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Post by Karen on Jul 6, 2011 10:42:04 GMT -5
www.tnt.tv/series/fallingskies/ (Full episodes here.) FALLING SKIES opens in the chaotic aftermath of an alien attack that has left most of the world completely incapacitated. In the six months since the initial invasion, the few survivors have banded together outside major cities to begin the difficult task of fighting back.
Each day is a test of survival as citizen soldiers work to protect the people in their care while also engaging in an insurgency campaign against the occupying alien force. ) FALLING SKIES is executive-produced by Steven Spielberg, along with DreamWorks Television heads Justin Falvey and Darryl Frank, Graham Yost (Justified, The Pacific) and screenwriter Robert Rodat. Rodat, who earned an OscarĀ® nomination for his screenplay for Saving Private Ryan, wrote the pilot from an idea he co-conceived with Spielberg. Mark Verheiden (Heroes, Battlestar Galactica) and Greg Beeman (Heroes, Smallville) are co-executive producers. The pilot was directed by Carl Franklin (One False Move, Out of Time). ) I am totally enjoying "Falling Skies" by Steven Spielberg. There is a great interplay of characters and good characterization and shades of gray, and the theme of individuals coming together and forming a family - one of my favorite themes. Great cast, too. Noah Wyle Moon Bloodgood Will Patton Drew Roy Connor Jessup Maxim Knight (great young actor!) Sarah Sanguin Carter Seychelle Gabriel Peter Shinkoda Mpho Koaho John Pope Colin Cunningham (great 'bad' guy)
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Post by Sue on Jul 8, 2011 16:52:53 GMT -5
I watched the first hour -- the Pilot ep -- so far.
First 10-15 minutes was "ho-hum been there done that" but while the premise may be recycled the writing of actual dialogue is decent, the acting is really pretty good, and I find myself being drawn to the characters and caring about them. It's not 4 star but (remember only one hour) it's like a decent B movie.
For one thing there were some moderately unexpected twists of both plot and characterization so I wasn't bored (or, not overly or for extended periods of time). Are the characters aren't all one dimensional like "duty only" or "bumbling only" or "bad guy only."
Noah Wylie is just SO darn LIKEABLE. And I like Jesse Schram (from Veronica Mars).
I like the rather jarring juxtaposition of how they are trying to maintain a "normal" existance for the civilian kids in the midst of horror and chaos.
And it's moving at a decent pace so far. That is a MUST for me. The one about the zombie plague on AMC just took way too long (with too much gore) for anything to happen to keep my attention.
I like Wylie's characters using his American history background to inform his decisions and attitudes. Others may think that is hokey. And, yes, the "bad guy" is interesting and well acted.
[Lola -- the bad guy and Wylie have more "chemistry" than any of the thus far nominal m/f pairs, just fyi.]
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Post by Karen on Jul 12, 2011 13:22:45 GMT -5
I watched the first hour -- the Pilot ep -- so far. First 10-15 minutes was "ho-hum been there done that" but while the premise may be recycled the writing of actual dialogue is decent, the acting is really pretty good, and I find myself being drawn to the characters and caring about them. It's not 4 star but (remember only one hour) it's like a decent B movie. For one thing there were some moderately unexpected twists of both plot and characterization so I wasn't bored (or, not overly or for extended periods of time). Are the characters aren't all one dimensional like "duty only" or "bumbling only" or "bad guy only." Noah Wylie is just SO darn LIKEABLE. And I like Jesse Schram (from Veronica Mars). I like the rather jarring juxtaposition of how they are trying to maintain a "normal" existance for the civilian kids in the midst of horror and chaos. And it's moving at a decent pace so far. That is a MUST for me. The one about the zombie plague on AMC just took way too long (with too much gore) for anything to happen to keep my attention. I like Wylie's characters using his American history background to inform his decisions and attitudes. Others may think that is hokey. And, yes, the "bad guy" is interesting and well acted. [Lola -- the bad guy and Wylie have more "chemistry" than any of the thus far nominal m/f pairs, just fyi.] Hehe!! My thought exactly! And the peeks we get at their backstory - like being a History teacher, or a chef, doctor, etc., and how they are trying to still 'be' that person, even though their roles are changing out of necessity is fascinating to me. You should give the zombies another look-see, because that story really picked up steam and the gore took a back seat.
