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Comic-Con News: Noah Wyle chats about FALLING SKIES and character development

CARL CORTEZ — Sat, 14 Jul 2012 14:26:58 +0000

Comic-Con News: Noah Wyle chats about FALLING SKIES and character development

Fans of the TNT series FALLING SKIES may have wondered why there’s been such a slow burn with the budding romance between Tom (Noah Wyle) and Dr. Anne Glass (Moon Bloodgood) and at Comic-Con 2012 in San Diego, Wyle shed some light on it while speaking to the press.

“It’s very difficult to write an interpersonal romance relationship on the show when you’re always trying to establish a base level of threat being ever present,” says Wyle of the hit alien invasion series which just got renewed for Season 3. “So we write these scenes where I would be on guard duty and she’d bring me a sandwich and we’d start flirting with each other. Then we’d go to shoot them and we’d think, ‘This just doesn’t work. Doesn’t fit.’ So it became a relationship that played itself out across crowded rooms with two busy people looking at each other and wishing circumstances were different. It was either that, or drag her into a linen closet and consummate it fast and furious. So last season we did the former and the second season we did the latter.”

As for his occasionally contentious relationship with Captain Weaver (Will Patton), Wyle sees growth with him as well.

“I think of all the relationships in the show [Tom and Weaver] have probably traveled the farthest ground since the pilot when we were total adversaries and leading up to the episode that aired last week where we are actually admitting mutual respect and affection for each other and a growing awareness that really to be successful it’s going to require a certain synthesis between our two philosophies for the good of the group,” explains Wyle. “In a lot of ways I think we looked at this season as alternating mother and father roles to the 2nd Massachusetts depending on the episode. Sometimes he’s the more nurturing one and I’m the hard ass and then we flip them. “

Falling Skies airs Sunday nights on TNT

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Article: Comic-Con News – Noah Wyle talks FALLING SKIES character development

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TV Review: FALLING SKIES – Season 2 – “Love and Other Acts of Courage”

CARL CORTEZ — Tue, 10 Jul 2012 16:47:43 +0000

TV Review: FALLING SKIES – Season 2 – “Love and Other Acts of Courage”

Stars: Noah Wyle, Moon Bloodgood, Will Patton, Connor Jessup, Drew Roy, Maxim Knight, Sarah Carter
Writer: Joe Weisberg
Director: John Dahl
Network: TNT, airs Sunday nights
Original Telecast: July 8, 2012

Whereas last season of FALLING SKIES felt like the story meandered a little too much (but it was still pretty good), Season 2 is just one big ass-kicking episode after another.

With “Love and Other Acts of Courage” the 2^nd Mass learns more about the Skitters and what their possible plan is after a whole gaggle of visitors are wiped out mysteriously, but not by humans. It was in fact Skitters.. Apparently, the Skitter that tortured, but let Tom (Noah Wyle) go when he was on the spaceship, has been communicating with his son Ben (Connor Jessup).

This Skitter is actually a good one (or is he). His planet was taken over by the overlords and harnessed, but he came to envy the earthlings for fighting for survival in the face of extinction. He makes a proposal for the humans and Skitters to team up and fight the Overlords.

Tom is suspicious, but perhaps there’s some truth to it. Others are more concerned about Ben since clearly he still has ties to the Skitters, despite being de-harnessed.

Meanwhile, Maggie (Sarah Carter) and Hal (Drew Roy) are having feelings for each other. There’s some nice chemistry going on there as we learn a little more about Maggie’s past.

There’s also some nice moments between Tom and Captain Weaver (Will Patton) who admit to not liking each other at first, but now have immense respect for one another. Weaver also explains to Tom that at some point, he’s going to have to make a tough choice about Ben – for the safety of everyone else. It’s a wonderfully written scene and it’s handled very adeptly by director John Dahl.

Even though the episode has many small moments, there are many strong character moments that moves the show even further along. Plus, the revelation that Skitters want to rebel against the Overlords is HUGE.

Here’s hoping the FALLING SKIES momentum continues. Here’s a show that V should have been, but somehow could never even come close to. And here’s a show that struggled with Season 1, yet has developed into a strong, emotional and exciting series that feels like it’s heading toward something very big.

