The ten-episode miniseries wrapped up on 13 December, 2002. Leslie Bohem attempts to give an explanation that will check all the boxes about alleged UFO sightings and alien abductions. Does it all work? No, because it tries to explain something that we may not be ready for, if any of the encounters are true.

Charlie (Adam Kaufman), Lisa (Emily Bergl) and Allie (Dakota Fanning) are still on the run with John (Eric Close), who does a huge exposition drop before the opening titles to explain the aliens’ purpose on Earth: to breed their higher intelligence and abilities with humanity’s emotional core.

Mary Crawford (Heather Donahue) and Wakeman (Matt Frewer) are still in pursuit of the family. Thanks to the tracker, they are able to find Allie anywhere, and that will be a problem no matter where they run.

Allie will be hunted no matter where they go, even if it’s all the way to Mexico and onto South America, thanks to some help from Tom Clarke (Ryan Hurst). Before any of that, they go back to the old Clarke farmhouse and try to come up with a long-range plan. And Crawford and Wakeman have a huge disagreement over what should be done. That is going to cause them all manner of problems.

All these problems and a hope for the future will need to be resolved before the end credits roll.

John is able to guide Allie in shutting down the family’s implants so they can remain hidden, and she can just be a little girl. She’ll be able to reactivate it if she needs help, but all the use of her powers is taking its toll. Allie seems to be in a sort of coma, and Lisa and Charlie don’t know what to do.

Tom is able to call in some help, even as the government is closing in again. Humanity unites for something bigger than itself, to face contact without trepidation, and look to something hopeful, frightening and possible.

In the end, Allie may have to make a big, life-altering choice.

Bohem focuses on the human side of the equation as much as he can, because we just don’t know what they want, or what they’re doing. So he invests in the human characters and makes us, as a species, look better than we may currently be.

It’s an entertaining miniseries; it toys gently with some big ideas, and while the visual effects aren’t always great, the story can be a little melodramatic, it’s fun and enjoyable. And as always, it has me looking to the skies.