# Falling Skies: New TNT Series Starts Sunday **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 18, 2011, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/falling-skies-new-tnt-series-starts-sunday/585955 "2011-06-18T18:35:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2011, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/falling-skies-new-tnt-series-starts-sunday/585955/1 "2011-06-18T18:35:24Z")
The new series, Falling Skies, with executive producer Steven Spielberg, starts tomorrow (Sunday, June 19th) on TNT and got a [great review](http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/falling-skies-tv-review-196959) in the Hollywood Reporter. I have my DVR set for the entire series - but hope this is not going to be another canceled show without ending (Event, Flash Forward, etc.). ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2011, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/falling-skies-new-tnt-series-starts-sunday/585955/2 "2011-06-18T22:16:24Z")
I haven’t decided whether I’ll watch this one or not. My favorite part of this genre is the buildup – the first contact, the first case of the flu, the first escaped mutant, the first mysterious deaths and disappearances. But this show is skipping over that part, so I don’t know. I do like Noah Wyle though. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2011, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/falling-skies-new-tnt-series-starts-sunday/585955/3 "2011-06-18T22:45:04Z")
> [@AuntiePam](#): > > I haven’t decided whether I’ll watch this one or not. My favorite part of this genre is the buildup – the first contact, the first case of the flu, the first escaped mutant, the first mysterious deaths and disappearances. But this show is skipping over that part, so I don’t know. I do like Noah Wyle though. See, that’s why I’m interested. Most movies end where it this one begins. I’ve heard the pilot isn’t that great (I think they filmed the first hour, got it picked up, then filmed the second), but the rest of the series is supposed to be pretty good. ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2011, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/falling-skies-new-tnt-series-starts-sunday/585955/4 "2011-06-18T23:40:43Z")
I’m looking forward to it. I like Noah Wyle and Moon Bloodgood. Hopefully this will be smarter and completely different in style and tone than **V**. ---
**Author:** ![Tristan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tristan/32/18058_2.png) [@Tristan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tristan)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2011, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/falling-skies-new-tnt-series-starts-sunday/585955/6 "2011-06-19T13:56:56Z")
reported. ---
**Author:** ![Kylede](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a6a055/32.png) [@Kylede](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kylede)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2011, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/falling-skies-new-tnt-series-starts-sunday/585955/7 "2011-06-20T04:54:40Z")
WOW, Just finished watching the 2 hour premier, and I am hooked… ---
**Author:** ![Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9a28c/32.png) [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2011, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/falling-skies-new-tnt-series-starts-sunday/585955/8 "2011-06-20T05:26:23Z")
Seconded. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2011, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/falling-skies-new-tnt-series-starts-sunday/585955/9 "2011-06-20T05:50:13Z")
I thought it was pretty good. I liked pretty much all the stuff dealing with the aliens. The civilians vs. the military stuff (I got my fill of that with BSG), the racist motorcycle gang, and most of the father/son stuff fell a little flat. And I couldn’t stop rolling my eyes at the “lets all stand around and watch the kid skateboard” scene. Any ideas as to what the harnessed kids are for? My guess is that they’re in control of the mechs, which is why the only have two legs. Also, from the previews, it’s looks like we get to see the actual invasion. ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2011, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/falling-skies-new-tnt-series-starts-sunday/585955/10 "2011-06-20T05:52:04Z")
I liked it! Gritty tone, nice character development, plenty of action. The acting was good all around. The special effects were pretty good, too. There are some things that bugged me a little, like how the humans are able to caravan in a big group out in the open in the middle of the day with no worries about encountering or being observed by the aliens. Also, when the resistance commander captured the villainous leader from the other group near the end, he should have immediately put a bullet through his skull. Not doing so is obviously going to cause a whole mess of problems in the future. Looking forward to watching more. ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2011, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/falling-skies-new-tnt-series-starts-sunday/585955/11 "2011-06-20T13:04:20Z")
We’ll watch a couple more episodes at any rate. I made the same guess last night about the kids and the two-legged mechs. However, could someone tell TNT to stop spoiling their show? Going into the commercial break, they’d consistently have a spoiler for the next drama point. I’d think that they should have enough confidence in the show to think that I’m interested enough to bridge a commercial break. ---
**Author:** ![interface2x](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@interface2x](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/interface2x)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2011, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/falling-skies-new-tnt-series-starts-sunday/585955/12 "2011-06-20T13:15:49Z")
It was okay but felt very similar to just an alien version of “Walking Dead”. And did anyone else notice that Noah Wyle’s character was a bit of a history nerd? It was pretty subtle. ---
