Taken

Taken is a science fiction miniseries which first aired on the Sci-Fi Channel in 2002 and won an Emmy award for Outstanding Miniseries. It was written by Leslie Bohem, and directed by Breck Eisner, Félix Enríquez Alcalá, John Fawcett, Tobe Hooper, Jeremy Paul Kagan, Michael Katleman, Sergio Mimica-Gezzan, Bryan Spicer, Jeff Woolnough and Thomas J. Wright. It was executive produced by Bohem and Steven Spielberg.

Characters

The Clarkes

Sally Clarke (Catherine Dent)

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Sally is a lonely woman, since her husband Fred is always out of town. When she meets John, her life is turned upside down, and they form a special bond, even though they know each other briefly. She becomes pregnant with Jacob, a human-alien hybrid. After quitting her job as a waitress at the local diner, she becomes enraptured with Owen Crawford.

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Fred Clarke (Alf Humphreys)

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Fred is Sally's husband, until he discovers her affair with John had resulted in her pregnancy. He separates with her after that. Fred was constantly away on business, and his relationship with his wife and children were strained considerably.

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Tom Clarke (Ryan Hurst as Adult Tom, and Kevin Schmidt as Young Tom)

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The son of Sally and Fred, Tom was always skeptical of his mother's belief in aliens from outer space, and makes it his life-long quest to debunk alien theories wherever they spread. After Owen Crawford destroys Sally's life, Tom swore to ruin his. He doesn't stop with Owen; he is a constant obstacle to Eric Crawford's research.

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Becky Clarke (Chad Morgan as Adult Becky, and Shauna Kain as Young Becky)

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Traditionally fiercely protective of her younger brother Jacob, Becky breaks it when she finds herself falling in love with Eric Crawford. Her relationship with her family is strained ever since.

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Jacob Clarke (Anton Yelchin as Young Jacob, and Chad Donella as Adult Jacob)

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Young Jacob was always different from all the other children. Shy and anti-social, he was a bully-magnet. That all changes when he demonstrates his psychic powers. Jacob, or Jack, as he is known by friends and relatives, is wise beyond his years, and has a powerful insight he inherited from his father, John. When necessary, Jacob can overload adversaries with memories of both their pasts and their futures, driving them temporarily mad. These abilities come at a cost; overusing them can cause him severe cranial trauma, risking death.

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Carol Clarke (Sadie Lawrence)

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Carol is a kind woman who married Jacob, not realising that part of him is from another world...

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Lisa Clarke (Emily Bergl as Adult Lisa, Alexandra Purvis as Lisa, age 13, and Taylor-Anne Reid as Lisa, age 11)

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Despite being the daughter of a half-alien, she doesn't inherit any of his more unusual qualities. However, she is protected from the Crawfords by the aliens, and they save her from death, when she gives birth to Allie. Lisa also forms a special bond with Charlie Keys, although they first met on board a spaceship, where they conceived Allie. Later, Lisa finds that she has a psychic link with her daughter.

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The Crawfords

Captain (Colonel) Owen Crawford (Joel Gretsch)

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A captain who eventually climbs the military ladder to be colonel in the United States Army Air Force, Owen happens across the crash site in Roswell in 1947. His ruthless qualities come out of the dark, and are shocking to the core. He stops at nothing to learn the secrets of the visitors from outer space, even if it means sacrificing his family. Owen tries to have an affair with Sally Clarke, until he is stopped by Jacob. Tom destroys Owen's career in revenge.

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Anne Crawford (Tina Holmes)

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Anne is a warm-hearted woman who easily falls for Owen's charms. She eventually discovers that she was blissfully ignorant of the fact that he married her so he could advance up the ranks of the Air Force's alien project, then in the hands of her father, Col. Campbell. As a result, Anne's mental stability spirals, and meets a shocking fate.

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Eric Crawford (Andy Powers as Adult Eric, Nolan Funk as Teenage Eric, and Cody Shaer as Young Eric)

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Not quite as ruthless as his father Owen, Eric is a confused, angry man who felt unloved by his parents, especially Owen. For this reason he becomes extremely jealous of his brother Sam. Eric inherits the extraterrestrial project from his father. Eric's past and his obsession with the project leave him estranged with his wife Julie, and his relationship with his daughter, Mary gradually turns to ice, with tragic results.

