Falling Skies comments and disscussions

[timothy]

what the hell do you want from us?! I love that line I hope it's in the pilot. only 4 days left till the invasion.

 

[Distorted Humor]

Well added to my DVR...hope its decent...

 

[Temis the Vorta]

what the hell do you want from us?!

Just as long as it's not water!!!

The trouble with alien invasions is the motivation. All the obvious motivations are, well, obvious. How can you come up with a motivation that hasn't been done, but won't come off as stupid?

I liked the idea I had for V best. When they started that blather about souls, which went precisely nowhere, I thought they were going this way: the V's can scientifically isolate souls in living beings - they know whether they exist - but not all species have souls. Humans do, V's don't. That's a problem for V's, because souls are actually very practical - they render a species immortal.

The V's simply wanted to find a way to implant souls in themselves and become immortal. Nothing to do with religion at all. They probably didn't realize humans had perceived their own souls to only the degree that would allow them to build superstitious mythologies around them, but not actually do anything scientific with them, such as experimenting with creating or transferring them.

 

[KJbushway]

In the commericals the aliens wanted the kids.

 

[Witterquick]

I liked the idea I had for V best. When they started that blather about souls, which went precisely nowhere, I thought they were going this way: the V's can scientifically isolate souls in living beings - they know whether they exist - but not all species have souls. Humans do, V's don't. That's a problem for V's, because souls are actually very practical - they render a species immortal.

The V's simply wanted to find a way to implant souls in themselves and become immortal. Nothing to do with religion at all. They probably didn't realize humans had perceived their own souls to only the degree that would allow them to build superstitious mythologies around them, but not actually do anything scientific with them, such as experimenting with creating or transferring them.

I like that idea for V. And yeah, instead of abducting humans, aliens should be abducting ghosts.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

They massacre humans, but not because they're trying to take over the planet! They could give a shit about the planet, there are plenty of planets around when you have FTL flight. They are harvesting souls.

Here's the fun part - the aliens keep the souls in some kind of container that can be transferred into other bodies. So all the humans who have been massacred are still theoretically alive! All they need is new bodies that don't already have souls...

And the aliens don't have souls.

 

[RoJoHen]

If it were me, I'd probably dump cable altogether and get everything thru Netflix. I'm patient, I can wait. You're paying one way or the other, but with Netflix, there's no possibility of ads, so why bother with cable.

I am going to be ditching cable here soon in favor of Hulu Plus ($8 a month vs. $70 a month). I figure between that and Netflix I should be good to go.

My roommate will just have to find some other way to watch sports!

 

[timothy]

if you're going to hulu make sure you check out misfits. and there is a thread out there for it as well.

 

[Star Wolf]

In the commericals the aliens wanted the kids.

They are intergalatic mongers and are after the virgins?

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Now the thread degenerates into a debate over alien sex practices and physical attributes pertaining thereto and whether human virgins would be of any interest to them, and why, and whether "thereto" is even a word.

Sunday, get here quick!

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Let's actually talk about the show for a change!

LA Times review.

Though it is reductive and somewhat lazy to insist that the colors we show when the chips are down are the true ones, the point of any adventure is to test our mettle in a new environment. Spielberg and his writers...understand that good storytelling balances epic narrative with engaging characters and enough detail to keep things real and resonant — people need to eat, kids still need school.

Along the way, all the post-apocalyptic issues are raised: power and corruption, the rights of the individual versus the needs of the community, the essential kinks and glories of character that no outside force can change.

But in the end, if children are going to strap on guns, set traps, jerry-rig explosions and dive for cover during gunfights, it had better be fun. And "Falling Skies" is very much that, the serious fun of those long summer days that you and your kid brother spent blowing up the bad guys and saving the world.

 

[timothy]

here's hoping for a few emmies for the show. we have 2 days till the invasion can't wait all ready locked and loaded and stockpilled to face the alien menace.

by the way do we have a name for them yet?

 

[KJbushway]

Watch they won't really get into anything the first two episodes.

 

[highlander]

I'm with Temis, Sunday needs to get here quick. I need a new Sci-fi fix and i needs it bad.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

The Futon Critic sure likes it.

What works: The show gets more and more addictive with each passing installment. After a fairly standard premiere, it's not long before the show manages to establish its own unique identity. Most impressive is how each episode of the series manages to actually answer questions - often ones you didn't even think to ask. It ultimately gives the show a unique, satisfying momentum that runs slightly askew to the usual post-apocalyptic narrative. This is very much a world you've seen before but its inhabitants are very different. It helps that Wyle provides a nice emotional bedrock for the show: he's broken, but functioning; terrified, but aware he's got to keep it together for the greater good.

The supporting cast - including Will Patton as the grizzled commander of the 2nd and Sarah Carter as a hardened fighter they stumble across - is also a nice mix of personalities as nobody's too much of a cipher or too little of a presence. The show also dips its toes into some unexpectedly dark waters, whether it be the necessarily evil of arming teenagers; humans who either collaborate with or profit from the aliens; or the disturbing notion that the more we learn about the aliens themselves the less we actually may know about their true intentions. It's a compelling mix, one that seven episodes in has me breathlessly awaiting the next hour.

What doesn't: As mentioned above I can certainly see someone tuning into the debut and potentially walking away unimpressed as it's pretty boilerplate alien invasion stuff. That being said, hang in there and you'll quickly find it's...

The bottom line: ...a fantastic series.

A glowing review from The Hollywood Reporter.

The Bottom Line

Superb and entertaining sci-fi series from Steven Spielberg that may ultimately be a stronger series than anyone expected.

Wow, I would have been happy with a solid popcorn show about us vs. the bad aliens with lotsa splosions. Now it's sounding like competition for The Walking Dead's best-current-sci-fi-series crown.

When we start the episode thread for real, we should move this over to SF&F.

 

[Saga]

I need a new Sci-fi fix and i needs it bad.

same here. just stick it into my veins!

 

[timothy]

I all most want a cryostasis unit so I can hide for two days and be ready for falling skies sunday night. I want this so bad....

 

[watermelony2k]

Pleasantly surprised by the positive critical reviews.

 

[Witterquick]

Can't wait! You mean they already got the whole series? I'm gonna break into their office.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Can't wait! You mean they already got the whole series? I'm gonna break into their office.

Sounds like the reviewers have the first batch of eps anyway - maybe the whole season's worth (13?)

I'm already dreading when the season is over and ends on some godawful CLIFFHANGER and we have to wait till June 2012.