Parents' Guide to

Childhood's End

By Joyce Slaton, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 14+

Slow-burn sci-fi is chock-full of scary imagery.

Movie NR 2016 247 minutes
Childhood's End Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

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age 12+

Based on 1 parent review

GrmMcGillisKool
GrmMcGillisKool Parent of 12 and 18-year-old
September 28, 2022
age 12+

There is always a different & viable view point of life.

Just managed to be good enough to (hopefully) encourage others to go READ THE BOOK. It’s so much better & a genuinely wonderful & meaningful novel. You will not regret it. PS. Don’t worry, the series won’t spoil your enjoyment of the book at all. Hope you enjoy it.

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What's the Story?

Based on the 1953 Arthur C. Clarke novel of the same name, CHILDHOOD'S END is a three-part, six-hour miniseries that picks up in 2016, when huge alien ships suddenly descend and hover over major cities around the Earth. Aliens are here; they're now in charge and are swiftly named the Overlords. But mankind has nothing to fear, Overlord Supervisor Karellen (Charles Dance) assures everyone, speaking through charismatic Missouri farmer Ricky Stormgren (Mike Vogel). Why won't the Overlords show their true faces? What are their real goals? If they're here and they intend to do us harm, why are they curing diseases and turning back centuries of environmental damage? Most are complacent, but the leader of the radical Freedom League Hugo Wainwright (Colm Meaney) thinks the Overlords are softening the human race up before delivering the coup de grace. Is this the end of humanity? Or the golden age the Overlords have promised?

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say: (1):
Kids say: Not yet rated

A nice treat for the type of sci-fi fan who prefers a good think about the (potential) shape of things to come, this slow-burn drama does take its time creeping out patient viewers. Hints that there's more than meets the eye to what at first seems a simple aliens-crush-humans plot take a while to show up; younger kids will probably be alternately terrified by otherworldly imagery and bored by talky scenes in which Ricky and Karellen debate faith and morality. Readers of the novel will be well aware we're not headed for a happy ending, and the show itself signals this with a lead-in in which the last man on Earth pauses to tell his tale. But just how we get from here to there is a complex and thought-provoking story, one that unspools dreamily in this fine adaptation. It's not for kids, but geeky tweens and teens will love watching with parents and prising out the notions this drama evokes.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about why alien invasions are a common sci-fi plot. What universal fears does it signify? Why are people drawn to this plot?

  • In the book on which this mini-series is based, the main character is the Secretary-General of the U.N. In this adaptation, an Everyman type is the center of the action. Why do you think the show's creators would make this change?

Movie Details

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