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Sam Crawford (Ryan Merriman as Adult Sam, Branden Nadon as Teenage Sam, and Trevor Pawson as Young Sam)

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The kind and understanding Sam grows up to be a young journalist. He is always dismissive of his father and brother's projects. That is until he happens across a newspaper article about an ancient Inuit ruin, whose symbols resemble those on the piece of metal Owen keeps in his personal safe. Sam embarks on a journey to Alaska to find the truth, with fatal consequences.

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Julie Crawford (Emily Holmes)

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Julie thought that the Eric she married was the perfect man, but the life she envisions crumbles. Her relationship with her daughter, Mary, however, is very strong, although she doesn't realize how much Mary has inherited from her grandfather.

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Mary Crawford (Heather Donahue as Adult Mary, and Anysha Berthot as Young Mary)

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Owen's monstrous legacy is carried onto his granddaughter, Mary. Although her relationship with her mother is strong, she feels estranged by her father, Eric. An outstanding student in biochemistry, Mary jumps on board Eric's project, making several major breakthroughs in association with fellow scientist and secret lover Dr. Chet Wakeman. Mary coldbloodedly experiments on several of the 'taken', and relentlessly hunts down the current generation of the Keys and the Clarkes - especially Allie.

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The Keys

Capt. Russel Keys (Steve Burton)

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Braving the deadly skies above France as a B-17 bomber captain in 1943, Russel and his crew is abducted by aliens disguised as German doctors. After despatching the aliens, Russel is never the same when he comes home. Upon discovering that his comrades had died, he leaves his family to become a drifter, hoping the aliens never find him. Alas, he is proved wrong, and is taken several times and experimented on. Russel tries to defend his son, Jesse, from the aliens, and is frustrated by his impotence in these matters. He is eventually taken and experimented on by the air force doctors, headed by Col. Owen Crawford and Dr. Kreutz.

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Kate Keys (Julie Benz)

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After anxiously waiting for Russel's return from Europe, Kate is saddened to find he comes home a changed man. She is constantly concerned about his state of mind, and is worried that he can't tell her what's been haunting him for so long.

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Jesse Keys (Desmond Harrington as Adult Jesse, James Kirk as Teen Jesse, and Conner Widdows as Young Jesse)

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The son of Russel and Kate, Jesse always admired his father for his heroism during the Second World War. Jesse finds himself taken by visitors from outer space, and each abduction sends him into a spiral of depression, anxiety, and rage. He is particularly traumatised by his experiences in Vietnam, when the aliens save him from a burning Buddhist temple, but let his squadmates die. He becomes a stoner after the war, but is rehabilitated by a nurse named Amelia. Jesse tries to protect his son, Charlie, from being abducted, but to no avail. Ultimately, his experiences wind him up in a mental hospital.

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Amelia Keys (Julie Ann Emery)

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Amelia meets Jesse in the hospital where she works. She takes care of him and helps him overcome his addiction to drugs. However, she is concerned by Jesse's increasingly erratic behaviour, especially towards their son, Charlie. Amelia finally believes Jesse when Eric Crawford's agents come after him, and she leads Charlie to live in obscurity.

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Charlie Keys (Adam Kaufman as Adult Charlie, and Devin Douglas Drewitz as Teen Charlie)

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Like his father Jesse, Charlie is tormented by his abductions by the aliens. Despite that, he has an intriguing experience with Lisa Clarke, and the two share a special bond. Charlie was a school teacher, but his desire to expose the aliens' activities render him jobless, and is forced to run from the government.

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Allie Keys (Dakota Fanning as Allie, and Elle Fanning as Allie, age 3)

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Although her mother didn't inherit Jacob's alien abilities, Allie did. Allie is wise beyond her years and has the ability to not only read minds, but can also manipulate time, and has healed her father Charlie. Allie is the centrepiece of the alien's experiments, but not even she knows what lies in store for her. She is also taken by Mary Crawford, who coldly conducts experiments on her.

