TV Review: FALLING SKIES Season 2 The March To Charleston

Season 2 of TNT’s Falling Skies premiered to quite good audiences, thanks to a solid first season the show had begun to gather momentum, I decided that to keep up with the US on this was a waste of my bandwidth and I should just hang for it to premiere four weeks later on the UK’s FX network. Following the season 1 finale I hadn’t really decided whether I would watch the second or not, but I have to say I’m pleased I did as Falling Skies has now been renewed for a third season and as promised TNT ramped up the action and story in this second season and they have firmly cemented it as one of my favourite non fall shows, essential summer viewing when all of our regular favourites are away.

At the end of that first season Tom Mason (Noah Wyle) willingly got into an alien spacecraft for reasons unknown, season 2 sees him return to Human resistance group the 2^nd mass, any explanation? Of course not, Tom has just been tucked away on an alien ship for the last three months and he doesn’t know why. I was expecting answers to this but actually I don’t care that they didn’t come because this second season of Falling Skies was even better than the first in my opinion. This season introduced a new angle to the Skitters who were the season one protagonists, the alien foot soldiers who the 2^nd mass were fighting or hiding from on a daily basis. Turns out the Skitters were kids who had been harnessed by the aliens when they invaded other planets, in season 2 they wanted to stage a fight back, a section of them formed a resistance group and communicated with Commander Weaver and Tom Mason through Tom’s son Ben, Their plan? To kill their overlords and then co-exist as one big happy family.

The 2^nd mass however have other plans, get to Charleston, a town they know is occupied by military and where a new civilisation has been started, kind of like Terra Nova, just this time were not 85 million years in the past. I think what I enjoyed about season 2 was the fact they were on kind of a road trip, the 2^nd mass didn’t find themselves bogged down in once location too often and like season 2 of The Walking Dead that added to the danger that was on offer from Mech’s and Skitters, although Mech’s really didn’t feature to heavily in the second season I only recall seeing them in the opening battle which was probably one of the best in the entire season.

As with most new season, Falling Skies introduced some new characters to the mix, first was an impressive new addition Jamil Dexter (The Killing’s Brandon Jay McLaren) a voice of some authority in the 2^nd mass ranks and also a handy mechanic, however no sooner did his story get going they killed him off, I thought a bigger named actor may have been granted a little more screen time than the five or six episodes he was treated too.

If I had to say anything about the second season it would be the story line involving Charleston, I have no problem with it per-se but right from the beginning (or at least mid way) of the first season the mission for the 2nd mass has always been to get to Charleston, they finally get there at episode six or seven, however they find that Charleston is not all it was cracked up to be, they have formed a government with Arthur Manchester (Lost’s Terry O’Quinn) as President, he has helped form a military and the citizens of Charleston find themselves some what oppressed, not allowed to leave the confines of the city which will be the US Capital when order is restored.  The 2^nd mass, being on their own for such a long time don’t take lightly to being treat this way, they have countless run in’s with both Manchester and the military before finally deciding that the city walls of Charleston are not really for them.

All that brought about what season 2 was really setting up, the march into season 3 and possibly many more for this show. Earlier in the season Ben Mason (Connor Jessup) had decided that he didn’t belong with the 2^nd mass and much to Tom’s dislike he took off to go live with the rebel Skitters in order to help them kill their overlords. That’s where this got interesting but it should maybe have been introduced into the story a little sooner. The apparently “safe” Charleston was very easily breached by Ben and a bunch of his Skitter pals in the final episode, he came to inform them all of some laser gun (which is way to geeky for me to remember the name of) that was going to be used by the over lords to kill them all. The shift then came about and it looked like Charleston was not the be all and end all of the story and focus should probably have been put onto this laser gun thingy mabob a little sooner, at least then we could have had time to build to it.

