Taken

“Taken,” also known as “Steven Spielberg Presents Taken,” is a science fiction miniseries that premiered on the Sci-Fi Channel in 2002 and earned an Emmy Award for Outstanding Miniseries. The series was shot in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with Leslie Bohem as the writer and a team of directors including 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. Leslie Bohem and Steven Spielberg served as executive producers.

The narrative spans from 1944 to 2002, focusing on the intertwined lives of three families: the Crawfords, who aim to conceal the Roswell incident and alien existence; the Keys, who endure repeated alien experiments; and the Clarkes, who provide refuge to a surviving alien from the crash. Due to the extensive timeline, no single actor or character is present in every episode. The series was well-received and won an Emmy Award.

Upon its release, the Sci-Fi Channel promoted the series by simultaneously launching the Coalition for Freedom of Information. Both the channel and the coalition were clients of the Washington, D.C. public relations firm PodestaMattoon, which led to criticism over the perceived overlap of interests. The Coalition for Freedom of Information advocates for the declassification of government UFO files and seeks to enhance the scientific, congressional, and media legitimacy of UFO research.