The first season of Falling Skies is now over, and I don't want to say much about it. Whenever there is an "intense" scene, a silly line of dialogue will come out and I'm left giggling while the characters are somber. And then there's the sappy Spielberg dialogue which is excruciating to listen to. Maybe the dialogue wouldn't sound so cheesy if the actors, particularly the kids, were better, but it's doubtful.
The problem with the show's plot can be seen all over "Mutiny," essentially a filler episode which, for whatever reason, was aired as the first part of a two-parter. Everyone thinks Weaver has gone haywire, hallucinating due to pill popping. They confront him and talk him down with about 10 lines of hilariously bad dialogue, capped off by Jimmy's puppy dog eyes. Don't let Jimmy down, Weaver!! And, oh yeah, Weaver stopped popping pills.
Score: 7.5/10
Showing posts with label Falling Skies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Falling Skies. Show all posts
Monday, August 8, 2011
Monday, August 1, 2011
Review - Falling Skies Season 1 Episode 8 What Hides Beneath
The positive: We see the actual alien overlords! They're tall, humanoid, and are putting harnesses on skitters as well. That's interesting, isn't it?
The negative: I'm getting more bored of the show each week. The more the writers try to draw our attention towards the characters, the slower everything gets and the post-apocalyptic world seems just a bit less grave. We learn what happened to Weaver, see Karen again, and Pope figures out how to kill mechs. That's all small stuff that would probably work well if the episode had more substance, but again, nothing really happened. The good thing is that Weaver is itching for a fight.
Score: 8.0/10
The negative: I'm getting more bored of the show each week. The more the writers try to draw our attention towards the characters, the slower everything gets and the post-apocalyptic world seems just a bit less grave. We learn what happened to Weaver, see Karen again, and Pope figures out how to kill mechs. That's all small stuff that would probably work well if the episode had more substance, but again, nothing really happened. The good thing is that Weaver is itching for a fight.
Score: 8.0/10
Monday, July 25, 2011
Review - Falling Skies Season 1 Episode 7 Sanctuary (Part 2)
"You know, I actually thought about buying in this neighborhood once upon a time?" This line, uttered while Clayton's troops are preparing to kill Hal, is a good summation of where this episode went. The characters just aren't serious enough to be inhabiting this apocalyptic world, creating a mismatch of potential and reality. The situation of humans cooperation with skitters demanded potential, but instead, the episode turns towards the usual plot of people running and shooting. There's clearly defined good guys and bad guys, and the good guys win in the end.
Want to buy time for kids? Wait until you're surrounded so your son has no father. Kids tired of running from men who'll give you to skitters? Stop at the house beside the road and play Battleship. No urgency whatsoever.
At this point, it probably wasn't too surprising that the episode wasn't interesting. The pathos didn't work for the hundredth time and the plot was similar to the previous ones. Clayton and his men are not humanized so we can empathize with them, and they're practically human version of the skitters, faceless things that have to be defeated.
Score: 8.2/10
Want to buy time for kids? Wait until you're surrounded so your son has no father. Kids tired of running from men who'll give you to skitters? Stop at the house beside the road and play Battleship. No urgency whatsoever.
At this point, it probably wasn't too surprising that the episode wasn't interesting. The pathos didn't work for the hundredth time and the plot was similar to the previous ones. Clayton and his men are not humanized so we can empathize with them, and they're practically human version of the skitters, faceless things that have to be defeated.
Score: 8.2/10
Monday, July 18, 2011
Review - Falling Skies Season 1 Episode 6 Sanctuary (Part 1)
Yes, the schmaltz was again poured on too much, but "Sanctuary" sets up an intriguing situation, regardless of how ludicrous the setup is. Up until now, the humans have being running away from aliens and fighting back when possible. But now, we learn of this collaborator Clayton who is luring kids to his ranch to give to the skitters. There's lots of interesting places the writers can go with it, so it's a welcome change given that the first five episodes haven't exactly had much.
Score: 8.7/10
Score: 8.7/10
Monday, July 11, 2011
Review - Falling Skies Season 1 Episode 5 Silent Kill
At this point, halfway through the first season of Falling Skies, there's not much we can really say about the show. We know the characters--a set of mostly bland, generic, good-looking people--and the enemies--mechs and skitters--who have yet to reveal their motives. The plot thus far has been about as unimpressive, groups sent out to recover supplies or harnessed kids. All in all, it's fairly standard alien invasion stuff. Those who expected the Battlestar Galactica of alien invasions probably didn't get what they expected.
