MovieChat Forums > Dark Skies (1996) Discussion > Pilot Episode Time Frame

Pilot Episode Time Frame

posted 13 years ago by cljohnston108
4 replies | jump to latest

So glad to finally have this series on DVD! Shout! Factory put together an excellent package.
But I just realized something when watching the pilot episode for the first time since it first aired:
• Loengard's ordeal with Majestic begins when he visits Betty & Barney Hill on December 11, 1961
• John & Kim go on the run just before JFK was assassinated on November 22, 1963
That's almost two whole years!
It always felt to me that the events in the pilot transpired over a couple of months, at the most.
Just kind of a shock, is all.

[–] Director-21 13 years ago

The series was always intended to move quickly through time. The origional idea was that it would start in the early 1960s (the season started airing during 1996) and that by the fourth season (which would have aired in 2000) the show would have caught up to present day and they would be dealing with some Y2K apocalypse thing. The final episode takes place in 1967; which is 4 years from JFK's assassination and a long time for a show to cover in one season. They did fudge plenty of other numbers and dates too. In one of those final episodes (which took place in like 1967) they featured Carl Sagan claiming that he's supposed to give a lecture at the planetary society; an organization that wasn't formed until 1982.

[–] cljohnston108 13 years ago

I wasn't talking about the series as a whole, but the time between Loengard's first run-in with Majestic, in 1961, and him & Kim going on the run, which was just before the JFK assassination in '63.
Kind of a big gap. A lot can happen in two years!

[–] gregforttmags 13 years ago

In one of those final episodes (which took place in like 1967) they featured Carl Sagan claiming that he's supposed to give a lecture at the planetary society; an organization that wasn't formed until 1982.

Their official website claimes they were originally founded in 1980, but it seems to be a factual error that has no bearing on the actual story and with a lot of effort spent on wrapping stories around real historical events they weren't going to get everything right, I mean loads of gaping factual errors occur in more successful movies and TV shows. Heck, I don't think Band of Brothers is 100% accurate. The Kings Speech seems to distort or stretch out the timeline as well.

[–] Director-21 13 years ago

I'm not dogging the show out or anything. I'm just making the point that the series didn't have much of a problem fudging dates when it suited the story. Lots of historical fiction does that, even the kind of historical fiction that tries to claim authenticity.

"That 70s Show" did how many Christmas episodes during it's 8 season run when it supposedly started in 1977 (season 1 featured the release of "Star Wars") and the final episode ended just after Dec 31, 1979?