After the success of The Walking Dead, it became clear that future TV series had a huge challenge ahead of them. The standard had been set and titles that followed had to top that or lose out on viewership. We have had post-apocalyptic shows like The Strain, Under the Dome and Falling Skies competing to beat The Walking Dead.
Falling Skies has done pretty well in that regard and as it reaches its final season, we look at what went right with its production to keep it afloat for five seasons.
The first thing Steven Spielberg’s team got right was the story. Although it had some problems early on, the story developed very well over time and as the characters became fleshed out, the viewers began to really care about them.
The story starts a few months after an invasion by aliens, who are referred to in the story as extraterrestrials. It only took a few days for these beings to attack the entire planet, destroying armies and all known technology. The aliens are bio-mechanical in appearance and all have almost supernatural powers. Basically, there is no clue as to how to defeat them as they are too advanced for the human race.
So the set-up was perfect to then meet a bunch of survivors, led by Noah Wyle’s character, Tom Mason. He soon becomes the leader of the resistance and through proper planning, over the seasons, it looks like Mason is about to free the human race. At least, what remains of it.
For many viewers, it took a long time to get into the series because there were so many plot holes, the main one being why the aliens attacked the blue planet. Only in season four did we learn that the plan was to extract helium-3 from Earth’s moon so that they could use it as an energy source for their technology. That was one reason. The other was to enslave all the humans who had survived and use them as a front in future wars against other aliens. The main targets for this were children, who had a bio-chemical mind control gadget implanted that would kill them if it was removed. And so the fight was on and in season five we will see who wins.
Spielberg has had a few hits and misses in his TV adventure, but Falling Skies has cemented its place among viewers. Under the Dome, however, is yet to make a stand.
For you to enjoy the fifth season of Falling Skies it might be worthwhile to buy the DVD package with the fourth season which is now available. As explained, it is in this season that everything is outlined and battlelines are drawn. A lot of behind-the- scenes footage is also available for you to enjoy.
l Falling Skies, Mondays, 8.30pm, Fox (DStv channel 125), StarSat channel 131.