"Silent Kill" wraps up the goal from the second episode to get Ben back. With Margaret's knowledge of the hospital, Hal is able to sneak in the hospital, stab the skitter while everyone comes to help, and they get away cleanly. The surgeries are performed and just like that one of the major goals is resolved.
The more important part of the episode was the backstory for the characters. We learn that Margaret was a cancer survivor and not the hard-ass chick she seemed like. Anne doesn't have any photos of her family so that weighs on her. And there's something troubling Weaver, though there's nothing specific.
After last week's episodes, you would expect a guard to be watching the skitter at any time. Nope! Harris tests his luck and is killed like an idiot. It's as senseless as a death can get, random and born out of sheer stupidity. There is a consequence in that Anne is the one who must perform the surgery and bear the burden of the dead child.
What happened to Karen? Are they not going to look for her?
Score: 8.2/10
"Silent Kill" wraps up the goal from the second episode to get Ben back. With Margaret's knowledge of the hospital, Hal is able to sneak in the hospital, stab the skitter while everyone comes to help, and they get away cleanly. The surgeries are performed and just like that one of the major goals is resolved.
The more important part of the episode was the backstory for the characters. We learn that Margaret was a cancer survivor and not the hard-ass chick she seemed like. Anne doesn't have any photos of her family so that weighs on her. And there's something troubling Weaver, though there's nothing specific.
After last week's episodes, you would expect a guard to be watching the skitter at any time. Nope! Harris tests his luck and is killed like an idiot. It's as senseless as a death can get, random and born out of sheer stupidity. There is a consequence in that Anne is the one who must perform the surgery and bear the burden of the dead child.
What happened to Karen? Are they not going to look for her?
Score: 8.2/10
Monday, July 4, 2011
Review - Falling Skies Season 1 Episode 4 Grace
Before "Grace," I didn't think the characters were stupid--they made mostly reasonable decisions about food, shelter, etc--and the plot advanced naturally for the most part. But here comes "Grace," which has a fair amount of plot development born out of sheer stupidity and a lack of reason.
The treatment of the skitter and its surroundings is pathetically dumb. They try talking to it before leaving it alone with Mike and Ricky. Mike, of course, broke ranks in the previous episode from the sight of his son and should be deemed a hot head at the very least. Mike shoving the gun into the cage into the skitter's mouth is the worst, though. Then he leaves Ricky along with the Skitter! It's stupid beyond belief and, yep, something bad happens. Ricky puts the harness back on and might be dead now.
The Pope stuff was bad as well, making characters do something stupid for the sake of being stupid. On a routine mission to recover more motorcycles, Pope smacks Dai and runs off--but blows up the skitter nest with a tank of gas, drawing skitters to Tom's location. It makes little sense why Pope would blow up the skitters when he could have saved the tank of gas, and it's obvious that his actions were intended to advanced the episode forward, so Tom could start shooting again.
I'm sure the the final scene upset some people with the overtly Christian message, but I was fine with it since most people in the US are Christian. And yes, I'll agree that Lourdes is a moron. What bothered me was the sereneness of the scene, the disconcerting ease every character had in saying grace and acting like everything is fine. This unwavering faith really has no tension to it and doesn't worked as a final scene. On the other hand, certain characters expressing their lack of faith in light of the terror they experienced would be both realistic and more dramatic, especially to end the episode.
Score: 7.9/10
The treatment of the skitter and its surroundings is pathetically dumb. They try talking to it before leaving it alone with Mike and Ricky. Mike, of course, broke ranks in the previous episode from the sight of his son and should be deemed a hot head at the very least. Mike shoving the gun into the cage into the skitter's mouth is the worst, though. Then he leaves Ricky along with the Skitter! It's stupid beyond belief and, yep, something bad happens. Ricky puts the harness back on and might be dead now.
The Pope stuff was bad as well, making characters do something stupid for the sake of being stupid. On a routine mission to recover more motorcycles, Pope smacks Dai and runs off--but blows up the skitter nest with a tank of gas, drawing skitters to Tom's location. It makes little sense why Pope would blow up the skitters when he could have saved the tank of gas, and it's obvious that his actions were intended to advanced the episode forward, so Tom could start shooting again.
I'm sure the the final scene upset some people with the overtly Christian message, but I was fine with it since most people in the US are Christian. And yes, I'll agree that Lourdes is a moron. What bothered me was the sereneness of the scene, the disconcerting ease every character had in saying grace and acting like everything is fine. This unwavering faith really has no tension to it and doesn't worked as a final scene. On the other hand, certain characters expressing their lack of faith in light of the terror they experienced would be both realistic and more dramatic, especially to end the episode.
