No one could accuse Earth: Final Conflict’s second sea- son of playing safe. From its opening minutes, the Gene Roddenberry-inspired alien invasion saga boldly broke away from season one’s tried and trusted format by adopting a new leading man, a revised premise and a radically altered attitude.

Although the end product of this drastic revamp proved beyond any doubt that Earth: Final Conflict’s cast and crew are determined to keep the show’s viewers on the edge of their seats, season two was also widely accused of being a misconceived and disappointing continuation of the series. With the benefit of hindsight, the show’s chief writer and only full-time Executive Producer, Paul Gertz, admits that much of the criticism aimed at the season was completely justified.

“In the second year, we came out and made some bold statements,” Gertz tells Xposé. “Some of them worked and some of them didn’t. But we certainly started out with a bang, and we kind of got people’s attention in a hurry with a different kind of take on the show.

“We’ve taken some criticism for the changes, and I not only sort of expected that, but I like it – because it means people are watching the show. The criticism is never malevolent; it all comes from people caring about the show and its characters. And I’ve read a lot of comments from viewers that I’ve agreed with.”

Season two began on a promising note with First of Its Kind, a Gertz-scripted tale which confirmed the shocking demise of the show’s original central character, William Boone (Kevin Kilner) and witnessed the birth of his successor, Liam Kincaid (Robert Leeshock).

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