Now to review a series I have been promising to for ages; Falling Skies. I have really enjoyed this series and since season 4 is going to air in the UK tomorrow I thought it was about time to get to work on reviewing the previous seasons. These reviews will contain MAJOR spoilers for all three previous seasons, so it is advised bot to read this review until you have at least watched season one.
The story begins six months after the invasion by a mysterious alien race that managed to destroy every major city, wipe out the world's military and kill over 90% of the world's population. They have also been capturing every human between eight and eighteen and attaching a bio - mechanical device called a Harness on to their backs which puts the individual under their control. However groups of survivors consisting of those from all walks of life have banded together to fight back, one of the groups is the Second Massachusetts led by retired US Army Captain Dan Weaver (Will Patton). In the Second Massachusetts is a former Boston History Professor named Tom Mason (Noah Wyle) who has chosen to be a 'Fighter' so he can protect his sons and hopefully destroy the alien menace.
Those who have read my previous blog reviews know that I am a massive fan of the Post - Apocalypse genre (The Walking Dead, Revolution), I think it is one of the best genres for a book, film or TV Series. This is because I enjoy watching characters try and survive in a new dangerous world (The Walking Dead) or build a new society and the hardships they have to go through (Revolution). Falling Skies is more of the former but I also really like it because it brings aliens and huge science fiction elements in to it as well.
I guess I should say first that Falling Skies is a very, very character driven series more than anything else. It is not loaded down with massive amounts of gore or violence however this is not a bad thing, it has done it so well that it is one of the best series out there right now. For example because this is the beginning of the journey of the Second Massachusetts a recurring plot device is civilians vs. military. Second Massachusetts calls its solider personal Fighters, these are the people in the group who risk there lives to fight the aliens, scout out areas and protect everyone else and these Fighters aren't just people who were soldiers or cops, anyone can volunteer. The rest are the civilians who do not actively fight but instead chose to be doctors, cooks and perform other means of labour.
This brings a lot of infighting within the Second Massachusetts in this season on whether which group is more important. Tom for example may be a Fighter now but he sympathizes with the civilian's because he used to be a professor so we get to see both sides from him, meanwhile there is Weaver who used to be an Army Captain so he obviously feels the Fighters are a higher priority. It is just things like this for example that makes Falling Skies a really great watch.
We also have a suburb cast; Noah Wyle is perfect as the main protagonist, I admit I have not seen him in much before this but he is great and it is cool to see him constantly referring to battles with the aliens to wars in the past, thus using his background in history. We also have Will Patton and that guy has been great in everything I have seen him in and we have a great range of secondary characters such as Moon Bloodgood, Peter Shinkoda, Mpho Koaho and Tom Mason's three sons who are each in a different age group which I think was deliberate so we get to see how the youngest to the oldest deal with the aliens. The most interesting in this season out of the three by far is Ben Mason because of the harness attached to his back and the effects it is having on him.
However an honourable mention I have to give is Colin Cunningham as John Pope the former badass leader of a group of rebels who joins the Second Massachusetts. Colin Cunningham has always been one of my favourite actors and he absolutely kills it as Pope because he is so cool in every scene he is in, either when its killing the aliens or arguing with Tom. I can honestly say that John Pope is my favourite TV series character even more than Miles Matheson (Revolution) or Tywin Lannister (Game of Thrones).
Now as for the aliens they have been dubbed the Skitters by the Second Massachusetts because of their multiple legs and how fast they move with them. Their design is really cool, similar to insects, and they prove to be quite the formable foe against the humans. They also have advanced technology such as ships and giant Mechas which is cool to see because I am so used to seeing them in anime and the special effects used for them are awesome. We also get their mysterious Overlords, stick thin leaders who command the Skitters and they have got a pretty creepy design almost like the Slender man. Overall we have a really great adversary for the human race that and as the episode progress we get more and more answers about them.
MAJOR SPOILERS FOR THE FINAL EPISODES BELOW
If I had to find some faults to this season is that even though I mentioned that it is alright that this series is not loaded down with violence I do wish they had a bit more sometimes. For example while we get some great battles there is much build up to a final battle that Weaver is leading to blow up a Skitter base however it happens completely off screen so that was a tad annoying. Also I find Sarah Carter's character Maggie to be completely annoying, everything from what she does to her stupid backstory but still every show has one character that you absolutely can't stand. I also admit that some may find this a little slow sometimes (I didn't but I read that some might) just remember that this is the first season and every first season in almost every show with just ten episodes a season is more to do establishing the world, story and characters.
However while I was annoyed that the massive battle with Weaver this season did end on a high note; it seems more grim for the Second Massachusetts than ever and Tom went on board an Overlord space craft. While major cliff hangers can be so frustrating at times this one was done just right because it made me really look forward to second season.
There you have it a great science fiction drama that I think many people from lots of ages groups can enjoy. This season really did a great job of setting up Falling Skies as something that is going to be big and seeing as we are on season four now that just proves my point.
SCORE: 7/10
I admit it is a bit weird doing a review of season one now that season four is out but I will try to write the review for two and three has quick as I can so that I can at least review season four straight way when it is finished.
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