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Other characters

Alien Visitor 'John' (Eric Close)

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When 'John's' alien spacecraft crashes in the New Mexico desert near Roswell, killing his companions, he assumes the form of a human. He falls in love with Sally Clarke, and gives her a child, Jacob. John leaves shortly afterward, but the two have a special bond, and he returns while Sally is on her deathbed.

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Col. Thomas Campbell (Michael Moriarty)

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An Air Force Colonel in the intelligence division and Capt. Owen Crawford's superior. He takes control of everything related to the Roswell crash and leaves Crawford out of it. Crawford then seduces and marries his daughter Anne and blackmails Campbell into assigning him as head of the project.

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Dewey Clayton

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'Doc' (Jay Brazeau)

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Dr. Chet Wakeman (Matt Frewer)

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Despite being a highly intelligent and rather blackly humorous character, Dr. Chet Wakeman can be rather sadistic. Wakeman, being a scientist, has a grossly childlike fascination with the aliens, and will sacrifice absolutely anything to have a share in the alien experience. As a result, he gleefully sentences test subjects - both human and animal - to their deaths in order to extract research data, and to satisfy his curiosity. Although he is Eric Crawford's friend, their friendship cools over the years, especially when Wakeman becomes very close with Eric's daughter Mary, and the two have an affair.

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Dr. Ellen Greenspan

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Dr. Harriet Penzler (Gabrielle Rose)

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A psychological counsellor, Dr. Penzler is engrossed by hearing the experiences of the 'taken', and has opened a therapy group so abductees can talk about their experiences. She also uses hypnosis on the members of the group to recollect their memories. However, some of the members of the group find their confidence in her testing...

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Dr. Helms (Andrew Johnston)

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Dr. Kreutz (Willie Garson)

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Formerly an aerospace engineer for the Nazis, Dr. Kruetz escaped to America after the end of World War II. He comes to work under Colonel Crawford after the Roswell landings in 1947. Dr. Kreutz is a rather stern and cold man, and offhandedly sacrifices test subjects. He meets a rather horrifying fate after experimenting on Russel Keys.

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Dr. Powell (Terry Chen)

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Dr. Quarrington

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General Beers (James McDaniel)

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A high-ranking officer in the US Army, General Beers shuts down Mary Crawford and Dr. Wakeman's FBI alien project. He moves operations to North Dakota, in a bid to lure the aliens into a trap, using Allie as bait.

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Gladys Erenberg (Carol Infield Sender)

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One of the famed Erenburg twins, Gladys is psychically linked with her sister, Mavis. She, along with her sister, is taken to New Mexico as a guinea pig in Owen Crawford and Dr. Kreutz's alien program. They hope the Erenburg twins could fly the alien ship that crashed near Roswell.

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Lester (Frederick Koehler)

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Up in the frozen forests of Alaska, dwells Lester. He is the child of an alien, but was born horribly deformed. Lester has the appearance of a mutated human-alien, has the bone-chilling psychic ability to kill whoever looks him in the eye. Absolutely terrified of himself, Lester hides in a small shack in the woods. He builds an Inuit-inspired tomb for his dead brother (who was also deformed), hoping to revive him with magic.

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Lieutenant Lou Johnson (Ryan Robbins)

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Lieutenant Williams (Tobias Mehler )

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Lieutenant Howard Bowen (Jason Gray-Stanford)

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One of Col. Owen Crawford's two closest lackeys. He's right when he says, "That is one nasty son of a bitch". He is shot by Owen during his scheme to deal with his wife, Anne.

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Mavis Erenberg (Helen Infield Siff)

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Mavis is one of the Erenburg twins, and is psychically linked with her sister, Gladys. In New Mexico, she and her sister demonstrated their abilities. One of the twins visualises a bunch of flowers, while the other draws a mentally accurate depiction. But those who enter the base don't come out alive...

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Patricia (Janet Wright)

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Private William Toland

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Ray (Brian Markinson)

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Ray is an angry and confused man who pretends that he was abducted by aliens, but was just a victim of child sexual abuse. He attempts to create a media spectacle by holding the therapy group hostage in a bid to prove to himself that is a sane man.

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