Thinking those would be the final scenes of the second season we were dealt another surprise. Hal Mason (Drew Roy) had been knocked unconscious during the battle to destroy the laser gun (I’m starting to sound way too geeky now, that’s three times) and woke up in a room on his own, even after the 2^nd mass had agreed to keep an eye on him, he had one of those weird alien worms (sounding geeky again!) crawling out his eye and then back into his ear with a real creepy “let me get my mission started” smile on his face. So you can be sure that Hal is going to be worth keeping an eye on during the third season. Then just as the gun (I’ll leave the geeky bit out this time) is destroyed loads of things drop from the sky one of which turns out to be a space ship (seriously I’m not a geek) and another new alien steps out, roll credits. Season three will no doubt be bringing us the answers, who are the new aliens? Are they friends are foes? Maybe that gun was pointing up to keep them away, who knows?

One thing is for sure Falling Skies done a great job of cementing its reputation for me during its second season and I look forward to what season three has to offer, especially as the 2^nd mass would seem set to leave Charleston meaning that its once again going to be a bit of a road trip.

TV Preview: FALLING SKIES Season 2 Trailer. Premieres Tuesday at 9pm on FX UK

You may remember last summer I reviewed an American TV show which in all honesty I was doubting would get a second season, I am of course talking about Steven Speilberg’s Falling Skies which recently had it’s season two premiere in the US, I’d normally keep up with the US side of things but Falling Skies is only delayed by three weeks here in the UK and starts on FX this Tuesday night at 9pm. I reviewed the first season in its entirety and to be honest I enjoyed it, it’s by no means the best show on TV but as far as summer offerings go this wasn’t a bad effort. You can check out what I thought of all ten episodes by clicking HERE, it’ll serve as a nice little reminder of where things were left off last time round. Don’t fancy that? Then you can check out the season two trailer below and see what you make of it.

Pick it up? Well if not I’ll give you a quick run through, Falling Skies picks up three months after the events of last seasons finale and sees civilian resistance group the 2^nd Massachusetts continuing their fight against the alien invaders. You may remember in that last episode that we all got a bit of a shock as Tom (Noah Wyle) the main star of the show willingly boarded an alien space craft, I can only think that this was some sort of effort to make a connection with them in order to help free his harnessed son, other why would he do that?

I’m going to be watching the show on Tuesday night and I’m hoping that the answers as to why Tom got on that space ship are going to come pretty quick, although I should I go with my instinct and think that they may well drag this out a little bit? Who knows? What I do know is that amidst all the fake looking Mech’s (those are aliens) and the low budget effects Falling Skies was not that bad of a show to keep you busy through the quieter scheduling of the summer months, I’m not saying I will review it all but you can be sure that I will cover the first couple of episodes.

Falling Skies Season 1 Episodes 9 & 10 - Mutiny & Eight Hours

So this is it the finale of Falling Skies, some of these episodes have been a real stretch for me and I have to say that last nights two part finisher was another one of those.  Thanks to a spoiler I read a few weeks ago I kind of knew what to expect last night especially the ending.

We found out this week, or at least it looked this week like Commander Weaver is loosing his cool, is he addicted to pills?  No.  He has been taking some for a few weeks but following last weeks incident at his house when he was caught swigging whisky, but he has given up on that now.  We got introduced to someone new this week, at least I think he was new Lieutenant Dan I think was his name, anyone else wondering where he came from?

Episode 9 was pretty much a power struggle between Commander Weaver and Tom, although Tom doesn't want to lead the 2nd Mass himself he is fighting to be kept in the loop as Weaver is continually by passing him and failing to provide the civilians of the 2nd Mass with true information as to what the attack of the alien base involves.  Tom ended up in prison (sort of) for his troubles and found himself even further out the loop.

Scott has been working on the radio transmitters for the last couple of weeks, we know thats how the aliens communicate and that has given Scott an idea.  If he can get their signal long enough he can jam it and maybe give the 2nd Mass a better oppertunity to stage an attack.  This was done with the help of Ben,Tom's son who was harneessed, he can hear the commnuication meaning that he is still not free of their hold yet.

Onto episode 10 now and a good start with Rick, the other harnessed kid creeping around the cealing of classroom where Scott was trying to jam the signal, he is just like a Skitter now and it wasn't long before he went to try and make contact with the aliens, they only exploited him for info on the 2nd Mass though and then left him alone in the woods.

