All good things must come to an end. And so it is with Syfy‘s Childhood’s End TV show. The Childhood’s End TV series finale aired on Syfy, last night. While the show was not cancelled, it was always meant to be a limited event (i.e. mini-) series. There will be no season two.
Executive Producer Matthew Graham is talking about Childhood’s End and what it all might mean. Warning: this article contains spoilers. Continue at your own risk.
Adapted from the Arthur C. Clarke sci-fi novel of the same name, in Childhood’s End, aliens called the Overlords peacefully invade Earth and usher in a utopian age of peace, health, and prosperity. The Overlords keep their faces hidden, saying humanity couldn’t handle their appearance, which leaves people understandably suspicious.
Eventually, Overlord Karellen (Charles Dance) reveals himself and looks downright diabolical. Since humanity has maxed out its evolutionary capacity, the Overlords have come to Earth and “fixed” it, to allow the planet’s last generation of children to flourish and develop telekinesis and other abilities.
That last generation will be assimilated into a collective universal consciousness, called the Overmind. Left behind, the adults die will off and the planet’s life force will drain away.
From Entertainment Weekly:
What message do you think the series sends? That humanity is ultimately doomed and we’re basically our own worst enemy?
Well, [Childhood’s End author] Arthur C. Clarke had a great quote: He said, “We’re the first era of man ever to genuinely try and predict our own future, which is ironic, because we very well may not have one.” No, I don’t see it as doom, actually. I think the initial reaction is to feel it’s doom. I think it’s about acceptance, and I don’t think we should take it literally; I don’t think the book is about: One day the world will end. I think it’s about: One day you will end. You are going to end, and within a couple of generations, people won’t know your name; they won’t remember your name. I don’t know the name of my great-grandparents, and I certainly don’t know the name of my great-great grandparents. That’s rather profound and rather challenging, but it’s about acceptance.
Whether you have a religious faith or you don’t, it’s not really about saying there’s no God or there is a God. What we do know for certain is that we’re very small in a very big universe, and one day we’re going to die. And when you die, effectively, that is the end of the world — it’s the end of the world for you. So I think he’s writing about that; I think he’s writing about death. And he was a very cheeky man, so when he was interviewed, I think he liked to wind people up and say, “We’re all going to die, the world’s going to explode.” I think he quite liked playing those games with people. But I think ultimately the book is about something more intimate.
Did you watch Childhood’s End on Syfy? Are you disappointed that the series is over, or do you think this three night event series was just the right size? Share you thoughts in our collective consciousness, i.e. the comments.
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