Falling Skies: Mmm, Frothy Invasions

[Lumenskir]

So first off, a mea culpa: I was wrong to judge this show solely based on it being a Noah Wyle show on TNT. In my defense, the last one of those was "Noah Wyle Fights Some Books 2: Overdue This" which was pretty terrible.

But after actually watching the last three episodes, the show's not bad. Sure, it wears all of its many influences on its sleeve, but its a perfectly solid, uncomplicated take on a post-apocalyptic alien invasion. If I had to boil it down, it's like non-self-serious Walking Dead plotting infused with minor Battlestar Galactica character interactions (mostly in the military v. civilian stuff and the survivor guilt atmosphere), and is probably the best frothy fluff you could ask for while recovering from the end of Game of Thrones while waiting for Breaking Bad to get back on air.

Anyone have any good theories for the show so far? The best one I've heard is that the skitters are actually a sort of drone force for the as of yet unseen leader aliens residing in the towers, with the bipedal mechs being designed to resemble the leaders.

[The Sevenshot Kid]

I thought the mechs were designed to compensate brainwashed humans. Granted I only watched the first episode before rage-quitting. The show seems like it could be alright but I just really don't like the characters. Except for Noah Wyle. Couldn't they just have given him a Librarian tv series?

If there weren't any other shows like this on tv I would like it a lot more than I do but I guess I've just been spoiled by The Walking Dead.

[Lumenskir]

What do you mean by 'compensate'?

And so far, I'd say I'm liking this show a lot more than Walking Dead...well, the average of Walking Dead. WD's pilot was amazing, but every episode after was pretty draggy and felt a little like the AMC brand was giving it the ability to brag about how fragrant its farts were without actually deserving it (See also: The Killing).

For me, Falling Skies seems be perfectly aware of its inherent campiness and is consistently clearing the decent but not amazing bar it has set for itself.

[The Sevenshot Kid]

What do you mean by 'compensate'?

It might have been better word choice for me to use accommodate.

For me, Falling Skies seems be perfectly aware of its inherent campiness and is consistently clearing the decent but not amazing bar it has set for itself.

I'll have to take your word for it. Maybe tomorrow I'll catch up but the moment I quit the show was when that one kid was complaining about his birthday party being skipped. It seemed totally unrealistic and it dragged me out of the show.

[Lumenskir]

the moment I quit the show was when that one kid was complaining about his birthday party being skipped. It seemed totally unrealistic and it dragged me out of the show.
Well, that kid gets really downplayed in the episodes post-pilot so far. BUT, to be honest, if you want a realistic portrayal of the psychological aftereffects of losing a large segment of the population and the harsh atmosphere created by being subjugated by a superior military force...MAYBE a summer show on TNT starring Noah Wyle might not be the best place for those itches to be scratched.

However, as a light show that can tell a continuing story with episodes that are individually interesting, as well as stabs at creating overarching mysteries, it's not bad and is in fact enjoyable.

[Sithdarth]

Maybe tomorrow I'll catch up but the moment I quit the show was when that one kid was complaining about his birthday party being skipped. It seemed totally unrealistic and it dragged me out of the show.

You sir obviously have no experience with children and have forgotten what it was like to be a child. When I was, what is that kid like 7 or 8 tops, if my house burnt down the day before my Birthday party my first thought right after the shock fades is what about my party. You're also forgetting that this is what 6 months or something after the actual invasion with 90% of the human population killed and the kid has already been completely desensitized by finding his mother's corpse. It's not like the aliens landed two weeks ago or something. We entered at the point where everyone has sort of settled into the new equilibrium of this is what life is like now. Which is why the show and the characters work so well.

If you're looking for how do people respond to the first wave of alien attacks then go watch Independence Day. This show is all about living with the alien occupation. The major cities have all fallen months ago and everyone has accepted that their lives are now about running and hiding to survive. The writing is absolutely spot on for that.

[The Sevenshot Kid]

You sir obviously have no experience with children and have forgotten what it was like to be a child. When I was, what is that kid like 7 or 8 tops, if my house burnt down the day before my Birthday party my first thought right after the shock fades is what about my party.

This is a point that got pointed out by the guys at Spill.com: Their are children being abducted by the aliens and having harnesses strapped to them that will kill them if removed. That kid shouldn't have time to think about his birthday party; he should be worried about alien death harnesses.

[Lumenskir]

Oh yeah, I totally forgot to mention that whoever had the idea to represent the initial alien contact solely through children's drawings and voiceover is a genius. Children of Earth is still the best example of sci-fi creepy child use, but line drawings and simplistic descriptions of your world going to hell are so much more effective than some sort of cheapo CGI-and-clip-show alternative.

And it's fun to pick up the little set design easter eggs in the scenery that hint at what the newspapers and other life detritus of the world was like during the invasion. I especially liked the "49 Days Since Last Contact" sign on the school board.
This is a point that got pointed out by the guys at Spill.com: Their are children being abducted by the aliens and having harnesses strapped to them that will kill them if removed. That kid shouldn't have time to think about his birthday party; he should be worried about alien death harnesses.
Hold a chocolate chip cookie in front of a young child. Explain to that child the long term effects the cookie will have on his health, and why he will be better off in the long term not having the cookie. Now, ask the child if he wants the cookie.