In the mean time the 2nd Mass army are marching on to Boston to stage and attack on the alien base, they are on their own though as the 4th and 5th Mass have all been defeated.  The info that Rick has provided to the Skitters is going to cause problems for 2nd Mass though and their attack may now be compramised as the Skitters know the plan.

The rest of the 2nd Mass now have to evacuate the school leaving only a handful behind to fight the oncoming attack of the Mech's.  That was a pretty good final battle but for me it was over far to quickly, finally just before Tom goes off to find Commander Weaver in Boston, it's only took him ten weeks but he finally kissed the camp DR, don't remember her name but Moon Bloodgood plays the part.

It was a little disappointing in the last episode, although the 2nd Mass finally got a shot off at the alien base I am struggling for a reason to watch the second series, if there is one,  I don't think the show has been as big of a hit here in the UK as it was in the US but I may be wrong.  The final scene saw Tom going off with the aliens as they don't understand the tough resistance they have come up against.  If there is a second series then the first episode maybe worth a watch to see what happens there but other than that I may well not bother with a second series of this show.

Falling Skies Season 1 Episode 8 - What Hides Beneath

Ok so even the title of this episode freaks me out, why?  Well have you ever seen What Lies Beneath?  No.  Well The movie which stars Harrison Ford has a particularly freaky scene which sees a face appear in a bath full of water.  That was enough to put me off watching that movie again.  Of course in this show the title means something totally different, whats that?  Well that something will be revealed soon, so keep reading.  Following last weeks conclusion to the two part episode Sanctuary I really wasn't looking forward to watching the show last night, fifteen minutes in and I was starting to get bored not with the characters but the storyline seemed to have just stopped, forward the ad break and it's back 30 minutes of good gripping storyline with lots of revelations.

Ok I give up I may as well tell you as I had the surprise ruined when I read something and wasn't warned about the spoiler, there are some new aliens this week very tall aliens called Slenders, they would appear to be the bosses of the alien world, or maybe the only aliens in this show at all.  We know that the mechanical Mechs aren't really aliens, they are built by them but are only used as bodyguards, the biggest reveal of the night came from the 2nd Mass Dr and her assistant.  They have been secretly operating on one of the dead Skitters discovering that they have muscle and respiratory systems just like Humans, any guesses why?  Well that's because they haven't always been Skitters.  The Skitters would appear to be harnessed also, could this mean that they have previously been harnessed children?

The 2nd Mass where out on some snooping duties this week as they are planning an attack on the alien base, during their efforts they ran across a survivor called Sonia.  She was initially captured by the aliens but was allowed to leave, why?  Because they only want the kids and the people they let go are working for them, I think we have all figured that one out by now.  She is the only one who could know who the Slenders are at this point as she clearly has a deal with the aliens, what that deal is remains to be seen and I have a feeling that Sonia's part in this show isn't over with just yet.

Rick is the creepy kid who I have mentioned for the last couple of weeks now, he was harnessed by the aliens and has not been the same since his return to the 2nd Mass.  He was drawing some pictures this week which seemed to get Commander Weaver riled a bit, that's because they were of his house.  We have seen in the last couple of weeks that something was bothering the usual hard ass image of Weaver.  His daughter Sophia was taken by the Skitters and he found her and tried to remove the harness himself, we all know what happens when people have tried to do that in the past, he is left with some hope though.  Following the attack he turned his house upside down and found nothing left of his wife and daughter, on returning last night he found a pair of his wife's glasses which weren't there last time around giving him hope that his wife and older daughter may still be alive.

How may weeks have I been saying that Pope was going to play a big part in this show?  I was right, for once.  Turns out he is a demolition and explosives expert he is now going to help the 2nd mass and the rest of the resistance launch an attack on the alien ships which have taken over the cities, he will be helped by Commander Weaver who also kept a little secret back, when he left the military he set up his own construction company.  Pope has also figured out a way to beat the Mechs, he has designed a bullet which can penetrate their outer shell giving the 2nd Mass hope for their planned attack on the aliens base.  Is the resistance finally making an in road?

Like I said at the top I really wasn't to crazy about watching this episode but thought I have gone this far I may as well see the rest, there are now only two episode left and from what I saw last night those remaining two installments should leave us dripping at the mouth for a second series of the show.

