Aldrich Rockefeller was the 41st Vice President of the United States , serving under President Gerald Ford, and the 49th Governor of New York , as well as serving the Roosevelt, Truman and Eisenhower administrations in a variety of positions... - Joe Urla .... as Carl SaganCarl SaganCarl Edward Sagan was an American astronomer, astrophysicist, cosmologist, author, science popularizer and science communicator in astronomy and natural sciences. He published more than 600 scientific papers and articles and was author, co-author or editor of more than 20 books...
- Don MostDon MostDon Most is an American actor best known for his role as Ralph Malph on the television series Happy Days.-Acting credits:...
... as Dr. Timothy LearyTimothy LearyTimothy Francis Leary was an American psychologist and writer, known for his advocacy of psychedelic drugs. During a time when drugs like LSD and psilocybin were legal, Leary conducted experiments at Harvard University under the Harvard Psilocybin Project, resulting in the Concord Prison... - Arell Blanton ... as General Nathan Farragut TwiningNathan Farragut TwiningNathan Farragut Twining, KBE was a United States Air Force General, born in Monroe, Wisconsin. He was Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force from 1953 until 1957...
- Leon RussomLeon RussomLeon Russom is an American Emmy-nominated actor.Russom has appeared in numerous television shows, particularly soap operas. He portrayed Admiral Toddman and the Starfleet Commander-in-Chief in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country...
... as Admiral Roscoe H. HillenkoetterRoscoe H. HillenkoetterRoscoe Henry Hillenkoetter , born in St. Louis, Missouri, was the third director of the post-World War II U.S. Central Intelligence Group , the third Director of Central Intelligence , and the first director of the Central Intelligence Agency created by the National Security Act of 1947... - Wolfgang BodisonWolfgang BodisonWolfgang Bodison is an American actor, best known for playing Lance Cpl. Harold W. Dawson in the drama A Few Good Men....
... as Colin PowellColin PowellColin Luther Powell is an American statesman and a retired four-star general in the United States Army. He was the 65th United States Secretary of State, serving under President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2005. He was the first African American to serve in that position. During his military... - Gunther Jenson ... as Captain Norman Schwarzkopf
- Marilyn McIntyreMarilyn McIntyreMarilyn McIntyre is an American television and film actress. She has had contract roles in the television series Watch Over Me, Days of Our Lives, One Life to Live, Loving, and Search for Tomorrow, and recurring guest star roles on LA Law, Judging Amy, General Hospital: Night Shift, General...
... as Dorothy KilgallenDorothy KilgallenDorothy Mae Kilgallen was an American journalist and television game show panelist. She started her career early as a reporter for the Hearst Corporation's New York Evening Journal after spending only two semesters at The College of New Rochelle in New Rochelle, New York... - Art BellArt BellArthur W. "Art" Bell, III is an American broadcaster and author, known primarily as one of the founders and the original host of the paranormal-themed radio program Coast to Coast AM. He also created and formerly hosted its companion show, Dreamland...
... as William S. PaleyWilliam S. PaleyWilliam S. Paley was the chief executive who built Columbia Broadcasting System from a small radio network into one of the foremost radio and television network operations in the United States.-Early life:... - Wayne TippitWayne TippitWayne Tippit was an American television and stage character actor. He was best known to television audiences for playing Ted Adamson on the 1970s and 1980s CBS soap opera, Search for Tomorrow, for five years...
... as J. Edgar HooverJ. Edgar HooverJohn Edgar Hoover was the first Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation of the United States. Appointed director of the Bureau of Investigation—predecessor to the FBI—in 1924, he was instrumental in founding the FBI in 1935, where he remained director until his death in 1972... - Gary LockwoodGary LockwoodGary Lockwood is an American actor probably best known for his iconic 1968 role as the astronaut Dr. Frank Poole in 2001: A Space Odyssey.-Early life:...