Again, is it entirely reasonable for the kid to be so adamant? Probably not. Is it summer show on TNT reasonable? Absolutely. Is it such a benchmark of the show that you have to accept it to enjoy every other aspect of it? Nope.

[The Sevenshot Kid]

Oh yeah, I totally forgot to mention that whoever had the idea to represent the initial alien contact solely through children's drawings and voiceover is a genius. Children of Earth is still the best example of sci-fi creepy child use, but line drawings and simplistic descriptions of your world going to hell are so much more effective than some sort of cheapo CGI-and-clip-show alternative.

And it's fun to pick up the little set design easter eggs in the scenery that hint at what the newspapers and other life detritus of the world was like during the invasion. I especially liked the "49 Days Since Last Contact" sign on the school board.

That stuff I thought was genuinely good.

[Sithdarth]

This is a point that got pointed out by the guys at Spill.com: Their are children being abducted by the aliens and having harnesses strapped to them that will kill them if removed. That kid shouldn't have time to think about his birthday party; he should be worried about alien death harnesses.

1) Seriously underestimates the ability of people to cope and get used to things. The kid has had 5 months at least to get used to the idea of being harnessed and probably hasn't seen a skitter or even an alien craft except from very far away for at least as long. The civilians as a whole have been seriously isolated from the whole thing by the fighters.

2) Seriously overestimates the ability of a child to both think ahead and understand complex things. Hell at that kids age you're lucky if they understand death and you expect that he's going to understand what it means to be harnessed. I mean the kid probably has horrible nightmares and stuff but he's still going to act more or less like a normal kid.

3) Completely ignores the fact that the civilians have been attempting to return the kids to some sort of stable school like existence. Thereby effectively passivisating a lot of the worrying. Combined with the fact that the doctor is obviously attempting psychiatric treatment of the children and therefore helping them cope further and it becomes abundantly clear that the kid's reaction was perfectly reasonable.

4) Falls into exactly the same trap you fell into originally. People that don't interact with kids on a regular basis and don't understand how kids think making assumptions based on how they think and assuming these apply to children. Kids think much differently than adults and as we age we tend to forget that.

5) Finally, assumes that we here and now have any idea about how anyone at all, even ourselves, would react under those circumstances. Saying anything at all about how you would react to an alien invasion 6 months on let alone a child is dubious at best. There is simply no way to really know without subjecting lots of different people of lots of different personality types and ages to that stress. Anything else is speculation at best and the speculation as it occurs in the story is slightly more consistent with the back story, the current events, i.e. the treatment of the doctor, and the general resilience of children.

If you don't like it then fine you don't like it. As long as you're willing to admit you don't like it because you don't like it instead of trying to justify not liking it for completely nonsensical reasons.

[PyrosNine]

I kinda watched it as if it were a series about X-Com or UFO, just like I watch Burn Notice as if it's GTA in TV format, and that lets me roll my eyes when something ridiculous happens.

Of course, I get upset sometimes when characters on TV don't behave like you'd expect after playing so many darn video games (the evil aliens with death rays aren't that scary, you could totally take 'em!) but fortunately the X-Com mindset allows me to accept the Human's inadequacies in the alien killing department.

With that in mind, I am also expecting them to fire a rocket launcher at an Alien, miss, and then blow up another squad that happened to have been trying to flank it. We've already had aliens shooting insta-death rays from just slightly out of sight with unfailing accuracy already, so why not?

AS for kids whining about birthdays, when you might die any time soon, a birthday becomes a mother's chestbursting big deal, as in you survived long enough to last another year. And it's worth celebrating.

He's only a little brat if he then whines about how they didn't get him an Xbox or even give him that one can of tuna.

[Lumenskir]

Ok, Falling Skies.

I'm with you on Skitters and Mechs. And that the droneships (or whatever they're called) can't detect an amount of people below X, even if that amount is camp-sized.

But cmon. Honestly?

The oldest son is not 16. He doesn't even look like a Hollywood 16.

I get what you're going for. It really would suck to be 16 and then have to become a soldier. I agree.

BUT. You know what else sucks? Being 18 and then having to become a soldier. Or being 23 (what I'm guessing the actor actually is) and then having to become a solider. Hell, unless you're actively pursuing the military, I'm guessing any age would be a sucky time to have to become a soldier.

Get your ages in line, is basically what I'm saying, Falling Skies.

ANYWAYS

I'm thinking my "Skitters are also slaves" theory got a little bit more juice tonight. (1) Why would the POW Skitter be so adamant about being killed rather than found if it didn't have to report to capricious overlords* (2) The fact that Skitters can control through the harness means they could also be under control (like a double fake out from the things inside the mechs) (2a) I just realized that last week they said the harnesses were infiltrating/altering the host's DNA, so the Skitters might be a bugpod/another race all conquered and harnessfied/morphed previously by the true overlord aliens.

*Although I guess it could be a "Failure = Death Culture" thing going on, but that doesn't fit my theory nearly as well.

[Magus]

Your latter theory would make it even more like Half-Life. Thus I agree since things could do to be more like Half-Life.