Falling Skies Season 1 Episode 7 Sanctuary (Part 2)

Well we picked up this week pretty much as we left off the week before, everyone round at Clayton's house pretending to be one big happy family.  We the audience know of course that is not the case we saw Clayton cutting a deal with the Skitters last week a deal we now know involves him trading children in return for the safety of his soldiers and their family's, the only reason he has helped out the 2nd Mass is they are running out of kids.  I was kind of puzzled as to why they had armed guards on the house, I mean they are in a deal with the aliens anyway so they know there not going to attack.  The armed guards were not quite enough to fool Hal though who noticed they only watched the perimeter of the house and would fail to see any attack coming from a longer distance.

I forgot that Clayton was holding Pope hostage too, we got that right at the end last week and now know where Clayton got his info on the 2nd Mass from.  I said right in the very first episode that Pope appeared in that he would have a big part to play, want to know what?  Well I'll get to that in a minute.

Mike (Martin Roach) went with Clayton last week having known him from the military, Mike has it all figured out now though he knows Clayton ain't shooting straight and knows about the deal with the skitters.  Offered to join the fold he agrees but is the whole time concocting up a plan to get himself, Hal and the other kids back to the 2nd Mass.

The escape from the house really couldn't have been less dramatic, there was plenty shooting don't get me wrong but the kids were all well into safety by then.  Mike agreed to be a one man band and stand and fight, you know what's coming right?  Mike of course leaves his ever more creepy son behind who will now have to fend for himself, or not as he seems willing to join back with the Skitters, there his family apparently.

I was a little worried when Ben offered to go and get help he may be going to get one of the Skitters and have all the kids thrown into the ranks of slavery they seem to enjoy so much, luckily that didn't happen he did go straight back to the 2nd Mass and organised the firing squad to meet back up at Clayton's for a sting which was the only real surprise on the night.

Holed up in the house were the rest of the kids who only had Hal left to fight for them whilst Ben was off looking for help.  Pope to the rescue then, I said he would play a big part and it now seems he's going to be the kinda bad guy come good, well sort of he's still not everyone's favourite but believe me this would be a boring show without him.

All in all I really wasn't to impressed with last nights episode, if it had been Lost or Prison Break, Clayton's plot would have been a lot more in depth and gripping to watch, this situation was resolved far to quickly and gave things away just as the mystery was starting to get you tense.  There are still three episodes left in this series and I hope they get better than this one was otherwise this may well be one of those shows that just loses my interest.

Falling Skies Season 1 Episode 6 - Sanctuary (Part 1)

First off who is that jumped up extra in the opening scene trying to loot the pharmacy, isn't there enough of that going on right now.

Lt Terry Clayton showed up this week, don't worry I hadn't heard of him either, he is in charge of 7th Massachusetts another group of survivors.  I say survivors he has shown up to tell us that the alien Skitters have taken most of his people leaving only five.  2nd Mass now have a decision to make do they ship their kids off with the seemingly trustworthy Clayton or do they keep them at the high school and try to keep them safe whilst they fight off the latest attack of Skitters.

"They weren't monsters they were our family", that is what we were hearing from what appears to be a fully recovered Ben this week.  "They loved us" is what he told his youngest brother. Imagine your dad knew everything you wanted before you even knew yourself, what do the Skitters want with the kids?  Ben of course still has the remnants of the alien harness on his back but he seems to be recovering a lot better than the kid who was rescued the week before him.  Time with the aliens really didn't seem to do Ben much harm, he can now do 100 press ups without breaking sweat, imagine the six pack!  (I mean for yourself, not his).

I liked the scene where DR Glass (Moon Bloodgood) was being trained how to fire a gun by the new girl in camp, I don't remember her name.  Does anyone else notice the women in these shows are always pretty, perfectly presented?  It's never the one from the local trailer park that wants to kick some alien ass.

