Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		3.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.0

Falling Skies: The Complete First Season Blu-ray Movie Review

Been there, face-hugged that...

Reviewed by Kenneth Brown June 4, 2012

Stop me if you've heard this one before: The Walking Dead, Terra Nova and Battlestar Galactica walk into a bar. Eh, never mind... it isn't a good joke anyway. All that matters is the punchline: Falling Skies, yet another derivative sci-fi cable series trying to carve out a coveted piece of the fanboy pie, this one from TNT, DreamWorks Television and executive producer Steven Spielberg. (Round and round we go; Spielberg also produced the now defunct dino drama Terra Nova.) For every mildly intriguing idea it introduces, for every decent visual effects sequence it delivers, for every smart take on the alien invasion saga it serves up, Falling Skies mauls a dozen other scenes, plotlines, characters, and close encounters of the third kind.

The alien mechs are incredibly advanced killing machines... foiled by teenagers that hide in roadside ditches.

I was in school when the ships came. They were really big, and they said that we weren't gonna attack them with the nuclear bombs because they might'a wanted to be friends. But they didn't want to be friends. Not at all. And then there was a bright light that makes, like, all electronics stop working. Computers. Radios. Satellites. Cars. TVs. Everything. They blew up army bases, ships, the Navy, submarines, and all the soldiers are gone. Now moms and dads have to fight. After that, they blew up all the capitals. New York, Washington D.C., Paris. All the major cities. Then they came. There were millions of them. Trillions. Everywhere. We call them Skitters and Mechs. They kill grown-ups and they catch kids. They put on harness things. They put it on kids and control them. They say it hurts a lot. My parents went out to get some help one day... and I know they're gone. They're dead.

The series proper begins six months after the invasion ends. A small band of survivors -- possibly humanity's last -- is forced to divide into even smaller contingents of three-hundred members after the military realizes the aliens have an easier time tracking and targeting large groups. (It took six months to figure out really, really big groups of humans attract more attention? Congrats, gents.) One of these smaller groups, the Second Massachusetts, is led by no-guff captain Dan Weaver (Will Patton) and his second-in-command, former history professor Tom Mason (Noah Wyle). Weaver believes his fighting force is humanity's greatest hope; Mason believes the safety of the two-hundred civilians under their protection is paramount. Cue ancient sci-fi staple: military men vs. civilians. Mason has more to worry about, though. His oldest son Hal (Drew Roy), sixteen going on thirty-five, is serving at his side; his youngest son, Matt (Maxim Knight), is still dealing with the death of his mother; and his middle child, Ben (Connor Jessup), has been taken by the aliens and outfitted with a "harness," a device that fuses itself to the host's spine, rendering the victim a mindless slave. Mason also has to keep an eye on opportunistic convict-turned-military-asset John Pope (Colin Cunningham), an unharnessed boy (Daniyah Ysrail) exhibiting strange behaviors and an even stranger affinity for the aliens, and other threats to the Second Mass, extraterrestrial and human alike.

And what TV-based sci-fi saga would be complete without a selfless, lovely-out-of-makeup doctor (Moon Bloodgood) who claws her way to the center of every storyline? Or the shady, cynical doctor (Steven Weber) with connections to the hero's past? The captured alien treated to humanity's best and worst? The rough-n-tumble (but perfectly primped) female freedom fighter (Sarah Carter) that may or may not be trustworthy? Or the grandfatherly jack-of-all-trades (Bruce Gray) who lends a shoulder and a bit of wizened know-how to the post-apocalyptic mix? Wyle and Bloodgood make an inevitable (if unlikely) couple in the making, but the show's dialogue is so terrible the actors aren't left with much room to work. Wyle is saddled with endless history lectures and Bloodgood with speeches delivered atop the moral high ground. It doesn't get much better when it comes to the rest of the cast either. Roy is a sharp young actor but even he struggles to make something of the comic-panel spittle he's expected to fling; the fact that he isn't an angst-ridden teen soothes some of the sting, as does the refreshingly stable relationship he shares with his father, but that only goes so far. Patton growls and scowls with the best of 'em, but doesn't have a lot to build on (other than an overly melodramatic backstory that falls flat). Cunningham provides wry relief with ample ad-libs and snarky quips, but, as written, teeters from one extreme to the next with little rhyme or reason. (Dead brother? What dead brother?) Worse, Weber leers and sneers before promptly (and permanently) exiting stage right; Jessup and Ysrail are at the heart of the series' biggest mystery but are force-fed the worst lines; and poor little Knight isn't experienced enough to shoulder the weight of the heavy dramatic scenes carelessly tossed in his lap.

And the civilians... dear God, the civilians. If you somehow manage to turn a blind eye to the endless extras milling about the Second Massachusetts base of operations, your chances of enjoying the series will rise exponentially. Good luck ignoring one, much less all, of the extras, though. Falling Skies is the sort of show where a newly unharnessed young man complains, "I hate the way they look at us," which is followed immediately by a shot of two extras entering the frame, gawking at the teens, and continuing to stare while slowly strolling by. Far too many scenes follow suit, and each is heavy handed and one-dimensional. Telegraphed and transparent. Dumbed down and spelled out. Stated, restated, and overstated for emphasis that simply isn't necessary. And yet plot holes, leaps in logic, and baffling developments arrive in greater numbers than the aliens. How does an overwhelming invasion force allow hundreds of people to wander the wilderness for weeks without detection? Why do the E.T. mechs always take a few hapless shots and then give up chase? Why don't the aliens just use their scout ships to locate groups of humans from the air? Why does Weaver and Mason allow a formerly harnessed teen -- one with amnesia, a suspicious thousand yard stare, and a track record of betraying his fellow humans -- to listen in on their strategy sessions? I have a hundred more questions without any reasonable answers, and would probably think of a hundred more if I dug back through the first season a second time. Combine that with the shambling extras, the equally wooden second and third tier supporting actors, and the series' connect the dots la la la scripts, most of which desperately need a good polishing, and there isn't much left to gain from Falling Skies' ailing first season.