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TV Review: FALLING SKIES – Season 2 – “Young Bloods”

CARL CORTEZ — Wed, 04 Jul 2012 09:18:46 +0000

TV Review: FALLING SKIES – Season 2 – “Young Bloods”

Stars: Noah Wyle, Moon Bloodgood, Will Patton, Connor Jessup, Drew Roy, Maxim Knight, Sarah Carter
Writer: Heather V. Regnier
Director: Miguel Spaochnik
Network: TNT, airs Sunday nights
Original Telecast: July 1, 2012

FALLING SKIES continues to improve on Season 1 in so many ways. There’s urgency to the Resistance, there’s more emotion and it feels like the series is heading toward something bigger.

In many ways, the series feels like it’s also taken some cues from the similarly themed THE WALKING DEAD by parceling out just the right amount of character stuff with its “threat” stuff, and in this case it’s aliens and not zombies.

It’s a winning mix with “Young Bloods” using family as a theme once again and in a myriad of great ways.

First there’s a kick-ass opening where Tom’s (Noah Wyle) youngest boy Matt (Maxim Knight) is used recklessly as skitter bait by a couple of gung-ho 2^nd Mass yahoos. When Tom gets wind of this, he’s pissed – which puts a wedge between him and his son who wants to battle the Skitters.

Meanwhile, Weaver (Will Patton) finally gets some resolution when his daughter Jeannie shows up (he thought he’d never find her). He learns his ex-wife passed, by Jeannie is with a bunch of young battle-weary kids who feel they’re safer avoiding and hiding from the Skitters than fighting them (and fighting them alongside adults).

Both the 2^nd Mass and these kids headed by Jeannie’s boyfriend Diego have different ways of handling the Skitters when part of Diego’s group are taken by the visitors and sent for Harnessing. Of course, Diego’s gang fails, and it’s up to the 2^nd Mass to rescue them including Matt who recklessly followed them as well.

By episode’s end, it’s clear, the 2^nd Mass knows what they’re doing, and the events bring both Matt and Tom closer, but also Weaver and Jeannie (who leaves by episode’s end to rejoin Diego – like father, like daughter, they’re born leaders).

Where “Young Bloods” really excels is in the emotional arcs that come to the fore between all the characters. Last season there was a lot of biding time until something happened. Here, there is clearly a plan, and whenever the 2^nd Mass can bring more people into its fold, the better.

We also realize that there are still some ties between Tom’s middle son Ben (Connor Jessup) and the Skitters. Even though the harness alien was removed, the spikes on his back are still connected in some way and when he gets close to the Harness alien tank at the Harnessing factory, Ben’s spikes glow like some kind of beacon.

While it would have been nice to keep Jeannie around, at least we know she’s out there and there’s potential for her to return.

FALLING SKIES continues to impress – an alien series that continually improves and so far, is proving to better than last year.

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TV Review: FALLING SKIES – Season 2 – “Compass”

PETER BROWN — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 23:43:56 +0000

TV Review: FALLING SKIES – Season 2 – “Compass”

Cast: Noah Wyle, Moon Bloodgood, Will Patton, Connor Jessup, Drew Roy, Maxim Knight, Sarah Carter
Writer: Robert Rodat
Director: Michael Katleman
Network: TNT, airs Sundays @ 9 p.m.
Original Telecast: June 24, 2012

As Admiral Akbar sowed the seeds of pop culture in STAR WARS: EPISODE VI – RETURN OF THE JEDI, I couldn’t help thinking “It’s a trap!” when the pilot just happened to find 2nd Mass and inform them about the sanctuary city of Charleston.

Now, it could all be true and they are preparing viewers for what would be a larger, more intense fight against the aliens in FALLING SKIES, but it just seemed a bit too easy. However, Weaver (Will Patton) did look at her papers and he deemed it legitimate enough to take a chance to go there – and his assertion that his troops have been rapidly dwindling in number isn’t a bad reason either.

More than likely, the payoff to whether there is a government established and a more formidable resistance set up will happen in future episodes as the group makes its way down south.

Let’s just get this out of the way now. Isn’t it possible to present Moon Bloodgood in a more pleasing way? If you watched TERMINATOR: SALVATION she was covered in dirt and blood and all sorts of other stuff the entire time yet managed to still look smoking hot. In FALLING SKIES, every episode it looks like she’s about ready to die from dysentery. At least make her look good with the dirt in a show that desperately needs the eye candy to look like eye candy.

