Falling Skies

TNT unveiled its science fiction series, FALLING SKIES, from the childish minds of Steven Spielberg and his
gag writers last Sunday. Noah Wyle, the lead, claims he agreed to do the show (and I am not making this up) to gain creditably with his children. Poor kids, they must have seen old dad in an episode of ER.
Wyle has so little screen presence I have no doubt even he forgets he is on screen.

The story: six months before the opening, aliens attack Earth and killed off 90% of humanity. Why they are
here is never explained, other to kill Wyle’s wife, thereby eliminating the expense of paying an actress. It may be inferred Wyle is upset at her death, but his dull expression seems to suit his every emotion so we can’t be sure. Spielberg’s subtext of putting together families (can we forget the butcher’s work he did on WAR OF THE WORLDS? Did he completely miss the theme of that memorable book, even after Wells went to the trouble to explain it in the first chapter?), yes his family making is ever present, even when he stumbles through World War II in Pvt Ryan and a couple of other films. His reverence for the War was nowhere to be seen in the dreadful 1941. He managed to make a comic jackass out of General Joseph Stillwell, hero of Burma.

One of Wyle’s sons has been captured by the bad ETs. After capture human youngsters have something attached to their spines by these outer space folk. It looks like the tingler from the movie, THE TINGLER
("Terror is just over your shoulder!") and causes these poor kids, day players I’m sure, to wander around like zombies.

Which is just a step above the acting of the rest of the cast. Perhaps these kids are on their way to acting class? “What’s my motivation? What’s my motivation?” they must drone. A SAG card and
a weekly player’s contract, is the likely answer.

The aliens come in two forms: two legged robots that use the same laser targeting system the predators
in the Predator movies employ, and machine guns
behind their hands, like the mechanical Cylons in BATTLESTAR GALACTIA. The biological aliens look like six legged dogs, and act like an actor’s agent
chasing a free meal. You may wonder how such a creature with no arms, let alone hands with opposing thumbs, can build a ship that can travel to another star, but the minds behind this show are clearly
liberal arts majors who’s grasp of evolution is as shaky as their hold on the concept of “story”.

OK, Wyle was a teacher of history at Boston Collage who's read a lot of military history. He says crap like;
this is like the Scots against the English at
Stirling Bridge (forgetting the fate of William Wallace a few years later, and the fact his audience in the story and at home had no idea the Scots ever fought the English). He spouts this nonsense but his wisdom
is never acted upon, by him or anyone else.
While leading his first patrol he stumbles into a trap any boy scout could avoid. This stupidity is followed by yet another: he surrenders his guns.

He is in the Resistance, a unit calling its self the 2nd Massachusetts. There is no 1st or 3rd Massachusetts.
"Captain" Dale Dye (he insists on the honorific,
although he was a warrant officer for most of his time in the Marines. Warrant officers are addressed as, “Mister”. Oh, that wouldn’t do for the likes of Dye), veteran DI of many a war film, has been promoted to the rank of Colonel and commands the Resistance. Will Patton; the only actor in the bunch is Wyle's commander.

Anyway, the show's pretty much a dud and has none of the cleverness of BATTLESTAR GALACTIA.


I did detect a hint of Robert Heinlein's THE PUPPET MASTERS in this mess, without the Science Fiction Master's interesting characters, dialogue, or storytelling ability.

It should be noted the patriot Spielberg had this series shot in Canada, although it takes place in Boston.