I love post-apocalyptic stories. I love sci-fi. Given those two statements I was, naturally, looking forward to this series with a great amount of anticipation.
But oh my! On the strength of the two episode pilot, I am sadly rather underwhelmed.
I expected Walking Dead with Aliens. Instead I got an unhappy mix of the War of the Worlds TV show, Battlestar Galactica and the Brady Bunch. There's altogether far too much "family drama" and not enough action/grim reality on display here. Token nods to reality, in the form of "we need to find more food" and such-like comments, do little to increase the believability of the show.
Acting is passable, on the whole, but the show has what appears to be low production values. I'm sure this wasn't the case, but it just looks cheaply put together.
In addition, though the Earth has apparently been conquered by the aliens, there seems to be no real sense of menace to the group. The aliens appear, but only here and there. Somehow, I would think the aliens would take a little more interest in a group of three hundred people trolling about the countryside. Instead, the aliens seem intent on "lurking" wherever the humans might conceivably go. Logistically, this is a nonsensical idea that is clearly a plot device, however idiotic.
Likewise, along with the lack of menace, there is a total lack of urgency displayed by the group. They appear in no rush to move away from the infested city, no doubt in part due to the seeming lack of interest on the aliens part in rooting them out.
A whole boat load of "family crisis" has been unloaded into this pilot. So much so that even those with a particularly sweet-tooth will find themselves feeling sickly at the sugary niceness of it all.
Another rather irritating thing....along with the family melodrama comes one of the most cringe-inducing melodramatic scores I've heard for a long time. It's just overdone to a terrible extent. I'm sure it was meant to evoke sympathy for the plight of the poor citizens, but all it did for me was to make me, by turns, scowl or chuckle at the screen.
The characters are thinly drawn and somewhat stereotypical. Grizzled War Vet, knowledgeable Professor, Lady Doctor, Annoying teen brats etc, etc. Of course, they all display the typical TV show lack of intelligence when it comes to dealing with their situation. So, for instance, a discussion in which they wonder why the "Skitters" have six limbs and the mechs are bipedal, doesn't end with any kind of speculation on the nature of the invading force, just a shrug.
There's a whole military vs. civilian friction dynamic that simply shouldn't exist. An "us and them" mentality that is beyond foolish. The opening child's narrative points out that all the soldiers were killed and "then the mummies and daddies had to fight". Except...apparently not every mummy and daddy. It's a world invasion....shouldn't everyone be a warrior now?
On the plus side, the series started out with a low, so things can only get better from here. Right? I certainly hope so, else this show isn't going to survive long enough for us to find out much about the aliens.
SUMMARY: Looks cheap, stereotypical characters, no sense of menace or urgency, enough saccharin sweetness to give you Diabetes five times over. Will not survive the first season unless things improve greatly.
EDIT: Episode 5 was the worst yet.....so much sentimentality and melodrama...I'm drowning...help! Help! Some TV company throw me a frickin lifeline here! There must be better things to watch......gurgle.
EDIT, EDIT: Oh God! There's to be a season 2! Here's hoping they listened to what was wrong with season 1.
EDIT FOR OPENING OF SEASON 2: Well, it IS better... but there is still the tendency to drop into piano-music accompanied melodrama at the drop of a hat. You have to be a real cheese lover to enjoy this. Hopefully it will improve, but then, I've been saying that since the first episode of season 1, so....
EDIT FOR END OF SEASON 2: Yes. I watched right to the end! It is getting better and I will tune in to Series 3 when it airs. I've even given it an extra star. But no more! I have my limits!
EDIT FOR SEASON 3: Ah, what to say. Opening episode skips 7 months of time. New alien at the end of S2 are now allies with no attempt to show how that all came together. The tendency to melodrama and over sentimentality has returned with a vengeance. For God's sake stop with the piano music. It takes more than that and having the main character cry or be angry in turn if you want the audience to connect with your hero. Speaking of which... get rid of Noah Wyle. Get somebody new in or at least have the guts to kill him off and do away with the whole vomit-inducing "Family is everything" shtick. It got old in season 1 guys! Stop with the formula writing crap already! -1 star for failing to shoot the piano player!
END OF SEASON 3: It got better! Oh no, wait... I started watching Revolution, which is so bad it makes this look better. Falling Skies... better than Revolution! There is a ray of sunshine on the horizon!
SEASON 4 EDIT: It is much better! To the point where I've given it another star! It's a little over the top, plot-wise, but enjoyable. I'm actually now a little sad that it is finishing after season 5.
