Falling Skies

Falling Skies has pretty much been a love it or leave it affair for me, and with five episodes already under my belt here in the new season, I honestly have to say that I’m ready to leave it.

In the last episode, At All Costs, I really thought the show was about to bring out its big guns and finally show us what it was made of. A mystery human has survived through the battles between aliens and human, one that could possibly turn the tides, a new alien breed has arrived and given the humans the firepower they need to give the previous alien visitors a run for their money, and the cliff hanger from At All Costs was pretty well set up. Then Search and Recovery began, the following episode in series 3.

In this episode we find Tom and Pope crashed down in the forest about 400 miles form Charleston after having been pursued by an alien attack at their secret rendezvous with the mystery human. What follows is a handful of clichéd scenario’s the whole family pretty much called as we watched along. Terrible tough guy bravado one liners, silly action/escape film getaways, and a serious look at why I’ve never really cared for the show, but lets look at what else has gone on in this episode.

In the last episode Doctor Glass, after discovering some strange things about the baby she had with Tom Mason, has bludgeoned a poor innocent scientist when he makes the same discoveries, drugged her best friend and colleague, and run off with the baby into the wilderness. Captain Weaver, the ever affable and loyal character that he is whispers sweet nothings about going to track her down and warns that no one understands loyalty and devotion like the 2nd Mass who always look out for one of their own (it’s a surprise their not all dead by now). Taking Tom’s children and Margaret (Hal’s girlfriend), Weaver and his daughter head out to find the missing doctor and her baby.

The real problem of the show begins and ends here. Every time we come upon Weaver, his daughter, or any of Tom’s children, all we get is big sad eyes and crybaby stories where the kids tilt their heads to one side and reminisce about their mother or get poetic about a dead body they found on the side of the road. Its absolutely overbearing and heavy handed the lengths the show goes to in order to create dramatic moments. It’s what kills the show.

You want to show the more human side of the humanity under an alien attack, fine, but this is just overdoing it on a grand scale that drags the science fiction vibe into the dirt. The last episode was great because it was non-stop, in your face, and put on display the real frailties of humanity; greed, paranoia, lust for power, etc. Just when the ball was rolling we go back to this slow drawn out teenage angst stuff that makes me want to shut the TV off for good when it comes to this show. Some may love it, I personally can’t stand it. In any case, I wouldn’t be shocked to find that this is the last season of Fallen Skies.