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Dec 14, 2015 · The first episode is economical with the way it handles the opening chaos of the Overlords’ arrival, with fictional newscasts and propaganda mixed into the first hour.
Nov 19, 2020 · The first episode sees the Overlords subvert most sci-fi tropes about alien invaders by quickly eliminating war, pollution and other concerns for humanity, and while there are plenty of humans distrustful of the aliens and their "benign" rule, many take to the era of peace they help usher in.
- Senior Staff Writer
- "It's like the playwright just walked onstage and stopped the play."
- Verdict
By Max Nicholson
Updated: Dec 16, 2015 10:34 pm
Posted: Dec 15, 2015 2:59 am
Warning: Full spoilers for Night One: "The Overlords" follow. For our non-spoiler review of the whole miniseries event, click here.
On the surface, Syfy's latest miniseries Childhood's End seems like a typical alien invasion project along the lines of V, The Event or Falling Skies. And to some extent, it is. The first episode shows a peaceful alien race invading Earth with the promise of making it better, but at the cost of human innovation and culture. Fairly standard setup, right? But fans of Arthur C. Clarke's 1953 novel -- upon which the series is based -- already know there's more to it than meets the eye, which is evidenced in Night One's final moments.
However, the beginning of of the premiere felt a bit at odds with itself, as we flashed forward to astrophysicist Milo Rodricks (Osy Ikhile) in a ruined city explaining how he's the last man on Earth. On the one hand, I get the appeal of trying to grab the viewer with a huge mystery right off the bat. Just how did this guy become the last man on Earth? And why does the planet look so decimated? In fairness, this also let's the viewer know that they're not in for a happy ending... at all. On the other hand, it gives away the entire outcome, which makes anything that comes after that seem hollow and pointless. Personally, I think this type of plot device needs to go the way of the dodo... but I digress.
Considering it's based on a story that was written over 60 years ago, Childhood's End was bound to run into some overused concepts -- namely the premise, which has been done many, many times on many other shows since the book's release. Likewise, some of the characters' storylines didn't come across very well onscreen, most notably Ricky's. However...
- Max Nicholson
Childhood's End is a 1953 science fiction novel by the British author Arthur C. Clarke. The story follows the peaceful alien invasion [1] of Earth by the mysterious Overlords, whose arrival begins decades of apparent utopia under indirect alien rule, at the cost of human identity and culture.
Dec 14, 2015 · The first segment of Syfy’s three-part adaptation of Arthur C. Clarke’s 1953 novel ended on a major cliffhanger, as the alien Karellen (Charles Dance) exposes his true visage to mankind after...
Dec 15, 2015 · Syfy’s Arthur C. Clarke adaptation premiered last night with its first installment, “The Overlords.” The episode begins ominously, as a fleet of alien ships suddenly appear over Earth—and...
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Childhood's End Season 1 Episode 1: The Overlords (Part 1) Summary: An alien presence arrives on Earth with the intention to end all suffering and guide humanity into a utopia. But when the aliens refuse to reveal their appearance, some wonder if this dream is instead a nightmare.