But oh my! On the strength of the two episode pilot, I am sadly rather underwhelmed.
I expected Walking Dead with Aliens. Instead I got an unhappy mix of the War of the Worlds TV show, Battlestar Galactica and the Brady Bunch. There's altogether far too much "family drama" and not enough action/grim reality on display here. Token nods to reality, in the form of "we need to find more food" and such-like comments, do little to increase the believability of the show.
Acting is passable, on the whole, but the show has what appears to be low production values. I'm sure this wasn't the case, but it just looks cheaply put together.
In addition, though the Earth has apparently been conquered by the aliens, there seems to be no real sense of menace to the group. The aliens appear, but only here and there. Somehow, I would think the aliens would take a little more interest in a group of three hundred people trolling about the countryside. Instead, the aliens seem intent on "lurking" wherever the humans might conceivably go. Logistically, this is a nonsensical idea that is clearly a plot device, however idiotic.
Likewise, along with the lack of menace, there is a total lack of urgency displayed by the group. They appear in no rush to move away from the infested city, no doubt in part due to the seeming lack of interest on the aliens part in rooting them out.
A whole boat load of "family crisis" has been unloaded into this pilot. So much so that even those with a particularly sweet-tooth will find themselves feeling sickly at the sugary niceness of it all.
Another rather irritating thing....along with the family melodrama comes one of the most cringe-inducing melodramatic scores I've heard for a long time. It's just overdone to a terrible extent. I'm sure it was meant to evoke sympathy for the plight of the poor citizens, but all it did for me was to make me, by turns, scowl or chuckle at the screen.
The characters are thinly drawn and somewhat stereotypical. Grizzled War Vet, knowledgeable Professor, Lady Doctor, Annoying teen brats etc, etc. Of course, they all display the typical TV show lack of intelligence when it comes to dealing with their situation. So, for instance, a discussion in which they wonder why the "Skitters" have six limbs and the mechs are bipedal, doesn't end with any kind of speculation on the nature of the invading force, just a shrug.
There's a whole military vs. civilian friction dynamic that simply shouldn't exist. An "us and them" mentality that is beyond foolish. The opening child's narrative points out that all the soldiers were killed and "then the mummies and daddies had to fight". Except...apparently not every mummy and daddy. It's a world invasion....shouldn't everyone be a warrior now?
On the plus side, the series started out with a low, so things can only get better from here. Right? I certainly hope so, else this show isn't going to survive long enough for us to find out much about the aliens.
SUMMARY: Looks cheap, stereotypical characters, no sense of menace or urgency, enough saccharin sweetness to give you Diabetes five times over. Will not survive the first season unless things improve greatly.
EDIT: Episode 5 was the worst yet.....so much sentimentality and melodrama...I'm drowning...help! Help! Some TV company throw me a frickin lifeline here! There must be better things to watch......gurgle.
EDIT, EDIT: Oh God! There's to be a season 2! Here's hoping they listened to what was wrong with season 1.
EDIT FOR OPENING OF SEASON 2: Well, it IS better... but there is still the tendency to drop into piano-music accompanied melodrama at the drop of a hat. You have to be a real cheese lover to enjoy this. Hopefully it will improve, but then, I've been saying that since the first episode of season 1, so....
EDIT FOR END OF SEASON 2: Yes. I watched right to the end! It is getting better and I will tune in to Series 3 when it airs. I've even given it an extra star. But no more! I have my limits!
EDIT FOR SEASON 3: Ah, what to say. Opening episode skips 7 months of time. New alien at the end of S2 are now allies with no attempt to show how that all came together. The tendency to melodrama and over sentimentality has returned with a vengeance. For God's sake stop with the piano music. It takes more than that and having the main character cry or be angry in turn if you want the audience to connect with your hero. Speaking of which... get rid of Noah Wyle. Get somebody new in or at least have the guts to kill him off and do away with the whole vomit-inducing "Family is everything" shtick. It got old in season 1 guys! Stop with the formula writing crap already! -1 star for failing to shoot the piano player!
END OF SEASON 3: It got better! Oh no, wait... I started watching Revolution, which is so bad it makes this look better. Falling Skies... better than Revolution! There is a ray of sunshine on the horizon!
SEASON 4 EDIT: It is much better! To the point where I've given it another star! It's a little over the top, plot-wise, but enjoyable. I'm actually now a little sad that it is finishing after season 5.