But, Kilner wouldn’t be the only departure. Rumor has it that the studio didn’t renew his contract, so he was killed off-screen between the finale of season 1 and the premier of season 2 (I know, right?!), replaced by Robert Leeshock as Liam Kincaid, a far less engaging, far less mature, and I guess far younger character, but more of a “man of action.” He existed mostly to drag you through whatever was left of the plot. Kevin Kilner as William Boone wasn’t the strongest actor on the show, but he was the lead for season 1, and he did provide a compelling narrative and almost a noir detective feel. Technically he’s one of the villains, but this leaves the viewer in an odd position of following his story more closely, because he’s the only one you recognize throughout, and that just sort of highlights where the problems start.
There’s an impressive conviction to his role, but he’s also the only character in all 5 seasons of the show. The second best actor on the show is Von Flores as Ronald Sandoval, attache to Da’an. I can’t really come up any further description that does her portrayal justice, so I suppose you’ll just have to watch at least the first episode, it’s worth it. And for an alien race that generally does not show emotion, she often manages to convey profound sadness, anger, and fear from underneath that facade, many times outshining the rest of the cast. The little things, like how they modulate her voice down for English, but let her natural voice shine through for the Taelon language is incredibly captivating. She plays the androgynous character, who is referred to as male throughout, with an incredible feminine grace that is just slightly not human enough to be uncomfortably inhuman and yet incredibly comforting at times. To this date, it is the single greatest portrayal of a humanoid alien I have ever seen on screen. She brings the character to life in way that I have never seen before nor since. The star of the show is undoubtedly Leni Parker as Da’an, the Taelon Companion to North America. An online marketing campaign at the time, even had you sign up for an account and newsletter either with the Taelons or the Resistance. “Why risk your lives when we can simply give you the information you seek?” You can see how that rings altruistic, but also with a hint of “What are they hiding?” The Resistance, on the other hand, surely must have our best interests at heart, yet they’re also lead by a “by any means necessary” extremist.
The Taelons seem to have Humanity’s best interest a heart, yet they also have difficulty comprehending Humanity in general, like our need to explore the stars.
EARTH FINAL CONFLICT SEASON 5 INTRO SERIES
In this sense, the series walks a middle line perfectly. They have improved almost all facets of our lives, from agriculture to medicine, though some still doubt their sincerity. The show starts three years after a seemingly benevolent alien species (the Taelons) make first contact with Earth. Roddenberry’s plans clearly ran out when season 1 ended, but I’m getting ahead of myself. The show was based on some notes found after Gene Roddenberry passed away (you know, Star Trek’s Gene Roddenberry), and brought to fruition by his wife, Majel Barrett. The best episode, Sandoval’s Run, happens half-way through season 1, and that’s never a good sign.
EARTH FINAL CONFLICT SEASON 5 INTRO TV
TV was different back in the late 1990’s, you generally stuck with a show until it ended simply because there was nothing better on, and that’s not saying much. Like most people who claim to love this series, I loved season 1, and I barely tolerated the other 4. Many years later, it still holds a lot of complex feelings about what it meant and especially what it could have meant if it wasn’t utterly sabotaged from season 2 onwards. I grew up loving Earth: Final Conflict, so when I decided to start rewatching shows that I grew up with, this was naturally one of the first.
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