It’s been over seven years since Earth: Final Conflict ended its five year run.
Over that run, it produced some 110 episodes spread across five seasons. It opened with strong critical acclaim, but after the departure of show lead Kevin Kilner, the series declined creatively to the point of depravity in its fifth and final year.
The reasons for the decline of Earth: Final Conflict are complex. After all, shows can survive the departures of their leads. E:FC however became a shadow of itself; a mediocre show with a mediocre plot and over-arching story. That’s because the original premise of Earth: Final Conflict was so intrinsically bound to the story and fate of William Boone (Kevin Kilner) that his departure was not just a loss, it was a completely different show. The same approach and plot could not remain.
For those of you unfamiliar, Earth: Final Conflict was set three years after the arrival on Earth of an alien race called the Companions. Seemingly benevolent, these Taelon aliens were not universally trusted. The Resistance movement, led by Jonathan Doors (David Hemblen) recruit Boone after his wife is killed in a car accident. Doors suggests to Boone that his wife’s death was not an accident, but rather the doing of the Taelons after Boone rejected the North American Companion Da’an’s offer to become a Companion Protector. That job came with prerequisites, however, one of which being the implantation of Cyber Viral Implant (CVI) to boost mental acuity. A consequence known to the Resistance however was that the CVI also rewrote the Protector’s motivational imperative, forcing the person to become devotedly loyal to their assigned Companion.
Boone, using the Resistance who have disabled this motivational imperative in a CVI, then accepts Da’an’s offer and becomes an undercover agent for the liberation movement. His mission is to discover what the Companion’ real mission on Earth is.
As the years of the show went on, that “˜mission’ became less and less clear and increasingly clouded. But not in a Lost-style layers-of-mystery way. Rather a collection of unfinished plot lines and creative U-turns meant that the Taelon’s true mission was often suggested as one thing, but in the end turned out to be quite another.
As such, the first season was rather tantalising. Frequent glimpses into what appeared to be a well thought-out and deeply written mythology and suggestions of plots which could take us through for many seasons to come. Kevin Kilner’s Boone was infinitely likable; the Taleon’s stunningly perplexing and magically portrayed by Leni Parker’s Da’an. The characters were diverse and formed a magnificent ensemble. The sinister Taelon agenda personified through Von Flores’ portrayal of FBI Agent Ronald Sandoval, and humanity’s diversity never overlooked through quirky technical wizardry of Augar, and the quintessentially feminist performance of Lisa Howard’s Lili Marquette.
I remember being blown away by the quality of the early special effects (for 1997, that is). They appeared unique ““ the novelty of television using high quality CGI had not yet worn off ““ and were complemented by a magnificently composed musical score from Micky Erbe and Maribeth Solomon. The series fixated, inspired and triggered the imagination of its viewers in so many ways. I personally don’t think I’ve ever had a repeat of waiting each week for a new episode of any show with such constant anticipation (on a personal note, it also produced one of the better American representations of rural Ireland in season one’s “˜Secret of Strandhill’). What’s more ““ such was the quality ““ I knew I was not going to be disappointed.
The first season was made still more compelling by the inherent moral ambiguity of the set-up. Whilst the show later degraded into good versus evil, the first season was very much Boone’s story; Boone the Victim. Boone wasn’t instantly picking sides. He didn’t trust the Resistance, but he trusted the Taelons even less. He was the reluctant participant in a very complex set of events. E:FC’s early success really hinged upon the humanity of Boone. His loss at the end of the first year was irreparable.
With the recreation of V and Alien Nation, could there be space for a remake of Earth: Final Conflict: a version capturing the magic and aura of the early episodes whilst resetting the story back to its original premise ““ this time with the potential of completing its promise?
Such a decision would potentially mean erasing plenty of good work and characters established in later seasons of the show. Characters such as Tate, whom I enjoyed greatly for his relationship with Sandoval, do not naturally fit into the early concepts of the show. Reluctantly, he’d have to go.
I for one would not like to see the Atavus, or Jaridians even though both were represented by talented actors on occasion. The show should be about the Taelons at the forefront, and their relationship with humanity. Not humanity’s participation in an interstellar conflict, because at that point we risk falling into the realm of the generic.