... as Earl WarrenEarl WarrenEarl Warren was the 14th Chief Justice of the United States.He is known for the sweeping decisions of the Warren Court, which ended school segregation and transformed many areas of American law, especially regarding the rights of the accused, ending public-school-sponsored prayer, and requiring... - Susan GriffithsSusan GriffithsSusan Griffiths is a TV actress and popular Marilyn Monroe look-alike. She has been a Marilyn Monroe impersonator in "Legends in Concert" . Since introducing her talents Susan has been using her own voice and natural looks to woo audiences around the world.- Filmography :- External links :**...
... as Marilyn MonroeMarilyn MonroeMarilyn Monroe was an American actress, singer, model and showgirl who became a major sex symbol, starring in a number of commercially successful motion pictures during the 1950s.... - Dennis Creaghan ... as J. Lee RankinJ. Lee RankinJ. Lee Rankin was the 31st United States Solicitor General, from 1956 to 1961. In 1952, Rankin managed the Dwight Eisenhower for President campaign in Nebraska and in 1953, Eisenhower selected Rankin to serve as United States Assistant Attorney General.Known for his straightforward, quiet, and...
- Sam WhippleSam WhippleSampson E. "Sam" Whipple was an American actor best remembered for his role as Dr. John Ballard on the TV series Seven Days.His credits include The Doors, Airheads and The Rock...
... as J. Allen HynekJ. Allen HynekDr. Josef Allen Hynek was a United States astronomer, professor, and ufologist. He is perhaps best remembered for his UFO research. Hynek acted as scientific adviser to UFO studies undertaken by the U.S. Air Force under three consecutive names: Project Sign , Project Grudge , and Project Blue Book... - Robert CarradineRobert CarradineRobert Reed Carradine is an American actor. The youngest of the Carradine family of actors, he made his first appearances on television western series such as Bonanza and his older brother David's Kung Fu. Carradine's first film role was in the 1972 film The Cowboys opposite Roscoe Lee Browne and...
... as Lonnie ZamoraLonnie ZamoraLonnie Zamora was a New Mexico police officer who reported a UFO sighting while on duty on Friday, April 24, 1964, near Socorro, New Mexico.... - James LancasterJames LancasterSir James Lancaster was a prominent Elizabethan trader and privateer.Lancaster came from Basingstoke in Hampshire. In his early life, he was a soldier and a trader in Portugal...
... as Kenneth ParkinsonKenneth ParkinsonKenneth Parkinson was counsel to the Committee to Re-elect the President that supported Richard Nixon in 1972. He was a member of the Watergate Seven, who were indicted by a federal grand jury on March 1, 1974. For his involvement, he faced a maximum of 10 years in prison and $10,000 in fines.... - Carey EidelCarey EidelCarey Eidel is an American actor, director, and writer.Eidel has appeared in a number of television shows, including Strong Medicine, Yes, Dear, Melrose Place, 7th Heaven, 3rd Rock from the Sun, Diagnosis: Murder, L.A. Law, and Thirtysomething. He also appeared in the 1984 cult classic C.H.U.D....
... as Brian EpsteinBrian EpsteinBrian Samuel Epstein , was an English music entrepreneur, and is best known for being the manager of The Beatles up until his death. He also managed several other musical artists such as Gerry & the Pacemakers, Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas, Cilla Black, The Remo Four & The Cyrkle... - Jerome Patrick Hoban ... as Ed SullivanEd SullivanEdward Vincent "Ed" Sullivan was an American entertainment writer and television host, best known as the presenter of the TV variety show The Ed Sullivan Show. The show was broadcast from 1948 to 1971 , which made it one of the longest-running variety shows in U.S...
- Carmine Grippo ... as Ringo StarrRingo StarrRichard Starkey, MBE better known by his stage name Ringo Starr, is an English musician and actor who gained worldwide fame as the drummer for The Beatles. When the band formed in 1960, Starr was a member of another Liverpool band, Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. He became The Beatles' drummer in...
