Dark Horizon
More than four years removed from the end of the TV series’ first season, Dark Horizon appropriately begins with a summary of the series’ background, explaining that a spaceship containing 250,000 Tenctonese slaves crash-landed in the Mojave Desert in 1988. The aliens (generally referred to by humans as ‘Newcomers’ and derogatorily called ‘slag’ or ‘slags’) from the planet Tencton are bred to quickly adapt to new environments and are used as slaves throughout the universe. Once on Earth, though, each was registered with the U.S. Government, given a human (and often humorous) name, and allowed to join the American population, with most settling in Los Angeles and, like humans, finding jobs that suit their respective skills and interests. Although they are humanoid, the Newcomers have heightened senses and are generally stronger and more intelligent than humans.
Some of this background summary is presented by way of introducing a new antagonist, Ahpossno (Scott Patterson), a Tenctonese Overseer (Overseers supervise slaves, giving commands and maintaining order and control) sent to Earth to locate and retrieve any surviving slaves several years after the slave-ship arrived there (circa 1997-1998 in the series’ timeline). But the movie also picks up from the cliffhanger ending of the TV series’ first season, with Susan (Michele Scarabelli) and Emily Francisco (Lauren Woodland) in the hospital in critical condition after inhaling a virus developed by a ‘Purist’ group to be fatal to Newcomers but harmless to humans. (‘Purist’ is the term used for a human hate-group that targets Newcomers.)
Detectives Matthew Sikes (Gary Graham) and George Francisco (Eric Pierpoint) then set out to solve the mystery surrounding this new virus in order to save George’s wife and daughter, originally enlisting the help of Ahpossno to find a cure and to stop the Purist group from using it to kill all of the Newcomers in the Los Angeles area. It is not long, though, before Matt and George begin to realize that Ahpossno may not be as well-intentioned as he first appears, and they must then find some way to stop him from enslaving all of Earth’s inhabitants.
Despite the limitations of made-for-TV movies, the story and action is well-crafted and intricate enough to maintain interest throughout, even if it is a bit archetypal and predictable. The movie also provides an appropriate amount of background on the Tenctonese species, which is especially important for viewers unfamiliar with the series (as I was). Some of this is present in the physiological explanations of the Tenctonese body and its functions, but some of this background is also present in the explanations and explorations of Tenctonese culture, philosophy, and spirituality.
And while the background helps new viewers catch up on information from the series’ first season that they may have missed, the explorations of Tenctonese culture also allow the creators to deliver some of the series’ trademark social commentary. Although the latter four made-for-TV movies address some very specific social issues, Dark Horizon broaches a couple of the broad social issues at the foundation of the series, primarily the conflicts that arise when two drastically different cultures meet.
Of course, such conflicts become a bit exaggerated when the two cultures clashing are human and alien, but the commentary remains relevant. For example, human misunderstandings of and incorrect assumptions about Tenctonese culture and spirituality appropriately allude to similar American misunderstandings of and incorrect assumptions about minority, immigrant, and even foreign cultures and religions. Likewise, the internal conflicts and varying opinions among Newcomers regarding the adoption of human customs reference such varied views among American minorities and immigrants regarding the adoption of American customs at the risk of forsaking the traditions of their ancestors.
Essentially, in addition to providing a moderately exciting and intricate science fiction story (especially for a made-for-TV movie), Dark Horizon continues the socially conscious tradition of the series. The movie addresses the far-reaching issues that arise when people (or aliens) of different cultures meet, as has always and will continue to happen in the United States, making the movie’s themes as relevant in 2008 as they were in 1994.