Since the Skitters where coming to attack the John F Kennedy school where the 2nd Mass are holed up, they thought it would be best to try and barricade the school a little.  This had two of the figters sitting on a bus situated at an outpost playing chess, kinda reminded me of Jeff Goldblum in Independence day.  They got attacked by a Skitter and Mech making the rest of the fighters leave their posts in the school to come to their aid, that of course leaves the school wide open, will anything get in?  The Skitter that attacked the school is by far the worse looking CGI one I have seen so far, the Mech's usually look pretty fake but for a TV budget the Skitters usually look pretty good.

The Sanctuary, refers to a place two hours up the road where Lt Clayton wants to take all the kids for their own protection apparently, I would say this was the point I was having my doubts about this guy but thought I would give him a chance.  Tom's (Noah Wyle) son Hal who is one of 2nd Mass's best fighters decided to go with them so he isn't entirely trusting Clayton yet, especially when he took them a different way to what he was expecting.

If you hadn't seen it coming by now it's all then revealed, Clayton is dirty.  He has been working with the Skitters and has clearly been ordered to deliver the children to them.  I read a review of season 1 over at Hubpages which involved a spoiler that I won't reveal here, but it makes the spoiler more clear now and gives me a inkling as to why Tom goes and does what he does.

I wouldn't say this is one of the best episodes I have seen, I think Part 2 may well be better.  I do think this one provided a good part of the storyline though, like Clayton working with the Skitters, what does he get out of it?  Probably nothing, but we'll see.

Falling Skies Season 1 Episode 5 Silent Kill

The saga continued last night in what was not you usual all out action episode, don't get me wrong it had it's moments but concentrated more on the character stories, family values a couple of good laughs and some sad moments.  There really isn't much more I can say on what was yet another solid installment of the show.  I'm yet to hear people raving about this yet in the UK maybe that's because it air's on a Tuesday at 9pm.  That means it normally goes head to head with Undercover Boss, a hughly popular show on Channel 4 and last night saw the return of DIY: SOS, another popular show that goes out at 9pm on BBC 1.  Then for people to even record it and watch at 10pm it would be contending with Ramseys Kitchen Nightmares, that's my thought on it anyway.

For me though Kitchen Nightmares and the other shows can wait, well I actually watched the DIY one then put this on at 10pm but watching the DIY show was my other halfs idea.  That probably means I will be spending some money soon, right?

Anyway I'm talking way to much about everything else here and not enough about Falling Skies, like I say a solid episode which saw an elaborate plan put together in order to save the harnessed children from the Skitter which is holding them captive at the hospital.  The plan originally included making to much noise and was changed to Hal going in there alone in an attempt not to wake the skitter.  That was the laugh on the night and pretty much the first one this show has provided, it probably wasn't even meant to be funny it's just the first time I've heard Commander Weaver say anything like that.

The conversation rolled to the point that Hal would be going into the hospital alone in order to take out the six children who were there, he had to do this without waking the skitter, his idea was to wear the harness removed from one of the other kids and pretend to be under the skitters control, his father Tom said "That's Crazy" and Commander Weavers reply was "Were fighting aliens from outer space here, I'm not sure what's crazy anymore", like I say it's probably not even meant to be funny it's just the way he said it.

We learnt even more about the skitters here, although they control the minds of the children through the harnesses they place on them.  At night times they also treat them like children, taking them to bed and tucking them in I suppose you could say.  Stroking their heads to try and get them to sleep.  That was quite a good moment last night when Hal first joined the other kids you initally think the skitter has worked out he shouldn't be there but he hadn't and although he woke the skitter up he did manage to get the kids out the school and back to safety where the Dr removed all of their harnesses and saving 5 of their lives.

Dr Anne is now going to see all of the medical issues come her way, as the skitter who was being held as a prisoner of war killed Dr Harris, he won't be greatly missed as a character I wouldn't think, he's cocky and I didn't really like him anyway.  He has after all only been in the show for two episodes.

We also learnt a little more this week about that hard ass mutha Commander Weaver, he is human after all and is able to show emotion, when he hears a certain song he switches it off before getting himself upset you then see him looking a what looks like a childs drawing with the name Sophia written on it, his daughter possibly?  Also we found out that Dr Anne has a son who is missing and as yet has not been seen in any of the groups of children.