Even Zo’or, brilliantly portrayed by Anita La Selva, could do with a complete reinterpretation. Zo’or fell victim to the paradigm of ultimate power corrupting ““ a very human flaw. The magnificence of the Taelons lay in the early episodes at being only part human ““ connective to us up to a point, but not entirely. Zo’or’s downfall seems simply too human, and thus the role of the character in any reset would have to be reimagined.
The other risk of a remake would be jeopardising in some way what I consider to be a rather fantastic pilot. I wouldn’t touch that. I would just reset from there and move on. In my own dream world, I’d keep the same cast as their interactions were fantastic, particularly the Parker/Kilner rapport.
Over course, I’ve jumped entirely into an idealistic world where exactly such a remake is possible. It’s not. For one thing, the show’s only been off the hair seven years. Give it another eight or ten then we might be talking.
Obviously, and remake would also have to reshoot the pilot. Such wishful thinking that it would be left untouched is completely unreasonable: I apologise. And the wonderful cast they assembled would have to be replaced.
Nonetheless, I can’t help but feel that Gene Roddenberry’s world contained infinitely more potential than was ever realised by the show, especially after the first season. There’s so much fantastic sci-fi drama in the concept as-of-yet unrealised.
Do I think a remake is worth a go? Absolutely.
Do I see it happening? Maybe in the far future.
One thing’s for sure, I want to hear this music again”¦
I completely agree with you: Boone’s lost is the source of much disappointment in the later seasons, although the second one wasn’t that bad.
I’d really like to see a remake of this show, but where to find a convincing Zo’or or Da’an?
Seasons 2-4 were not that bad. I just don’t dislike them as much as most other’s apparently. I doubt a remake would recapture the magic that this show had (even in its lesser episodes). They really did have a great cast and great sets, great music and production values. The writing was at times inconsistent but was often really good. I recently picked up Season 1, 3 and 5 on DVD and am struck by how great season 3 is and I am also surprised at how much better Season 5 is upon a second viewing. There are several good episodes there if you care to look. I didn’t have a problem with Zo’or being and out and out baddie. His rather human failings were merely more comment on the human condition and caused the resistance to question if killing all the taelons was a moral and acceptable option in their conflict. I really didn’t have a problem with the Jaridians or the Atavus. They had both been foreshadowed VERY early in season 1. Ultimately the show was about overcoming hate and prejudice. The Jaridian/Taelon relationship showed us how hate can destroy entire species. The Atavus being eminently hate-able were the most difficult to make peace with and thus Renee’s choice to save them in the end was a fitting “Final Conflict”. I think the creative people behind the show got a raw deal with season 5. They did the best they could with what there were given. Mistakes were made but the core essence of the show and the underlying message remained. Its pretty clear that the budget was cut severely for the final season by the company paying for the show. They were only interested in getting a syndication deal for 5 years. Once they had it they slashed the budget and left the show to rot. The folks behind the show gave us a watchable season that could have been far far worse than it was. Don’t get me wrong, Season 5 can’t hold a candle to any of the previous seasons but it isn’t all bad. A remake might fix the mistakes made but I doubt it could duplicate what went right. Remakes rarely do. If a remake was made I would have expectations. Just as I had expectations going into season 2 or season 5 only to be initially let down. Lets face facts here. The notes and script used for the basis of this show were far different from the finished product. The original pilot script reads a lot like V the series (which I didn’t personally care for). The original plot outline describes a much more black and white universe were the aliens are interested only in our resources. The alien agenda is merely to co-opt our leaders and take control. Ironically, Season 5 was the closest the series came to being faithful to Roddenberry’s idea’s for what was then Battleground: Earth. At any rate, The atavus were always going to make a comeback. The failures in execution of the idea of the Atavus in season 5 are the fault of the greedy company not caring about the show enough to foot the bill for the final season. There are links in the story that bind all 5 seasons together if you care to look. Earth: Final Conflict is an interesting (if at times flawed) journey that is worth taking. Anything a remake might fix would most likely not bring back all of what was good about the original. I would rather keep the show flaws and all then lose the good stuff. So I for one vote a resounding NO to a remake. I doubt it will happen anyway. If it did what would it be based on? Roddenberry’s notes again? You might as well look at the current remake of V.
