Falling Skies 1.3 "Grace" Discussion/comment **SPOILERS**

[Guy Gardener]

2 cases is a pattern given how small the sampling is.

Who else has sold out a good cause to save their children?

Lando Calrisian? (The Empire threatened all of Bespin. You can't tell me there wasn't half a dozen little Lando's running around Cloud City? It was in his interest to call for the evacualtion of his settlement to dodge out on child support. You have to wonder if he wasn't playing Vader the whole time, better deal my ass.)

That's three.

Someone's creating a trope, and by Someone I mean white people.

(I've watched the first season of "The Boondocks" this week.)

 

[gblews]

If anything they might be trying to compensate for the stereotype of missing or deadbeat fathers in the black community.

I think what the producers are telling us is that this PARTICULAR character may love his son to a fault.

You two might enjoy and understand the show a bit more if you stopped thinking character motivations are based on race or racial stereotypes.

It comes into play sometimes, though.
http://www.cinemablend.com/television/Harold-Perrineau-Comments-On-Lost-Racial-Stereotype-10698.html

(sigh) Just because a role is played by a black actor(s) (or any minority), does not necessarily always mean that a message is being conveyed about race by the producers.

 

[Mr. Adventure]

I think what the producers are telling us is that this PARTICULAR character may love his son to a fault.

You two might enjoy and understand the show a bit more if you stopped thinking character motivations are based on race or racial stereotypes.

It comes into play sometimes, though.
http://www.cinemablend.com/television/Harold-Perrineau-Comments-On-Lost-Racial-Stereotype-10698.html

(sigh) Just because a role is played by a black actor(s) (or any minority), does not necessarily always mean that a message is being conveyed about race by the producers.

And I agree with you, I was just making (however ill-advised) a response that if there was a message that might have been the message. This is what I get for responding to a post by Guy...

 

[gblews]

2 cases is a pattern given how small the sampling is.

Who else has sold out a good cause to save their children?

Lando Calrisian? (The Empire threatened all of Bespin. You can't tell me there wasn't half a dozen little Lando's running around Cloud City? It was in his interest to call for the evacualtion of his settlement to dodge out on child support. You have to wonder if he wasn't playing Vader the whole time, better deal my ass.)

That's three.

Someone's creating a trope, and by Someone I mean white people.

Well hopefully, you, or someone, will get to the bottom of the conspiracy one day.

But until then, may I make a suggestion? While watching "Skies", try to look at the characters as just people (Americans, perhaps), and not as a "representative" of the race of the actor who is playing that character.

 

[Guy Gardener]

I look at Mike as an idiot.

Mike?

Michael?

THEY HAVE THE SAME NAME!

Obviously every fictional character called Michael is a self destructive idiot who's going to take down civilization with him... There's no way Mike should be allowed out on missions any more or near a gun ever again. I'd even argue exile since he said "fuck the group", screwed over the mission and lost a solider/mother reducing considerably the possibility that mankind will survive into the next decade.

They should kill him.

Every fictional character called Michael.

It's the sensible thing to do.

If they'd just protected themselves by clubbing the idiot dead, then Mike wouldn't have killed his son and lost all that intelligence they might have gathered talking to their Skitter prisoner. God knows how many more fighters they'll lose trying to "acquire" another Harnessed Kid to play translator.

Reason won out on Lost and they eventually had kill on sight orders for Michael... But not before he shot Anna Lucia and Libby.

 

[Roshi]

Damn! That pious chick is annoying!

 

[stj]

Dai/Tai/Guy (I really can't hear the name very well) and Mike/Rick's dad (ditto) are Asian and African-American to show that Americans are not just Anglo. And prayer girl (the dialogue is realistic in one sense---two people in direct conversation don't tend to use the names that much, which makes it hard to pick them up) is Roman Catholic to show Americans are not just Protestant.

As the title tells us, the prayer scene is the climax of the episode. On the one hand, we have an acknowledgement that in such a situation many people would lose their faith. On the other, the series quickly sets up a validation of religion.

The notion that religion is the same as morality is ignorant, bigoted BS. But when Tom, our moral hero, validates the prayer he is making another choice for morality. No, there is no indication whatsoever that Tom actually believes. When Weaver joins in grace, he is validating religion as a good simply because it is positive thinking. Religion as a triumph of the will in the face of the facts of the fictional universe? Is this really an unmixed validation of religion? Doesn't it unintentionally reflect quite negatively? Isn't this handling shallow, at best?

As to the rest, the revelations are moderately interesting. It would be too much to hope that Pope will be gone for good. He is a cartoonish, false character, written up from TV and movie cliches.

4 for tackling an interesting theme, but no way 5, because it isn't really honest.

 

[marillion]

Damn! That pious chick is annoying!

Annoying because she's religeous, or just annoying as a person/character?

I think you will find that in any crisis situation, those who are devout believers will be present just as those who are not.

There's nothing wrong with looking to God for strength and inspiration when the chips are down.. The character said it herself (last week? This week?) that she doesn't ask God for deliverance from evil, but for the strength to make it through (obviously paraphrasing).

