Falling Skies

Starring: Noah Wyle (52 episodes), Drew Roy (52 episodes), Maxim Knight (52 episodes), Will Patton (52 episodes), Moon Bloodgood (51 episodes), Sarah Carter (50 episodes), Connor Jessup (49 episodes), Colin Cunningham (48 episodes), Mpho Koaho (46 episodes), Seychelle Gabriel (38 episodes), Doug Jones (28 episodes), Treva Etienne (22 episodes), Peter Shinkoda (21 episodes), Ryan Robbins (21 episodes), Brad Kelly (18 episodes), Jessy Schram (15 episodes), Scarlett Byrne (13 episodes), Laci J. Mailey (12 episodes), Megan Danso (12 episodes), Dale Dye (11 episodes), Dylan Authors (10 episodes), Daniyah Ysrayl (9 episodes), Luciana Carro (9 episodes), Gloria Reuben (9 episodes), Mira Sorvino (9 episodes), Robert Sean Leonard (9 episodes), Bruce Gray (8 episodes), Matt Frewer (7 episodes), Brandon Jay McLaren (6 episodes), Catalina Sandino Moreno (6 episodes), Jennifer Ferrin (6 episodes), Steven Weber (3 episodes), Terry O'Quinn (3 episodes), Melora Hardin (2 episodes), Stephen Collins (2 episodes), Jeff Fahey (1 episode)
Directed by: Greg Beeman (13 episodes), Olatunde Osunsanmi (6 episodes), Sergio Mimica-Gezzan (5 episodes), Adam Kane (3 episodes), Jonathan Frakes (3 episodes), David Solomon (3 episodes), Holly Dale (2 episodes), Fred Toyle (2 episodes), John Dahl (1 episode), Noah Wyle (1 episode)
Rating: TV
Genre: Action, Science Fiction, Thriller
2011-2015

Seasons Seen:
Tim: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5

Summary: After Earth is invaded by alien forces, a small band of survivors come together to fight back.

Review:
Tim: I have to be honest, I never loved "Falling Skies". I actually started watching it only because I accidentally thought it was some other show. I don't even remember what I was trying to watch, I never started. But, accidentally, I started with "Falling Skies" and decided to stick with it. Again, fully transparency, I probably never gave a single episode of the five seasons 100% of my attention. Yes, I watched, and yes I mostly paid attention. However, this was often the show I watched while I was surfing the internet or killing time. The show was okay, but it would certainly never rank even close to my favorite shows.

The premise was a very fascinating one- the story takes place after an alien invasion of Earth. We don't see the invasion, we see the aftermath. Most of humanity has been decimated and we watch as a small band of human survivors try to fight back. The fact that our main character is an American history professor creates many parallels between this war and past conflicts throughout U.S. history. It was an interesting, somewhat different take on the old alien invasion plot and I enjoyed that aspect of the show. Now, in subsequent seasons, this focus started to get lost and eventually the movie embraced far too many science fiction cliches. Still, it was a worthwhile effort and I appreciated that.

The cast was good and I actually like that this show bucked the trend of not continually killing main characters. Sure, a number of characters die, but for the most part, the main characters from the beginning move through the show. It was actually refreshing to see a show that didn't constantly rely on killing main characters to keep the audience interested. Noah Wyle was good as Tom Mason. There's a few scenes where he was absolutely amazing. I did think his character got a bit preachy as time went on, but Wyle is certainly a big reason why this show works. I also loved the casting of Will Patton as Captain Weaver. It helped to have a very strong actor like Patton in that role. Drew Roy, Maxim Knight (great name) and Connor Jessup were good as the Mason boys. It was fun to watch them grow up over 5 seasons. While Knight was never totally convincing, I mostly enjoyed the three brothers' performances. Moon Bloodgood actually contributed quite a bit to the show over the years. She might not have convinced me she's a great actress, but she was solid here. Colin Cunningham was a good antihero in Pope, but did occasionally get tiresome. Sarah Carter was mostly good as Maggie- I appreciated the arc of her character over the seasons. Doug Jones did some very strong work as the alien Cochise. Scarlett Byrne was a good addition to the cast as Lexi. It was fun seeing Mira Sorvino, Terry O'Quinn, Melora Hardin, and Stephen Collins in small guest roles. I loved seeing Jeff Fahey show up in the series finale, but was disappointed that his presence was almost completely wasted. Still, as a whole, the cast was enjoyable and one of the big strengths of the show.

Now, while I watched five seasons of "Falling Skies", as I mentioned, I never loved it. The show had too many inconsistencies and relied too much on other alien races showing up to save the humans. There was always some plot or another- some were compelling, some just seemed silly. It got a bit far-fetched when you consider how many deadly situations Tom Mason found himself in, and how he always somehow managed to escape. There were too many plot holes and poorly scripted moments. This was never going to be a great show, but it did provide some genuine entertainment over its five seasons. Not every show is going to be a "Breaking Bad". Sometimes, good enough is good enough. I never loved "Falling Skies", but it did entertain me. For that, I'm thankful.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: N/A



If You Enjoyed This Series, We Recommend: Lost, V., Fringe