I like watching shows when I'm having my meals. My family doesn't have the typical "let's all sit down together and eat" kinda family meal. If we do, it's usually because of some fancy occasion, like birthdays or celebrations or when my sister and her husband decides to drop in over the weekend. As such, I take my meals in my room and in front of my macbook. I know, super nerdy and classy right?
I found Falling Skies while browsing through sidereel. It's a science-fiction show that revolves around humanity's fight for its specie survival against alien invaders. Looking through the cast, I only remember one guy, who also happened to be the lead. Noah Wyle from E.R. Back then, so much younger and youthful looking. In Falling Skies, he sports a shaggy beard and even shabbier clothes. That's because washing machines and dryers and laundromats don't exist in the post-apocalyptic world.
It's an intense kind of show and the main plot twists a fair bit here and there to allow for side stories. I had to skip a couple of parts because at times there tended to be way too much dialogue - all the human need for interaction and bonding and reminding oneself that even in the midst of this despair there is some hope blablabla. The fight scenes against the aliens are incredible and realistic. They really do spark some sort of emotion in you, as if you feel that you too need to fight for your own survival.
Character-wise, each individual evolves and grows over time. Children grow up from being carefree to battle-hardened and wary. Upon finding out that the aliens are able to mind control, people start to be suspicious of one another. To add on top of that, even humans fight against one another. Brings to mind again about an earlier post I had written about how humanity needs to be able to survive in a community yet will still find themselves in conflict with one another even when that community is essential for every individual to have a chance to survive.
Liking It:
I kinda like most shows that are post-apocalyptic, within reason. In this case, it's succeeded in having a varied cast, an interesting and stable plot as well as good development - side plots and characters. It evokes emotion and makes you think and reflect about your own identity in the real world. In some shows where the deaths of others are not mourned as solemnly, Falling Skies seems to make it a point to remind its audience that death is important and that remembering those who have fallen, no matter the situation, is important. In an uncertain future, the only way to retain sanity and that desire to survive is to remember the better times and to be able to achieve that same stable better and happier future through this seemingly never-ending fight.
Not Liking It:
There were a fair number of boring chatty bits. Too much talk eating into all the time that's needed for action. I have to keep reminding myself that this isn't some Street Fighter movie and the human and inter-specie politics is every bit as essential in keeping in line with the main plot. Though I just wish they could phrase and package everything succinctly instead of beating about the bush.
Overall:
The fact that I'm waiting for Season 4 to come out and was so giddily excited when I managed to get and watch all the episodes for Season 3 must mean something. Each time the episode ends, it's with a cliffhanger and it drives me nuts to have my heart beating so fast knowing that something big is gonna happen.
Rating: 4/5 (would have been 5/5/ if not for all the chitty chatty talk)
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