Speaking of Bloodgood, there were some pretty major plot points set up for future episodes as well in “Compass.” The developing relationship between Anne (Bloodgood) and Tom Mason (Noah Wyle) as they shared a kiss will be something to watch to see if it goes further given their desperate situation. Now, as I have said in previous reviews I did not watch the first season of the show, so if this happened in previous episodes forgive me.

Also, the ouster of Pope (Colin Cunnningham) from the group (and most of his crew remaining) was an interesting development as it will probably come back to haunt them at some point, or at least Tom (who kicked his ass in this episode) as they have been at odds for some time.

Finally, the alien confrontation with Ben (Connor Jessup) probably has everyone thinking that there is still some connection to the aliens that Ben has that they are waiting to unleash on the resistance – otherwise wouldn’t have the alien just killed him and be done with it? Again, probably something for future episodes to explore.

The center of “Compass” was the death of Jimmy, a little kid that was recruited into the 2nd Mass, whose death was felt across the entire group, especially with Ben, who sent him to his death. The death of little Jimmy showed that they are willing to take the whole recruitment of children into the fight seriously as part of the overall mythology of the show. If you are going to have children fighting and taking on mean nasties, they should be dying just like anyone else doing it and that’s a refreshing change from some shows that wouldn’t have the balls to kill off any kid.

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TV: FALLING SKIES review – Season 2 – “Shall We Gather at the River”

PETER BROWN — Wed, 20 Jun 2012 16:42:11 +0000

TV: FALLING SKIES review – Season 2 – “Shall We Gather at the River”

Cast: Noah Wyle, Moon Bloodgood, Will Patton, Connor Jessup, Drew Roy, Maxim Knight, Sarah Carter
Writer: Bradley Thompson, David Weddle
Director: Greg Beeman
Network: TNT, Airs Sundays at 9 p.m.
Original Telecast: June 17, 2012

It hasn’t been a very good few days for Tom Mason (Noah Wyle) in the first two episodes of FALLING SKIES.

So far he’s been:

Abducted (voluntarily mind you) by aliens
Tortured by aliens
Shot
Had some creature pulled from his eye
Blow up

Yet, he keeps on ticking.

There are two things going on in “Shall We Gather at the River.” The first is the resistance looking for a way to get them out of a corner as the aliens approach from either side in an attempt to eliminate them once and for all. The only problem is there easiest way gets shot all to hell when an alien craft breaks apart and cripples the bridge they were going to use. The second is Tom’s uneasiness about what the aliens may have done to him during his time in captivity and how he might be a danger to the group. He even goes as far as to ask his son to kill him if he seems like he is going to do something to harm someone.

Tom has reason to be afraid too. They just let him go. In the opening episodes of Season Two, they killed everyone around him but walked away when it was just him left. That’s a bit fishy. The second troubling bit of news was what was lurking inside of Tom’s eye – a possible living tracking device that the other aliens have been using to find the rest of the group.

The scene where they discover and, ahem, remove the alien from Tom’s eye is quite brutal even for cable network standards and had me cringing the whole way in pain just from witnessing it. As I stated in my previous review, I didn’t watch any of the first season of the show so I’m not sure if they had such brutal moments in Season One, but this type of TV could have me watching more, as I love stuff that’s hard to stomach.

Tom is also continuing to try and readjust to his family’s new place in the resistance. All three of his boys are now in some way taking up arms against the aliens. That makes sense actually as in a time like this (and has been proven by history) if you can hold a gun and fight, you do. Is Tom now cured of his alien parasites? Or did they do something else to him? I guess we will have to see and see if his own discomfort with being back in the group grows or goes away.

That’s one of the very cool things I have experienced with this show, realism – well, as much as can be. A desperate situation where the hunted humans are doing all they can to fight a seemingly impossible foe. And unlike a show such as the V remake where there were 3 or 4 resistance members, this is handfuls of people all with the same cause – again something you’d think would really happen if survivors made it.

