Tonight at 9PM, TNT shows the two-hour series premiere of Falling Skies, a drama that shows the world following an alien invasion. The character piece, which stars Noah Wyle and Moon Bloodgood, is executive produced by Steven Spielberg, and has many people I liked from previous TV and movies both in front of and behind the camera.
But is it any good?
Yes.
I was a bit hesitant when Falling Skies was first announced. After all, I already had a favorite alien-invasion TV drama, and would there be room in my heart for another? Sadly, V has already left us, but the great thing about Falling Skies is that both series are virtually nothing alike. There’s nothing to step on and both are their own beasts. If anything, Falling Skies more reminds me of AMC’s The Walking Dead from last year – a group of really interesting characters reacting to and fighting back against something bad that’s happened to them.
V was made up of characters that, while iconic, were very much over the top in some ways. There’s no mugging for the camera by the villains here, and the “skitter” alien creatures are far more scary than Visitors ever managed to be. The alien skitters and mechs, by the way, are a highlight in themselves… I’m not sure if they are animatronic, or CG, but whatever they are, they fit into the production flawlessly and I have no idea how they did it.
The other major difference between Falling Skies and V – and don’t think I’m trashing V because I loved it for what it was – is that you do become very invested in the characters, even if it takes a while to remember their names. On V, when something horrible happened to one major character’s son, I actually cheered at the TV because that character was somewhat annoying. On Falling Skies, if something happened to one of Tom Mason’s kids I would be very affected. The stakes are higher, and you really get to know these people. And speaking of kids, just wait until more is seen about what the aliens are doing to the surviving children of Earth. It’s creepy.
Casting wise, Falling Skies has no weak links whatsoever, at least in the five episodes I have seen thus far. Noah Wyle is believable as the lead, a professor now turned alien fighter. Moon Bloodgood plays a pediatrician now faced with being the doctor for more people. Wyle’s character Tom has three sons, the most prominent thus far being Hal played by Drew Roy. I had never seen Drew Roy in anything before but he is quite good, as is Jessy Schram as a girl Hal’s age who often goes out on searches with him. Leading the whole resistance group is Will Patton as Weaver, a gruff military type who seems all tough on the outside but probably has some issues of his own to work out.
One of my favorite characters and actors comes in on the second hour, and that is Sarah Carter (Smallville’s Alicia Baker!) as Margaret, a tough girl who’s great with a gun and can probably kick your @$$. That second hour also introduces Colin Cunningham’s Pope, a character that you’re never quite sure if you can trust or not. There’s a lot of depth to these characters and I’m curious where they go with them.
Falling Skies, at least from what I’ve seen so far, also doesn’t stray from the chance to show off humanity at its best… even if the situation sucks, there are signs and symbols of why we do what we do every day. I like that a lot.
The second and third episodes are directed by Smallville and Heroes favorite Greg Beeman, and similar to those programs, Falling Skies has an individual look all its own. It’s great, but quite different from those other two series. Beeman is also a co-executive producer on the project. Another veteran of those series, Mark Verheiden, is also a writer and producer for the show.
I can’t really say enough good about Falling Skies. It’s strongly written, engaging, well shot, and a fantastic way to spend a Sunday night in the summer. The show has already been renewed for a second season, so TNT seems confident it will do well. The only down side? Full seasons for cable are significantly shorter than broadcast, so don’t look for a 22-episode season here. The upside to that? Every episode thus far looks like a movie… not an exaggeration. Falling Skies is going to be a great addition to the TNT schedule.
See a gallery of images from the show and come talk about the show on our Falling Skies forum – yes, we’re so confident the show will be good that we’ve already given it its own sub-forum on the site!
