FALLING SKIES

Rating 3 out of 5

With stock rising incredibly in Noah Wyle as an actor after the sensational critical and popular successor HBO’s The Pitt, it makes sense that Warner Brothers would want to re-release one of their shows starring Wyle. Originally airing from 2011 to 2015, Wyle starred as history professor Tom Mason who found himself as a leader of a human rebellion against alien invaders, becoming a saviour of humanity on Falling Skies for five seasons. As audiences have seen from time and time again, Wyle’s leading performance as Tom Mason was excellent and grounded the entire series, but sadly his efforts and that of the good cast and some intriguing ideas exploring the dynamics between the human survivors was undone by rushed writing and television melodrama, downgrading Falling Skies to being passable but ultimately forgettable television series.

At the heart of Falling Skies, there are some fascinating ideas at play. How would the human race react to being invaded by aliens, uprooting our way of life and forced to put on the offensive to protect our loved ones and planet? Without structured civilization, how do we interact with each other as we become a more military based society? Who do we choose to follow, and what standards do we hold them too? Within the Second Mass, the group of human resistance fighters that the series follows, all of these ideas are explored, and when focusing on these ideas and the ones that evolve from them, Falling Skies is at its best. Yes, the alien invasion and fight for survival plays a critical role to the story as the series’ main narrative, but it's a mere piece of the narrative puzzle that tells a far more compelling story about humanity and how we operate. With the focus on the Mason family and the key members within the resistance, naturally the series leans into interpersonal relationships and drama between the characters, which isn’t bad for the first three seasons, which allows the series to hit its best stride during the end of the second season and third season. 

But, when the character drama overtakes the narrative focus in the final two seasons and becomes melodramatic at times, replacing the far more compelling exploration of humanity and society, Falling Skies becomes a far less engaging watch. Also playing against the storytelling continuity is the fact that in between most seasons, there is a significant time jump that frustratingly leaves viewers playing catch-up as to what happened in the months since the previous season ended. Character relationships evolve and have significant developments in between seasons, as well as major advancements and setbacks in the fight against the alien species, leaving viewers trying to fill in the narrative gaps as the story continues moving forward at a lightning pace due to the season’s shorter episode length. Though, it is in the home stretch where Falling Skies commits its biggest misstep. As do so many shows, the final season is riddled with an incredibly rushed set of concluding episodes that introduce far too many new ideas and leaves far too many narrative threads to be wrapped up in two forty minute episodes, making it impossible for everything to be concluded in a satisfying manner which sadly ends the series at its lowest point. 

Where the series does not falter is in its performance. Wyle as always is excellent in the lead role of Tom Mason, capturing the ordinary man forced by circumstance into a resistance leader. With a calm intellect and fierce loyalty, Wyle grounds the series with a compassionate performance of a family man trying to not only protect his family but save the world for them, instilling every moment of Falling Skies with an honesty that champions the human element of the series’ storytelling. Moon Bloodgood is great opposite Wyle as his love interest Dr. Anne Glass, finding a great on screen chemistry with Wyle that helps the series find beauty during the end of civilization and humanity as we know it, while also bringing a strength and fight that ensures Anne is anything but a damsel in distress. Will Patton finds a grace as Colonel Dan Weaver, developing a complexity to the military man having to adapt to the civilians he is working with and address his own family’s stake in this fight which he has never had to do before, while Drew Roy, Connor Jessup and Maxim Knight are all great as Tom’s son and create an undeniable family dynamic on screen with Wyle. Roy is especially noteworthy as Tom’s eldest son Hal, becoming a key figure within the resistance and having a great narrative arc during the third season, which is one of the most engaging plotlines of the entire series, and the rest of the main cast of Sarah Carter, Colin Cunnigham and Doug Jones are all solid additions to the series. 

Though it never becomes bad television, despite flirting with that standard during the series’ final two seasons, Falling Skies is a great example of unrealized potential that gets stuck in the character melodrama and loses sight of what made it interesting.  With strong performances across the entire cast led by the incredible Noah Wyle, this alien invasion drama is far more engaging when focused on the effects the alien invasion has on humanity and society than the interpersonal character drama, making Falling Skies a decent watch for any viewers looking for an extra dose of Noah Wyle on their television screens outside the hospital.