Taken
2002
Original language: English
- sci-fi & fantasy
- mystery
- crime
The story
The show takes place from 1944 to 2002 and follows the lives of three families: the Crawfords, who seek to cover up the Roswell crash and the existence of aliens; the Keys, who are subject to frequent experimentation by the aliens; and the Clarkes, who sheltered one of the surviving aliens from the crash.
What it’s like
Warm, dusty Americana in soft, sun-bleached light, with wide prairie skies, clapboard kitchens and lamplit living rooms framed with the calm symmetry of an old family photograph. The palette leans amber and cream in the 1940s and 1950s and cools toward steel and blue as the decades advance, so the years themselves feel like they're drifting. Sound is sparse: long stretches of wind, screen-door creaks and ticking clocks, with a restrained orchestral score that swells only when something unnatural breaks the stillness. The mood is quiet unease, a slow, patient melancholy that settles into a rainy-afternoon or late-night-alone kind of watch. Pacing is deliberate and episodic, with long domestic scenes that build dread rather than release it. Its people are ordinary families whose lives are bent around secrets they didn't choose, and the arcs trace how they carry that weight across generations. Intensity is moderate: abduction scenes and clinical, unsettling experiments, a few sudden jolts of violence, and a persistent threat to children, but little gore and no sexual content. It suits viewers who want slow-burn sci-fi with a strong emotional core and a sense of history.
More TV shows like Taken
Closest in mood, pacing and theme. Tell us why you loved Takenand we’ll explain which ones fit you.