The episode focused mainly on the rescue of the kids and it was the most succsesful mission of the 2nd Mass so far, all the kids back and harnesses removed.  One thing I found a little strange tough, was the fact the kid who had the harness removed last week has only been able to communicate and know who people are during this episode.  Tom's son Ben had his harness removed and no sooner was it off he was talking and knew who people where, any thoughts?  So it ws a good episode but next week I hope we get back to more of the action that we are used to.

Falling Skies Season 1 Episode 4 Grace

This show really does just keep getting better and better, this episode has to be the best one I have seen so far, plenty of action and another great addition to the story which was touched upon briefly last week.

This week saw Pope (Colin Cunningham) released from his make shift jail cell in order to help the 2nd Mass fighters find some motorcycles.  The mission to save Ben was on hold whilst this was done and Pope managed to escape, petrol bombing a few skitters along the way causing problems for the fighters left at the garage.  They came under fire from the harnessed children and Tom (Noah Wyle) refused to allow his fighters to fire back at children, knowing it was the harness controlling them.


I said in the review of episode 2 when the 2nd Mass managed to capture Pope that I thought he would become a big part of the story, having escaped that may now hold off a while but I still think he has a major part to play here.  He is the one who figured out how to wound or kill the skitters meaning that Tom was able to take a prisoner of war last week.  The prisoner of course being a skitter.  We learned some new things about them this week, they are vulnerable as Humans would be, although the harness has been taken off one of the children successfully the skitter is still able to control them, weather they have to be a commanding skitter or not is yet to be seen.  The skitters also seem to communicate through radio waves, kind of like telepathy I suppose.  No mech's this week, it would seem that the mech's are just security for the skitters who are the real threat.

The skitters are also able to communicate through the harnessed children, so they must be able to understand what's said to them.  The main premise of this episode was making attempts to communicate with the visitors, who are they? why have they come here? what do they want? and indeed where have they come from?  As you guessed we didn't get a straight answer out of the captive but they did try a couple of different options.  Dr Anne (Moon Bloodgood) took the softly softly approach believing the creature to be scared whilst Dr Michael (Steven Werber) took a slightly harder approach showing the skitter one of his dead friends, as you can imagine that didn't go down to well causing the skitter to believe they were going to kill him, so is Dr Anne right?  Could it be frightened? and can their be peace?

We eventually saw a slightly softer side to commander Weaver (Will Patton).  I mentioned a week or so ago that this guy is one hard ass mutha, nothing has really changed in that respect but I think the toughness may just be starting to break a little.  Like I said above this show is really starting to get going and has the perfect recipe for TV, not only do we get to know the characters and their backgrounds but we also get the great action sequences and a show that leaves you wanting more week after week.

Falling Skies Season 1 Episode 3 Prisoner Of War

I mentioned last week when reviewing the second episode "The Armoury" that at times I was sitting thinking, come on get on with it.  That doesn't mean I didn't enjoy the episode and I'm pleased I didn't let it put me off as this week it done just what I asked, got on with it and in spectacular fashion too.

This week saw the fighters going out to rescue the kids as had been promised by Commander Weaver.  Problem is the teenagers who have all been harnessed by the aliens are under armed guard from the skeeters and the Mech's.  The fighters need to come up with an idea of getting them out without anyone getting hurt.  A new face is also in town or high school as the case may be, DR Michael Harris (Steven Weber), he has discovered a way to remove the harnesses from the children's backs without loosing them.

From the minute DR Harris and Tom met each other last night you were sensing a slight degree of awkwardness between the two, they clearly knew each other but what was going on behind the scenes.  I really didn't think we would find out so quick but turns out DR Harris was with Tom's wife Rebecca the night the aliens came and as far as Tom is concerned Harris is responsible for her death.  The episode is called Prisoner Of War, I initially thought this would be in relation to the biker gang prisoner John Pope who they captured last week.  Turns out not, Tom got into a confrontation with a skeeter and shot it's legs off maiming it, he then trailed it back to the high school where it's going to be kept for further observations, or is it?