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Article: TV Review: FALLING SKIES – Season 2 – “Shall We Gather At The River”

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TV Review: FALLING SKIES – Season 2 – “World’s Apart” – Season Premiere

PETER BROWN — Tue, 19 Jun 2012 16:28:17 +0000

TV Review: FALLING SKIES – Season 2 – “World’s Apart” – Season Premiere

Cast: Noah Wyle, Moon Bloodgood, Will Patton, Connor Jessup, Drew Roy, Maxim Knight, Sarah Carter
Writer: Mark Verheiden
Director: Greg Beeman
Network: TNT, Airs Sundays at 9 p.m.
Original Telecast: June 17, 2012

Full disclosure: I did not watch the first season of FALLING SKIES. I did not see it when it aired last year, I did not watch it on DVD. So I am a fresh face to all of this, so forgive me if something seems obvious but isn’t.

Here’s what I got from the opening montage from Season One:

Aliens pull an INDEPENDENCE DAY on us.
Steal our kids and put MATRIX type holes in them.
The aliens have Martian landlords.
Guy makes a super bullet.
Creepy blonde girl.

Yeah, not a lot to go on if you are a new viewer having never watched a single episode of the show, but maybe they don’t give a s*** and are just pandering to the people already solidly watching the show, which is fine, nothing wrong with that.

Cool that Moon Bloodgood as one of the stars which is always a nice thing to see as I have been a fan of her since JOURNEYMAN.

I learned a few things watching the season premiere of FALLING SKIES, titled “World’s Apart:”

Bikers hate aliens.
Demanding something from aliens actually pays off.
An alien’s throne room looks eerily familiar to that of the Iron Throne in GAME OF THRONES – well except for the neon lights and fog machine.
It is amazing that when one has major trauma, they have flashbacks to a time WHERE THEY JUST WERE, rather than to loved ones or the happier times.

Now, this last one is the only one that bugs me. Bikers hate aliens is a pretty awesome band name by the way. They could have opened the episode with Tom Mason (Noah Wyle) getting shot and having to go through surgery and such, but they could have just had it as a normal flashback. It didn’t need to be his subconscious working its way through whatever he just went through. It’s silly. No one would think about that after just getting back to your family. It could have easily been done as a normal flashback.

Still, it told what needed to be told, and we know that Tom was put through some major stuff in order to find his way back to his group of fighters – including being set free by the aliens when all the other prisoners were executed (something that figures into the second half of the two-hour premiere).

As I stated before I’m not privy to what happened in Season One but it appears that Tom’s son, Ben (Connor Jessup), was one of the kids that got the MATRIX treatment and has been fighting through that trauma since. Now, he is one of the group’s best fighters and is even helping to train his younger brother, Matt (Maxim Knight, cool stage name, bro).

Now that Tom is back he is having to adjust to not only his son Ben getting in on the fight but his youngest as well – something that again comes into play in the second half of the two-hour premiere and I would imagine will be a theme running the entire season.

There are two things that I liked about FALLING SKIES. Unlike the remake of V, that had three or four freaking people in the resistance (granted it was a different type of alien invasion), this has a ton of people fighting against them, which is more realistic since if there were to be survivors you would think they would band together. Speaking of more realistic, that’s the other thing I liked. Kids fighting is something that would probably happen given an alien attack as would CGI cities getting decimated and people stabbing each other in the back to survive. It all makes sense and that’s a refreshing change from some shows unwilling to place kids in any situation where they might be actually useful (cough THE WALKING DEAD cough).

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Article: TV Review: FALLING SKIES – SEASON TWO – “World’s Apart” – Season Premiere

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TV Review: FALLING SKIES – Season 1 Finale – “Mutiny”/”Eight Hours”

CARL CORTEZ — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 17:52:40 +0000

TV Review: FALLING SKIES – Season 1 Finale – “Mutiny”/”Eight Hours”

Stars: Noah Wyle, Moon Bloodgood, Will Patton, Drew Roy, Maxim Knight, Connor Jessup, Sechelle Gabriel, Mpho Koaho, Peter Shinkoda, Colin Cunningham and Sarah Carter
Writers: Joe Weisberg (“Mutiny”)/Mark Verheiden (“Eight Hours”)
Directors: Holly Dale (“Mutiny”)/Greg Beeman (“Eight Hours”)August 7, 2011

After a strong start, a soft middle and a very cool homestretch, FALLING SKIES has proven to be the thinking man’s science-fiction TV series.

It’s more about the strategy of combat and little victories and less about full-out weekly alien/human war. After all, the series began AFTER the aliens had already wiped out most of earth with only a small group of resistance fighters left to either surrender or find a way to survive at all costs.

