Childhood's End 

After peaceful aliens invade earth, humanity finds itself living in a utopia under the indirect rule of the aliens, but does this utopia come at a price?

Stars:

Mike Vogel, Osy Ikhile, Daisy Betts

3 nominations.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Mike Vogel	...	Ricky Stormgren 3 episodes, 2015
Osy Ikhile	...	Milo Rodricks 3 episodes, 2015
Daisy Betts	...	Ellie Stormgren / ... 3 episodes, 2015
Georgina Haig	...	Annabel Stormgren 3 episodes, 2015
Charles Dance	...	Karellen 3 episodes, 2015
Ashley Zukerman	...	Jake Greggson 3 episodes, 2015
Hayley Magnus	...	Amy Morrel 3 episodes, 2015
Charlotte Nicdao	...	Rachel / ... 3 episodes, 2015
Russell Kiefel	...	Sheriff De Bont 3 episodes, 2015
Harley Durst	...	Karellen Double 3 episodes, 2015
Cecilia Dewar	...	Extra 3 episodes, 2015
Yael Stone	...	Peretta Jones 2 episodes, 2015
Lachlan Roland-Kenn	...	Tommy 2 episodes, 2015
Darius Amarfio Jefferson	...	Young Milo 2 episodes, 2015
Zahra Newman	...	Bridget Rodricks 2 episodes, 2015
Michael-Anthony Taylor	...	Janitor 2 episodes, 2015
Shane Holloway	...	Immigration Officer 2 episodes, 2015
Xavier West	...	Driver's Son 2 episodes, 2015

Storyline

Written by Arthur C. Clarke and hailed as a revolutionary work of science fiction since its publishing in 1953, Childhood's End follows the peaceful alien invasion of Earth by the mysterious "Overlords," whose arrival begins decades of apparent utopia, at the cost of human identity and culture. The true implications of the Overlords' arrival may be far more dangerous, however.

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Plot Keywords:

alien | hotel room | loss | space travel | child | 

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Genres:

Drama | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Did You Know?

Trivia

The music heard on the Stormgrens' radio is all from the 1950s, the decade when the novel Childhoods End was published.

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Connections

Featured in James Cameron's Story of Science Fiction: Alien Life (2018)

User Reviews

A very pleasant surprise

I will try very hard not to spoil anyone's enjoyment of the first episode. (Incidentally, the introduction in the Kindle version of Childhood's end -- and probably the latest print edition as well -- includes a major spoiler, which is a criminal act. Should you buy the book, skip the introduction until AFTER you've read the book and/or seen the series.) As other people have said, the premise revolves around some apparently benevolent aliens who invade, declaring an end of war, hunger, climate change, hatred, and the other banes of 21st century society. Most people love the idea, but pockets of opposition rise up from people who feel threatened in one way or another.

The twists and turns in the plot are complex, complicated, and often subtle. The surprise is that the series manages them very well.

The script was quite remarkable, adapting the 60-year-old novel and weaving its complexities more deftly than I had expected. The romantic aspects were largely invented for the series. Like most of Clarke's science fiction contemporaries, 20-something "boys" in the science fiction world were geeks (we called them nerds) who had little understanding and less experience with "girls". Simple ignorance explains why they had so few strong women characters. The film version brings the story into the present and at least attempts to restore the balance.

Many factors worked against this film. The film is visual to some degree, but it is mostly dialog and atmosphere. For some of us, it was an amazing novel that raised some provocative questions and didn't answer them. For me, when I heard that someone was turning the long-loved book into a movie, I reacted with skepticism, uttering my mantra over such things. It would be good or it would be terrible. It was unlikely to fall anywhere in between.

I suspect it was a difficult film to sell to advertisers -- the lifeblood of the industry. There was a lot of mystery and adventure, but little or no pyrotechnics. It might not draw a sufficient audience to justify such ambitious projects. I noticed a large number of house ads and station promos in the breaks instead of paying commercials. To the credit of the producers, writers, and director, they didn't compromise the material to draw a bigger audience. As a result, the story takes time to unfold, and some audience members might not be patient enough to stick it out. But if you want to see a genuine attempt to put a seminal and unconventional novel on the home screen, give this a try. It isn't perfect, but it was well worth the effort -- and it's well worth your time.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 December 2015 (USA)

Also Known As:

Childhood's End

Filming Locations:

Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Company Credits

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

16:9 HD