{2jtab: Movie Review}

Falling Skies Season 2 - Blu-ray Review

3 stars

The invasion began like this:

“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.”

And it ended a mere 10 episodes later with the biggest shocker of all: a human voluntarily boards one of the spaceships.  Unfortunately, season one of Falling Skies is why being a lover of science fiction can be a tough, tough thing.  It was grossly uneven and paved with poor special effects and even weaker scripts.

Thankfully, the paper-thin characters that lumbered through the first season of TNT’s Falling Skies get a leaner and meaner second season with which to win audiences over.  It’s a 10 episode strategy that pays off nicely for the series and the network.  Falling Skies: The Complete Second Season – now available on Blu-Ray - is a HUGE improvement over the first, complete with an interesting twist to the alien invasion and some of the regular characters.  It’s not perfect but, with what looks to be an exciting third season right around the corner, it’s enough to give you a healthy science fiction high.

It was a rocky start for this show when it debuted during the summer of 2011.  Even Noah Wyle as family man/reluctant hero Tom couldn’t save it from the downfalls of poor scriptwriting.  But let’s not dwell on the negatives of a show that was surface entertainment only.  I’m already tired of complaining about season one; it’s not the best and it’s also not the tragedy others have sworn it to be.

The second season about this fictional alien invasion really improves on the ideas that the writers kicked around but couldn’t commit to in its first season.  There are a few new cast members to add to the show’s depth.  The Steven Spielberg-produced drama also gets a little more meat on its bones courtesy of a bigger budget.

Falling Skies is about an alien invasion that continues to decimate the world and the few bands of survivors who attempt to outsmart and outgun the alien invaders while understanding their new enemy and their intentions.  When the show’s star Noah Wyle – at the end of the first season’s finale – willingly walked aboard an alien spacecraft, the show suddenly became something interesting.  The writers and season two’s showrunner, Remi Aubuchon, really rise to the challenge of an idea the previous year’s writer’s thought “looked cool” and nothing more.  What if the alien- skitters, as they are called here – are merely slaves of a much more dangerous race of aliens?  What if they wanted out of their own servitude and, finally, what if they reach out for help?

Three months after the conclusion of the first season is when the skitter rebellion begins and that’s exactly what the second season is about; the human survivors in their mobile refugee camp made up of vehicles and rag-tag tents trying to understand exactly what this battle is about.  Starring Moon Bloodgood, Drew Roy, Connor Jessup, Maxim Knight, Sarah Carter, Colin Cunningham, and Will Patton as Captain Dan Weaver, the commander of the 2nd Mass, Falling Skies is part adventure like Lost was and part The Walking Dead as for as survivor stories go (minus zombies, of course) and, if it continues in the direct of season two, shows a lot of promise in its main and individual story arcs.

This started out as derivative science fiction but with the second season – with a bold vision of the real invasion – we get a glimmer of intelligence that suggests that Falling Skies isn’t just the punchline to a stupid joke.

{2jtab: Blu-ray Review}

Falling Skies Season 2 - Blu-ray Review

Component Grades
Movie
 
Blu-ray Disc
3 stars
 
4 stars
     
Blu-ray Experience
3.5 stars

Blu-ray

Blu-ray Details:

Available on Blu-ray - June 4, 2013
Screen Formats: 1.78:1
Subtitles
: English, French, Spanish, Dutch
Audio: English Dolby TrueHD 5.1
Discs: 50GB Blu-ray Disc; Two-disc set (2 BDs)
Region Encoding: A/1

The 1.78:1 1080p image is quite often good but not overly impressive.  There's a high level of detail present and fine lines are strong.  The earthy color scheme comes through accurately and the blacks are nice and inky.  There is some noticeable banding in a few scenes, and there's a little grain that's most certainly intentional in a few spots, but aside from that it's a nice looking set.  The nighttime scenes are a little flat.  It’s really hard to distinguish between people and trees and whatnot as there are a lot of lines that bleed when they shouldn’t.  The show comes with a nice 5.1 Dolby TrueHD soundtrack that packs quite a wallop for the subwoofer.

Supplements:

Commentary:

  • There are three total episode commentaries from Actor Noah Wyle, Co-Executive Producer/Director Greg Beeman, Writer Mark Verhelden, and Executive Producer Remi Aubuchon.  One is located on the first disc and two on the second disc.  They are full of little tidbits concerning the show and explain the mindset of the writers on each episode.

Special Features:

The two-disc Falling Skies: The Complete Second Season Blu-Ray set includes all 10 episodes from the action-packed drama's second season, along with a feature on the writing of the series, "The Skitter Evolution," tour of the Falling Skies set, commentary tracks, exclusive trading card from Rittenhouse included on pack, and much more. Additionally, the Blu-ray release will also be available for Ultraviolet digital download.

  • One Page At A Time: Writing The 2nd American Revolution (21 min)
  • The Skitter Evolution (10 min)
  • 2nd Watch: Episode 20 A More Perfect Union (31 min)
  • A Fan’s Perspective: Touring The Set Of ‘Falling Skies’ (9 min)
  • Terry O’Quinn Is Manchester (2 min)
  • Creating The Crawlies (2 min)
  • Designing The Spaceship (2 min)
  • Team Skitter (3 min)
  • Season 2 Animated Trailer, Created by Dark Horse Comics (1 min)
  • Season 3 Preview (2 min)

{2jtab: Trailer}

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