Falling Skies, Failing Sci-Fi

I'm an avid believer in giving T.V shows second chances. It's not that I'm particularly charitable, I just don't like the idea of missing something good based on a less than stellar opening. I did it with Ashes to Ashes, I did it with Torchwood and I even did it with Battlestar Galactica. Sometimes being persistent can really pay off, with Commander Adama now ranking as one of my all time favourite T.V characters. But right from the start I've felt that there is something off about Falling Skies, that it's entire tone is just plain wrong. The answer to this, I thought, lay in a weak setup at the beginning of the series and the truly dire trumpet wailing soundtrack. A bike arrives, the trumpets wail. A main character is in peril, the trumpets wail. An alien moons Noah Wyle and still, the sodding trumpets wail! It completely flattens any sense of drama the show has, never letting it take off. Music is meant to convey to us what is happening on the screen, it foreshadows, it enunciates. So if you carpet bomb an entire episode with the same desultory tunes, you're either suggesting everything is equally important, or as it actually seems, that everything is as pointless as that which preceded it. Either Spielberg really thinks he's that good, in which case he can kiss my E.T hating ass, or he really has lost his marbles. Maybe one of those stallions from War Horse gave him a sharp kick in the head, as god knows he needs a good excuse at this point?  Who knows, maybe he doesn't even watch the damn thing, just rubberstamps it with his prestigious ego.

Aliens have the best killer robots.

Now, where was I? Right, so it's fair to say that I might have become a little obsessed with what could be a single failure in an otherwise fine show. So with that in mind I sat down to watch the season 2 premier, hopeful, my negative opinions dulled by times sweet passage (Read into that what you will). And you know what, for the first two minutes it almost had me. There was shooting galore, enemy Mechs exploding and those ugly, spider Skitter things getting riddled with bullets. But it was like Spielberg couldn't help himself, and soon that nascent score was back tormenting my every waking moment. This was then compounded by another realisation. Something which had managed to slip by my super-sleuth honed eye during the first season. And that's how awful the writing, direction and acting actually is. So one could say I dropped the ball a smidgen on that one, as it really is dire.

Connor Jessup, actor extraordinaire.

The epitome, the focus of all three of these failures can be found in Noah Wyle's son, Ben, played by Connor Jessup. Now, just for those of you who don't know, Ben was captured by the aliens, effectively brainwashed and fixed with something called a Harness. This is some freaky bit of alien technology that runs down your back and plugs into your spine. Having been rescued however, he is left a different person, a shell who retains the strength lent to him by the alien device. So fair enough, he's going to be a bit messed up. Instead however, he comes across as obnoxious and completely devoid of any emotion, something which could be said to be his character but rather feels like just bad acting. Even his body language, having just killed a Skitter with a knife, doesn't fit as surely given how much he hates the aliens this would be the moment to see him exultant. It comes across as exceptionally amateur and a chore to watch. I have no idea how this slipped by the directors notice, but it borders on the absurd when the trumpets start wailing and Ben looks like he's trying to swallow a lemon.

(Sigh) Bring it back.

On the writing front we can see a definite lack of direction from the get go. At the beginning of the first season it's about surviving and finding Ben, which they do in about four episodes. After that however, nothing really seems to happen. They run into some aliens, a couple of bandits, but there's no feeling that there's an over arcing plot. It's much the same problem I had with Stargate Universe. You can't just stick a bunch of people in a desperate situation, have a few crisis here and there and justifiably call it television! I would say it's too episodic, but that's not strictly true either as we are continually reminded that the aliens are the enemy, that they're the friggin centre of the universe every twenty goddamn seconds! And I have to say, I am in no way riffing on episodic T.V shows. I grew up with Star Trek: The Next Generation so I have a fondness for that type of storytelling. No, Falling Skies subscribes to the idea of story arcs while never actually delivering. One has to wonder if the writers were told to coast it due to having the "venerable" Spielberg attached to the project. If they've ever seen A.I, they should be more concerned for their jobs.

Meet the Big Bad.

Now, given all these problems and more, the season 2 premier did have a few things going for it. Firstly, we finally met the head honcho, the alien overlord, the big cheese. He offers Noah Wyle and the human species the opportunity for peace, a safe haven. This Mr Wyle roundly rejects and for the life of me I can't think why. Sure, it'd be humiliating but from what I've seen of the rebels they don't stand a chance anyway. There's a difference between heroism for a cause and committing suicide after all. The aliens make a big deal about how they've never encountered such fierce resistance, but I ain't seeing it. Apart from killing a few Skitters here, a few mechs there, the entire alien occupation seems to be going like clockwork. The rebels really are just an "inconvenience" as the aliens say and Noah probably should have thought things through a little more before jabbing the big boss with a stun stick. That probably pissed him off a little. So in a nutshell it's now up to him to deliver this message to the human race and see who bites, and unless something drastically changes I'd be seriously considering kicking back my heels in that nice little sanctuary.   Also the budget seems to have been given an up, the mechs and Skitters making more of an appearance and with more presence. Whether this continues throughout the series we'll have to wait and see, but chances are we might be seeing a little more gun play in the coming episodes.

So we'll see where Falling Skies goes from here. The big problem in my opinion is that the producers won't realise their series is an interesting idea marred by pretty much everything they've done so far. I think attaching Spielberg to the project was a bad move, it's not his kind of deal. This is an ACTION sci-fi show and he simply doesn't have the chops to deliver kick ass fight scenes and an entertaining story line. Instead we end up with this muddled mess, a bit of shooting and a yawn worthy plot. Who knows, maybe it'll get better? But I'd be willing to gamble everything I own that Falling Skies won't be sitting on my shelf in a years time rubbing shoulders with my Galactica box set, I can tell you that much.