Progress it seems is being made across the whole of America, not only are there the 600 people from the first episode but we now learn that their are unorganised resistance groups in almost every city, the down side to that being the aliens, they also have a command center in every city, this did breathe some light into the camp though, in relation to their chances of defeating the Skeeters.

Probably the best part of the episode last night was when Tom's son Hal and his girlfriend got left behind following some foolish behaviour by one of the resistance fighters.  Hal awoke to find the harnessed children dragging his girlfriend away whilst he started at the end of a loaded alien gun, the gun however wasn't for him, the Skeeter lined up a few of the harnessed kids and ordered the Mech to shoot them all in front of Hal.  At first I thought this was some sort of offering, you take one of the kids and send us back our alien friend, he's been to school already and doesn't need to go back.  No it was a message and Hal is the messenger give us back our pal or we will shoot the rest of the kids, Tom's other son and Hal's brother is in that group of kids remember.

Pope is a prisoner of war as I've mentioned but he is slowly proving his worth to the group, disapproving of the food we learn that he is a qualified chef and he has bartered with Commander Weaver for some time out the cell in order to cook meals for the 2nd Mass .  I said last week that I think this guy is going to play a massive part in the story and last night proved that he is starting to win over some of his doubters in the camp.

This was a brilliant episode of the show, especially after being a little disheartened last week.  This one was full of action a great part to the story, more story to build on and finally the budget must have been slightly upped this week as they showed the Mech's and Skeeters in the daylight and they did look pretty good even for TV.

Falling Skies Season 1 Episode 2 The Armory

The new US hit TV show Falling Skies continued last night on FX, the latest episode saw the 2nd Massachusetts group going to a near by armory, in order to get supplies, or guns more importantly.  They ran across some problems on their way one alien to note and then another group of survivors lead by an ex con John Pope (Colin Cunningham), the biker gang don't want to be affiliated in anyway with other survivors and are simply out for their own interests.  They take Tom and his fighters hostage until they agree to hand over the supplies they have back at their camp.  Last week we saw how Tom and his oldest so Hal are doing their best to go rescue Ben, Toms other son who has been captured by the aliens.  Tom has been told by 2nd Massachusetts leader, Commander Weaver he can't go to look for his other son until the armoury has been fully checked for guns.

I'll start with Commander Weaver (Will Patton), a hard ass mutha he really is who's presence on screen is over powering.  He is kind of like a ruthless dictator in a world without rules, his main aim is to keep his Army of 100 fighters cosy and warm with them all getting houses and beds as apposed to the 200 civilians he has under him who all sleep in tents, aren't soldiers trained to sleep in fields and tents?  When Weaver and Tom (Noah Wyle) come together there can be some real tense moments where your eyes are drawn only to them and not what's happening in the background.  The two work really well together on screen but no doubt the hero of the story is going to be Tom.

Back to the ruthless biker gang now, you know?  The ones I mentioned before who took Tom and the other fighters hostage.  This threw a whole new perspective on the story which you initially think is just 600 Humans verses a bunch of aliens, this leads to another interweaving story that now incorporates warring groups of survivors.  All be it the biker gang were killed off at the end of this episode, well all except the leader John Pope.  There is now the possibility that the main characters will encounter more rebel fighters along their travels.  Pope survived as I mentioned and also surviving and joining the 2nd Mass was a girl who's name I cant remember, but she was captured by the rouge gang of bikers also and initially went along with their charade until she seized her opportunity to kill the bikers and free hostages.

I really liked the John Pope character, he has been thrown into a make shift jail at the high school 2nd Mass are using as base.  I get a feeling that his character is really going to grow and become an integral part of the story line in the weeks to come.  He is clearly an intelligent guy who obviously went down the wrong path somewhat, if I was going to match him to someone I would say he is like Lost's Sawyer (he was in jail to remember?).  The lovable rouge who always mucks in when your up the creek without a paddle.  Maybe he and Tom will take over as leaders of the 2nd Mass in time to come, what do you think?