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Post by S'ewing S'cubie on Jul 13, 2011 7:08:42 GMT -5
I tried. I really did. Made it through the first half hour of the pilot until both Bob and I conceded that while it was reasonably well done it suffered from one fatal flaw. We were bored.
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Post by Sue on Jul 13, 2011 17:07:09 GMT -5
I tried. I really did. Made it through the first half hour of the pilot until both Bob and I conceded that while it was reasonably well done it suffered from one fatal flaw. We were bored. Well, that's what I thought the first time I started but then I happened to catch part of episode 3 and tried again. Although, I admit that now I'm still only through ep 1 and have 3 eps backed up on the DVR. But I'm committed to at least one more before giving up.
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Post by spacecat1974 on Jul 13, 2011 19:33:21 GMT -5
The med student is starting to annoy the hell out of me. She's like an outcast from Seventh Heaven transplanted into this series and is just so out of place to me. So she hasn't lost her faith... Great! But does she have to be so preachy and annoying about it?
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Post by Karen on Jul 13, 2011 22:27:35 GMT -5
The med student is starting to annoy the hell out of me. She's like an outcast from Seventh Heaven transplanted into this series and is just so out of place to me. So she hasn't lost her faith... Great! But does she have to be so preachy and annoying about it? Hehe! I was annoyed with her at first, too. But ... I think her genuineness and loving attitude is what the group needs to stay human and have some sense of community and hope. Anyway...I'm enjoying the variety of personalities and how they are interacting with each other while trying to survive and prevail.
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Post by spacecat1974 on Jul 19, 2011 22:10:59 GMT -5
BUT can't she be genuine and loving without being religious? Must the two always go hand in hand on tv?
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Post by Karen on Aug 6, 2011 13:23:26 GMT -5
BUT can't she be genuine and loving without being religious? Must the two always go hand in hand on tv? Ah. I hear ya. It sometimes it makes for good drama, tho. We have yet to see how her beliefs will figure into the story. I did NOT see the latest little twist coming! No wonder some of the skidders are so loving to the harnessed children.
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Post by Karen on Aug 10, 2011 12:11:02 GMT -5
I am loving the Pope/Mason/Weaver dynamic.
Did NOT see the ending coming.
Maybe the aliens have some sort of soul afterall. Seems like they value resistance and pluckiness, which means that they themselves have a good dose of those qualities.
It will complicate their plans.
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Post by spacecat1974 on Aug 13, 2011 2:50:18 GMT -5
BUT can't she be genuine and loving without being religious? Must the two always go hand in hand on tv? Ah. I hear ya. It sometimes it makes for good drama, tho. We have yet to see how her beliefs will figure into the story. I did NOT see the latest little twist coming! No wonder some of the skidders are so loving to the harnessed children. Religion can make for good drama but not usually of the good kind. With the revelation about the aliens... I wonder what is going to happen to Ben?
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Post by Karen on Aug 17, 2011 20:54:28 GMT -5
Ah. I hear ya. It sometimes it makes for good drama, tho. We have yet to see how her beliefs will figure into the story. I did NOT see the latest little twist coming! No wonder some of the skidders are so loving to the harnessed children. Religion can make for good drama but not usually of the good kind. With the revelation about the aliens... I wonder what is going to happen to Ben? Religion (good and bad) is part of our human culture, so I can see why the writers are including it in a story about humanity. But I get what you mean. The Ben storyline is very intriguing. As is the other boy's storyline..Rick, is it? It seemed to me that he is starting to realize that the aliens don't really consider him one of them, even though he was feeling more of an alien than a human because of being harnessed. Ben must not have been harnessed as long as Rick, because when he was unharnessed, he recognized his father right away, unlike Rick, who seemed to feel more alienated and didn't acknowledge his dad when he was unharnessed....or didn't appear to anyway. My theory about the skidders are that they are mutated beings - whether humans or another race altogether that the aliens had conquered and used as slaves. Why they are keeping a lot of the humans alive is a mystery to me, unless they don't intend to leave the earth totally without humans when they leave it so that they can repoplulate themselves so that when they return at a later date they can gather more supplies or whatever it is they are gathering. hmmm... I am just rambling nonsense here...
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