Genre: Sci-Fi | Action | Drama
Air Date/Time: Sunday, June 17 at 9/8c
Network: TNT
Created by: Robert Rodat
Written by: Mark Verheiden (Episode 1) and Bradley Thompson & David Weddle (Episode 2)
Directed by: Greg Beeman
Summary:
Falling Skies chronicles the chaotic aftermath of an alien attack that has left most of the world completely incapacitated. In the nine months since the initial invasion, the few remaining survivors have banded together outside major cities to begin the difficult task of fighting back. Each day is a test of survival as citizen soldiers work to protect the people in their care while also engaging in an insurgency campaign against the occupying alien force, whose nature and purpose remains a mystery.
As the second season of Falling Skies opens, three months have passed since Tom Mason (Noah Wyle) went willingly with the aliens in one of their ships. Nobody has seen or heard from him during this time, and his absence has taken its toll on his sons. Tom hoped that by agreeing to a dialogue with the invaders, he would not only free his son Ben from the invaders’ influence but also get a better picture of the aliens’ overall plan.
Moon Bloodgood (Terminator Salvation) also stars as Anne Glass, a pediatrician who works with the survivors to help them cope with the traumatic upheaval in their lives. Will Patton (Armageddon, TNT’s Into the West) plays Weaver, a fierce military leader of the resistance and Tom’s commanding officer. The series also stars Drew Roy (Secretariat) as Hal, Tom’s oldest son and a growing fighter in the resistance movement; Maxim Knight (Brothers & Sisters) as Matt, Tom’s youngest son; Connor Jessup (The Saddle Club) as Ben, Tom’s son who was captured by aliens and has since returned to the group; and Seychelle Gabriel (Weeds) as Lourdes, an orphaned pre-med student who helps Anne in the group’s makeshift medical clinic. Mpho Koaho (Rookie Blue) and Peter Shinkoda (The L Word) play Anthony and Dai, two resistance fighters in the 2nd Mass.; Colin Cunningham (Living in Your Car) is John Pope, the head of a gang of marauders called the Berserkers; and Sarah Sanguin Carter (Shark) is Maggie, a wary survivor from Pope’s gang.
What a difference. Falling Skies has a new showrunner, and the survivors have a new style. It’s three months later, and they have spent those three months learning how to work as a team. They have their battle act together and they rock; it’s really great to see. Most all of the whiny cranky infighting has been swept away, and replaced with the kind of “us vs. them” that makes it much easier for us to root. Yay, go humans! It isn’t full-on action from beginning to end, but by doing away with most of the intramural mind games and having a clearer idea of which are the real enemies, the show isn’t dragged down as it had a tendency to do last season.
Here’s what Season 1 fans want to know: YES there’s more action throughout. YES we see more aliens. YES we find out at least some of what happened to Tom on board the alien ship. And YES we get to see INSIDE THE ALIEN SHIP. These are not major spoilers; they happen in the first ten minutes of the first episode. In the first fifteen minutes a key phrase is uttered that is not mentioned again throughout these first two episodes but will clearly become a vital point in the weeks to come. A few more mysteries are dropped in by the end of the two episodes, enough to keep us wanting more.
There is subtext in Tom’s journey back to the group that I just have to share, and it may be familiar – If we can’t live together, we’re gonna die alone. “Our” group has found a way to work efficiently together, and it is making a huge difference for them, and for us. I have nothing against psychological drama, but they didn’t do it particularly well in the first season; it felt insular and stifling. The group had hunkered down at the school and seemed stuck, with the enemies primarily found within the group. Now they’re working together, and they are on the move, and there is no time for a lot of navel gazing. Thank goodness. I don’t know that we’d appreciate it as much had we not gone through that first season, but we and they have done so, and have moved on. There is in fact a visual effect that is the perfect reflection of this, but… spoilers.
So, there’s your overall mood and mode. As for specifics… well, the dialogue isn’t particularly great, but this can be forgiven. If they don’t have time to be all angsty, they don’t have time for snappy repartee either. It’s a bit wooden, but that does tend to serve the militaristic feel I think they’re going for. Likewise there aren’t any real standout performances in these first two episodes, but the ensemble seems to work well together, and Noah Wyle does not disappoint.
Most if not all of the camera work is handheld, which perfectly supports this fresh feel. I particularly appreciate it when the group is basically spread out along a road and the camera walks past one and then another vignette of two to three people interacting, as though the audience is on its way to its assigned task. It’s a terrific way to draw us in to the experience, and give us a slice of who does what, who works with whom, and occasionally who is interested in whom, without having to write up entire scenes for them.
There are some cool effects, especially in the first episode. The aliens in particular are nicely done, as are the battles. Some of the CG work is a little off, but not horribly so. The sound is steady and clear and the music is always appropriate for the mood. The sets are quite good, just because they don’t feel like sets. According to production, they really were on the move a lot, so they actually were moving the vehicles and therefore the camps quite often. The actors look dirty and tired, and from what I’ve heard, that didn’t take a lot of acting. Hard on them, but great for the look and feel of the production.
This is a solid and encouraging premiere for a show that has taken an interesting premise and cranked it up about a dozen notches, shaking out the cobwebs on the way.
I give Falling Skies: Season 2, Episode 1 and Episode 2, Four Out of Five Stars.