**Author:** ![Living\_Well\_Is\_Best\_Revenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/6bbea6/32.png) [@Living\_Well\_Is\_Best\_Revenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Living_Well_Is_Best_Revenge)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2011, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/falling-skies-new-tnt-series-starts-sunday/585955/13 "2011-06-20T14:20:49Z")
I enjoyed it. Pretty standard sci-fi. But when done right, it can be fun to watch. Noah Wylie is a good actor. It’s a little hard to buy “Carter” as the dad of a 17 year old though! I am also glad they started this after the invasion and war. I am glad there was none of the slow buildup that killed the V remake. ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2011, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/falling-skies-new-tnt-series-starts-sunday/585955/14 "2011-06-20T14:31:52Z")
> [@interface2x](#): > > And did anyone else notice that Noah Wyle’s character was a bit of a history nerd? It was pretty subtle. Did any one else ever watch the _Librarian_ movies (I think also on TNT)? Stupid, but fun. I keep thinking that Wyle’s reprising his character from there. As the Falling Skies character, in his attempts to tie the Revolutionary War to this conflict - who is going to play the role of France? Maybe the Arisians or the Asgaardians can swing by with some munitions (although Arisia tends to be more hands off). With no industrial base, I imagine that supplies for fighting are going to be pretty scarce (since the aliens are apparently also looting/staking out the armories. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2011, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/falling-skies-new-tnt-series-starts-sunday/585955/15 "2011-06-20T15:37:46Z")
Character development was pretty good. However, the show still sucked. Too many commonsense things failed. So Earth gets invaded by aliens, presumably with technologies far better than ours. [ul] [li]Yet the aliens are so dumb they can’t find an encampment of 200 people **in an open meadow** in the suburbs?[/li][li]Flares attract the night surveillance **yet the aliens only fire once**?[/li][li]A prisoner walk along a stream embankment with no real concealment and **the aliens didn’t spot him**?[/li][li]Humans work on a simple battle plan **in the middle of an open park in the city in daylight** without fear of being seen?[/li][/ul] I doubt the series will last a season, unless it moves to the sci-fi channel. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2011, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/falling-skies-new-tnt-series-starts-sunday/585955/16 "2011-06-20T15:55:05Z")
> [@Duckster](#): > > I doubt the series will last a season, unless it moves to the sci-fi channel. Man, that’s cold. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2011, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/falling-skies-new-tnt-series-starts-sunday/585955/17 "2011-06-20T16:12:41Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Man, that’s cold. 🙂 I’m not a diehard sci-fi fan who eats it up and ignores the practical audience. I enjoy it. However, I don’t think sci-fi works on mainstream cable unless it makes sense with ordinary things within the storyline. Yeah, sure, go far out and create your own rules in some weird storyline. But when you base it in the here and now on Earth don’t assume the characters are so dumb an even dumber general audience can’t see it for themselves. I mean when they went out on a night patrol, used the ball and the dog, all the humans were in a tight bunch. So dumb down the alien advance and miss the obvious. Hell, even the real Asian Mafia right now takes out everyone in a hit, but these aliens can’t do the same? On top of that, no basic military tactics by the humans to spread out so they all don’t get taken out with one blast. A practical audience will forgive you if the writing make sense. The writing here does not. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2011, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/falling-skies-new-tnt-series-starts-sunday/585955/18 "2011-06-20T16:21:16Z")
> [@Duckster](#): > > [li]A prisoner walk along a stream embankment with no real concealment and **the aliens didn’t spot him**?[/li] I agree with the rest of your points but I don’t understand this one. By prisoner, do you mean the harnessed kid? He’s under some sort of mind control and he was being led BY the aliens. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2011, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/falling-skies-new-tnt-series-starts-sunday/585955/19 "2011-06-20T16:35:32Z")
I like Noah Wyle. I like aliens. I like sci-fi. I love The Walking Dead, I loved Jericho when it was on, I loved War of the Worlds, and The Terminator. Put all of this in a blender and Falling Skies should have been the best. show. ever. Yet I couldn’t seem to get into it, because all I could think was, “haven’t I already seen this before?” I watched about 20 minutes and it lost my attention. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2011, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/falling-skies-new-tnt-series-starts-sunday/585955/20 "2011-06-20T16:35:37Z")
I didn’t see all of it. Tuned in when Noah Wyle’s group had been captured by the “outlaws”. I liked the dialogue – they were saying things that real people might say. The outlaw leader reminded me of Sawyer from Lost. I was fine with the group being able to hide in a meadow. Presumably the aliens have a whole planet to patrol – they can’t be everywhere. Anyone know if it will be repeated? I’d like to catch the whole thing. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2011, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/falling-skies-new-tnt-series-starts-sunday/585955/21 "2011-06-20T17:14:13Z")
> [@AlsoNamedBort](#): > > I agree with the rest of your points but I don’t understand this one. By prisoner, do you mean the harnessed kid? He’s under some sort of mind control and he was being led BY the aliens. No, my mistake. Basic rule. If you are over an embankment and you can see the mind control humans and their alien captors, the aliens can see you. Of course, the writers didn’t see it that way. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/falling-skies-new-tnt-series-starts-sunday/585955.md?page=2)