Score: 7.9/10
Monday, June 27, 2011
Review - Falling Skies Season 1 Episode 3 Prisoner of War
The writers of Falling Skies continue to slather on the pathos as much as possible, always giving us a scene of Tom hugging one of his sons every time after returning from fighting the aliens. In small doses, this sort of thing could work. Instead, each scene goes on too long and with sufficient repetition it just gets tedious. I get that this is a post-apocalyptic situation in which you have to cling to what you have left, but do we really have to see that every time?
That said, alien invasions are awesome no matter the circumstance and Falling Skies has done very well on that front. The skitters remain an enigma, but we're slowly learning more about them. They seem to be rather cruel, allowing Hal to see an execution after Mike retrieves his son. There was also progress on the harness, with the arrival of Dr. Michael Harris whose procedure to inject Mike's son with morphine before cutting the harness off seems to be working so far. But at the end of the episode, the skitter POW wakes up and so does Mike's son.
The dynamic between the survivors is still interesting with several developments as well. Pope is actually a chef and for now proves to be useful in the kitchen. Michael Harris, in a big coincidence, was actually the last person with Tom's wife, and after some cajoling, admits that he ran off. His justification, though, is that him running away was actually good because Ben can be saved. I guess he has a point, but his original intention is far from admirable.
Score: 8.6/10
That said, alien invasions are awesome no matter the circumstance and Falling Skies has done very well on that front. The skitters remain an enigma, but we're slowly learning more about them. They seem to be rather cruel, allowing Hal to see an execution after Mike retrieves his son. There was also progress on the harness, with the arrival of Dr. Michael Harris whose procedure to inject Mike's son with morphine before cutting the harness off seems to be working so far. But at the end of the episode, the skitter POW wakes up and so does Mike's son.
The dynamic between the survivors is still interesting with several developments as well. Pope is actually a chef and for now proves to be useful in the kitchen. Michael Harris, in a big coincidence, was actually the last person with Tom's wife, and after some cajoling, admits that he ran off. His justification, though, is that him running away was actually good because Ben can be saved. I guess he has a point, but his original intention is far from admirable.
Score: 8.6/10
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Review - Falling Skies Season 1 Episode 1 Live and Learn / 2 The Armory
For what it's worth, the strongest thing about Falling Skies is its premise. The aliens have arrived, attacked, and the world is in shambles. Unlike recent alien invasion dramas, V and The Event, there is no turning back. The characters are in a shit hole and don't have numerous tools are their disposal to bypass plot holes. Compared to the languorous plots of the recent alien invasions, Falling Skies is already on great footing.
That said, a lot of the first two episodes doesn't land. Between the action and discussion of the dire situation--which is very good--is a melodrama, one which lacks any draw. Tom and his son Hal try to get through their problems while taking care of Matt and looking for Ben, Tom's third son who is missing. Meanwhile, Tom is getting closer to the doctor Anne. None of this is particularly inventive or emotional, what with the flat acting. Worst of all is Hal's personal problems, juggling Karen and the obvious attempts by Lourdes to woo him. None of this would be too much of a problem if it were only a small part of the show--except it isn't. These parts of the show take up lots of time and divert attention from the fighting alien parts.
The writers preemptive deny any criticism of the Mech's design by having a character ask why they have two legs while the Skitters have six. I have a bunch of ideas, but it's impossible to narrow anything down without further knowledge of the Skitters. Hopefully the writers have a better idea than I do.
Score: 8.5/10
That said, a lot of the first two episodes doesn't land. Between the action and discussion of the dire situation--which is very good--is a melodrama, one which lacks any draw. Tom and his son Hal try to get through their problems while taking care of Matt and looking for Ben, Tom's third son who is missing. Meanwhile, Tom is getting closer to the doctor Anne. None of this is particularly inventive or emotional, what with the flat acting. Worst of all is Hal's personal problems, juggling Karen and the obvious attempts by Lourdes to woo him. None of this would be too much of a problem if it were only a small part of the show--except it isn't. These parts of the show take up lots of time and divert attention from the fighting alien parts.
The writers preemptive deny any criticism of the Mech's design by having a character ask why they have two legs while the Skitters have six. I have a bunch of ideas, but it's impossible to narrow anything down without further knowledge of the Skitters. Hopefully the writers have a better idea than I do.
Score: 8.5/10
