TV Scifi series: Falling Skies

it is entertaining enough to keep watching. It is a bit light.

*minor spoiler alert*

It doesn't convey the post-apocalyptic setting very well. Where are the millions of people? Dead? if so where are their bodies? I would have liked to see more about what occurred.  It certainly stretches credibility. Why enslave children? Why not enslave all humans? Why do the aliens show affection for children? Why do the insectoids live by themselves in broken buildings guarded by mechs? 

I prefer walking dead myself.

Walking Dead is definitely better. But FS isn't too bad. I was getting worried when it seemed the cheese factor was being turned up each episode, but the last one was pretty good. Then, my girlfriend and I figured it out. No Pope. The show needs more Pope. And we got that at the end anyways. It needs that added grit. At least it has you asking questions.

I suspect there is something more going on than that... 

Could always try reading a book or something physical.

I enjoy a "healthy dose" of sci-fi shows, but I have to say that Falling Skies in at the bottom of my watch list. If I had to cut back, I would drop Falling Skies without a second thought. I just can't invest in the characters, the world, or the aliens. I can't pin down the issue entirely, but part of it is that the show is just too scattered. It doesn't seem to know what it wants to be or how it wants to present itself. It's schizophrenic. It's also somewhat sloppy. In one scene, you can see cars driving one street over in the background.

If you're looking for a good summer-season science fiction series, I'd point you instead to Outcasts. The acting, production values, and world are all a notch or two above Falling Skies.

If you're looking for a post-apocalyptic drama, I'd suggest Walking Dead. It's hardly perfect, but it covers a lot of the same themes while presenting a more believable end-of-the-world setting. This show at least tries to present a world that descended into chaos before the events of the story. No inexplicably empty cities, towns, and buildings, as if a few billion people just up and vanished.

Its the only scifi on right now so I watch it.  If I had other things to do I would probably be missing it.

Spielberg has really been putting out "no risk" programs lately (i.e., "Super Eight").

Hope he gets his game back.

The show isn't bad--just very VERY predictable.

And blindingly adequate.

My wife chose this for our viewing pleasure.  Not alot of excitement, although the story line is kinda interesting.  Save the children.  There's soooo little tv on that's any good these days.  I'd give it a 3 out of 5.  Aliens look kinda cool and they love our kids, which warms my heart.

Nah, I disagree.  There have been plenty of things that happened that I didn't see coming.  But I do agree it could be better overall.

Its 3 out of 5 for me too. Thanx louist for outcast. I had never herd of it but read about on wiki. my kinda show.

I agree.  It is shallow in character detail, but I think you're supposed to go to the website for more info.  Sountrack is cool though.

Site:

http://www.tnt.tv/series/microsite/fallingskies/

Note: Walking Dead is better.  Falling Skies is AMC's response to Walking Dead.

No problem

Or, more like TNT's response to AMC's Walking Dead. Just sayin'

Sorry, I got the shows and channels mixed up.

Just watched episode 5 and I have decided to discontinue watching falling skies.  This program is not going anywhere, it is just rehashes old formulas. Cliche plot development that you can see a mile off.  The acting is barely above adequate. I really wanted this to get better.

I'm not really getting any sense of plot development. Maybe it will improve. They're just walking from one place to another, worrying about material stuff.

I saw only first 2 (3 if you count pilot as 2 eps) episoded so far and i agree, this was the main theme and to be fair, i do not like it. It reminds me a bit of Battle LA or those military movies/shows like Band of Brothers...now some guy will tell the group the plan, then there will be half an hour of random action showing how they try to stick to that plan, 95 percent of time its "conquer that hill" or "get to that bunker" or "get into warehouse" etc... the most characteristic aspect of this kind of shows is a all action, but not really a story... 

when i compare Falling Skies to The Event, i just finished watching, the Event is sooo much better... it has lot of action too, but all this action does have reason and is backed by some background story, you simply watch it in expectation, the mystery introduced to viewers in the pilot episode will unfold somehow, but there is nothing like that in FS, as they just keep running away from aliens/surviving. The only expectation toward the next episode is only how will they survive another day, but that is not really as intriguing for me as main plots of Event, Flash Forward, Surface, Odyssey 5 or Threshold.

I wonder where is this fascination with almost documentaristic approach to cinematography coming from. It seems to me, they are not really trying to tell a story, they just try to show as "true" as they can the way of living of people in postapocalytic world in some kind of almost "reality show"...it simply has to feel like its happening, but does not really matter what is happening. Form over actual content if you ask me... 

Anyway, i still have hope it will improve, do not want to make any final judges based on 2 episodes. Star Trek DS9 was not that great up until 3rd season and its one of my favourite shows.

They have introduced a little more intrigue. 

*SPOILER* (if you haven't watched and are considering)

Last night they revealed the big alien bad guys--the "skinners"--are actually harnessed like the human slave children and they showed an entirely different alien species seemingly in charge and inhabiting the big "T" structures that they are trying to penetrate. So the scene where the skinner is actually acting lovingly towards harnessed children may have been that the skinner was in the same boat and empathized with them.

Two hour finally next week and an all-day marathon of the entire series before.  Good chance to check it out.  Looks a little more interesting now.

There is a spoiler tag now.

See it works like this...

Hey, I edit as I  post...but that is cool.

The show is getting interesting now since they introduced the humanoid aliens.

Yeah, was a pretty decent episode. The one before was just sooo obnoxious with humans selling kids to aliens, and don't even get me started on the crazy old lady doing the same in the city. Clicheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.

Shit, i accidentaly read the spoiler  

Well, i saw the first 5 eps so far and they were vastly underwhelming. And those sweet father-son conversations, hate this wannabe melodramatic stuff. Just watched DS9 today on local TV, episode called Duet and it was so much more believable, i mean the emotions... the level of acting was something else. And i considered Noah Wyle to be a decent actor, based on his ER appearances.

Anyway, the spoiler sounds interesting. Its definitely that kind of story i expect/want to see in sci-fi shows. 

I don't know why this show is getting so much negative feedback. I'm quite enjoying it. Sure there where some sappy moments, the skateboard scene being one of the worst, but they've been toned down a bit I think. I have to agree that the world doesn't feel very post-apocalyptic, apart from a few shots of some destroyed buildings the world seems fine.

The last episode was quite interesting, the implied hierarchy in the aliens might explain why the skitters don't seem very advanced technologically speaking. I hope they go with the Skitters being used as disposable front line troopers by their conquerors story, with the harnessed kids being adapted to be used in the same way. If it turns out that the Skitters are actually humans that have been changed I might stop watching though.

Something I don't get.  I don't get why, in the last episode, the main character fires a rocket at one of the alien fighters right before it goes into the hangar of the Mothership (that's what it's called, see the website.), and the flaming fighter gets into the hangar, and subsequently destroys about half of that prong.  The motherships landed in Boston on the first day of the invasion, and stayed there, so I think they would have been constructed better.

Satrhan, you have to remember, the most of the children were taken by the Skitters and their superiors at the beginning of the invasion, that's why there's so few children.

Most of the adults abandoned the cities and joined the many factions of humans who resisted the aliens.

So, 100 fighters + 200 civilians X 7 militia units = 2100 ppl

If lots of resistace factions formed and had the same structure as the 2nd Mass., then with the casulties of the first and subsequent days of the invasion included as well, then, you could probably equal the population of Boston.

Clip: Effects of RPG on Mothership.

http://www.tnt.tv/series/microsite/fallingskies/

Location: Map tab, Week 8.