Falling Skies

 After viewing the third episode, I'm done. I was done midway through the first episode, but hoped the show would improve. Obviously, it didn't.

It was worse than V, (the remake) but that's not fair to V, for V knew exactly what it was. V was "Murder She Wrote" with Reptilians, but that's okay. V knew that. It was predictable and very made-for-TV-ish but I liked it anyway.  It didn't take itself too seriously; just seriously enough, with all the earnest resistance fighters and the FBI suits and those lizard-aliens, and the comic book stuff, like the "soul shredder" machine.


Falling Skies takes itself too seriously. Their definite corny made-for-TV vibe, complete with hackneyed music, screams cheese all the way but it's clear the producers think that's a good thing. By the middle of the third episode I turned to my dear one and said "All they need is a slice of apple pie and a dog in this scene" -- the syrupy upswell of music and familial bonding was so damn potent. Good solid Americans fighting the fight against the invading aliens. The latter which are the only good thing about the show. Pretty cool looking multi-legged lizardish aliens called "skitters" kidnap children and use them for their own devious agenda.  (hmmm, echoes of the excellent Torchwood arc Children of Earth.)

Aside from all that, there isn't enough about the aliens reason for invading earth. Clearly Falling Skies intends to focus on the humans all the way and wants us to see things from their perspective, sucking us in to the human drama cheese first. But, except for a few vague throw away hints about the "skitters" and their robot thugs, we don't know where the aliens are from, why they're here, what their intents are. And what about the rest of earth? We can only assume all of earth is in the same boat as Anytown, U.S.A and our band of human do-gooders.



I found the show boring and insipid.



Falling Skies, TNT, Sunday nights, 8:00pm