At the heart of the show has been Tom Mason (Noah Wyle), the everyman teacher turned resistance fighter who has bee fighting for the survival of his three sons – while also finding a way to keep the unpredictable Captain Weaver (Will Patton) in check as well.

The two-part Season 1 finale, is essentially two separate episodes crammed together into one big event.

“Mutiny” brings up the instability of Captain Weaver. We know he’s been losing his mind, but what we didn’t know is he was also on drugs too.

Aside from this out-of-left field revelation, the episode does a good job of setting up conflict between Mason and Weaver. Weaver wants to embark on a suicide mission, but is keeping key information from his troops. He feels Mason is being insubordinate and arrests him for mutiny.

Everything ends up hunky dory by episode’s end which leads us into the second episode “Eight Hours.” Here, Weaver (now doing a littler better) asks for volunteers on this suicide mission to take out one of the major alien structures.

Mason stays behind to fight for the civilians, and with the help of his formerly harnessed son Ben (Conor Jessup) who still has a connection with the aliens even though he’s been de-harnessed, this ragtag group puts a dent into the aliens opposing forces.

The end of the episode has the aliens are confused as to why they’re experiencing so much resistance from the humans – and no doubt upset that they figured out the aliens actually communicate via radio frequencies (which is what they’ve been using to jam their communications with each other).

SPOILER ALERT – DON’T READ ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON’T WANT TO KNOW THE ENDING …

The aliens want to abduct Mason – to talk to him, probe him, spank him – who the hell knows. However, it’s one hell of a mysterious ending, and one that will have you curse TNT for making audiences wait a whole 10 months before new episodes air again next summer.

One of the saving graces of FALLING SKIES has been the solid drama that has served as the backbone for all of the 10 episodes. The characters are engaging, the plights understandable and the missions exciting (for the most part).

Sure, FALLING SKIES got a little dull and mushy mid-way through, but the last two weeks have provided very solid episodes.

Wyle keeps getting better and better as Mason, and he has a good rapport with his sons, Weaver and even potential love interest Doctor Anne Glass (Moon Bloodgood) who he lays a big, wet one on during “Eight Hours.”

FALLING SKIES does have a few frustrating aspects to it. No doubt due to budget limitations, the big battle at the end is largely seen off screen. The FX are cool, except in some cases there isn’t enough of then and the show is sometimes unsure how complex it really wants to get.

That said, the series really delivered in Season 1. For 10 episodes, it was a nice meal – nothing too special, but more than enough to have this reviewer back for Season 2.

Ten months is a long time to wait, but it should give this ambitious series more than enough time to sort out the kinks and limitations of Season One and improve on it for what will likely be a pretty kick-ass second season chapter.

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Article: Review – FALLING SKIES – Season 1 – “Mutiny” / “Eight Hours”

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TV Review: FALLING SKIES – Season 1 – “Sanctuary Part 1”

CARL CORTEZ — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 07:22:31 +0000

TV Review: FALLING SKIES – Season 1 – “Sanctuary Part 1”

Stars: Noah Wyle, Moon Bloodgood, Will Patton, Drew Roy, Maxim Knight, Connor Jessup, Sechelle Gabriel, Mpho Koaho, Peter Shinkoda, Colin Cunningham and Sarah Sanguin Carter
Writer: Joel Anderson Thompson
Director: Sergio Mimica Gezzan
Network: TNT, Sunday nights
Original Telecast: July 17, 2011

It looks like the first of an actual two-parter has finally jostled FALLING SKIES from its free-fall the last couple of weeks.

After some pretty rote and by-the-numbers storytelling, “Sanctuary Part 1” actually shakes the show up a bit and does some interesting things that lead to a somewhat surprise ending.

The episode gets started with the arrival of Lt. Terry Clayton (Henry Czerny). He is part of the 7th Mass and comes with news that the 2nd Mass (our weekly group of heroes) will be under attack from the aliens very soon.

Clayton has a plan – he wants to lead the children of the 2nd Mass to safety so the military can plan a fight that doesn’t include young casualties.

For Tom Mason (Noah Wyle), who is charge of making decisions for the civilians, he’s a bit hesitant about this plan. He just saved his middle son Ben (Connor Jessup) from being under the alien harnesses, and he doesn’t want to send all of his three sons away even if it does ensure their safety.