Hmmm, S3 is my favorite season actually. Everyone will have a different opinion of what they’d like to see stay or removed in a remake. I think it would be impossible to do what you said and make Zo’or more alien without the human faults of ambition toward power. Without ambition of some kind you have nothing to build a story around. I get what you are saying: they are alien, but if they are made too alien we, as humans, will not relate to them very well and that would kill a remake. It is one reason why there are a group of fans who love third season because they did give the Taelons some emotion and we enjoyed the dynamic between Zo’or and Da’an. Even the actresses who played those roles liked that and wished it had been developed more, and better. You speak more of Zo’or’s behavior in the fourth season (some would call it insanity) and yes, that was a bit over the top. Even so I don’t hate that season.
Me personally, I would rather not see a remake, and would prefer to simply enjoy the old episodes and my memories. But if a remake were done, I would give it a look–I’d be too curious not to.
Thank you for the article. I wish there was more discussion about EFC.
If the original cast couldn’t do it, it doesn’t need to be remade. It would be too weird to have other people in the characters. That alone would make a remake fail hardcore.
I would not mind watching a remake. I have been watching V lately and it has brought back some interesting things which made me google around for whether V was EFC 2.0 or not. But then I find that V was pretty much ripped off from EFC’s original concept.
It would definitely be worth watching if they remade, or even came back with a prequel/sequel type deal!
“I think it would be impossible to do what you said and make Zo’or more alien without the human faults of ambition toward power. Without ambition of some kind you have nothing to build a story around. I get what you are saying: they are alien, but if they are made too alien we, as humans, will not relate to them very well and that would kill a remake.”
You hit the nail on the head right there. Roddenberry’s alien’s have always been foils for human qualities or ideologies. Trek at its best was a metaphor for current human society and its problems. For example the Klingons were representative of Russia and the Cold War. I remember when Season 5 aired all the E:FC “fans” just went apes*it and refused to even consider that their might be something to like about Season 5. After going on an on about it’s flaws they would generally site the need for more in-human aliens. This is absurd and isn’t true to Roddenberry’s vision. Season 5 actually has some very relevant things to say. There are episodes in season five that deal with government corruption, tyranny, In-humane treatment of prisoners, justification for extreme measures in war. My favorite episode in season 5 is “Subversion” where a supreme court judge conducts secret trials and “detains” defendants without due process and makes himself judge jury and executioner in order to punish people for crimes against humanity. Very relevant stuff there. There is also “Deportation” which deals with a government-denied gitmo-esqe prison for hybrids. Also very relevant. Margot Kidder is excellent as Dr. Mataros and holds a mirror up to Renee’s darker side. The final scene of the show was beautiful. Its my favorite final scene from any Roddenberry created show. That includes all the Treks. I recently was able to obtain Season 4 from eBay (at a very inflated price). I also decided to order Season 2 from Australia (Region 2) which I was able to play on my PC without much issue. Season 2 is currently my favorite (although I change my favorite often). I love the stuff about the Implicate Order and Liam’s conversations with Da’an about controlling the killer within. Good stuff. I can safely say that E:FC is my favorite show and is IMHO the best Sci Fi every made. Sure it has some rather big flaws but IMO the good outweighs the bad. I think time will be kind to this series.
Hell YES! I enjoy the original series and would love watching a remake (even within 10yrs) and even a retelling… that’s the joy of storytelling! :) I would find the casting for new actors fun as well and would appreciate the new portrayals and still enjoy the original.
I love about 2/3 of the first season and the other first season episodes are at least good. I agree with most of your assessments. It is powerful as Boone’s story. It was a shoot em up without him.
Yeah, I’d like to see it remade.
I think that a remake would be great, just look at how they were able to remake the original Star Trek into an incredible cast and a great movie, which will eventually be great movies!!!
Just finished rewatching the whole series. I say, now that it’s already 15 years after, they SHOULD remake the series to make it more interesting. And the 1998 special effects they employed is still way more advanced than the crap effects TV and movie prods in my country have.
Let’s hope