- Tim Michael McDougall ... as Paul McCartneyPaul McCartneySir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
- Rick Anthony Pizaria ... as George HarrisonGeorge HarrisonGeorge Harrison, MBE was an English musician, guitarist, singer-songwriter, actor and film producer who achieved international fame as lead guitarist of The Beatles. Often referred to as "the quiet Beatle", Harrison became over time an admirer of Indian mysticism, and introduced it to the other...
- Joe StefanelliJoe StefanelliJoseph Leonard Stefanelli is an American musician and actor, of Italian descent, who is best known for performing the voice of John Lennon in the 1994 film Forrest Gump....
... as John LennonJohn LennonJohn Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music... - Brent David FraserBrent David FraserBrent David Fraser is an American actor and musician. He was born in Bremerton, Washington.-Film:*The Chocolate War .... Emile Janza*Book of Love .... Meatball...
... as Jim MorrisonJim MorrisonJames Douglas "Jim" Morrison was an American musician, singer, and poet, best known as the lead singer and lyricist of the rock band The Doors... - Peter Van Norden ... as Henry KissingerHenry KissingerHeinz Alfred "Henry" Kissinger is a German-born American academic, political scientist, diplomat, and businessman. He is a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. He served as National Security Advisor and later concurrently as Secretary of State in the administrations of Presidents Richard Nixon and...
Episodes
| # | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
|---|
DVD release
Following fan campaigns for many years, an announcement was made that Dark Skies would receive a complete series DVD boxset release in October 2007 (presumably for Region 1). However Sony Entertainment subsequently cancelled the release, citing prohibitive music licensing costs.Executive producers Bryce Zabel
Bryce Zabel
Bryce H. Zabel is an American television producer, director, writer, and occasional actor. He is known as the chairman/CEO of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences who was forced to twice postpone the Emmy Awards following the September 11 attacks...
and Brent Friedman received permission from Sony to find a DVD releasing partner to put the series on the market. However, three independent DVD firms, while initially extremely enthusiastic about doing so, also backed away after discovering the potential costs involved in licensing the period music. Zabel told fans on his blog:
"It doesn't mean the idea is dead but it does mean it's not going to be easy. I'm as committed as I've ever been to seeing the series released on DVD so that old fans and new fans can have an excellent quality viewing experience, the way we always intended. Or maybe the conspiracy we wrote about is real and they just don't want the truth to get out..."
On January 11, 2009, Zabel reported that "Brent and I aren't ready to say that's the end of it, but it's the end of the beginning. We're probably more disappointed than any fan out there."
Region 2 distribution rights have now been acquired by Mediumrare, with the full series being released on DVD in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
on 18 October 2010.
On the August 9, 2010 episode of Coast to Coast AM
Coast to Coast AM
Coast to Coast AM is a North American late-night syndicated radio talk show that deals with a variety of topics, but most frequently ones that relate to either the paranormal or conspiracy theories. It was created by Art Bell and is distributed by Premiere Radio Networks. The program currently...
, Zabel announced that the series would be released on Region 1 DVD by Shout! Factory on January 20, 2011. The series has successfully been released in the US on 6 DVDs, including a number of special features (a "making of" featurette, and the never-before-seen pitch for the second season, among others) on the last disc.
CD Soundtrack
To celebrate the show's tenth anniversary, a limited edition CD soundtrack was released on Perseverance RecordsPerseverance Records
Perseverance Records is a record label which releases film scores on CD and online. Releases are usually accompanied by extensive, well-researched booklets...
in September 2006, featuring selections from the original television score composed by Michael Hoenig
Michael Hoenig
Michael Hoenig is a German composer who has composed music for several movies and games, in addition to two solo albums...
and a previously unreleased Pilot Suite arranged by The X-Files
The X-Files
The X-Files is an American science fiction television series and a part of The X-Files franchise, created by screenwriter Chris Carter. The program originally aired from to . The show was a hit for the Fox network, and its characters and slogans became popular culture touchstones in the 1990s...
composer Mark Snow
Mark Snow
Mark Snow is an American composer for film and television.Born in New York, he grew up in Brooklyn, graduating from the High School of Music and Art and, afterwards, the Juilliard School of Music...
.