This Dreamworks and Sci-Fi channel production is a monster mini-series that will take you at least a week to watch. Much of the storyline content is taken from the "mythology" of UFO incidents dating from 1945 to the present, as seen through the experiences of three families who become intertwined in the UFO story. A relatively young cast is featured in the major roles including Joel Gretsch, Tina Holmes, Heather Donahue (from Blair Witch Project), Adam Kaufman, Catherine Dent, Ryan Hurst, Chad Morgan, Eric Close, and Dakota Fanning. Fanning is setting a new standard for child actors with this and other recent performances. Michael Moriarty, movie veteran and from the "Law and Order" television series plays a small role in the opening episode. Matt Frewer (Max Headroom) joins the cast in later episodes.

The disc set is a fold out case with a description of each family member on the inside flaps. This help sort out all the players in the large production. The episodes are broken up into two per disc. Volume One-Roswell: The Landing Episode One-Beyond The Sky-In which World War II bomber pilot is rescued by strange lights and begins life back home but continues to be taken by grey aliens in the night. He soon discovers that his flying buddies have all died of mysterious illnesses. At the Air Force Base in New Mexico, Owen Crawford is assigned the duty to investigate a crash of an alien space craft and it's occupants, one of which is still alive. People who come in contact with the alien soon go insane or quickly die from profuse bleeding. On a small farm in Texas, a strange man is found hiding in the woodshed of a lonely wife(Sally Clarke) and soon a baby is conceived between the two. The man soon leaves because he is in danger. This episode is directed by Tobe Hooper. Episode Two-Jacob and Jesse Volume Two-A New Generation Episode Three-High Hopes Episode Four-Acid Tests Volume Three-Abductions and Government Conspiracies Episode Five-Maintenance Episode Six-Charlie and Lisa Volume Four-Alien Contact Episode Seven-God's Equation Episode Eight-Dropping The Dishes Volume Five-The Gift Episode Nine-John Episode Ten-Taken While the story is driven by the UFO myths and moves quite quickly in the first four episodes, it drastically slows down in the later episodes. The aliens are portrayed as mysterious and menacing at time, and the audience is left to ponder about their intentions throughout the series. Dakota Fanning is charming but also serious in her role as the product of cross breeding of aliens and humans through three generations. The ending is pure Spielberg.

An excellent widescreen picture is a real joy for home theater owners, as more and more television series are shot in widescreen. Effects are top notch and what you'd expect from a Spielberg production. A powerful Dolby 5. 1 soundtrack brings out effects well and surround sound uses all the channels for maximum impact.

A sixth disc offers us an inside look into how the series was conceived by Spielberg and Dreamworks, and their work with the Sci-fi channel. Cast and crew are also featured in interviews and commentary on specific scenes during the extras. Other features include specials on the visual effects, directors for the series and Time Warp, which deals with the different time frames of the series. About another two hours of bonus material in all. While it was interesting to watch, I thought the series, as monumental as it was, deserved a more unique set of extra features.

Useless Trivia-The writers and directors take homage to X-Files in one scene-a plane taxiing outside a hanger in New Mexico has an X with a circle around it on its tail. Summary-Sci-Fi fans will love this series that explores the mystery surrounding the UFO saga with a sprinkling of Hollywood thrown in for dramatic effect. The cast performs well and each episode makes you want to continue feeding the DVD player to see what happens next. In the end though, I found the answers provided to the monumental questions a bit shallow and unsatisfying. Priced right, this DVD set will bring you days of entertainment; just don't take it so seriously.