Of course, a late night Skitter attack solidifies the deal – and he signs off on all the young kids being sent away with Lt. Clayton so the 2nd Mass can prepare their fight.

Meanwhile, Dr. Anne Glass (Moon Bloodgood) realizes she’s vulnerable when she’s attacked by a family who try to steal all the medical supplies. She never thought he would have to learn to join the fight in a more proper way, and Margaret (Sarah Carter) teaches her some gun play. Thankfully, Anne is moving toward being a more proactive, potentially kick-ass heroine.

I think the most interesting aspect of the last couple of episodes is Captain Weaver (Will Patton). A by-the-books guy, Weaver has to learn to adjust to traditional military tactics vs. dealing with such an unknown threat as the Skitters. That said, Weaver is also mourning the disappearance of his daughters, and his slow bonding with others in the 2nd Mass is one of the nicer transitions. In particular, the scene where he comforts a young, fatherless kid who has become one of the de facto soldiers, is priceless. Some great stuff there, and some nice moments for Patton to play. For such a big, powerful figure, he gets the most internal, quiet and self-reflective moments to play and Patton milks them for all their worth.

There is also some question as to Ben’s recovery – is he still Ben or has he forever been changed by the aliens. I do feel a bit disappointed that Tom didn’t get more alone time with his son now that he finally has him back – but then again, he’s second in command of the military, so getting time to sit back and be dad is not the first order of business for Tom.

The other great thing about “Sanctuary” is some actual alien action for a change. I love the bus shoot-out and the young boy who is danger – it really added some new kind of action to the show.

“Sanctuary Part 1” is a vast improvement from the previous episodes. The show is finding a nice groove, and the pay-off at the end of this episode really has you clamoring for next week’s episode.

It’s hard to figure out a course of action for a series as ambitious as FALLING SKIES. Do you go big? Do you go small? How do you sustain the storytelling for multiple seasons? The show still has a long way to go to answer those questions properly, but it’s satisfying to finally have an episode that moves the series into a more pro-active direction. The characters are still holed up at the school waiting to be attacked, but at least there’s another threat they didn’t see as a possibility up until now. And that’s what makes for great storytelling. Can’t wait for the fall-out next week.

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Article: Review – FALLING SKIES – Season 1 – “Sanctuary Part 1″

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TV Review: FALLING SKIES – Season 1 – “Silent Kill”

CARL CORTEZ — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 07:06:39 +0000

TV Review: FALLING SKIES – Season 1 – “Silent Kill”

Stars: Noah Wyle, Moon Bloodgood, Will Patton, Drew Roy, Maxim Knight, Connor Jessup, Sechelle Gabriel, Mpho Koaho, Peter Shinkoda, Colin Cunningham and Sarah Sanguin Carter
Writer: Joe Weisberg
Director: Fred Toye
Network: TNT, Sunday nights
Original Telecast: July 10, 2011

In another major mis-step for the promising series FALLING SKIES, “Silent Kill” once again relies on the series standard formula of a bunch of world-weary dialogue at the beginning of the episode (usually about surviving), a dangerous mission, and a coda that offers hope.

Of course, this formula, five episodes in, is wearing considerably thin.

It also doesn’t help that when major events happen in the story, they’re not played for any sense of tension or suspense, but rather out of convenience.

For example, Dr. Harris (guest star Steven Weber) was such a douche last episode to the alien captive, that he was just begging to be killed by that Skitter. Of course, his comeuppance occurs in the first few minutes of this episode as the Skitter kills him (off camera, mind you) feeling almost an episode too late. Why bring Weber back for a minute and kill him? Bad planning!

This was a totally useless kill. It also doesn’t even feel shocking, it just feels out-of-place and a kill of convenience (“Oh, something has to happen – let’s kill the doctor now”).

“Silent Kill” is primarily about Tom Mason (Noah Wyle) finally rescuing his middle son Ben (Connor Jessup) who had been harnessed by the aliens. He’s been trying to get his son for several weeks now, and now they have a plan which includes oldest son Hal (Drew Roy) entering a hospital with one of the dead Harnesses on his back.

The mission is successful, the harness is taken off of Ben’s back, and unlike the kid last week who has no memory of his previous life, Ben recognizes his dad.

Sadly, this huge emotional moment plays rather soft. We’ve been waiting for this most of the season, yet, like the death of Dr. Harris, it feels like it came just a little too late.