I find her character a nice addition and a good balance. I also like the fact that she's specifically Catholic, rather than some non-descrip "evangelical born again" cookie cutter character we see portrayed so often.

 

[Star Wolf]

Only all American TV chharacters if a faith is stated are Catholic or Jewish.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Damn! That pious chick is annoying!

And she has no apparent use in the actual story yet they keep insisting on featuring her prominently in scenes so I'm figuring they're setting her up to be a traitor to her species and an alien spy.

Or maybe the "boss" aliens are humanoid?

 

[Gepard]

Or maybe the "boss" aliens are humanoid?

 

[Sindatur]

Damn! That pious chick is annoying!

And she has no apparent use in the actual story yet they keep insisting on featuring her prominently in scenes so I'm figuring they're setting her up to be a traitor to her species and an alien spy.

Or maybe the "boss" aliens are humanoid?

Yea, could be they just wanted to show religion still exists and were a little heavy handed (Ham-fisted?) about it, but, yea, they could be setting her up to become an extremist.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

She does bear a striking resemblance to Anna.

 

[Sephiroth]

the religious bit was kind of heavy-handed, I'm hoping this won't become a major theme of the show, that said, religious girl is giving me an "off" vibe, doesn't help that the first time we are introduced to her she's being set up to be an alternate love interest for the oldest teen (I half expected her to show up last week after they took his girlfriend to "comfort" him) my prediction: she's a vehicle for an off-putting romantic subplot, depending on how she tests and and what pull Spielberg has and his plans for her, she'll either be written out (or at least into the background) after a creepy kiss scene or she'll end up being a civilian community leader like Moon Bloodgood

 

[Guy Gardener]

Theirs faith in a higher power to align your moral compass and then there's a certainty that you are a danger to the group. Lourde's one bad mushroom away from believing that the Skitters are angels.

Nonchristians have been immersed in the holiday "thanksgiving" for so long that they have probably forgotten that they are not supposed to be ambiently grateful for good fortune, but that it's a literal two sided conversation with god where they suck up and applaud the old bastard for making it easy, whereafter he thinks about whether you're greasy enough with the gladhanding or maybe he should smite you for kicks.

Considering that everyone working as hard as they can towards the benefit of the group, sweating and toiling is responsible for the own fruits of their labour, it kind of makes God a jerk for swooping in at the last second and taking responsibility for only the good things that have ever happened.

Most of the people in that scene where not talking to God when they were giving thanks, but talking to the group.

Jimmy is going to "convert" because he's into her.

But that's a week or two away.

 

[RJDiogenes]

So it looks like the aliens EMP'd the world so nothing would interfere with their radio brain waves. Except maybe sunspots.

I'm liking all the local references. "What part of JP?"

And aliens sleeping under the bridge. Creepy. I wonder if they were drafted.

 

[Sindatur]

Theirs faith in a higher power to align your moral compass and then there's a certainty that you are a danger to the group. Lourde's one bad mushroom away from believing that the Skitters are angels.

Nonchristians have been immersed in the holiday "thanksgiving" for so long that they have probably forgotten that they are not supposed to be ambiently grateful for good fortune, but that it's a literal two sided conversation with god where they suck up and applaud the old bastard for making it easy, whereafter he thinks about whether you're greasy enough with the gladhanding or maybe he should smite you for kicks.

Considering that everyone working as hard as they can towards the benefit of the group, sweating and toiling is responsible for the own fruits of their labour, it kind of makes God a jerk for swooping in at the last second and taking responsibility for only the good things that have ever happened.

Most of the people in that scene where not talking to God when they were giving thanks, but talking to the group.

Jimmy is going to "convert" because he's into her.

But that's a week or two away.

Didn't Lourdes make it clear she was thanking God for "giving her/them the strength" to carry on, rather than thanking God for the results of that strength

 

[marillion]

Bingo^^

 

[Yoda]

So 3 episodes in, is this show any good? I haven't checked it out yet. I could use more TV during the summer lull, but judging by the ratings this is somewhere not even as good as a Transformers movie or Stargate Universe. Ouch.

 

[Sindatur]

So 3 episodes in, is this show any good? I haven't checked it out yet. I could use more TV during the summer lull, but judging by the ratings this is somewhere not even as good as a Transformers movie or Stargate Universe. Ouch.

Nah, it's doing far better than SGU. SGU barely managed 1 million viewers. Temis (I think) posted the ratings and they were in the 4-5 million range, I believe.

Ah, yes, just found an EW.Com link on Google:
Ep 2 - 29% drop still left it 4.2 Million. Not enough for "The Big 4 Networks", but, Cable can get along just fine generally on 3 Million+, any more than that, and it's in Flagship territory.

http://insidetv.ew.com/2011/06/27/falling-skies-ratings-2/

It's got some growing pains, but, there is some interesting premise so far, and they're already doling out revelations and clearing up some mysteries, so, don't have to worry about "Go nowhere with the Arc" episodes so far. Of course, there are unanswered questions, but, unlike LOST, they're asking the questions in smaller doses and answering them quicker.

ETA: Some shows that ended up very good, started out rockier than this. Will it ever be Babylon 5, Farscape or DS9? Probably not, but, it can easily be SG-1 entertaining with a few improvements.