Is it better than V? A bit. Better than Terra Nova? As far as its visual effects are concerned, yes. The series itself? Nope. Is it better than The Walking Dead? Better than Battlestar Galactica or the other sci-fi TV epics it emulates? It isn't even in the same league. Falling Skies has plenty to work with -- a solid cast, a delectable assortment of subplots and mysteries, impressive CG (by television standards at least), a fairly massive scope, cinematic swagger, and room for growth, not to mention Spielberg's backing and all the perks that come with it. It shouldn't be as hit or miss as it is, and yet the misses come in waves and the hits are few and far between. Lingering curiosity will bring me back to TNT when the second season begins airing later this month -- thank God for that cliffhanger -- but I'm not holding out hope. The series would have to make an array of drastic changes to suddenly win me over at this point. It's not impossible, mind you. But probable? I'll be lucky if I make it another two or three episodes, much less an entire season.

Falling Skies: The Complete First Season Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Complete First Season's problematic 1080p/VC-1 encoded video presentation doesn't hold up to close scrutiny. Macroblocking, minor as most instances may be, creeps into the image with alarming frequency. Banding isn't far behind, crush is an issue, delineation is occasionally anemic, and noise tends to spike, surge and grow unruly. Though largely inherent in the series' source, the noise proves to be an intermittent distraction; one that saps detail, hinders dark sequences, swarms CG elements, and opens the door to artifacting and other (admittedly negligible) compression and encoding anomalies. Adding some further insult to the invasion, black levels are often dull and muted (particularly during the first few episodes), with chalky grays and dusty charcoals supplanting deeper or inkier. That said, the series' Blu-ray debut isn't a complete loss by any means. Colors and skintones, while suitably bleak, are well-saturated and lifelike, contrast is consistent (a bit too washed out perhaps, but consistent all the same), edge definition is generally crisp and clean, closeups and fine detail are quite revealing, and the episodes appear stronger, sturdier and more stable than their broadcast counterparts. The last half of the season even shows a marked improvement over the first insofar as the source is concerned. All things considered, Falling Skies could look better... but it could also look much worse.

Falling Skies: The Complete First Season Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Fortunately, Falling Skies' Dolby TrueHD 5.1 surround track doesn't disappoint, even if its sometimes sparse sound design does. Dialogue is clear, intelligible and nicely centered, and prioritization is spot on. Voices are rarely singed in the heat of battle, extraterrestrial effects glide eerily across the soundfield, and dynamics are decidedly decent. (A tad thin at times, sure, but decent on the whole.) LFE output is generous too, supporting the weighty shunk shunk shunk of alien mechs, the thoom of fiery explosions, and the heavy kack kack kack of the resistance's GTO-mounted fifty caliber machine gun. Rear speaker activity isn't as convincing, involving or consistent, especially when firearms are holstered and Skitters are sleeping, but there's just enough to make the post-apocalyptic world seem a bit more dangerous and unpredictable. Directionality isn't all that precise either, but there's enough movement to keep things exciting. If anything, the resulting sonics make the series feel slightly smaller, even though the series' cinematography and visuals are meant to give it a grander scope. Again, fans will be easily satisfied while more discerning listeners will have to ignore some of the mix's shortcomings to enjoy the experience.

Falling Skies: The Complete First Season Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Audio Commentaries: Five commentaries are available, among them "The Armory" and "Prisoner of War" with co-executive producer/director Greg Beeman; "What Hides Beneath" with co-executive producer/writer Mark Verheiden and actor Noah Wyle; "Mutiny" with Beeman, Verheiden and Wyle; and "Eight Hours" with Beeman, Wyle and Verheiden.
• Falling Skies Panel (HD, 21 minutes): Key members of the cast and crew -- including Noah Wyle, Will Patton, Moon Bloodgood, Drew Roy and Colin Cunningham -- host a 2011 San Diego Comic-Con panel and answer numerous questions, first from a moderator, then from the audience.
• From Pencils to Print, The Dark Horse Comic Book Revealed (HD, 16 minutes): A lengthy look at the Dark Horse Comics "Falling Skies" comicbook, from the series' development to its artwork to its use of lesser side characters.
• Animating a Skitter (HD, 4 minutes): A quick trip behind-the-scenes reveals how the visual effects team creates, animates and integrates Skitters into the show.
• The Unknown and The Second Mass (HD, 6 minutes): Two brief, purely promotional featurettes.
• Unanswered Questions, Season 2 Sneak Peek (HD, 2 minutes): Catch a glimpse of the changes the showrunners have in store for Falling Skies' second season, set to premiere on June 17th.

Falling Skies: The Complete First Season Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Falling Skies needs a lot of work. The cast is talented, the practical and visual effects impress, and the story is loaded with potential... so why does everything fall so flat? Five-million regular cable viewers seem to suggest there isn't a problem to address, though, so I doubt Season Two will suddenly see a significant uptick in quality. I'll tune in -- out of curiosity rather than devotion -- but it would take a lot to keep me on board for another full season. I almost bolted this time around, which never bodes well. Unfortunately, the Blu-ray release of The Complete First Season is a mixed bag thanks to a problematic video presentation, a decent Dolby TrueHD 5.1 surround track, and a solid selection of extras. If you haven't sampled an episode or two of Falling Skies, it's best to do so before signing up to join the Second Massachusettes.