There were a couple of times in the latest episode where I though, come on get on with it.  Just then though the story kicked back into life.  You are going to get that with any TV show as we have discussed here plenty times before, Lost that I mentioned above was like that at times but as all good TV shows do, it had a knack of leaving you wanting more after 50 minutes.  Bearing in mind that this episode was the second hour of the show, Spielberg would normally be wrapping up his motion picture during that time, so they need something else to get you through the series.  One thing to note, you could really tell the budget limits here I didn't notice it last week but the aliens this week are not as good as they were in War Of The Worlds but, still for TV the effects are pretty good.

Falling Skies Season 1 Episode 1 Live & Learn

This is the new Sci-Fi actioner brought to us by FX UK every Tuesday at 9pm, the show is produced by none other than Steven Spielberg and has been getting massive hype both here and Stateside.  We knew enough about the show from preview that it relates to an alien invasion of earth and is based on a group of survivors staging a fightback against them.


The first episode aired here in the UK last night and as promised I watched it, the first episode of the show had some real promise and I really think this could have a successful run, being produced by Spielberg the show is sort of an extension of War Of The Worlds, without Tom Cruise.  The big aliens aren't quite as big as they were in the movie but the similarities are there to be seen.


I was really impressed with how the show opened, I was expecting something a bit like Independence Day, you know.  Everyone going about their business then all of a sudden some mother ships cast a shadow upon the earth before smaller crafts stage an attack.  Not this time, the beginning of the show is shortly narrated by children who are part of the surviving group.  Along with their narration are there drawings of the night the aliens came.  Jumping from that you are straight into the action with Tom Mason (ER'S Noah Wyle) and his son Hal (Drew Roy), they are in the middle of a battle with the invading aliens.  They have been out to collect food for the surviving Human population, this is the first glimpse really of the World's comparison as the aliens metal structure and big beaming light searches the street obliterating anything in it's way with a laser.


We learn quickly that there are around 600 survivors, or at least that's what they suggested in the first episode.  The aliens have developed a way of detecting larger crowds so they decide to  split up and leave the city to find more food, go to ground and be safe whilst they come up with a strategy to defeat the alien's superior army.

This sets up the story really.  Tom is put 2nd in command of the unit 2nd Massachusetts a group of 300 survivors who are lead by Commander Weaver (Will Patton), and some great back up from Dr Anne Glass (Moon Bloodgood) who will surly become the love interest of Tom as the series unravels.  Also you have Tom's son's firstly teenager Hal, who is helping out with the fighting then the younger son Matt (Maxim Knight), the family aren't without their troubles as Tom's other son Ben (Connor Jessup) has been taken hostage by the aliens.  As with all of the children the aliens have attached some sort of spinal device to them which allows them to control their minds, if the device is removed from their backs then they die.  The show has a great mix of everything you would want, not only do you get great action but you also get a story of the characters you are watching.  The special effects are also good but, bear in mind it is a TV show and not a movie therefore the budget is not as big.


The show really looks like it's going to be worth an hour or so of your time every week, nothing to thought provoking just a good Sci-Fi actioner as I've said that's provides you with exactly what you want in a TV show.  Entertainment.

Falling Skies To Aire on FX UK

For those of you who read this blog often you will know that I'm a fan of good American TV shows, unfortunately the last two I have decided to follow have ended up being cancelled after the first series.  The two I'm referring to are FlashForward and The Event, ok I'll give you FlashForward but I think The Event would have been worth another run.

I have been thinking the last couple of days about what I'm going to watch now, of course we have the great British drama Luther starring Idris Elba but that is only running for four week's.  Today though my question has been answered when FX UK has started to really promote their new show Falling Skies, which they have bought from American network TNT.  They have the rights to show the series in the UK three weeks after the stateside version goes out.

Along with the new TV show comes a pretty impressive cast headed up by Noah Wyle who you may remember from ER, also starring is Moon Bloodgood from Terminator Salvation, and few others are thrown in their to that I haven't heard of.  The show is produced by Steven Spielberg and Robert Rodat who jointly where responsible for hit movie Saving Private Ryan.

The show is set after an Alien invasion and follows a group of Human survivors known as the second Massachusetts, the band of survivors are bound together in order to fight back.

It seems I have found the answer to which show I'm going to be watching from now on and you can expect a review of the first episode and everyone after that providing it captures my interest.