There are a bunch of other side stories happening this episode, which is loosely hung around the theme of motherhood. There’s the pregnant woman (who I don’t remember ever seeing until this episode) who has a baby shower, and Dr. Anne Glass (Moon Bloodgood) reveals that her daughter and family probably didn’t survive the alien attack (she won’t put a picture of daughter on the “missing” board, because she doesn’t have a picture, DAMMIT!).

Then there’s the strange mother-hen like attitude of the Skitters with the Harness kids at the hospital – which brings up a whole other potential question of what the Skitters are up to with our human kids.

Margaret (Sarah Carter) also reveals a bit about herself (she had cancer when she was 16) and somehow, she knows where all the drug dealers are in town. Her character is interesting, and a potential new love interest for Hal, but I think we’re still only scratching the surface of this.

Perhaps the most emotional part of the entire episode, is the one that is the most unstated. Captain Weaver (Will Patton) has a very emotional reaction to the song “Many Rivers to Cross” by Jimmy Cliff and wants it turned off. It’s a very powerful song, that brings some needed emotional weight to the series – and it’s a reminder that even though Tom found his kid, Weaver has no idea where his kid is out there.

Kudos for the show showing, not telling an emotional arc in this somewhat convoluted storyline.

So far, the major problems with FALLING SKIES is coming from its very basic (and now utterly boring) story telling template. There’s no sense the story is going anywhere and no sense that it will build to something significant by season’s end (though I’m confidence the writers have SOMETHING in store, right?).

Wyle is also getting lost in the mix – his story and character is given the same beats every episode without any variation. That’s why the moment when he’s reunited with his son just doesn’t have the gravity and weight that it should have. This should have been MAJOR, but it feels almost too casual.

It’s a shame FALLING SKIES has gotten so lazy with its storytelling, so soon in. I was totally into the first three episodes, and now, I’m not sure what to think. The series is grasping at straws and desperately trying to find out what it is, what it wants to be and how best to exploit its obvious limited budget. And with Steven Spielberg involved as an executive producer, you somehow expect a little weightier storytelling, instead of standard TV conventions.

Here’s hoping the series snaps out of its malaise soon – because I’m not sure I can stand one more predictable episodes like this. If there is any “Silent Kill” here, it’s what the show is doing to the patience of its loyal audience.

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Article: Review – FALLING SKIES – Season 1 – “Silent Kill”

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Exclusive: Photos from the FALLING SKIES Premiere Screening

SUE SCHNEIDER — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 18:14:33 +0000

Exclusive: Photos from the FALLING SKIES Premiere Screening

TNT presented the premiere screening of DreamWorks Television and Executive Producer Steven Spielberg’s brand new series FALLING SKIES on June 13^th at the Pacific Design Center’s Silver Screen Theater in West Hollywood.

In FALLING SKIES aliens have invaded Earth in military force. People have gone into hiding to escape the aliens and find themselves doing extraordinary things to survive. In the first episode why they came to earth is not explored and hopefully will be explained in upcoming episodes.

Seen walking the carpet were the stars of the series, which included: Noah Wyle, Moon Bloodgood, Drew Roy, Sarah Carter, Will Patton, Mpho Koaho, Colin Cunningham, Connor Jessup, Jessy Schram, Peter Shinkoda, Bruce Gray, Dale Dye, Maxim Knight, Seychelle Gabriel, Melissa Kramer, Co-executive Producers: Mark Verheiden and Greg Beeman, Executive Producers: Justin Falvey, Darryl Frank and Robert Rodat (who is also the writer), and Michael Wright Executive VP and Head of Programming for TNT.

Joining them were guests: Brittany Curran, Claire Coffee, Samaire Armstrong, Cara Santana, Kelsey Chow, Raymond Cruz, Phillip P. Keene, Jon Tenney, Shawn Hatosy, Tiffany Hines, Jonathan Keltz, Chris Bauer, and Tony Denison.

FALLING SKIES is slated to air over eight weeks, beginning with the two-hour premiere on Sunday, June 19^th at 9 p.m. (ET/PT). The show will then move into its regular Sunday 10 p.m. (ET/PT) timeslot on TNT. Check your local channel listing.

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Comic-Con News: Noah Wyle chats about FALLING SKIES and character development

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