Round Two: Falling Skies

Falling Skies: Season 1, Episode 3 “Prisoner of War” (B+)

In its second airing, this show manages to hold up pretty well, delivering both awesome alien action and plenty of melodrama. Its major weakness is a sense of continuity, in that it does have a main character, and he and his family will be will featured much more prominently than others and be prone to being saved and staying alive on a regular basis. It also allows a considerable amount of conveniences, like something being accidentally dropped from the top of a building that alerts the alien to the presence of the scouts. I’d like to think that the harnessed kids being executed in front of Hal is akin to the zombies proving themselves intelligent and cunning in “I Am Legend,” rather than another convenient plot device. I think that the final shot of the alien opening its eyes paired with the shot of the de-harnessed kid indicates that there is more to these aliens than just a violent and swift invasion, and I think that’s very promising. I also liked the presence of Steven Weber as Dr. Harris, and it was definitely a good character for him to play, entirely full of himself and not willing to take the blame for the death of Tom’s wife, instead asserting his own greater importance to society. Having Pope become the chef is a good use for his character, and it’s a good to see that even Weaver has a boss, one who’s somewhat more open-minded and able to see the big picture than the pilot’s military man.